Golden Peacock - Collection of Short Stories, Volume Eight

Golden Eagle

The mail steamer "Slay Din" from Yangon to Mandalay docked at the Gowen Port in Mandalay, and as the passengers were disembarking with their luggage and bags, a man of about 30 years old leaned against a large tree near the dock, holding a newspaper rolled up in one hand and scratching the ground with a stick in the other. He looked at the passengers who had disembarked earlier, puffing on a small cigarette with a peaceful and serene expression. The passengers also left by horse-drawn carriage, ox-drawn cart, tram, etc., so it was quite sparse, but as they were leaving, a young man of about 20 years old, carrying a small leather bag, followed the two of them and climbed onto the shore. The man who had been leaning against the tree saw him.

" The little girl has a pretty face, and her manners are like a girl's, soft and gentle. She doesn't have any friends in the city, does she? The goldsmiths are trying to force her to come home and cut her up. I don't think the poor girl has ever been to Mandalay. I hope she'll warn me," he thought to himself. When the little girl arrived, he tilted his head slightly so that the goldsmiths wouldn't see her.

Then the boy told the goldsmiths to wait a moment, and approached the man.

" Did you call me?" he asked.

He said, "I called you, brother. If you are staying at the house of the goldsmiths and are eating a lot of money, be careful. Be careful in everything. I don't have any acquaintances in this city."

The boy said, "No, sir, I have never been there before. Thank you for the warning. Besides, if I see a house, I will not stay at their house. Rest assured, I will be careful." The man also felt love for the boy, and he remembered in his heart that if there was a problem, he would not look at the blanket.

“ My house is on Mingalar Market Street, lawyer Maung Ba Shwe, please come and visit me sometime.” The boy said . “Okay, sir, I will go, please allow me.”

Shwe .. “Okay, brother, okay.”

Then Maung Ba Shwe said, “I saw the face of the young man. When I saw him, I didn’t know why, but I fell in love with him. I thought he was just a stranger. I didn’t know what business he had come with. I thought he was just visiting. His clothes were a bit too casual, and he was very gentle and gentle. I’m also lazy. I’ll go towards Inwa.” Then he boarded the ferry that went between Mandalay and Inwa and went towards Inwa to catch some fresh air.

Lawyer Maung Ba Shwe, after graduating from an English school with an IA degree, worked for the government for a few years. He did not have the freedom to live and move around freely, and only those who could do what was right and wrong, such as the saying “Master, servant, please.”, prospered. Maung Ba Shwe also inherited some of his father’s property, but he was also a person who did not accept it, and he was also a person who loved freedom. After studying law and passing the second-grade bar exam, he lived and worked in Mandalay as a lawyer. Although he earned his living as a lawyer, Maung Ba Shwe, like many other lawyers, was not sure whether the case was right or wrong. He did not consider money as the only thing he needed, and he refused to accept the cases of those who wanted to commit crimes with false knowledge, no matter how much bribes were offered. He did not care about the poor and needy cases that were being persecuted by others, and he did not receive a single penny of payment, but he followed them from beginning to end as if he were being persecuted himself. By doing this, the cases that received money were few and the "merit" deeds were abundant, and although his income was very small, Maung Ba Shwe earned enough income from his current property and farms. He had no children, no wife, and no one to depend on. Despite such a small income, he was able to live freely and peacefully without any disturbance in his mind.

Maung Ba Shwe had also gone out to get some fresh air, so although the ship docked at Innwa, he did not disembark and instead followed the rice back towards Mandalay. When he reached his home, he opened one of the letters that had arrived with his name on it and read it.

“ I’m sorry… I

The writer of the letter, U Bo Maung, was a retired Kyaingtaung official who was very fond of raising racehorses, and he raised racehorses in the Mingalar Garden, in front of the Mandalay Palace, east of the market. Maung Ba Shwe did not raise racehorses himself, but he was somewhat fond of horse racing, and he became friends with his assistant U Bo Maung. He used to bet on U Bo Maung's horses in the tarpat races, but he had only lost in the last 5 or 6 races. However, even though Maung Ba Shwe did bet on horse races, he did not bet on large sums of money that would cause him to lose or suffer losses. He only bet a little for fun, and because he himself was quite knowledgeable about horses, he always won every time he bet, and he had only lost in the last 4-5 races. Even though he lost, Maung Ba Shwe did not gamble with the intention of becoming a rich man. He gambled with his strength, as the saying goes, "weight and strength, arrows and bows ." So even though he lost, it was not enough to cause him any harm.

After reading the letter, Maung Ba Shwe was lying back in a reclining chair, puffing on a cigarette, and thinking. When a boy came up to the house,

" Is your Majesty here?" he asked. The boy was none other than the one he had met at the dock.

After Maung Ba Shwe gave the boy a place to sit,

“ What’s wrong, I’ll be right back, brother? Where are you staying? At the goldsmiths’ house?” The boy asked . “I’m staying at their house right now. As I warned you, they’re very demanding. I’ve already spent about 1/2-8/ of the money.”

Shwe .. “These people are like that, brother. They are the only ones who can buy from them. Are you just a tourist?”

Boy : "I came out because I was so angry and wanted to get where I wanted to go. If there were any job opportunities in the city, I would work and live there."

Shwe .. “I remember the child who ran away from his mother and father because he was angry.”

The boy said, "No, sir. I have no parents. I don't want to live in my hometown. I have collected my inheritance and sold it and came to this city to live on my own. I have 2,000 baht in cash." After saying that, the boy took out 20 pieces of 100-baht banknotes neatly folded in a leather bag.

Shwe .. “What city are you from?”

Child : “I am originally from Pathein, but I grew up in Yangon.”

Shwe : “What kind of jobs do you plan to do to make a living?”

Boy : "I can't speak, sir. I have to make a living from whatever I can find."

Gold .. “What skills did you learn?”

Boy : "I passed 7th grade English."

Gold .. “What is your name?”

Boy .. “Brother San Tint, please.”

Gold .. “So you don’t have any plans yet?”

Boy .. “Not yet, sir. I hope that I can live on this little money before I get a job and get a job somewhere before the money runs out.”

Maung Ba Shwe also smoked a cigarette and looked at Maung San Tint's soft, delicate features, the boy's small, delicate limbs, his delicate body language, and his gentle mannerisms for a long time. After that, Shwe said, "If I find you a job, will you do it?"

Boy .. “Thank you, sir, let me do it.”

Maung Ba Shwe had previously met with U Bo Maung, a former racehorse breeder, and told him that U Bo Maung was a breeder of many horses and needed a reliable underling.