My Dad was the eldest son of a first generation Chinese immigrant and his first wife. My grandfather had two wives. In the old days (pre-1961 Women’s Charter in Singapore), taking a second wife or a concubine was not illegal – first wives didn’t like it of course but generally accepted it with reluctance.
He worked all his life for his father who started a ship chandler business during the post-World War II period. He’d start his day at 4am before sending off an ‘army’ of laborers. He often climbed into holds with the laborers to supervise their work. Every afternoon, he would type out invoice...