Chapter Six
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Princess Gold
S M Bong urged me to join him for dinner in Kuching, the Capital of Sarawak. I remember one of the best restaurant introduced by my good friend P P Goh is Sing Zui Siang ( literally means fresh leafy green and Siang means best Aroma ). That sounds like a good place to get a goumet with nice taste and delicate aroma.
We have chosen a corner cotton sofa which is just firm and comfortable. We ordered Zui Siang Tofu, shich is steamed soft bean curd with seaweed with fantastic sauce, which left the best blended taste lingered around the taste buds for hours.
He stopped drinking and eating, then lowered his voice to a wispering tone.
' That huge Gold nugget must be more than a hundred kilograms. It is easy to calculate, isn't it.' He didnot wait for my answer.
' It is best to say fortune and luck picked those who were prepared for it' he waved his head left and right as I could feel that he wanted to sigh but I heard nothing but his sudden addition of comments.
' That huge lump of gold should have a metal chern with best rope to carry it hundred of feet from the pit. It was stupid not to use those old rope and baskets and non of them withstood the heavy precious metal. What a waste ! ! !' He muttered ' with the sound cheeet cheeet cheeet.' ( that sound produced traditionally by the local people by the putting the tongue over the inner edge of the upper gum and teeth, then suck together with the tongue just like the tender loving kiss )
One would notice such beautiful culture as the local naturalized people automatically share the empathy with the ' Cheeet cheeet cheeet sound ' as they regret the loss fortune. Usually they would persit with some comfort then proceed to their work, and hope for a better future.
S M Bong rasied up his voice after a short day dreaming,
'Those days the Rajah Brooke taken away a lot of money. Every head or person in all house holds was taxed four Reals ( Currency amount used during King Brooke period. You see !'
His favorite expression of ' you see' if he is really keen on that subject.
I could not help but interrupt him by stating that Governor Makota from Brunei Sultan charged higher annual tax per capital.
' That was like head hunting by collecting cash which was very difficult for the remote country side people. They could pay in poultry, eggs, coconut or Durian ( a type of fruit claimed to be of utmost nutritious value), but how could they charged them 4 reals in cash. Ehh, you see....the gold miners got double tax as half the harvest would be taxed again.'
I nodded my head to agreed with his general remark of money collected as I learned that after the second world war, King Vyber Brooke ( Rajah Vyner Brooke ) ceded Sarawak Kingdom to the British government at a price of one million Sterling pounds trust to his benefit to exchanged for British control of more than two million pounds, sent from Sarawak to British bank ( estimate much more sent to UK duringthe one hundred over years of Brooke family control in Sarawak). That was a lot of money since the population of Sarawak in 1859 was less than twenty thousand people. In 1867 USA bought Alska from Russia at the price of seven million and two hundred thousand US dollars.
I signaled to S M Bong, pointing at the fantastic looking dishes and I said,
' It is getting cold, let us try some good thing. It is best to hit the iron while it was hot'
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