LEE Pey Wang had to trade his baking job in Singapore for farming in his Bidor hometown in the blink of an eye.
That took place in December last year after his 59-year-old farmer father Lee Sek Thong died suddenly of bacterial infection.
Pey Wang, 31, has a 29-year-old brother, Lee Pay Kang, who is an architect in Singapore.
Pey Wang may have been a reluctant farmer at first, but he took the change in stride.
He now stays with his 53-year-old mother Teoh Hong Ching in Kampung Baru Kuala Bikam in Bidor, Perak.
“I did not even know the exact location of my father’s farm if not for his worker,” he said.
While adaptability grows out of necessity, Pey Wang said he actually enjoyed the simple rustic life.
“I like to see the trees growing healthily and bearing fruits,” said Pey Wang, who has mostly ambarella, jambu air and guava trees on his farm.
He is on his farm between 7 am and 11 am and between 3 pm and 7 pm daily.
“There is no day off, public holiday, or annual leave when you are a farmer,” he said.
But it is more than tending to the farms for this young farmer.
He said while he had a lot to learn, he was grateful to friends in nearby villages who were very helpful.
And in this era of technology, Pey Wang said he also linked up with other farmers to exchange information, share experiences and learn from each other.
In his hometown, Pey Wang also enjoyed the company of his childhood friends, meeting up for drinks and having a chat.
He said some of them were working in Kuala Lumpur and they came back to the village over the weekends as the village was less than two hours’ drive from the capital city.
In fact, he said they had fewer opportunities to meet up when they were working in Kuala Lumpur.
Pey Wang, who took up baking in Ipoh, had worked in Kuala Lumpur before moving to Singapore.
Life in the city was just too hectic, he said, and most of the time, it was juggling between work and home.
To the question of whether baking was a closed chapter for him, Pey Wang said he would focus on his farm for now.
He sees his 10 years of working experience, from working in small bakeries to an international cafe chain, as good exposure.
On agro-tourism which is increasingly popular nowadays, Pey Wang reckoned the potential was there.
As to why he chose to take up baking, he said he liked to cook and watching food programmes was his hobby since young.
His work exposure and hobby would certainly be helpful if he chooses to venture into agro-tourism.
Source: The Star