Young people must learn how to do everything

"I started working at 14. Grow crops…rear cows…I had to do everything to support my family. One day I heard someone say, “We are going to Singapore!” So I quickly went along. They said coming to Singapore was good. You can earn money. You can earn a lot of money!

I was 19 when I arrived in Singapore. I did not tell my father or mother. They would not have let me come otherwise.

What’s there to not be happy? I just sleep every day, and live every day.

I teach our helper how to cook. She does not know how. Boil old cucumber soup. Add some pork bones and honey dates…very delicious! For soya sauce chicken…first you stir-fry the vegetables and then you add the chicken piece-by-piece in soya sauce.

I want to mati. Life stops having meaning when you have lived too long. My wish is to die at night, peacefully in my sleep. Pray to Guan Yin, that I get my wish.

Young people must learn how to do everything. I sewed clothes, swept floors, rolled cigars, and peddled goods. I carried mud! I do, what I can do. I will teach you to roll cigars. You must do everything to earn money. Then save a lot of money.

We were so poor then. I work all my life. I have saved a lot of money by myself and for my daughter’s education."

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Born in 1916, Madam Yip started working at 14, rearing crops and cows in Guangzhou, China. She stayed in a coolie house upon arrival in Singapore. Madam Yip had to pay her friends to be match-made to her late husband. In her late 30s, Madam Yip adopted her only daughter. Her daughter admires her spunk and describes Madam Yip as a highly independent, very outspoken and friendly woman who was good at earning and saving money. Madam Yip was also brave. She marched in to her husband’s workplace to resolve a conflict between her husband and his colleagues in a time where Chinese women were expected to be docile and quiet. At 96, Madam Yip was actively doing marketing rounds for her household until a bad fall necessitated a hip replacement. Despite her ailments, Madam Yip still insists on cooking for her daughter.

Text by Adlina Maulod.