Darren Sim
Context
The year 1946 marked a significant turning point for the inhabitants of Singapore, especially more so for the Chinese community. It saw an end to Japanese brutality, the return of Singapore under the control of the British Empire as well as colonial attempts to reconstruct the destroyed society and regain the people’s trust. These were the circumstances under which the following story occurred, revolving about the daily life and interactions of its main character 沈在有 in 1947.
Prologue
Pre-1947
“What do you mean when you say that I do not have any rightful claims to the land?! I am your BROTHER!”
This outburst echoed throughout a small village in Fujian, and its owner was 沈文理. He was confounded and angry at the revelation that unfolded before him; he was denied any part of the land that his father had left behind after his death.
“Since there is no land left for inheritance, why don’t we leave this cruel and impoverished place and seek a better life down south?”
proposed his wife, which Wen Li subsequently agreed with. Thus the couple packed their belongings and left the village without bidding farewell to any of their relatives, intending to sever all ties and seek a better life elsewhere.
Eventually the couple arrived at the British colony of Singapore, after braving through the various storms encountered at sea. Although life in Singapore was not as easy as they had initially hoped, both decided to settle down rather than continue their voyage for a better life; as they were getting older and still remained childless. Due to land shortage in the small British colony, Wen Li could not possibly rely upon his agricultural experience to eke out a living. He had to work as a fisherman off the coast of Marine Parade, whereas his frail wife became a part-time seamstress so as to supplement the household income while doing the household chores. Subsequently they had three children; amongst them was Sim Zai You who was bornt in 1930 as their second son. However tragedy struck the family as Wen Li’s wife eventually passed away in 1940 and with Wen Li’s reluctance to remarry, the family size remained at four.
Chapter 1 (1947 : Before the Sun rises)
As the rooster’s crow pierces through the silent atmosphere of the kampong at Cheow Keng Road, the rays emanating from the rising sun begin to illuminate the dark sky. This crow stirs the 17 year old Zai You from his deep slumber, as he lifts his body off the hard wooden floor he slept upon. Ever since his mother passed away, he has assumed her role of preparing meals for the family while his elder brother was in charge of washing clothes for the family. Thus at the first instance of the rooster’s crow, he had to wake up and prepare breakfast for the entire family. However he isn’t alone in the makeshift kitchen of their attap hut; his father is also awake and is busy preparing the dough necessary for his business as a hawker.
Although Wen Li was a fisherman previously, the aftermath of the Japanese Occupation (JO) provided him with the opportunity to become a hawker selling youtiao (油条). As a result of the JO, many Chinese people including hawkers and their apprentices were either dead or missing. This was so for the Youtiao hawker from whom Wen Li learned his cooking skills from; his pre-war apprentice was killed by the Japanese and now in the post-war era, he sought for a new student to pass his culinary skills on. When Wen Li heard about this opportunity from a fellow villager in 1946, Uncle Wang (老黄), he decided to seize the chance and became a youtiao hawker.
While Zai You and his father are busy in the kitchen, his older brother kneels in front of a statue of Guan Yin (观音) and start praying for the safety and success of the family:
“O merciful Bodhisattva Guan Yin, please watch over our family and help us avert any possible disasters. Please help us in our youtiao business so that we may never starve.”
After his prayer, he would then proceed to help his father with the tedious dough preparation. Zai You’s younger brother, on the other hand, is excluded from most of the household chores, except for the daily cleaning of the house. He is considered the “hope” of the family and is expected to achieve academic excellence. Therefore when their mother passed away, Wen Li instructed his two older sons to split the household chores between them, and let their younger brother focus solely on his studies.
An hour after he had awoken, Zai You has finished making breakfast; his father and brother have also completed their dough preparation. Zai You then proceeds to wake his younger brother up so that the whole family could have breakfast together, before his father and older brother depart for their After breakfast, Wen Li and his eldest son leave the house together with their prepared dough and begin walking to their stall, located in a wet market along Mountbatten Road. Meanwhile Zai You begins to clear the table as quickly as possible, as he needs to accompany his younger brother to the latter’s classes at the Hokkien-affliated Ai Tong Primary School (爱同学校); Wen Li was of Hokkien ethnicity and thus he was able to seek assistance from the Hokkien Association to enroll his youngest son in one of its schools. Accompanying his younger brother to school was an important responsibility that his father has entrusted to him, as Wen Li viewed education as having a significant impact for the future of his youngest son and the family.
