Golden Cow Sarawak
Chapter one
Sarawak was a beautiful country. It was protected by United Kingdom officially just like the the pretty country Brunei.
She is gorgeous now with thousands square kilometres of man made lakes. Tiny percentage of beautiful, elegant tropical forest that is protected by natural mountain range of the northern part of Borneo island.
Borneo island is like a shape of chicken nugget. This is the best paradise in the world. The ladies of Karabit county is fair, gentle. They smile like the morning sun, beaming through the misty canopy of the luxury yellowish green of tree tops, extending the loving gesture towards the rich juicy mature green of the main tropical forest. It is the main body of Sarawak.......a country on Borneo island.
It was great to see my friend Mr. S M Bong( Siew Ming Bong)after 10 years of absent, like the evaporation of the mountain mist, hejust naturally disappeared in the mountain of Sarawak. He looks exactly the same as he smiled broadly and talked staccato violin style with compassion.
The story of the Gold Cow ( that was the natural glittering gold nugget found by the hard working people of Bau town. It was/is as huge as a cow, thus the name gold cow) stirred up the air again.
We are having 22 degrees Celcius cool air condition in a secret Restaurant. While the workers are sweating repairing the tar surface road next to the restaurant. After a cup of Robusta branded coffee, the best coffee in the world, he dreamed of that gold cow again. He must have dreamed of that shinning metal all the time, where he landed. He is always happy and optimistic. His trade mark or motto is ' No Problem...nnng' ( nnng, ng sound like ernest with out est).
He repaeted tha to me again. I enjoy this type of bed side story type of environment. That remind me of my late mum, respectable madam Jong Ah Moo( Jong is the sir name). She used to sang and tell story and the best I remember is the poem:
' Yet Kong Kong, Hok Chung Kiong
Kiong monk Bong, Hok zoo Tong
Tong monk june, hok tak loong
Loong Chi guay, kiam he my
my though sum teal chien..........( Golld Cow Sarawak , chapter one , page 1)
Chapter Two
Kuching Sarawak
The best coffee of the world. I met this genius Mr. Y Y Cheng, who presents with broad smile 99% of all encounters in various places in Kuching. He is crazy in upgrading quality coffee. Natural and pure fragrance with dreamy aroma is the best description for his coffee. Sarawak is shaded by lots of coconut trees along the sea side since ancient time. The mass increase of coconut plantation cum coffee plantation started 30 years ago.
Initially the farmers drank Arabica coffee which is offering a full body yet sour ending. The reason is the hot and humid climate even though there are patches of cool shade especially in coconut plantations and forest sheltered area.
The cool breeze during winter of north hemisphere is a gift to the coffee plant. In this case mainly the Arabica coffee.
Recently, there are famers planting Robusta species coffee. Full body, smooth, gentle and lasting aroma is the beauty of this coffee.
I learned from Mr. Y Y Cheng and brended my own coffee. The best coffee is available with immediate roasting at optimum temperature with five stars stainless stell roller or roaster. The moment one grind the coffee seed, people around the site would turn their head, turn their nose, and lift up their ears to detect any possible clue of the source. It is fun to learn coffee appreciation art. One would enjoy coffee by trying different flavour especially golden chern butter, a tidy bit of double cream, first class brown sugar which should be your choice to adjust the quantity. It is wonderfully sweet. Really everyone should try different first class aroma, taste luring product. It is true in life. You have to try the best.
One special clue of nice coffee is using bone China, make it hot by hot water rinsing then make a really hot coffee. Then everythin is beautifully hot.
As Mr. S M Bong and me sipping, sniffing through with the brended Robusta, he cannot help but dreaming of Gold Cow. I reminded him there are many golden things in life. A poor man enjoy golden age with hardworking lawyer son helping him all the time in his horticulture hobbies. My neighbouring lady laughing all the time with grandchildren more precious than gold. No body should blam Mr. S M Bong. The image of Gold Cow is deep in his heart.
As he visualized the Gold Cow, he told me the year 1852, a spectacular city town knowned as Siniawan. There are lots of rich residual artifacts visible in this town till this very day.. At Siniawan the largest houses is built the Ong family .I viewd the house 20 years ago. It was huge and there was a sense of tranquility for any people participating around solid house of concrete foundation.
The afternoon sun of 21 December 1852 was really a torch from the sky. The muscular gold miners were digging with all their might. The iron tools hit the hard rock with
banging sound echoing throughout the west hill.
It was really tough to work under the hot sun, especially they were working in a very deep excavation 188 feet below the surrounding hill surface. Y C Lee ( Jun Choy Lee, Lee is the sir name) glaced quickly at the leader Mr. Liew S P rescent working post. Mr. Liew was a man of iron. 180 centimetres tall,well built and always presented a calm and steady look. He was a kind leader who shared the choir.
