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I am born
Myself, Ping Lee Chau II, was born on November 21, 1861. I was born in my house, because my neighbors were doctors. I was the 13th child to be brought into my family- I had 7 sisters and 6 brothers. My family was extremely poor in China, my dad worked as a farmer and my mother was out of work because of her broken leg, I grew up in a small house with 3 rooms, it was very overcrowded and dangerous in summer when it got horridly hot, also in winter when it got below freezing, -
Father passes away
The winter of 1869, one of the coldest winters in my time. Since our house was very small, there was no room for an actual fire. My father gave me and my siblings his clothes so we were warm. One morning we all woke up to find my father cold, blue, and dead on the floor. He had passed. Since my mother's leg could never work the same again, the only thing she could do to support us was work in the factory. I had to take over my father's extremely hard and time consuming job-farming. -
Immigrating to the United States
Before I left for the United States, which I've heard amazing things about, I had to get my family on their feet. So I worked non-stop for 7 months before my expedition. It was painful, but my family could finally be on their own. The boat ride over was dreadful; hot, cramped, and limited food supply. The only thing on my mind was getting to America and starting my dream of starting a restaurant. But then I remembered the dreaded Angel Island. -
I arrive at Angel Island
When I first arrived at the docks of Angel Island, I was excited, overjoyed actually. I stepped off the boat, onto the dock, and heard the screams of pain coming from inside the building. Going into this building to earn my freedom all of a sudden became a nightmare to me. I had to stay at the filfthy place for 3 months because of my legal trouble; when I was 14 I stole from a market because my family was starving. After that, I was completely cleared and on my way to America. -
I finally start making a living and being able to supporting myself
Before this, I was working in a overcrowded factory. This is the day I was able to open my restaurant, which was my dream. It was doing extremely well. It was centered in China Town, which was in San Francisco, not very far from Angel Island. I lived in a tenement all by myself, I was going to make my second dream come true; start and raise a family. -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 shuts down business
Since my business flourished, I had made pretty good money for a new immigrant. Because my restaraunt was mainly asian cuisine, the white Americans weren't used to the type of food, but enjoyed it. In fact, most of my customers were white. When the Chinese Exclusion Act was made, my customers went down to almost none because of the racism towards Asians. My restaraunt quickly shut down shortly after the act was made. I lived in a tenement by myself, and was barely making it, I was very poor. -
I have no job, move down to Arizona
After my restaraunt was shut down, I had little money. I looked for another job, but no one, not even a factory wanted Asian workers. I was desperate, so I moved down to Arizona to work in a coal mine. It wasn't an ideal job, but it worked for now. The one day that changed my life; September 7, 1882. I was working in the coal mine, I don't know how or why, but an explosion had sparked. It sizzled my leg off and burnt most of the skin on my waist, I was sent to the hospital immediately. -
Nurse at the hospital and I marry
The previous days, I had been in the hopsital passed out. The pain was so severe I had was unconscious. Then that lead to a coma for two days, and I finally woke up. The day I woke up, a nurse who was taking care of me and I hit it off immediately. One month later, we were finally married. We didn't have many plans, so we stayed in Arizona for a few months. I then got the worst news of my life. -
The worst news of my life
I had been so busy in America, I had completely forgot about my family, I recieved a letter that day. It was a letter from the Chinese government, telling me that my whole family had been murdered. They had been killed by a vicious business owner who had wanted my family's award winning recipes. He wanted to bring honor to his family so badly he murdered them to get it. My twelve brothers and sisters, and my mother all dead. I couldn't believe it. -
My life has finally become my dream
Today, is one of the happiest days of my life. My first child was born today; Ping Lee Chau IV. Me and my wife, Zhi Peng Wei Long LXXXVIII, had a child before, five years ago, named Ping Lee Chau III. He caught a horrible disease and passed away. Me and my new family moved back into China Town, in San Francisco, and opened a new restaraunt. It made even more business than before, and we lived in a small slum. Our child is now taking over my business. My wife died of AIDS shortly after we moved.