Chapter 2 (1947: Morning)
After dropping his younger brother off at his school, Zai You makes his way to his father’s stall to assist in the sale of youtiao and purchase the ingredients for preparation of dinner from the nearby wet market. As Zai You has previously accompanied his mother to this wet market to purchase meal ingredients, most of the stall vendors knew him by name and would occasionally sell him at a discounted price. After he has finished purchasing the necessary ingredients, Zai You then makes his way to the youtiao stall.
As he arrives at the stall, he notices his older brother busy with selling youtiaos that were made from the dough both father and son had painstakingly prepared earlier. Meanwhile his father is kept busy with the preparation of new dough, from which more youtiaos could be made for sale. Before he could go and assist with the business, Zai You needed to visit the nearby market and purchase ingredients for dinner before they were all sold out. As the household income was limited, Zai You spent most of the dinner allowance on vegetables and cheap anchovy [ikan bilis]. It is only on special occasions, like the death anniversary of his mother, that Zai You would have more allowances to buy the more expensive meat products, like chickens and fishes.
After purchasing the ingredients for dinner, Zai You heads to the stall to assist his father in dough preparation. By this time, the number of customers has dwindled as breakfast was already over while lunch time had yet to come. When he arrives at the stall, Zai You places the dinner ingredients aside and proceeds to relieve his father in the preparation of dough. While busy kneeding the dough, he notices a certain tattooed individual approach his father and talking to Wen Li in a menacing manner. This individual is Tan Ah Siao, a notorious gangster who goes around collecting “protection money” on behalf of the infamous Ghee Sin Gang. Shortly after, Ah Siao leaves and my father comes walking toward me. He then proceeds to pass an inconspicuous card to Zai You, saying:
“Keep the card safely with you at all times; it is our protection amulet.”
Zai You quickly puts the card into a small red packet (红包) he constantly carries with him; for storing light and valuable stuff like money notes and protection cards.
Like his father, Zai You has never trusted the British authorities ever since his mother died while warded at the Singapore General Hospital. The subsequent disappearance of her corpse after her death only served to fuel his distrust in the British administration. Furthermore, after the war was over, personal accounts of police collaboration with the Japanese have served to reinforce Zai You’s view of the Police and by extension the British authorities, as incompetent and corrupt. This view is then further substantiated by the various stories the fish vendors of wet market have told him; accounts policemen robbing them of their hard-earned fishes. Therefore he has never objected to the paying of “protection money” to the triads, although he had his own reservations for the violent threats and methods that they use to extract money from other stall owners.
Chapter 3 (1947: Noon)
Two hours after the incident with Ah Siao, it was lunch time and a queue begins to form in front of the youtiao stall. The dough which both Zai You and his father had prepared two hours prior is now used to make fresh youtiaos for sale, as the older dough made in the morning has already been used up. As the queue steadily grows, Wen Li instructs Zai You to assist his older brother in the sale of youtiaos while he oversees the frying process of the dough; to which Zai You complies. Zai You then proceeds to the front of the stall to help his brother with sales transaction, while his brother assumes responsibility of packing the youtiaos into a brown bag. While manning the cashier, Zai You begins thinking to himself about the situation unfolding in front of him:
“I still recognize the loyal customers who frequently come to buy youtiao, however the number of new faces I am seeing is staggering. The British may have returned but people are still poor, and yet there are so many people who wish to buy my father’s youtiao. At this rate, we would eventually be able to get enough money to fund the older brother’s wedding.”
As he continues his musing, Zai You was unaware that a grin had begun to creep up unto his face.
“What is it that you find so funny about, Zai You?”
His brother’s sharp voice jolts Zai You out from his contemplation, and he notices his older brother staring at him. Zai You then proceeds to shake his head and mutter a soft “nothing” as he now shifts his focus to manning the cashier. After an hour of repetitive actions which involved collecting and giving money, the queue began to dwindle once more. Noticing the decreased number of customers, Zai You turns to his brother and suggests that he ought to take a break after working non-stop since early morning. Looking at the shortened queen, his brother agrees with the suggestion and lets Zai You take charge of the stall. Shortly thereafter, Zai You is approached by his older brother who has come to bid him farewell, as he has just remembered that there is still dirty laundry in the house that he had left unwashed. Since his brother is returning home, Zai You decides to request that he bring the dinner ingredients along with him and fetch their younger brother home from school. As his brother departs for Ai Tong School with the dinner ingredients, Zai You continues selling youtiaos to the customers until there was no one left in the queue as lunch time was over.
