Golden Peacock - Collection of Short Stories, Volume Three

Genetics

" Natural menstruation is a difficult thing. If the parents are too lazy, the children often end up with the same problem. It's not always the case. The father is a man, the son is a man, and there are cases like that. But usually, what I've seen is that the father is not a man, he leaves behind things and doesn't last long in the son's life. I've seen many cases where the father is a man and the children are just a man."

The above words are the opinions that the venerable U Ba Si often expressed to me. U Ba Si was a person who was fond of studying genealogy and believed in the natural tendency of children to squander the inheritance of their fathers, so whenever I met him, he would discuss this subject.

Noob.. “Yes, I guess. Western scientists admit that it is hereditary, don't they?”

Si.. “It’s okay to have a family, but if the ancestors are just descendants, where will there be a chance for things to spread in the world? They will end up in the hands of their own people. So, as nature dictates, there must be a constant stream of people among them.”

Noob.. “So if parents are good at spending, then children are good at saving?”

C. "What's wrong with that? I'm just saying that if you're too good, you'll get a little bit of a headache. If you're going to be bad, you'll be bad for forty or fifty years."

Noob. . “You are terrible. You have a policy that drags people down. You don’t think you can go up anymore, do you?”

C. . “For every person who goes to heaven, how many people do you think there are in the four realms? It’s natural to go down, so the cycle is scary, isn’t it?” Noob. . “Show me an example that fits your ideology.”

Si.. “It’s not difficult to show the truth. I’m saying this because I remember him. Let’s take a look at Maung Min Maung, the son of our Pazundaung broker U Aung Kyaw. How are you?”

Noob. . “Yes, if you compare it to U Bo Ka’s son Maung Nyunt Tin, I would say it’s similar, but let’s see from start to finish. In the end, I can’t say who will go to jail and who will be released.”

Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin, who were the two young men whom I and U Ba Si, the venerable chief, spoke of, were two very interesting young men from a contemporary perspective. The great rice broker, U Aung Kyaw, was a man of unrivaled skill in the rice world, and by the time his son grew up, he had become one of the top Burmese brokers by the time he reached adulthood. Among Burmese brokers, if they could predict the price of rice or paddy a week or two in advance, they would be very clever, but U Aung Kyaw could predict from the beginning of the year what the price would be when the paddy was harvested. Therefore, when Maung Min Maung suddenly fell ill with angina and bought two lots, he became a great man who was subject to everything Maung Nyunt Tin did. In this matter, “I am separated from my father, U Aung Kyaw, "As smart as my father is, my son is stupid. If U Aung Kyaw sees me, he will be heartbroken and die twice."

Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin were the same age, school friends, and wealthy people, so they often faced each other as rivals. Once, both Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin were competing with each other to marry Khin Hla Kyi, the daughter of the office clerk U Htin Pao. Khin Hla Kyi was the only daughter of parents who lived on a shoestring, so she was a very extravagant girl who wanted to dress up, eat, and be beautiful. As the beautiful, educated daughter of extravagant parents, Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin's cars would take turns parking under the porch of U Htin Pao's house. Maung Min Maung's car would leave, and Maung Nyunt Tin's car would arrive half an hour later, so the neighbors would say, "A house where green cars and red cars take turns parking."

Maung Nyunt Tin is a good-looking guy who is known as Valentino because he is a good-looking guy. He has a quick tongue, long eyelashes, and a piercing gaze like a leading man. Young people say that many women cannot resist him.

Maung Min Maung's appearance, however, became more and more different from Maung Nyunt Tin's. Originally, he was not ugly, but rather pitiful, but when compared to Maung Nyunt Tin, he became thin and thin, and Maung Nyunt Tin's long, curly eyelashes made Maung Min Maung's short, thin eyelashes look ugly. It was like a lantern that was beautiful in its own light, but when the light of the electric lamp appeared, it faded and disappeared.

Khin Hla Kyi accepted both Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin with open arms, but the neighboring audience who were watching in between gave Maung Nyunt Tin one. Khin Hla Kyi's parents, since they were both owners of the machine, did not show any sign of agreeing with anyone, and gave both of them freedom, as if they were saying that they could catch whatever fish they wanted, and that it was worth setting the net. The neighborhood where Khin Hla Kyi lived was mostly populated by Boka Pyays and officials, so they were all Bos, so they did not find Khin Hla Kyi's behavior strange, but just watched and observed with interest. Khin Hla Kyi himself, standing on both sides of the boat, observed the two young men without showing any signs of favoritism, but followed both of them.

One thing remains to be said, Khin Hla Kyi’s father, U Htin Pao, was a great horseman, and when the bamboo slips, he thinks about which of the two young men he will “swindle” from. Of the two, Maung Nyunt Tin, who is a good-natured man, thinks it will be easy to “swindle” him, so he easily lends five hundred kyats, so whenever he needs money, he borrows from Maung Nyunt Tin and continues to do so. However, U Htin Pao pays back when he can, and he does not owe more than (100-150 kyats) in total. Maung Nyunt Tin, on the other hand, is a machine owner and can pretend not to care about such a large amount of money. As for Maung Min Maung, he has never had any dealings with him in terms of money. He has only bought one or two pieces of cloth from the Gunamar silk factory and presented them to Khin Hla Kyi when they arrived. If that is all, Maung Nyunt Tin also has Mandalay silk, I've only given gifts like velvet shoes, so there's not much to say.

In this way, two young men are courting Khin Hla Kyi, one after the other, and Khin Hla Kyi and her parents are still in a state of uncertainty about who should be the "default" person.

Khin Hla Kyi's appearance is one of those girls who, once you see her, become a Yee Tiat Ta in your mind. Yee Tiat Ta means that you can imagine where you have seen her before, because she is so similar to the girls depicted in Burmese novels and magazine covers. This is because Khin Hla Kyi's body is of Western proportions, and her clothing is not only fashionable but also always at the forefront of the times. Some artists use fantasy to depict women on magazine covers in clothes that Burmese girls have never worn, and Khin Hla Kyi imitates this and is called "magazine cover" by her contemporaries. When Khin Hla Kyi heard this, she was very pleased and happy. In this modern Bo San, the gifts of Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin are a great support.

In the year Khin Hla Kyi passed her matriculation examination from the convent school and was about to be sent to college, her parents thought that she was a tutor and that she was a beautiful girl with such high expectations, so they did not send her to college and kept her at home as a "leaf-blossom." However, Khin Hla Kyi's beautiful appearance, along with her dress code, always proclaimed that she was a "leaf-blossom." Among the moths that flew into the candle, Maung Min Maung and Maung Nyunt Tin were at the forefront. To be clear, among the college students and clerks who courted Khin Hla Kyi, Maung Nyunt Tin and Maung Min Maung were the most favored.