I’m told Leung was terrified by the formal rituals and cried throughout the proceedings, and though my great-grandmother was no older than him, she comforted and tried to reassure him. Her family wasn’t wealthy and she brought barely anything with her to the marriage other than a few handmade kitchen utensils and some sticks of furniture; in keeping with tradition the new couple moved into Leung’s parents’ house, where they were expected to behave according to a strict code of propriety.

They were forbidden to show any overt affection for one another, and Tai Po’s duty was to obey and serve her mother-in-law. She did the housework and she worked in the fields of the family farm, but her most important task was producing a male heir for the family – everything else was secondary. Leung and Tai Po were lucky that although their marriage was arranged they got on well despite the pressures they faced from Leung’s clan.

As they worked and lived side by side they developed a mutual respect which soon deepened into love. As daughter-in-law, Tai Po had the lowest status in the household, and Leung was bound to defer to his parents always, but he managed to be a supportive, caring husband who stood by her through hard times. They were hard times, too.

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