Jook-Liang, or Liang, is the only girl child in the family. She is the narrator of the first section. She is between the ages of 5 and 8 during her part of the story.
One of the first topics in her section is the difference between girls and boys in Chinese culture. Her interactions with Poh-Poh shed light on the attitude the Chinese had toward girls. As Poh-Poh says, "if you want a place in this world, don't be born a girl-child."
Liang also develops a friendship with Wong-Suk, an old friend of the grandmother. Through Wong, Liang learns of the difficulties of immigrating to Canada, but more so the challenges of succeeding. Liang learns of paper histories, the Chinese Head Tax, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and more.
Through Liang, we are also introduced to the Monkey King, a famous Chinese character. As Wong is deformed, Liang compares him to the Monkey King of Poh-Poh's stories.
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