25th Apr 2010 (10)
HARDWORKING PERSON GETS MOST WORK
As I mentioned earlier, my third younger sister was dainty and attractive.
She was the youngest and was therefore my mother's favourite. When
we were growing up together, she always had tantrums and was rude to
us. I was on many occasions upset by her unreasonable outbursts and
sometimes driven into tears. I was usually the one to help out at home. I
washed my own school uniforms and since they were white, they had to
be scrubbed on a wooden board in a large bucket of water. I was also
the one who had to buy vegetables and meat from the market. Washing
machine, dish washers and refrigerators were not available in Hong Kong
at that time. We had to buy our fresh provisions virtually on a daily bass.
When I bought a life chicken at the market place, I normally selected one
from a stack of cages containing many chickens.
After I had selected one, the butcher weighed it. I paid for it and brought
home. With my help, my mother slaughtered the chicken in the wet
kitchen. Supermarkets did not exist at that time. If people bought
chickens as gifts, they would buy them alive and put them in brown paper
carrying bags. Whenever my mother asked my third younger sister to get
several items from the markets or other shops, she had never once
bought the items without making any mistakes. She was later exempted
from doing this chore forever.
In 1962 there was a drought in Hong Kong. Water was rationed for a
whole year and we got water supply once every four days and only
four-hour each time. Purpose built tall steel tanks were made for storing
water were sold in the market and most homes had several of them. As
we were living on the top floor, when everybody was turning on the tap
at the same water, water pressure in our flat became so low that we
could not get any water from the taps. Therefore we had to obtain water
from public stand pipes in the street using water buckets. Most family
members helped collect water this way and every time we did this, we
carried two buckets with us to carry the water. For my third younger
sister, the two buckets were always half full by the time she reached
home. She never put her heart in doing anything. She often thought very
highly of herself and her attitude was definitely supported by our mother.
Yuen-yee
HARDWORKING PERSON GETS MOST WORK
As I mentioned earlier, my third younger sister was dainty and attractive.
She was the youngest and was therefore my mother's favourite. When
we were growing up together, she always had tantrums and was rude to
us. I was on many occasions upset by her unreasonable outbursts and
sometimes driven into tears. I was usually the one to help out at home. I
washed my own school uniforms and since they were white, they had to
be scrubbed on a wooden board in a large bucket of water. I was also
the one who had to buy vegetables and meat from the market. Washing
machine, dish washers and refrigerators were not available in Hong Kong
at that time. We had to buy our fresh provisions virtually on a daily bass.
When I bought a life chicken at the market place, I normally selected one
from a stack of cages containing many chickens.
After I had selected one, the butcher weighed it. I paid for it and brought
home. With my help, my mother slaughtered the chicken in the wet
kitchen. Supermarkets did not exist at that time. If people bought
chickens as gifts, they would buy them alive and put them in brown paper
carrying bags. Whenever my mother asked my third younger sister to get
several items from the markets or other shops, she had never once
bought the items without making any mistakes. She was later exempted
from doing this chore forever.
In 1962 there was a drought in Hong Kong. Water was rationed for a
whole year and we got water supply once every four days and only
four-hour each time. Purpose built tall steel tanks were made for storing
water were sold in the market and most homes had several of them. As
we were living on the top floor, when everybody was turning on the tap
at the same water, water pressure in our flat became so low that we
could not get any water from the taps. Therefore we had to obtain water
from public stand pipes in the street using water buckets. Most family
members helped collect water this way and every time we did this, we
carried two buckets with us to carry the water. For my third younger
sister, the two buckets were always half full by the time she reached
home. She never put her heart in doing anything. She often thought very
highly of herself and her attitude was definitely supported by our mother.
Yuen-yee
Markets
Transporting live chicken
Live chicken store
Night entertainment for the poor in 1960s
Night entertainment for the rich in 1960s
A water flush toilet in the 1950s
Steel water buckets