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(Part 1)

THEN with broken heart, this old man the next day took his granddaughter to the pawnhouse. He was accepted by pawn employee smiling, looking at this fifteen-year-old girl from head to foot, as if assessing the value of an object to be pawned. Then he nodded and wrote to a letter of pawning while grumbling.

“Beautiful enough, the body shape is pretty good, it’s just a little thin and pale!”

“Sss … since yesterday she hasn’t … eaten …” Lim Bun said with a squeeze-like heart.

“Hm, I should only dare to give fifty tail, but because of pity, let me give you seventy tail for a time period of two months. The interest is one fifth, and must be returned two months later. If within two months it is not paid off, your granddaughter Will become the property of Siong-wangwe.”

The grandfather wide-eyed, “Only seventy tail …? You appreciate my granddaughter for only seventy …?

“Kong-kong, seventy tail of silver is enough to buy seeds. Cultivate our rice-field well so that you can earn money to redeem me back.”

With tears in her eyes, the old man saw when his granddaughter with bowed face followed a pawnhouse employee into somewhere unknown.

With sluggish steps, Lim Bun then went home. It was true that today his family got helped from the danger of starvation thanked to the money and the body of his youngest grandchild could be buried properly. However, it turned out that the rainy season at that time was so stingy dropping water. Only a small amount of rain fell on the slot of his rice-field but it rained a lot in other places.

To irrigate his rice-field, Lim Bun was forced to rely on the flow of tributarisles from other regions. He worked hard assisted by his daughter and grandchildren who were still small, hoeing hard ground and making ditches to drain water into his rice-field. As for the remaining money he used it to buy rice seeds to be spread in the field.

Even though the time period of redeeming Siauw Kim was just two months, but if the rice in his rice-field would already appeared fat and fertile, he could easily sell it to rich people who usually buy rice-field’s matter before harvest at a much cheaper price.

But it turned out that Siong Tat and his henchmen were really very cruel. After Siauw Kim was given enough food and proper clothing, this girl’s beauty appeared. Siong Tat felt loss if the girl could be finally redeemed by Lim Bun.

Secretly he then gave orders to his men. A month later, when the Lim Bun’s rice-field had begun to be filled with verdant rice-stalks, one morning Lim Bun was startled by the sight of how his rice-field had been destroyed. All young rice-stalks were uprooted and completely damaged.

Lim Bun became pale and he almost fainted seeing the state of the rice-field. While running around, he shouted, “Who uprooted my rice …? Ah, which human is so cruel to do this disaster to me …?”

Other people who were working in their fields, felt very sorry for the almost-crazy old man. A neighbor, who was well acquainted with Lim Bun’s situation, then approached him and held his hand, “Kim-lopek, who else to be able to do such damned deed except Siong-wangwe’s henchmen?! This must be their action.”

Lim Bun stared at the person, “But why? Why??” The person just shrugged then continued his work while looking at him with compassion.

“Siong Tat, cruel bast*rd! I have to make a reckoning with you!” the old man shouted and immediately ran towards the house of Siong Tat. However, before entering the courtyard of the building, he was expelled by five guards and immediately he was thrown out when he insisted to meet Siong-wangwe.

Lim Bun woke up again, now he ran to the pawnhouse near the building-house. He ran into and when he arrived in front of the pawnhouse-employee’s table, he shouted loudly as pounding the table.

“Turn my granddaughter back! Release Siauw Kim! You have intentionally damaged my rice-field so I can’t redeem Siauw Kim! You cheeky, devil-hearted bast*ard! Release Siauw Kim, my granddaughter!”

The pawnhouse employee came out followed by several bouncers. The bouncers were already going to intervene against the old man who had made this noise, but the employee raised his hand to prevent them, then smiling he said, “Old man, it seems that you are yet senile! You are incapable of taking care of your rice-field, so don’t blame others. You have pawned your granddaughter and two months are still two weeks later. If you couldn’t pay off your debt in those two weeks, just let your granddaughter become Siong-wangwe’s slave because she would be more like it than being as your granddaughter. Well this, Siong-wangwe’s still even generously give you an additional thirty tail of silver if you want to let your granddaughter become his now!” the employee then took out a pile of silver on the table in front of the old man.

But Lim Bun slapped the money so that it clashing fell onto the floor. “Unwilling! I’m not willing to accept this illicit money! Quickly release my granddaughter, otherwise I will report it to Tikoan!”

Now the employee gave an eyed-sign and the two bouncers then stepped forward, holding the old-man’s arm and with a single swing the old-man’s body floated out of the pawnhouse. Lim Bun squealed and her body fell onto the ground. Fortunately the old man fell with body-back touching the ground first, if it was his head, it was very likely he would die. But the fact that he was yet old and weak, so that his downfall was enough to make him unable to wake up for a long time. Some people who were pity then helped him to wake up.

While crying and cursing, Lim Bun went straight to a powerhouse of the city to face and report the situation. But after the Tikoan checked the pawning letter, there he read texts stating that Siauw Kim had been sold as a slave to Siong-wangwe for one hundred silver. It turned out that the old man was illiterate and could not read. The letter considered by as a normal pawning letter turned out to be a sales letter of his granddaughter.

“Old man, the letter states that you’ve sold your child voluntarily and this is legitimate. Why now you want to break the promise then make a fuss? Don’t you know that Siong-wangwe is a polite, generous man? As for the impudence you should be punished by fifty lashes on your back, but considering that you are old and your brain starts to be tilted, you are only given a warning sentence of ten lashes!"

This wise, fair judge for only tycoons ordered the executor, then the executor quickly tore the old-man’s shirt, kicked his knee so the old man collapsed face down and hit his back ten times with a large lash.

The old man of course cried out loud in pain. His skin-back was broken and bleeding, but the pain in his heart was still far greater than the pain on his back. He was then evicted like a dog, and with staggered hobbled steps, he then stepped out of the judge’s house.

How could he deliver this news to his daughter and grandchildren at home? This old man became very confused and then made a reckless decision. Suicide!!!

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