Childhood In The Thirties 4
With Chinese New Year we, sons, daughters, sons-, daughters-in-law, grand children and other family relatives, almost a hundred came in Jamboe together and every one, member was proud and felt it as an honor, an unforced duty.
My granddad was very strong and we all had great respect for him. He was the strongest, toughest, was land lord, owner of an estate, rubber plantation and business. His sons and sons in-law were mere “poor, miserable” employee’s, clerks. In his fifties he could still lift up a weight of about 20 Kg with one hand and he could have me and my younger brother both on his palms up in the air as in a circus. His sons, sons in-law couldn’t outdo him. I never saw him visit a doctor.
Mother told us that when he was young he was head of coolies. He was very strong and severe. He would beat them doing their work badly. He did not go to school but succeeded to read and write, moreover to calculate. He said to me that even a cent is valuable, if you lack just half a cent you wouldn’t be a millionaire. After having eaten his meal his plate was clean and he challenged his grandchildren, that if they ever could find a grain of rice on his plate he’ll give you sepicis, for every grain of rice left, that is 10 cents of a Dutch guilder. He sometimes teases me, little child, to arrange the coins in groups of ten each. I don’t know whether he is a millionaire, maybe ton-aire and that’s a lot, for he could buy himself a car, an estate, a fortune from a Dutch landlord. He was once cheated a lot of money he would never forget. He had to sign a contract before the notary as having received the money, before he had received it as he trusted the promise of the purchaser to pay him afterwards.
Perhaps, my mother grew up when the estate, the garden were still beautiful, there was a stately landlord’s carriage. At that time her mother probably still lived. She didn’t go to school but there was a governess to teach his daughters and sons so they could speak Dutch.
He had a safe, a double barreled gun. Now don’t think that I’m praising, idolizing him because he was my granddad but certainly, he – he never showed his affections -, and all my aunts liked us, me and my younger brother as we were cute cherubs living in a pavilion of his house and we loved them too. But now am I a scarecrow, ha, ha, ha and they’re almost all, gone.
With Chinese New Year we, sons, daughters, sons-, daughters-in-law, grand children and other family relatives, almost a hundred came in Jamboe together and every one, member was proud and felt it as an honor, an unforced duty.
My granddad was very strong and we all had great respect for him. He was the strongest, toughest, was land lord, owner of an estate, rubber plantation and business. His sons and sons in-law were mere “poor, miserable” employee’s, clerks. In his fifties he could still lift up a weight of about 20 Kg with one hand and he could have me and my younger brother both on his palms up in the air as in a circus. His sons, sons in-law couldn’t outdo him. I never saw him visit a doctor.
Mother told us that when he was young he was head of coolies. He was very strong and severe. He would beat them doing their work badly. He did not go to school but succeeded to read and write, moreover to calculate. He said to me that even a cent is valuable, if you lack just half a cent you wouldn’t be a millionaire. After having eaten his meal his plate was clean and he challenged his grandchildren, that if they ever could find a grain of rice on his plate he’ll give you sepicis, for every grain of rice left, that is 10 cents of a Dutch guilder. He sometimes teases me, little child, to arrange the coins in groups of ten each. I don’t know whether he is a millionaire, maybe ton-aire and that’s a lot, for he could buy himself a car, an estate, a fortune from a Dutch landlord. He was once cheated a lot of money he would never forget. He had to sign a contract before the notary as having received the money, before he had received it as he trusted the promise of the purchaser to pay him afterwards.
Perhaps, my mother grew up when the estate, the garden were still beautiful, there was a stately landlord’s carriage. At that time her mother probably still lived. She didn’t go to school but there was a governess to teach his daughters and sons so they could speak Dutch.
He had a safe, a double barreled gun. Now don’t think that I’m praising, idolizing him because he was my granddad but certainly, he – he never showed his affections -, and all my aunts liked us, me and my younger brother as we were cute cherubs living in a pavilion of his house and we loved them too. But now am I a scarecrow, ha, ha, ha and they’re almost all, gone.
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