Because the family was a partner of the whole business outlet, Grandmother Wong had plenty of rice to make her Kuih every day.
She was a typical Foochow wife who saw to it that my grandfather had three full meals and two teas every day. This was the culture of Fujian people in those days. The men who worked were to be given good meals and snacks.
For my great grand father and grand father's tea, she made kuih like mi yang (show in the photo above) and baos, etc.
Her daughters, together with my cousin Yew Ping (later) would mill the rice early in the morning to make rice flour from scratch and by 10 oclock, the kuihs would be ready for Grandfather. A large portion of the kuih would be sold to the workers. My aunts would bring the baskets of kuihs for sale and Grandmother Wong would personally bring the kuih to Great Grand Father and Grandfather in the office.
My aunts used to tell us that Grandmother Wong was very punctual in her habit. And the two patriarchs of the family would be able to tell the time of the morning when she arrived at the office.
Rice puff or Mi Yang was a favourite of my Grandfather and he liked the savoury taste of the fillings which would have a bit of minced pork.
Grandmother Wong's hand work was very refined as she was brought up in Minqing, Fujian, where she learned how to make all the kuih at home. She was supposed to work in Singapore for a household but at the last minute she changed her mind and followed a friend to Sibu.
It was also her fate that she met my grandfather, who had just lost his wife, Grandmother Chong. Grandfather was looking for a very capable woman to marry, someone who could take care of the family, and perform all the important duties, including serving two elderly parents in law.
My grand aunt from Sg. Bidut used to tell us that she was very fair and of a cheerful disposition. But most important of all she was very hardworking. She reared a lot of ducks, chickens, pigs and even goats. At times, she would repair the pig sties, chicken coops and the fences. During the high tide she would wash all the floors. She was was a very neat person as it could be seen by the clothes she made and wore.
But every one in the family would remember her mi yang which was most delicate and tasty.
She was very hardworking right the last few days of her life. At age 38 she was expecting a baby at the end of the Japanese Occupation. Because a mother pig was going to deliver soon, she wanted to build an extra pig sty at the back of the house. And it was raining. She worked for hours to complete the small hut hammering away.
Unfortunately the baby which was not yet due began to show signs it wanted to be born. It became a late miscarriage and Grandmother Wong started hemorrhaging and no doctor could save her.
She passed away in 1944.
One of my aunts said the family never made Mi Yang after her passing. My grandfather must have missed her a lot. When the family moved to Sg. Merah, from PUlau Kerto, my grandfather only ate pastry from the shops.
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