I'm back at the office today, the fifth day of Syawal. This must have been the shortest Raya holiday I ever had! And the most hectic too...!
I was back in my hometown on Thursday night and by 3am Friday morning, Ayah and I was up and running to the market to get the freshest food for Hari Raya. The scene and smell of the early market was amazing. I can't remember when was the last time I experienced this emotions (pasar does to me what most women may fail some of the times...)! Unfortunately, in my excitement to go there, I forgot to bring my camera to capture the hustle and bustle of early morning pasar for all eternity.
Our first stop was the seafood section. There were polystyrene and plastic boxes after boxes of prawns, all kinds of fish, squids, crabs, shellfish and whatever the sea can provide. Ayah, being the sifu, went around the stalls, chit chat with the vendors. He knew the pasar well. Within 5 minutes, we were already at the stall that was selling the freshest prawns of the day. I didn't know that the stalls only get their stocks on alternate days.
"Ah Chai! Bukak la ini kotak semua! Apa macam orang mau beli kalau lu takda bukak..." Ayah directed his monologue to a grinning Chinaman. I know Ah Chai. I got to know him when I used to follow Ayah to the pasar. Sometimes, Ayah just sent me to him to get what Ayah had bought but hadn't had the time to bring it back home. But the Ah Chai I was looking at now has aged.
"Aji! Mau masak lenlang pakai ulang ka? Aji pigi la beli itu lomu lulu...nanti wa bukak la...Aji buleh pilih..."
"Daging sudah lama beli la, Chai...kalau beli sekarang, harga mesti naik punya."
"Haiyah! Ok la, ok la...Aji mau yang busat punya ka...?" Ah Chai said something in Chinese, directing one of his boys to open up a box nearest to him, "Ha, Aji...ini semua busat-busat...belapa kilo Aji mau?"
Ayah looked at me. All the while during his friendly exchange with Ah Chai, I was feasting my eyes on the fishes of various kinds. I knew his look. He wanted me to choose the prawns. It was a test of some kind.
"Ah Chai, bukak lagi satu," I said.
"Ini wa punya anak la, Chai," explained Ayah when he saw the questioning look that Ah Chai threw at me.
"Waahhh...! Haiya...! Wa sulah takla kenal la, Aji... Ini lulu latang kedai wa amik ikan punya anak, kan Aji? Haiya! Lu kija KL...wa lama takla jumpa la...Lu kawin pun, wa ala latang punya...!"
"Iya la, Chai. Saya tau," I lied. I wouldn't have recognised him in his good clothes, attending my wedding. But then, there were thousands of people who came to my wedding and I recognised less than half of them.
Ah Chai asked his boys to open up another box. He kept on talking to Ayah. I ignored them. Ayah was testing me and I need full concentration on this. I looked at the prawns. I scooped a handful of them cautiously. I didn't want to get pricked by one of the sharp "horns" straddling at the heads of the prawns. I studied the prawns. The tips of the tails had no blackened marked. They were fresh. The heads were not that big. They looked ok. I studied the earlier opened box. Did the same routine of inspection. The prawns were bigger. I went to another box. By now, Ah Chai's crew had opened up a number of boxes. Some they poured the contents on the square alloy trays that were lying around on the floor of the pasar, some were still in their respective boxes. I studied a few more prawns from different boxes. The first opened box was my choice.
"Chai, berapa sekilo?" I pointed to the box of prawns.
"Wa sulah cakap, ini kotak semua ulang busat2 punya..." he grinned at me. I grinned back. "Lu mau belapa manyak?"
"Bagi tiga kilo la, Chai," I replied with a grin that hadn't left me. I was embarassed, actually, to have questioned his choice of prawns at the first instance. I should have trusted him. When Ah Chai said that the biggest prawns are in there, believe me, they are. I mean, Ah Chai had been supplying prawns and other seafood (fish, crabs, squids, etc) to Ayah for more than two decades. Ayah wouldn't have gone to the same vendor for the past two decades if he doesn't trust the vendor.
I made a silly mistake. Ah Chai would never have the same trust in me as he had in Ayah. He didn't need to say that up front. His grin told me everything. After I've paid Ah Chai, I made my way to the vegetables section. Ayah chatted with Ah Chai for some time. I don't know what transpired between them. Perhaps Ayah explained to him on my "mistrusted" behaviour towards him. Perhaps Ayah apologised. I don't know. But, I bet you that when Ayah isn't around anymore, I don't think I'll get the same treatment from Ah Chai as he gave to Ayah.
Ayah's test wasn't on me choosing the freshest prawns. The test was the trust he had on AH Chai. He tested me whether I trusted him in putting his trust in Ah Chai. Ayah must have been disappointed. Stupid me.
