Min Thein Kha - Petalu

Chapter (1)

U Tin Bek Tu and U Chip Pan

Once upon a time, there was an old man named U Tin Bek Tu. He was very knowledgeable about the ancient Burmese dynasties and the history of the ancient Burmese dynasties. He used to work as a teacher, teaching these topics to students.

Then he moved to the Department of Archaeology and worked there. He worked very hard at his job. As a result, he gained a lot of fame. His parents were also wealthy people, so U Tin Beit Tu inherited a lot of his parents' inheritance.

His parents lived in Pyin Oo Lwin, and when they passed away, he inherited a large farm and a magnificent two-story house. About a year before his retirement, U Tin Beit Tu was hospitalized for a heart attack for three months. He was closely monitored by a cardiologist at the hospital. He survived, but his knees could not bend properly, so he had to be supported by someone when he got up from a sitting position. When he stood up, he did not need to be supported. He could walk well. He could walk well, but after walking 150 steps, he could not continue and had to rest for a while.

Similarly, when U Tin Bek Tu got up from bed, he could only get up with someone to help him up. U Tin Bek Tu systematically thought out and made a plan for how he would live when he retired. He also wrote down the details of the plan in writing. One day, U Tin Bek Tu called U Chip Pan, the head of his office, into his office and said -

“Ko Chip Pan..., I am going to retire. After I retire, I will live on the farm in Pyin Oo Lwin..., that farm is the one I inherited from my parents. When I get my pension, I need a partner to live with. Don’t think of it as a special kind of partner. I need two children to accompany me and help me..., It would be better if they were boys. I don’t want them to be too big, I don’t want them to be too small. I want them to be eight or nine years old. Please help me find that one...”

When I said that, the head of the office, U Chip Pan, said...

"One child is enough to support us, why do we need two?" U Tin Bektu asked.

"Two children, of course, will keep each other company. If they were alone, they would get bored and run away." U Chip Pan said -

"Yes...yes..." he said, laughing out loud.

"Wait, Sir U Tin Beit Tu... will you stay in Pyin Oo Lwin after you retire?" U Chip Pan asked. At that time, U Tin Bek Tu said, “Yes, Ko Chip Pan Re.... There is a big farm that I inherited from my parents near the entrance of Pyin Oo Lwin town..., There are many fruit trees in the farm.... There is also good water. When I was young, I grew up in a big house on that farm. My father was a timber merchant. My mother worked as a diamond broker..., We also built a big two-story house and lived there..., There were not many people in the house..., My father’s students also lived at home, and my mother’s relatives also came to stay at home. Our farm is not as quiet as other farms. The lights are on and the whole farm is noisy. After my father bought that big farm, he gave it a name. There is still a big wooden signboard at the entrance... I am already thinking about it..., What is written on that big wooden signboard?

Tubet Tin Farm

"It's written.." When I said that, U Chip Pan

“Hello, Teacher U Tin Bek Tu. My name is Tin Bek Tu. My farm name is Tu Bek Tin. How did it happen?” he asked.

“This is Ko Chi Pan’s..., my father, U Thein Pe, a timber merchant, was a great boxer when he was young. He used to fight on the ground and in the ring. He was a well-known boxer in his area. If there was a fight, he would put it on the ring and kill it. That’s why his name became Tu Beit Tin. When my mother and I got married, my mother didn’t allow me to fight anymore. My father bought a farm in Pyin Oo Lwin with the money he earned as a timber merchant..., and he stuck to his boxing name. ............. I was born on that farm. So my father named me Tin Beit Tu, who was born on the same day..., there must be a reason......... I never told him about it,” U Tin Beit Tu said.

Then, when U Tin Bek Tu retired, the office manager, U Chip Pan, began desperately searching for two children to help him.

Chapter (2)

About two months after the above events, the office manager, U Chip Pan, called a dark-skinned, beautiful woman, about thirty-five years old, to U Tin Bek Tu's office. U Tin Bek Tu told U Chip Pan

"Please tell me, Chiep Pan.., what are the issues.."

