[The Years When She Couldn't Afford A Dumpling]

Ooi Chee lives on the Hill at Central Section of Sungai Buloh Settlement and has specially come to attend the Resilience Dinner tonight. Around five in the afternoon, she slowly descended the hill and went to the neighbouring street to visit her friend Chang Leng. The two of them sat in front of the Indian neighbour's chalet, waiting for me, and then proceeded together to the Medical & Health Station to enjoy the dinner of overcoming adversity.

 When I arrived, I heard them say to the Indian neighbour, 'We want to go for dinner first, eating the hardship dinner of the poor.' Originally, Chang Leng and Ooi Chee had discussed that if tonight dinner was difficult to eat, they planned to prepare their own food at home after the dinner. Little did they know, tonight's dinner of overcoming adversity turned out to be so rich, and both of them were very satisfied.

 On the way back, Chang Leng told me with a smile, 'I originally said that if we couldn't eat enough, I would go home to eat roti, and Ooi Chee said she would cook Maggie mee at home. Who would have thought we would eat so abundantly.'

 The Resilience Dinner tonight unexpectedly turned into a 'happy meal,' and everyone was very happy to gather together, discussing the hardships of the past.

 However, when they heard others sharing very difficult stories, a look of sorrow appeared on Ooi Chee's face. She suddenly said, 'I want to quit... I don't want to come again! I don't want to think about the difficult days in the past...' We were all surprised to hear this.

 As I helped her down the stairs on her way home, I learned about the past that made Ooi Chee so sad. It turns out that when she was 16, she was hospitalized, and her family was very poor. Her pocket money was used up, and she didn't have a single cent in her pocket, not even enough to buy a piece of pastry.

 "It was really bleak back then. I saw others selling meat dumplings for only ten cents each, but I didn't even have a dime. It was really tough!" Ooi Chee said she doesn't want to mention those sad times anymore.

 "Then what happened? When did you start having money?"

 "I asked someone to write a letter to my family to ask for money! My brothers and sisters gathered RM30 and sent it to me."

 "Wow! At that time, you must have been considered rich, and you could eat a lot of salty meat dumplings, right?"

 "Yes! All eight of my siblings gave me money! Later, I started working in the children's dorm kitchen, washing vegetables for people, and I earned RM 5 a month. After saving up RM20, I sent it back home, but my family didn't dare to accept my money and sent the RM 20 back to me..."

 "They really cared about you! In those tough days, you had the support of your family, which was very fortunate. Now, looking back, we should be grateful. After all, hardships come to an end! There is no adversity that cannot be overcome, right? Listening to the adversity stories of others, we can all share and comfort each other. Everyone has come a long way, haven't they?"

 "That's right! It was really tough back then..."

 "Now you're doing well! Wherever you want to go, Uncle Ng Chiew Seng is happy to give you a ride, and we will also give you a ride to our events. You are our source of joy; why would we let you suffer? Who would be willing to feed you any kind of weird adversity meal! Silly! The most important thing is that we can all come together and enjoy life together!"

 "Okay..."

 "So, does that mean you'll come to the Resilience dinner next time?"

 "Okay!"

 I accompanied her to her doorstep and found that her chicken had laid an egg. She stood happily in front of the door and took a photo with the egg.

 "How nice! We have fresh eggs to eat!" Ooi Chee was very happy.

 On this warm evening, we celebrated happiness and gratitude together because the hardships of life are behind us, and now we are together, creating better life experiences together.