Bitter Sweet Harvest (43 page)

An Mei looked anxiously at Tim’s back. He had broken free and was running and skipping part of the way to join a group of children assembled around Simonetta. A little boy had his eyes blind-folded. The game of blind man’s buff had just started. Shrieks of laughter filled the air as the children gave chase, running close to tease the boy before escaping with shouts of glee.

From the corner of her eye, Giuseppe’s wife saw the anxiety that drifted across An Mei’s face. “Go! Don’t worry,” she said. She reached out to squeeze An Mei’s arm. “You are with friends.”

An Mei smiled, embarrassed. “Yes! I’ll go over to help.”

Two women had stationed themselves behind a long travertine table and were preparing
bruschetta
. A big pile of bread had already been sliced ready for toasting on the open barbecue. One woman, her hair tied up with a scarf and an apron knotted hastily round her waist, was laying out braids of dried garlic, ready to be peeled and minced. The other had begun chopping up tomatoes. “Here, just in time. You prepare the
basilico
,” the woman with the scarf said, handing her bunches of green basil. “Shred the leaves finely and we’ll mix them with the tomatoes. With some garlic, a big glug of virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, they will provide a wonderful topping for the toasted
casareccio
.”

An Mei smiled. Ever since her first days in Italy, she had been familiar with the recipe, “
alia, olio, un po’ di pepe, un po’ di sale
: garlic, oil, a little pepper and a little salt, that more or less covered the basic flavouring of most dishes.

“Shred a bit more,” said one woman observing her smile and wishing to impress on her that much more chopping and preparation had still to be done. “We’ll need some extra basil for the
caprese, un insalata merivigliosa
, a wonderful salad. Have you eaten mozzarella and tomatoes served with olive oil?” she asked, stopping to hear the answer but not before adding a further advice. “You must only use
mozarrella di bufala
, made from water buffalo milk.”

An Mei nodded towards the bowl of mozzarellas, round white globular cheese, standing in lightly salted liquid. “You mean those? I love them.”

The women beamed, pleased with the reply. They worked and chatted. The smell of tomatoes, garlic and basil filled the air. Time rushed by and she found herself caught in a time warp of just chopping, shredding and peeling.

Shouts echoed across the field. The men were coming back. She saw Mark making his way towards her. He waved and she put her hand up to wave to him. The women nudged each other. “
Che belli! I giovani!
How beautiful! The young! Go to him, we’ll take care of this,” they said.

But she stood waiting. A warm glow spread over her, starting from her face, down to her neck and her body. She watched him walk toward her. She lifted her face to receive his kiss.

“Alright?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Happy?”

She tiptoed and whispered in his ear. The women stopped to watch, their eyes round. Mark lips broke into a broad grin. He picked her up and hugged her. “Can I tell them?” he asked. She nodded.

Still holding her close against him, he announced, “You are the first to hear our news,” he half shouted with joy, “my wife is expecting a baby.” Cheers and claps followed. The women pressed forward, claiming their kisses, one on each cheek. The children ran over to see what was happening. They could see Tim running towards them. Mark ran to meet him. He lifted him high and then placed him on his shoulders. An Mei stood watching them; her happiness complete.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Chan Ling Yap was educated in Malaysia and subsequently in England where she obtained a PhD in Economics. She lectured at the University of Malaya before joining the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, where she worked for nearly two decades. She now lives in the UK with her husband and two grown-up children.

A widely published author of various textbooks and technical papers, her foray into fiction,
Sweet Offerings
, was highly praised for its beautiful evocation of Asia.
Bitter-Sweet Harvest
is her second novel.

For more information, visit:
www.chanlingyap.com

ISBN: 978-981-4328-44-9

Set between the late 1930s and 1960s, this is a tale of Mei Yin, a young Chinese girl from an impoverished family. Her destiny is shaped when she is sent to Kuala Lumpur to become the ward and companion of the tyrannical and bitter Su Hei who is looking for a suitable wife for her son Ming Kong…and ultimately a grandson and heir to the family dynasty.

Sweet Offerings
is not just a fictional story of the events that ripped one family apart, but a taste of Malaysia’s historical, political and cultural changes during its transition from colonial rule to independence and beyond.