"Ke Nan Dinner" - The taste of overcoming difficulties and perseverance.

The mysterious chef of Ke Nan Dinner is Teacher Joyce. She came with a stew pot and ignited our curiosity. Everyone was guessing, but no one could’ve thought that tonight’s side dishes would be braised eggs and fermented bean curd.

When Teacher Joyce shared her experience in overcoming difficulties, she couldn't help but take us back in time–back to her parents’ life in ancient times.

Her parents were born in the 1940s and experienced war. The hardships of life shaped their perseverance. Joyce's father studied hard and became an early college student who graduated from Nanyang University in Singapore. He picked up a pointer and became a teacher. Her mother was a housewife who raised seven children. The family relied on frugality to survive, suffering through the difficulties of life.

Joyce recalled that when the family was financially strapped, her mother would often cook a pot of porridge because it used less rice and it could feed the whole family. Their mother taught them to keep their plate clean and not waste food, because they understood that food was hard-earned.

"My mother often told us not to waste food. When I grew up, when I saw my classmates eating, if they found it tasted bad, they would throw it away and stop eating it. I couldn't do it. Because we grew up, no matter how bad the food was, we would swallow it..."

The experience of overcoming difficulties as a child made her independent and strong character. When she went to Taiwan to study a few years ago, Joyce, as a single mother, lived frugally, just to pursue her ideals, and lived a life of difficulties.

"I already had three children at that time. In order to achieve my ideal, I used my own savings to support my education, so I had to live frugally and not play around or spend money randomly. When I didn't have money, I would boil an egg with a bowl of rice. Or a bowl of porridge, so I will also eat Kenan meal in Taiwan..."

However, Joyce emphasized that there will always be hardships in life. Sometimes you have to overcome them, and sometimes you can enjoy good food. Today, she shares this experience with us to let us understand the importance of cherishing food and adhering to ideals.

We enjoyed this dinner with gusto. It was not only a warm gathering, but also a touching true story that reminded us to be grateful for life and to be content as long as we are not hungry.