The shower rain was unusually heavy compare to previous year. The wind was getting stronger and after many days of rain, every where was muddy and slippery. there was a mouldy smell in the air.
Suddenly J C Lee saw a shinning flash of glittering image which was like a dream to him. He felt his heart pumping. For years of gold mine working experience told him that there was something precious right in front of him. He swiftly stroke another three firm digging with his Rooster Brand hoe fixed to a solid Red Cedar wood. Inspite of the rain he felt the salty sweat flowed from his forehead. Another quick stroke owith the hoe....
'G o l d c o w ....... goldd... goldddd.....cowWW ! '
j c Lee could not tolearate the suspense and shouted with trembling voice. It was a great moment for him. He was lucky as his mind raced through all his childhood of Guan Dong origin. He could not help the mind drifted back to 38 years ago, his father told him to be a man at 20 years old. He travelled by junk boat which carried 200 people from San Tao to Singapore, then to Kuching by another much smaller boat His mind drifted to the image of his beautiful first wife in Chao Zao of Southern China. He could finally get enough money to bring his second native Bidayu wife to China and settle there for good. He stroke gold. A gold Cow.
Lee's mind was racing like a wild horse. He was wondering whether his first wife would accept his Bidayu second wife. He thought of thousands of things within that period of climax.
Every body including the leader Mr. S P Liew rushed to the site which was two third from the centre of the great gold mine. He was facing south. He felt like a king facing south. That was always the best direction for any good northern hemisphere houses too, over looking the south.
anyway, the leader Liew kneeled and touched the solid gold. It was unearthed with the hands of many workers. The wole mine was filled with cheers, excitement. Some stood at the edge of the mine as there was not much room to stand in that muddy mine after days of rainning. The on and off sunshine peeked through the dark cloud.
Leader Liew commanded. ' Ruler '
His assistant Ah F Ng said ' oh' and quickly moved as if awaken from a sweet dream. He was a clever man who flattered leader Liew at the right time and gained his trust.
Ah F Ng handed over a cloth ruler and it measured three feet eight inches( measurement used during Ching dysnasty, equavalent to 68 cm length). the mud water came from every corner and before they realsied the danger, half the gold nugget was covered with mud and water.
' move...and be quick. Get the rope and best rotan basket from the store.' Leaser Liew thundered.
The largest Cane basket with rope tied repeatedly to the handle of the basket.
'Give a bit of room. Now J C, come over here. come closer .'
J C Lee was day dreaming and he could not do any thing as he was pushed by the crowd to 10 feet away from his catch-- the Gold Cow.
'
Touch it, J C' The leader called his name but not the sir name as it was proper for him to called that way as he spoke to any of his subordinates.
Mr. J C Lee moved swiftly tothe Gold nugget with broad smile. He touched the gold nugget infront of the leader to signify his right of discovery and entitled to have ten percent of the worth. The leader would have half the share of that gold dound, then he would distribute to his assitant, his body guards and his fourteen group prefects. He had never been to any accounting course and never dream of university, but he kept good figure in a tidy book.
That day the team tried many baskets, many types of ropes with numerous attempt. The gold slipped back to the mine and the mud got more messy and the miners got werry.
It was dark that night and they put up kerosene lamps, flickling torches which were no much of use to fight against the gusting wind which accompanied heavy rain.
The water level rasied and the workers left the pit. The mine was dark and the bottom filled with water.
The next day, those workers guarding the pit and the invisible Gold Cow shivered in the rain and was ordered to take warm water bath and hot porridge. Some prefered orasted rice which was prepared by roasting the precooked and dried rice in hot sand.( Few family boiled that type of rice in hot oil and fried to the right goumet as known as Pu-Mi).
It was in vain as th water level kept rising and the rain poured down from the gloomy sky. for 6 days, the heavy rain continued and the river of Bau( it was not known as Bau town, the name was )and Siniawan swollen to the side of the green hill and crawed towards the foot of the Siniawan mountain. Finally by the 7th day, the rian stopped. those who stayed in Siniawan city( in 1852 Siniawan was a relatively large city compare to 3738 people of Kuching, 7688 people of Gedong basin)
were found to be safe at the top of the community mountain( Cemetery groud called Gung Si San, Gung Si means company or belong tot he community as they spoke in Hakka language )
For one whole week, the whole gold miners community were depressed. Women cuddled their children and grouped into various flower pattern-like school of people. They talked sofely as the leader S P Liew was thinking with plan to be announced soon.
' Let us moved to Sam Kap to prepare for Chinese New year' the leader spoke to all the prefects and ten wise elders.' We will come back after Chinese New year next year. ' Liew pronounced.
That year was a year of moderate harvest. J C Lee did not full fill his dream of going back to China to build a new mansion. He thought of finding that Gold Cow again next uear. ' May be I could dive and get hold of that gold Cow.' Lee told himself.
There was hope...there was alwsys a great sense of hope that kept the people united and continue their deligent work in the gold mines.
