At the age of 16 daddy came to the U.S.A. It was the year 1883, a time when steamboats were not yet prevalent. He worked in the laundry trade in Philadelphia. At the turn of the century he joined some friends venturing into the Chop Suey trade in Norfolk, Va. After establishing respectable financial credibility he returned to his Taishan village in 1911 to take an 18 year old bride.