Author: Chris Ng
Company: YI PIN XUAN Trading
Professional: Tea Culture
Occupation: Tea Kangyu – Tea Culture Mentor
🌿《From Ordinary to Awakening》
——Dedicated share to every woman who chooses gentleness and strength amidst storms
Theme: Seeing one’s own light between loss and rebirth
I am from an ordinary family in Southeast Asia. My grandparents came to Malaysia from Nan’an, Fujian and settled down in a foreign land. When I was young, our family have more than ten people squeezed into an illegal house. The space was become small, but it was filled with laughter and the aroma of food. At that time, I was the most beloved child in the family and everyone called me “Fatty.” This nickname sounded clumsy but it was full of love. However, behind the laughter in every family, there is a story will become that is hard to tell.
My family wasn’t from an economically disadvantaged and I never attended the kindergarten. I had to ride my bicycle to school before dawn. Starting in third grade, I learned how to cook, do laundry and take care of my younger siblings. My mother was busy making a living and my childhood was filled with the lessons of daily life. When I am studying at standard 6 , I attended classes during the day and worked in the afternoons, packaging candy and making chalk from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. The new clothes I bought with my first paycheck were the first time I experienced the joy of “changing my life through my own efforts.”
The fate’s turning points always arrive without warning. Before I am graduating from middle school, I was forced to drop out. When I was at 20 years old , my father is in a fit of anger and kicked me out of the house. At that moment, I left home with resentment and empty pockets. I was wandered, starved and had no where place to go. Fortunately, I meet some friends who treated me to meals and gave me warmth. I will never forget that meal. At that time, I secretly vowed: no matter how difficult in the future , I will live a life true to myself.
After six years old , I returned to my hometown. Life seemed stable and I met my ex-husband, who was fourteen years older than me. After we got married, we had a daughter and a son, and I thought this was the beginning of happiness. However, eight years ago , the marriage came to an end. The children stayed with my ex-husband because I had to work to make a living. At that moment, I almost collapsed, but I also told myself more clearly: “Since I can’t be with them every day, I must let my children see a strong mother.”
After my divorce, I dedicated myself to my work, working in tea sales until sixteen years. From apprentice to supervisor, my youth was steeped in the aroma of tea. From two or three years ago, I left that old company and my life reached a crossroads again. During that time, I felt lost, disillusioned and even doubted whether I could start over.
Until I meet a mentor—Xu Hong Qian is a chairman of Serf Tea. He helped me rediscover the spirit of tea: it’s not just a business, but a culture and a conscience. Serf Tea insists on the purity of ancient tree tea and also wholeheartedly sponsors the education of impoverished the children. At that moment, my heart was deeply touched.
I suddenly understood that the meaning of a career isn’t just about making money but about “making life warmer.”
Looking back on my life, I’ve lost loved ones, my education and my marriage but through each loss, I’ve rediscovered my true self.
I am no longer envy anyone’s light nor do I fear the darkness.
Because I know only through bitterness can one appreciate sweetness; by letting go can one be reborn only .
Life is like a pot of tea.
It needs the time, the right heat and care to brew.
The bitterness that settles will eventually transform into a sweet aftertaste.
Yes, this is me.
An ordinary woman will willing to constantly awaken yet .
Using tears and smiles, I brew my own pot of life’s tea.