When asked, U Chip Pan replied,

“That’s right, Teacher U Tin Beit Tu..., you told me that you wanted two children to live with me when you retired, didn’t you?”

He said.

"Yes, Ko Chi Pan..., that's what I said..."

When U Tin Bek Tu said this, U Chip Pan pointed to the woman who was with him and said,

“Her husband and I are very close friends. We live in a small town where there is only one shop. His name is Ko Hla Maung. He washes the clothes he brings in himself, and he washes them with people. He then irons the washed clothes himself. In our town, this type of ironing is called “sweeping”. Mya Maung is good at cockfighting, Hla Maung is good at cockfighting, Hla Maung is good at chess, Nga Doe is good at card fighting, and “Maha” is good at weightlifting. They often say that Nga Doe is also very good at fighting, and Mata, who sells fish in the market, is also very good at weightlifting. That’s why we are like that, Hla Maung, who has four or five children, is often called “Sweeping Hla Maung”. His wife’s name is Ma Khin Naek. When Ma Khin Naek died, Ma Khin Naek was left with two children. The two children are one year old. "The children are one year old... Ma Khin Nak couldn't feed the two children, so she had to leave them in this house and that house... When I told Ma Khin Nak what Teacher U Tin Bek Tu had said, she said she would leave her two children in the teacher's house... That's why I brought them to the teacher..." said U Chip Pan. At that time, U Tin Bek Tu looked at Ma Khin Nak as if he was observing her, and then

“Here, Ma Khin Net..., I will raise your two children well, and I will need their help too..., but I want to tell you one thing: don’t come to them too often,” Ma Khin Net said.

“Here’s the thing… My two children are nine years old and ten years old… The wages of these two children are equal to the wages of a poor adult. So I want eighty baht a month as wages for my two children. Also, since my two children will have to do your chores all the time, they won’t be able to go to school anymore. So I want five thousand baht as compensation…” he said.

“Okay, Ma Khin Nak..., I will pay eighty baht a month for the two children. If the children fail to study, they will not be allowed to stay in school.... But I will call a teacher at home to teach them to read.... That is why I cannot give five thousand baht in compensation...” said U Tin Tat Tu. Then Ma Khin Nak, the mother of the two children,

"In five years, the younger child will be fourteen years old... and the older child will be fifteen years old. At that time, I would like to take them into my care. At that time, I will have to take them back with me for a while..." she said. Then U Tin Bek Tu said -

"So don't worry, I'll take the two children back with you, and I'll donate a full meal for them, and I'll donate five thousand kyats to feed them..." he said.

Then, U Tin Bek Tu was given the opportunity to retire and went to the “Tu Bek Tin” farm in Pyin Oo Lwin to enjoy four months of leave.

On the same day that they arrived at the farm, Ma Khin Nak and U Chip Pan took the two children and arrived at the farm. Ma Khin Nak said

"U Reh ... This is my eldest son. When I was pregnant with this child, a very pure English woman | took a little boy by the hand and came up to my house and said, 'It's your turn to give birth, you give birth ..' She also said that when you get him, you should call him White Ghost. This child is very intelligent, but I couldn't send him to school. One thing is that my son White Ghost cannot be fed meat, so he has never eaten meat since he was born. If there is no food, he will starve, and he won't eat..." Then U Tin Bek Tu said -

"What's the little one's name..."

"He is also very special. Before he was born, I had a dream in which two people tied him up and poured poison into his mouth. He was an old, frail man of about sixty years old. He was poisoned and about to die, and he came to me with his arms outstretched, begging me to let him stay. After that dream, I got pregnant with him. He is very bad. He has not been able to sleep well since he was born. He cries a lot, and he is very bad. So my husband and I jokingly called this child "Petal" and that is how it went. "

Ma Khin Nak said. Then U Tin Bek Tu gave Ma Khin Nak nine hundred and sixty kyats as an advance payment for twelve months at the rate of eighty kyats per month. Then U Tin Bek Tu gave U Chip Pan five hundred kyats as a gift, saying that he would send the two children with him.