14 June 201
Yesterday towards evening we decided to head to Mofan Street which was part of the old city, Houpu, where my grandmother was born.
On our way there, a man stopped to give us freshly baked bread for free and a lady who overheard our destination discussion offered us a ride to Mofan Street.
The moment we arrived at Mofan Street a red lantern with the chinese characters 后浦 (Houpu) caught my eye!
I felt very warm inside as my travel mate took pictures of me standing under the red lantern. So this is really my grandma’s town.
A few steps ahead, a lady offered us some freshly made egg rolls to try. We ate them and thanked her for her generosity.
I asked for her name.
“叫我阿宝就可以了” she said. (Transl: Just called me Ah Bao) “Bao” usually means treasure or precious.
I asked for her surname.
“我姓翁,” she replied and went on to describe the strokes that made up the character 翁 (pronounced as weng in Mandarin).
It turned out that she had the same surname as my grandma.
It was then I felt my grandma’s long overdue homecoming has really happened.
“阿嬷我们真的到家了,” I said in my heart to the little girl who left this old city nearly a 100 years ago.
(Transl: Grandma, we’re really home)
Lisa Ong 