Salted Duck Eggs....yummy!OK, by some magic...this post re-appears.
....and the story continues.
Spick and span. A complete house cleaning after the grand matriarch's funeral.
I didn't know much about life and death then so I asked around. In fujian lingo, almost everyone told me she's off to sell "salted duck eggs"- and that means to be off for good.
...and I soon learned that grandpa has been selling salted duck eggs for more than 20 years already. I thought grandma should be happy and quite lucky to have a well experienced husband by her side in the eternal after world selling salted duck eggs.
I was soon off to my new antics but I was stopped within a couple of days. A new "matriarch" emerged.
"Close the tap tightly!".....said the new matriarch, the new tight-wad.
"Switch off the lights!"....."switch off the lights!, it's already 9pm!!!!!".............this is to remind everyone in the house - the role of matriarch is now switched to her.
All her children are successful cousins of mine, while her daughters are all married to successful people. They stayed on their own elswhere, raising their own family and visiting her from time to time.
The eldest sister of my dad, "tua-kor" (first auntie) the chief tenant of the house, is the new "man" of the house. She'll call the shots. My dad is good with that, and will stay on a tenant. He'll be going to work and mum will be watched over, and when dad's back he can come home to an extended family
She did well.
A health freak who had fruits and and milk for breakfast, slices of bread topped with jam, cream crackers and more fruits for afternoon tea. Dinners are all about healthy dishes like fish and veges.
A few years on, she was fearing for her life when her left eye became cloudy, and vision, poor. It was a big thing. The whole neighbourhood was abuzz... "Somebody's going to the hospital to have an operation".
Everyone was jittery and wondered what could happen. The success rate to emerge from an operation, was low.
I could see the wretchedness and hopelessness in her face. Mentally she has high anxieties, and became very anguished. The cataract developed could not be operated upon yet as it is still not "ripe" or "mature" for that process. Just wait, said the doctors.
More anxiety.
Colours seem faded, poor night vision developed, and she started to see multiple images. And glare............, everything appears too bright, so, "Switch off the lights! It's already 8pm now!"
Following months, home life was frequently punctured by her outbursts of emotions, her tendency to get irritated by everything.
....and the story continues.
Spick and span. A complete house cleaning after the grand matriarch's funeral.
I didn't know much about life and death then so I asked around. In fujian lingo, almost everyone told me she's off to sell "salted duck eggs"- and that means to be off for good.
...and I soon learned that grandpa has been selling salted duck eggs for more than 20 years already. I thought grandma should be happy and quite lucky to have a well experienced husband by her side in the eternal after world selling salted duck eggs.
I was soon off to my new antics but I was stopped within a couple of days. A new "matriarch" emerged.
"Close the tap tightly!".....said the new matriarch, the new tight-wad.
"Switch off the lights!"....."switch off the lights!, it's already 9pm!!!!!".............this is to remind everyone in the house - the role of matriarch is now switched to her.
All her children are successful cousins of mine, while her daughters are all married to successful people. They stayed on their own elswhere, raising their own family and visiting her from time to time.
The eldest sister of my dad, "tua-kor" (first auntie) the chief tenant of the house, is the new "man" of the house. She'll call the shots. My dad is good with that, and will stay on a tenant. He'll be going to work and mum will be watched over, and when dad's back he can come home to an extended family
She did well.
A health freak who had fruits and and milk for breakfast, slices of bread topped with jam, cream crackers and more fruits for afternoon tea. Dinners are all about healthy dishes like fish and veges.
A few years on, she was fearing for her life when her left eye became cloudy, and vision, poor. It was a big thing. The whole neighbourhood was abuzz... "Somebody's going to the hospital to have an operation".
Everyone was jittery and wondered what could happen. The success rate to emerge from an operation, was low.
I could see the wretchedness and hopelessness in her face. Mentally she has high anxieties, and became very anguished. The cataract developed could not be operated upon yet as it is still not "ripe" or "mature" for that process. Just wait, said the doctors.
More anxiety.
Colours seem faded, poor night vision developed, and she started to see multiple images. And glare............, everything appears too bright, so, "Switch off the lights! It's already 8pm now!"
Following months, home life was frequently punctured by her outbursts of emotions, her tendency to get irritated by everything.
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