Grandpa's Big foot & Grandma's 3" Golden Lily『三寸金蓮』。

My Grandpa was very tall and handsome. Grandma was tiny and half size of Grandpa. Their marriage were thru a match-maker. As for grandma, she had all the old virtue of Chinese tradition with all the leaning thru verbal teaching handed down from generation to generation. She could recite Hundred Family Name three worded verse and Buddhism chattering.

After Sino-Japanese War, our family safely returned to Nan-chon. Grandpa were allocated a faculty quarter which was only big enough to hold 2 double beds and dining table.

I was assigned to sleep with Grandma while 8 years old, while little uncle had to crunch with grandpa. It always amazed me in the chilly morning that the familiar heavy steps pounding the wooden floor that woke me up. I knew exactly that was grandpa coming back from morning market. We would wake up in the cold air and had soil-bean curt milk with steamed rice burger.

The winter was not very enjoyable while sleeping in a room without heating.

I recalled while lying in other end of the bed, I was told to hug grandma’s tiny 3' lily-foot while in bed. I guess that I would serve as a foot warmer.

I was always curious about the shape of the dis-formed foot with toes bent inward. It must be very painful during her childhood for wrapping up the front toes. Some time when I asked grandma: " is it still painful while walking?" She said:" No, the only thing I was not feeling well was the time while running away from refuging of escaping Japanese invasion."

While hugged in my sleep, I liked to hold the lily shaped foot upper part because there were some

soft tissue so tender that made me feeling of touching the small pet belly. When my hand caressed

around her food she felt tickling and removed my hand right there.

During the war, as a school teacher grandpa had to take care a family of eight. That was too much burden economically. To reduce the financial hardship, grandpa had to send me & another brother away to the orphanage for a short period of time until situation improved.

One day I was falling down from upper bunk bed and hurt my hand. The words spread out and grandma was insisting taking me home. They saved a bit money and immediately arranged to pick me up to Chi-An school. They asked local military truck driver to send me home.

Upon home coming, I vividly recalled that grandpa looked at me under a deemed light, I could not help bust into tears and running to his chair said: " Grandpa....I am home. Hm ......’ Both of the silver haired old man and lady also cried with tears in their eyes and said: " don’t cry, you are home now...." Grandma tightly hugged me with hand caressed my head and shoulder.

That night I slept with grandpa. I used to comment about his big and cold feet. After that night did not care any more. In stead, I was feeling all the warm of a good home to where I belong.

I started being a food warmer of grandpa for a couple years until they could afford to have my

own bed.