A mention of Wenzhou would bring forth fond memories to Em, whose father is a native of the city. Though Em was born and raised in a small backwater town 150 kilometers north of Wenzhou, and at the time it took six or seven hours bus to reach, her childhood was punctuated by brief stay there. Her last visit of the city was in the winter of 2008 when she, in her 40s, brought her daughter and husband from the states to see her uncles and aunts, and the place that she once called it second home.
They lived in the hotel for the nights during the trip, and the revisit of Grandpa’s old residence shocked Em. Not that the place was weather-beaten, but that the three storied home was like a “pigeon tower”, squeezed and crowded like what was depicted in the Chinese movie for the notorious ordinary Shanghainese dwellings. She couldn’t imagine that three families once lived inside, under the same roof, elbow to elbow for decades. But never before had it came to Em’s realization that the “big” world she aspired for was as-a-matter-of-factly small, until she saw the real big world outside China.
But that did not eclipse Em’s memories about the city and the family. For a girl living in a secluded town in 1970s and 1980s, Wenzhou was Em’s first window to see the world. Many years later, she still remembered the wide river behind Grandpa’s home, where a moored huge ship stood still, waiting for its departure. When the thundering steam whistles pierced the air, Em and her brother rushed to the stairs and peeked through a hole for a glimpse of the moving ship. And she saw white seagulls alarmed, squawking in circles on the surface.
But what lured Em most was its food. In the era when food was doled out in limited stamps, Wenzhou’s position as a port city made up for the scarcity. Apart from the exquisitely prepared dinners Em and her family were treated to, bags of traditionally home-made cakes and other specialties were packed for Em‘s family to take home. A trip to Wenzhou would always open her eyes, whet her curiosity, and satisfy her taste buds. And if it was New Year, her pocket would be full too, filled with red envelopes.
People in Wenzhou speak the dialect that no one outside the region could understand. Though Em could not speak the dialect, she could tell their accent. One time in a Chinese supermarket in California where Em now lives, she met a meat counter assistant. As he opened his mouth and asked Em what he could help in his standard Chinese, Em knew right away that he was from Wenzhou. She is proud of her sharp senses, but in particular her root in Wenzhou, a city that nurtured and nourished her.
Grandpa's old residence was pulled down almost three years ago, along with the last vestige. But those good times were kept intact in Em’s old memories, clinging hard to exist.
Em‘s uncle‘s calligraphy:
The street and the homes;