Chapter 4 (1947: Tea)
With the end of lunch time, Zai You and his father could finally catch a breather as the massive lunch crowd begins to dwindle. This does not mean that they could totally take a break, as there are sporadic customers who either have a sudden craving for youtiaos or wanted to avoid the massive lunch queue. One such customer is Uncle Wang, the man who had previously introduced Wen Li into the hawker line of business. Uncle Wang was a bicycle shop owner who received a limited level of Chinese education back in China; this Chinese education enabled him to read and understand the Chinese newspapers. As Uncle Wang normally comes to buy youtiao after lunch time, Zai You is able to spend time conversing with him to learn about recent news reports, such as the ongoing Japanese War Crime Trials and crime in Singapore.
The War Crime Trials is of special interest to Zai You as his neighbor’s family, his childhood friend included, was captured by the Kempeitai and their bodies were never found. Therefore these trials serve as a form of vengeance for Zai You and many other Chinese people, as these brutal Japanese soldiers are now severely punished for their actions. Zai You is also concerned with crime in Singapore, as he is interested in knowing what the British are doing in order to combat armed violence from the triads and corruption within the bureaucracy. These are issues that have a direct impact on his life; triads armed with guns would mean that there is a need to pay “protection money” or risk getting shot at. Additionally corrupt police would be able to use their government-issued weapons to rob the poor people, in the absence of an anti-corruption policy. Hence whenever Uncle Wang comes to buy youtiaos, Zai You would find some time to ask him about recent news reports concerning such issues.
Although Zai You would like to chat with Uncle Wang for a longer period of time, Uncle Wang has to cut short their conversation as he had to return and manage his bicycle shop. After his chat with Uncle Wang, Zai You is approached by a young lady dressed in a white cheongsam decorated with pink peonies. This lady is Chaim See Nia and is one of Zai You’s childhood friends. Although See Nia is three years younger than Zai You, they were best friends due to the close ties shared between their families from when Wen Li was still a fisherman. Unlike Wen Li, See Nia’s father is a poultry farmer who had purchased some of the smaller fishes Wen Li had caught, as food for his ducks. In return, Wen Li would buy ducks straight from See Nia’s father whenever he needed one. Furthermore before his mother passed away, Zai You used to help See Nia and her father with poultry rearing when they were still children. Although Wen Li has changed his jobs after the war, See Nia and Zai You were still close friends with See Nia frequently visiting the stall to talk to Zai You and buying youtiaos for the Chiam family’s dinner.
As See Nia approaches Zai You, she first sends her greetings to Wen Li who nods his head in response. She then faces Zai You and asks:
“Zai You, are you alright? You look much more tired than you usually are.”
To which Zai You replies,
“I am fine. It is just that there were more customers today than usual, and I had to ensure that I did not miscount the money. By the way, did you hear from Uncle Wang about the War Crimes Trial?”
For See Nia, news of the War Crimes Trial was also of personal interest as some of her distant relatives were killed by the Japanese soldiers as well. Therefore whenever Zai You has heard any new news about the Trials from Uncle Wang, he would try to inform See Nia as well. As the sun begins to set, See Nia begins her journey home as she has to assist her mother with the preparation for dinner. Shortly after See Nia’s departure, Zai You notices that his older brother has arrived at the stall.
Chapter 5 (1947: Night)
The arrival of Zai You’s brother at the stall meant that it was time for him to return home and begin dinner preparation. After asking where his brother had placed the ingredients, Zai You quickly rushes back home so that he could prepare dinner while the sky was still bright. After all, it was both a danger and a hassle to prepare dinner while relying on a single kerosene lamp, whereby a single mistake may result in an accidental overturning of the lamp and the attap house being quickly burned to the ground.
As Zai You arrives home, he notices his younger brother busy studying beside a stack of neatly folded laundry, which was presumably washed earlier by the older brother. Zai You proceeds to retrieve the dinner ingredients which were brought back earlier, and heads straight to the kitchen. Meanwhile Wen Li and his oldest son begin to clean up the stall as they prepare to return home for dinner. Based on Wen Li’s previous experience, there is not much demand for youtiao during dinner time, which is why he has decided to close the shop early and return home for dinner with his sons.
Shortly after the sun has set, Zai You has finished cooking dinner and at the same time, both his father and older brother have returned from their stall. With the sky completely dark, it was impossible for the youngest child to continue studying without the aid of the kerosene lamp, which was now used to illuminate the wooden table upon which the dinner dishes were placed upon. As father and sons begin to consume their last meal of the day, Wen Li begins to question his youngest child about his day at school, and then proceeds to ask his two other sons whatever information and news they have learned throughout the day, while interacting with the youtiao customers.
