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My family used to live on Upper Cross Street, in the upper storey of a shophouse like the one photographed above. Back then, this area consisted of rows of shophouses, with residences lined along the top floor, and commercial stores on the ground level. There was a laundry shop directly below us, and our neighbours included a florist and an electrical goods store.
我家以前就在克罗士街上段一间店屋的楼上，就如同以上照片所示。当时，这一带都是一排排的店屋，店屋的楼上是住家，底层则是商店。我家楼下就是一间洗衣店，隔邻则是生花店和电器店。

We were just a few steps away from People’s Park Complex, a bustling building that many people frequented. By contrast, our street was a quiet one, made up of a small and tightly-knit community familiar with everyone’s business.
我家与珍珠坊只是咫尺之遥，那是一座繁华的购物大厦，很多人都到此光顾。相比之下，我们这一条街是较为宁静的，是个彼此都很熟络、虽小却紧密的社区。

 

As with most traditional shophouses, our home had two bedrooms in front with their windows facing the street, and a dining area, kitchen, and air well at the back. All 12 members of my family stayed here— my two grandmothers, two parents, and eight of us children. We were four girls and four boys. The boys shared a single bed.
就像大多数传统的店屋，我们家前面有两间卧房其窗户是临街的，屋子的后面则是饭厅、厨房和天井。我们一家大小十二口就住在这里边——那是我的两位祖母、父母以及我们八个小孩儿。我们共有四个男孩儿和四个女孩儿。男孩儿睡觉时就共用一张单人床。

My father, a first generation immigrant, came to Singapore in his 20s. He arrived with the bare essentials, and only knew how to sign his own name. With hard work and perseverance, he managed to bring up all eight of us children and ran his own traditional Chinese medicine trading business.
我的父亲是第一代移民，他二十几岁时来到新加坡。他带着最基本的随身物品，也只懂得如何签自己的名字。凭着勤奋和毅力，他经营自己的传统中药生意把我们这八个小孩儿养大成人。

My father’s social life was deeply ingrained within Chinatown. A big fan of movies, he would also visit local movie houses such as Oriental and Majestic Theatre with family and friends.
我父亲的社交生活深深植根于牛车水。他是个超级电影迷，也常常带着家人或朋友一起到本土的电影院如东方戏院和大华戏院看电影。

One of his best friends ran a Chinese medical herb shop on the next street, Mosque Street. This street and this shop hold many memories for me. One thing I will always remember about this shop is the strong smell of Chinese herbs, which used to linger on my clothes for hours. My father used to visit the shop at night to play mahjong with his kakis, sometimes bringing me along when he had to take care of me. I would sit by the table and observe the adults playing mahjong. And that was how I learnt to play the game. This carried on for decades, even after our family moved out of Chinatown.
他的一个非常要好的朋友在隔壁的摩士街开了一间售卖传统中草药的店铺。这条街和这间店铺给我留下了许多的记忆。有一件事让我永远记得这间店，就是那股浓烈的药材味常常附着在我的衣物上久久不能去除。我父亲常常和几个麻将友在晚间到店里去打麻将，有时候他必须照顾我也就会带着我一同前往。 我就坐在麻将台旁观看大人们打麻将。这就是我学会怎么打麻将的由来。几十年来都是这样，即使是我们家搬离了牛车水后亦然如此。

After my father passed away, I would occasionally pass by this street, and the strong smell of herbs would always take me back to the days of sitting by the mahjong table.
我父亲过世之后，我偶尔也会经过这条街，而那股浓烈的药材味总是让我回到那坐在麻将台旁的日子。

The business carried on for many years. The shopowner, like my father, had passed the running of his medicine shop to the next generation. According to my brothers, they had been struggling for some time due to increasing rents and poor business. A few years ago, the family downsized and moved their signboard indoors as a sub-tenant. It was difficult to locate the shop, and I was very happy when I eventually found it. Even though the street now looks completely different, with new cafes, shops, and restaurants, the faint smell of the Chinese herbs remains.
那生意经营了好些年。药材店的老板，也和我父亲一样，将业务交给另一代人去管理
。听我的兄弟们说，他们曾经为了屋租高涨和生意惨淡而挣扎了好一段日子。前几年，他们决定缩小店面的空间，并且将自家的招牌往店内移，成了二房东。那间店不容易找，而我很高兴最终还是把它找到了。虽然那条街现在已全然不同昔日，有了新的咖啡馆、商店和餐馆，但还是遗留下一股淡淡的药材味……

I have recently retired from work. These days, I like to walk around Chinatown recollecting memories. On these walks, I am always happy to see that there is still a lively community of white-haired folk in the area. They remind me of my own father, who used to spend his free time the same way with his other retired friends.
我最近刚刚退休，而在这段日子里，我喜欢到牛车水去走动走动，打发时间，重拾旧日的记忆。闲逛中，我总是很开心地看到这里仍是个银发族活跃的社区。这让我记起我的父亲，他习惯和一群退休的朋友以同样的方式来打发时间。

The Chinatown I explore today is a very different place from the Chinatown where I spent my childhood years. The shophouse that I grew up in is gone. My home and the two streets behind mine, Upper Nankin Street and Upper Chin Chew Street, were demolished. In their place now stands Hong Lim Complex. It is a drastic change.
我今天所探索的牛车水与我童年时代的牛车水有着很大的差异。我们兄弟姐妹一起在那里成长的那间店屋已经不复存在了。我家和屋后的两条街，南京街上段及珍珠街上段，已经全被拆除了。在那原有的地方现在变成了芳林苑。这真的是彻彻底底的改变。

To me, all these changes represent progress. It is important for Singaporeans today to know about the living conditions of the past, so that they understand that such progress was only possible with the hard work and tenacity of earlier generations.
对我来说，所有的这些变化就代表进步。重要的是要让今天的新加坡人知道过去的生活条件，故而使他们明白惟有先辈们的辛勤与坚韧不拔，才能取得如此的进步。

译/蔡美娥