I was back in my hometown on Thursday night and by 3am Friday morning, Ayah and I was up and running to the market to get the freshest food for Hari Raya. The scene and smell of the early market was amazing. I can't remember when was the last time I experienced this emotions (pasar does to me what most women may fail some of the times...)! Unfortunately, in my excitement to go there, I forgot to bring my camera to capture the hustle and bustle of early morning pasar for all eternity.
Our first stop was the seafood section. There were polystyrene and plastic boxes after boxes of prawns, all kinds of fish, squids, crabs, shellfish and whatever the sea can provide. Ayah, being the sifu, went around the stalls, chit chat with the vendors. He knew the pasar well. Within 5 minutes, we were already at the stall that was selling the freshest prawns of the day. I didn't know that the stalls only get their stocks on alternate days.
"Ah Chai! Bukak la ini kotak semua! Apa macam orang mau beli kalau lu takda bukak..." Ayah directed his monologue to a grinning Chinaman. I know Ah Chai. I got to know him when I used to follow Ayah to the pasar. Sometimes, Ayah just sent me to him to get what Ayah had bought but hadn't had the time to bring it back home. But the Ah Chai I was looking at now has aged.
"Aji! Mau masak lenlang pakai ulang ka? Aji pigi la beli itu lomu lulu...nanti wa bukak la...Aji buleh pilih..."
"Daging sudah lama beli la, Chai...kalau beli sekarang, harga mesti naik punya."
"Haiyah! Ok la, ok la...Aji mau yang busat punya ka...?" Ah Chai said something in Chinese, directing one of his boys to open up a box nearest to him, "Ha, Aji...ini semua busat-busat...belapa kilo Aji mau?"
Ayah looked at me. All the while during his friendly exchange with Ah Chai, I was feasting my eyes on the fishes of various kinds. I knew his look. He wanted me to choose the prawns. It was a test of some kind.
"Ah Chai, bukak lagi satu," I said.
"Ini wa punya anak la, Chai," explained Ayah when he saw the questioning look that Ah Chai threw at me.
"Waahhh...! Haiya...! Wa sulah takla kenal la, Aji... Ini lulu latang kedai wa amik ikan punya anak, kan Aji? Haiya! Lu kija KL...wa lama takla jumpa la...Lu kawin pun, wa ala latang punya...!"
"Iya la, Chai. Saya tau," I lied. I wouldn't have recognised him in his good clothes, attending my wedding. But then, there were thousands of people who came to my wedding and I recognised less than half of them.
Ah Chai asked his boys to open up another box. He kept on talking to Ayah. I ignored them. Ayah was testing me and I need full concentration on this. I looked at the prawns. I scooped a handful of them cautiously. I didn't want to get pricked by one of the sharp "horns" straddling at the heads of the prawns. I studied the prawns. The tips of the tails had no blackened marked. They were fresh. The heads were not that big. They looked ok. I studied the earlier opened box. Did the same routine of inspection. The prawns were bigger. I went to another box. By now, Ah Chai's crew had opened up a number of boxes. Some they poured the contents on the square alloy trays that were lying around on the floor of the pasar, some were still in their respective boxes. I studied a few more prawns from different boxes. The first opened box was my choice.
"Chai, berapa sekilo?" I pointed to the box of prawns.
"Wa sulah cakap, ini kotak semua ulang busat2 punya..." he grinned at me. I grinned back. "Lu mau belapa manyak?"
"Bagi tiga kilo la, Chai," I replied with a grin that hadn't left me. I was embarassed, actually, to have questioned his choice of prawns at the first instance. I should have trusted him. When Ah Chai said that the biggest prawns are in there, believe me, they are. I mean, Ah Chai had been supplying prawns and other seafood (fish, crabs, squids, etc) to Ayah for more than two decades. Ayah wouldn't have gone to the same vendor for the past two decades if he doesn't trust the vendor.
I made a silly mistake. Ah Chai would never have the same trust in me as he had in Ayah. He didn't need to say that up front. His grin told me everything. After I've paid Ah Chai, I made my way to the vegetables section. Ayah chatted with Ah Chai for some time. I don't know what transpired between them. Perhaps Ayah explained to him on my "mistrusted" behaviour towards him. Perhaps Ayah apologised. I don't know. But, I bet you that when Ayah isn't around anymore, I don't think I'll get the same treatment from Ah Chai as he gave to Ayah.
Ayah's test wasn't on me choosing the freshest prawns. The test was the trust he had on AH Chai. He tested me whether I trusted him in putting his trust in Ah Chai. Ayah must have been disappointed. Stupid me.