Once dinner was over, Wen Li proceeds to help Zai You in the cleaning of the dishes while his two other sons proceed to sweep the floor and wipe the furniture. After these chores were completed, Wen Li then proceeds to peruse letters that the mailman had brought in the morning. Meanwhile his youngest son begin studying after positioning himself near the lamp, whereas his two older sons sat beside their younger brother and watched him study. Halfway through his stack of letters, Wen Li cursed out loud and started shredding the letter he was writing in fury. Concerned with his father’s behavior, Zai You’s older brother inquires into the reason for his anger, to which Wen Li replies:
“My good-for-nothing brother in China wrote that letter to me, asking me to send some money back. What a shameless request, considering the fact that he did not even give me any part of my father’s land. Moreover we are still poor, so how can he make such an unreasonable request?!”
While his father continued fuming in anger, Zai You offers to go over to Uncle Wang’s place and request for his assistance in writing a response letter to his uncle in China, explaining their current situation. Wen Li reluctantly agrees to Zai You’s suggestion, after which Zai You started walking to Uncle Wang’s house.
On his way to Uncle Wang’s place, he walks past the house of Uncle Tan and notes that it is much noisier than usual. All of a sudden, multiple individuals came rushing out of nowhere and barged into Uncle Tan’s house, creating an even louder commotion. This commotion sparked the curiosity of Zai You who decides to take a closer look into Uncle Tan’s house. As he peeked into the house, he realizes that the individuals, whom he saw storming into the house earlier, were actually policemen and they were raiding an illegal gambling den which was established in Uncle Tan’s place. For fear of being arrested and implicated by the police, which he did not have a good impression on, Zai You immediately turned and ran all the way home.
Zai You’s sudden return back home without Uncle Wang confused Wen Li, as he proceeds to ask for an explanation from his son about his sudden return. In response, Zai You explains that he just witnessed a police raid on an illegal gambling den operating in Uncle Tan’s house. As a result he ran all the way home because he was afraid of being caught by the police, who would then implicate him for a crime he did not do.
Seeing the reaction of Zai You, Wen Li decides that he shall request Uncle Wang for his assistance tomorrow when he comes to the stall to buy youtiao. He then proceeds to tell Zai You to forget what he has just seen and go to sleep early, as they would be waking up early again tomorrow to conduct their hawker business.
Epilogue (50 Years)
‘Waking up early to do household chores, conducting the hawker business, returning home to sleep and once again waking up early to do the same chores.’
This is basically the daily routine which Zai You adheres to since 1947 until his death in 1997. However there are exceptions whereby this routine is temporarily interrupted, such as on the day of his marriage in 1953. Six years after this story, Zai You marries See Nia and they rent a house of their own, near the village where both their families are situated. After the death of Wen Li, Zai You decides to expand his hawker business and starts selling laksa and prawn mee along with youtiao. By 1997, he was the father of four sons and one daughter as well as the grandfather of 10 grandchildren. Until his death, Zai You kept to his daily routine despite the fact that his children were now running his hawker business, and would constantly remind his children and grandchildren of the difficult times in which he persevered through; valuable advice which pretty much fell on the deaf ears of his grandchildren.
Acknowlegements
This story is based mostly upon the recollections of my grandfather’s life when he was still a teenager. As he constantly shared his personal experiences with his children, it is possible to piece together certain parts of his life story. In addition, archival material and newspapers are consulted in order to verify the story and patch up any missing parts which may result from incomplete or flawed recollections.
Bibilography
“Singapore Gangsters and Their Territories”, The Straits Times, 19 March 1947. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19470319.2.42.1.aspx
Singapore Central Intelligence Department. PPMS 31 / File 36: Singapore central Intelligence Department, monthly crime reports, 1945-1954. National Archives of Singapore. Microfilm Number NAB 1490.
Wong, Eleanor, curator. Legal Tenor: Voices from Singapore’s Legal History: 1930-59. Singapore: Academic Publishing, 2014.
Sin Chew Jit Poh [星洲日报], 1 September – 25 December 1947.
Xin jia po fu jian hui guan jian jie [新加坡福建会馆简介], Xin jia po [新加坡]: xin jia po fu jian hui guan [新加坡福建会馆], 1995.
1947: Singapore Imagined 