Page 10 - Stories from our Grandparents

was born on 4 May 1932, in Hepo
Mr Hon Leong BORN 1932 I
Town of Jiexi County in Guangdong
By Hon Shuzhen Province. At the age of two, my
father took me on a boat to Nanyang
Gold Award Holders’ Alumni
in search of better fortunes.
When we first arrived in Singapore, we had neither relatives nor friends,
and father turned to The Singapore Han Clan Association for help.
He participated in their activities and received support and
companionship from fellow clan members. Till today,
I am still a proud member of the association.
To make a livelihood, my family tried our hands on
agriculture, growing vegetables in Jalan Bahar. We grew
choy sum, but it did not fetch favorable prices. 50kg of
choy sum was worth merely $2. We then grew cucumbers,
which were valued at higher prices. Life as a farmer was
tough, I worked long hours to ensure mouths were fed.
Those were the darkest days of my life, but I pulled through
with grit. My first turn in fortunes came in 1977, where a fellow
Chinese immigrant thought highly of my integrity and honesty,
and partnered me in the business of rearing chickens. With his 50kg
investment, I built sheltered coops. Business was brisk. 100
chickens could bring me 80 eggs, and each egg costed five to
seven cents. I had some savings from this business.
By 1980s, the government had plans to redevelop Jalan Bahar
and my family was relocated to Bukit Gombak. Since then,
I left the agriculture industry to start a small provision shop
named after my three sons “Teck Cheng Peng Provisions Store”.
My sons learnt some business skills by working alongside me,
before I gave them my blessings to venture into the second-
hand automobile business.
Today, I am happy in retirement, just
spending quality time with my family of
88 members. I wish the next generation
will receive good education, and be
empowered to change their lives.
10 Grandpa Stories
y grandparents were
born in Malaysia.
Growing up, life was
Mnot easy for them. My
grandma used to recount how my
great-grandma carried her on her
Mr Wong Wan Sing back and squatted in the lalang
Mdm Law Diana field to hide from the Japanese
By Lim En soldiers during World War II.
Gold Award Holders’ Alumni BORN 1927 & 1940
When she grew up, she met my
grandpa through a matchmaker.
They moved to Singapore in the
late 50s after getting married. In the ‘60s, they got a flat at the first housing
estate in Tanglin Halt, fondly known as chap lau chu (10-storey buildings
in Hokkien). In the three-room flat, my grandparents and their seven
children shared the limited living space and everything they had,
resulting in a special bond among them. I have always had
utmost admiration for my grandma, wondering how she
managed to take care of seven children by herself while
grandpa worked hard as the breadwinner of the family.
I guess she got this tenacity from my great-grandma, who
gave birth to 13 children and raised them up well.
In Dec 1971, when the Singapore Traction Company
(STC) ceased operation, grandpa lost his job as
a bus mechanic, but he did not give up. He and
grandma braved through the tough times together
by going house to house to sell raincoats to earn some extra
income. Fortunately, not long after, he signed on as an army
mechanic and was stationed at Ayer Rajah Camp, conveniently
located just across the railway track from the house. After
retiring from the army, grandpa continued to work at VICOM
and eventually retired at the age of 70.
Even though my grandparents passed away for years now,
their stories of grit and determination so that they could raise
their kids, will always be my source of motivation to do the
same for my children.
Grandpa Stories 11