No Pains, No Gains

Ah, Mee often wished that she could have some fun like other girls. Some of her friends, she knew, were always going to see the latest films, eating meals in the most expensive restaurants, and always wearing smart clothes. Ah Lan, for example, had at least three party dresses and many cheongsams. “My life is all work,” Ah Mee said to herself one day.

It was indeed all work, because Ah Mee’s mother was dead and so, as well as working hard all day in a departmental store in the large town in which she lived, Ah Mee had to look after her father. She cooked all his meals and kept the house spotlessly clean. But she did not want to spend all her life doing this and so at night when everything else was done, she was teaching herself to type and to do shorthand. She went to classes for this in the evenings sometimes and on her day off as well. One day, I will get a really good job as a secretary to an important man, she used to think. Then I will have much more money and I will be able to send some home to my father so that he can pay someone else to do his housework for him.

So the weeks and the months passed, each one of them seeing Ah Mee working harder than before. Work at the departmental store was tiring. She was very often on her feet all day from morning until night and sometimes, the customers were difficult, unpleasant, and hard to please. Ah, Mee worked at the meat counter, and sometimes, the buyers were never satisfied. One piece of meat would be too fat, another too lean and people grumbled so much, if they could not have exactly the right join of pork. Ah, Mee did not like this job at all and if she had to work in a store, she would have preferred a chemist’s or a smart ladies’ gown shop. However, like many working girls, she needed the money and so she had to persevere.

Work at home, too, was hard. Although, she had only herself and her father to look after, the house, still got dirty and needed to be cleaned. The rich spiced pork dish that her father liked so much, took just as much trouble for two, as they would have done for four or for six people.

“It will all pass, if I work hard enough”, she thought as she walked with her shorthand book to the Commercial School, where she learned shorthand and typing. The room was busy as she entered it. Other girls and boys were already seated behind the typewriters which were all-new since the school had only just opened. The pupils were putting long pieces of white paper into the machines and setting the spaces and margins. Soon the tap, tap, tap, of the keys could be heard as the class began its evening’s work. Ah, Mee became absorbed in hers. She was very tired, but she tried her best to concentrate, looking all the time a the copy lying beside her typewriter.

“You have a good touch”, said a voice. “I have great hopes for you in the diploma examination next week”. She looked up to find the Principal of the School standing by her desk. This was true as an honor. “Your shorthand speeds are good too”, went on the Principal. “Try hard in your examination and then I will help you to find a job. Remember to practice your shorthand at home. If you have no one to dictate to you, the voices on the radio can be used instead.” He walked to the next desk leaving Ah Mee to her work and wondering just what time she could find to fit in any more practice.

The Principal was right of course, as they usually are and Ah Mee obtained her Diploma with very good marks. Now, she is the private Secretary to the Principal himself and has a pleasant job with a good salary. She helps her father to pay for a woman to look after them, and although she is still very industrious, she now has time for pleasure and recreation. She worked hard to achieve the congenial life she leads now because, at an early age, she was wise enough to realize that without pain there can never be any gain.