English

Dear Diary,
Today (0) are a busy day for my family. Early in the morning, we (9) clean the whole house because our cousins from Sabah are arriving (10) in Monday. My father washed the curtains and my mother cleaned the kitchen. My little brother and I tidied (11) ours bedroom. We found (12) a old photo album under the bed. It was full of pictures of my parents when they were young! We laughed (13) loud when we saw my father's funny hairstyle.
In the afternoon, my mother taught me how to make sambal. It is (14) more hot than the sambal my aunt makes, and my eyes were full of tears after I cut the onions! After dinner, my brother wanted to play games on the tablet, (15) so my mother said no because it was late. I am tired now, but I am happy. I hope my cousin Nadia (16) like my sambal!

In 2016, Puan Fatimah Hassan, known to everyone as Mak Teh, started selling kuih from her small kitchen in Kampung Gajah, Perak. At first, she only made kuih lapis for her neighbours. Today, her business, Kuih Mak Teh, sends more than 2,000 pieces of kuih a day to shops in Ipoh and Teluk Intan.

Mak Teh does not work alone. Her two daughters help her in the kitchen, and her son, Faizal, takes care of the business's Facebook page. Altogether, there are eleven workers, and most of them are women from the village.

Many people think that kuih lapis is Mak Teh's best-seller, but it is not. Her best-selling kuih is onde-onde, with its sweet gula Melaka inside. "Children love the surprise when it bursts in their mouths," she says with a laugh.

Customers used to order by phone. Since 2020, they have ordered through a mobile app that Faizal built with a friend. The business is busiest in the month of Ramadan, when orders go up three times.

Mak Teh has big plans. Next year, she wants to start a kuih-making class for young people in the village hall. "I want our old recipes to live on," she says. And the secret of her kuih? "Fresh coconut milk every morning. Never from a packet!"

Last year, my grandmother, Tok Ma, turned seventy-two. She had never used a smartphone. (33) ________ So, when my uncle gave her one for her birthday, she put it in a drawer and forgot about it.

Everything changed during the school holidays. (34) ________ On the first night, I found the phone in the drawer. Its battery was flat, so I charged it. (35) ________ Tok Ma looked at the screen and smiled. "Now I can read it!" she said.

Every afternoon after that, we had a "phone class" on the verandah. First, I showed her how to make video calls. (36) ________ Next, she learned to send voice messages, because typing was still hard for her fingers.

(37) ________ She asked me to show her cooking videos. She watched people making her favourite dish, rendang, and she laughed. "They are doing it wrong," she said. "They forgot the kerisik!"

That gave me an idea. (38) ________ I held the phone while she cooked, and then I put the video on the internet. (39) ________ People wrote kind comments, and some of them asked for her other recipes.

Today, Tok Ma has her own cooking channel with twenty videos. (40) ________ She says the phone has not changed her, but it has brought her family and many new friends into her kitchen.