My adventure as a hawker

[Stitxch]

Very nice updates, as usual

[momo17]

very good read! was here for an hour enjoying it

[JustANewbie]

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

4 more post to wrap this up.


Hope you enjoyed the read so far and apologies for all the grammar mistakes.


Cheers


ilock

I enjoyed your story alot, thanks so much.

[water_boi]

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

4 more post to wrap this up.


Hope you enjoyed the read so far and apologies for all the grammar mistakes.


Cheers


ilock

Thank you again for the great story.. Can't wait for the final 4 parts!!!

[Hardaway1818]

Yet another masterpiece!

[dreamlight]

Originally Posted by ilikeoldchangke

Fungye : Don’t worry about the police… or authorities…. I have so many of them in my pocket in Taiwan…. How much does it cost here??? I’ll buy them all !!!hahaahha….

No one laughed , that is until Andy opened his mouth.

Andy : Oh… that is one thing I’m sure you cannot afford….. that’s our politicians…. You know what is the pay they are drawing… ??

………………………………………

Tough truth.... Not easy to buy in the politicians. Very expensive.

Amazing storyline.

[004kk]

Looking forward for the next update. The suspense is killing ...

[madmen11]

Masterpiece indeed~~

[ilikeoldchangke]

23rd March 2015

Monday.

6am


I was back at the noodle stall, settling into my usual routine. Kate was not at the coffee shop that day. I left the house the day before around 4.30pm with my parents. The crowds slowly dispersed but Kate dropped me a message at 9pm, saying that the elders were all still in the room.


There was nothing but anger and confusion as they blamed each other for the state of the affairs.


10am


It was a pretty slow day at the stall and we were getting ready to pack up when I received a call from Kate.

Kate : I would meeting Tracy for a while today… you want to join me ??


Jake : Of course… I’ll love to…



Kate : It’s nothing much actually…. Just a meal , coffee and then drop her off at MBS sands.




Jake : Let me know the time and details.



3.30pm

I met up with Kate at Suntec City. We waited for about 10 minutes before we Tracy showed up with a few shopping bags in her hands.


I thought she was alone until I saw her men loitering a distance away. They carried a few bags as well and they looked bored.

Tracy : Hi Kate…


Kate : Hi Tracy…

They shook hands and Tracy turned towards me.


Tracy : Is he your….. bodyguard ?? or your boyfriend ?? poor thing….. he’s stuck with you ?? He should be with Ollie and Leonard….. and wherever your brother and Andy is bringing them to… hahaha…. You know… those naughty places…haha.. who is he Kate ??



Kate laughed and looked at me.


Kate : Just a friend…. He’ll double up as anything if I need him to… haha..

Tracy : Good… can he help to carry my bags too ?? haha…


Tracy passed me her bags and upon closer inspection, I realised why her men stayed so far away.



Tracy had bought lingerie from La Senza and they filled up 2 big bags. With the huge brand name plastered on the paper bags, it’s no wonder her staff stayed away.


I could see them sniggering at each other when the bags landed on me.

Tracy and Kate walked on in front and somehow I just followed them a few steps behind.


I’m not too near that it would make them uncomfortable to talk, but I’m still close enough to catch bits of their conversations.


Tracy’s men were close by, the 6 of them shopped and bought snacks along the way as well, just like any other visiting tourist but at any point of time, at least 3 kept their eyes on their boss.



Tracy : It sucks…. Really does…

Kate : What do you mean ??


Tracy : Being who I am ….


Kate : Why is that ??



Tracy : Don’t you sometimes wished you are just a normal girl in the street ? With none of these burdens to bear ?


Kate kept silent as Tracy went on.


Tracy : I can’t choose which family I’m born into…. And I’m thankful for the material comforts my family has given me…. but sometimes….all we girls wanted… is just to be loved… and have that freedom to do what we want…. No ?



Kate : Are you unhappy ?


Tracy : Should I be happy ? …… there are death threats for my dad back home…. My elder brother is in jail….. people tried to kidnap me…. I get rape threats back home too…. Hahah…



Kate : May I ask how old are you Tracy ?


Tracy : I’m turning 29… … no man…. Dared to come after me…. haha… not after learning who my dad and my brother is… hahah…


She chuckled playfully and nudged Kate on her arm as they walked down the shops in the mall.


Tracy : I like Singapore…. It’s safe…. I feel safe…. There’s just….. order….amidst all the things that is going on.


Kate : Taiwan is safe too… it’s one of the safest in Asia as well no ?



Tracy : Not if you are walking in our circle Kate… haha…


Tracy walked into a clothing shop, flipped a couple of dresses around before picking one up and holding it against herself to look in the mirror.

Tracy : I wished I could do what Gabriel and Andy wanted to do…. To slowly steer the family towards proper and decent business….. but there’s just so much barrier….



Kate : My brother believes that for the family to survive, we all need to move on. …. Technology is improving leaps and bounds everyday…. The old ways… have to go…. We know it’s impossible to remove the stain from the family but as we head into the future…. Perhaps we can redeem ourselves… once we are in a position to do so…




Tracy : I want to do that too…. But you know what… it’s a different ecosystem altogether… some things will work in Singapore, but they won’t work back home…


She put the dress back and they continued walking down the mall.

Kate : Well, if given a chance… what would you really want to do ??


Tracy : Me ? hahaha ? I don’t know…. What do girls my age do if they’re not out bribing people and trying to put your competitor out of business ?? haha…

Kate : I’ll love to travel…. Just work and travel…. There’s so many beautiful places in the world….



Tracy laughed and pointed behind her.

Tracy : Yah… I got to bring them along when I travel… it sucks…. …


Kate laughed.


Tracy : And you know what… it might seemed I have a lot of people catering to my whims and fancies but it’s a terrible pain in the ass…. I can’t even get them to buy me my pads if I needed them…..look … they don’t even dare to come near me after I bought my lingerie…


She turned around on impulse and snapped at her men.


Tracy : You pussies… !...


Then Tracy came over to me, grabbed a handful of bras out from the bag, she laughed as she walked in a threatening manner towards her man and they scattered in all directions like rats seeing a cat for the first time.

Tracy : Hahaha…


Kate : Haha…

Tracy : See…. !..



Tracy passed her lingerie back to me and I took them and kept them in her bags.


Tracy : Jake right…. Hmmmm….. not too bad…. How much you hired him for ??

Kate laughed and said I’m not very expensive.


Kate : Quite cheap… about 3k odd….. has a degree… speaks and behaves well..

Tracy : Oh… not bad… can I borrow him sometimes ?? hahah… oh wait.. wait… he’s not your boyfriend right ?? haha



Kate shook her head and said no.

Kate : but he likes me though I think… haha…


I gave Kate an irritated look and she stuck out her tongue at me.


Tracy :What about me Jake…. Do you like me ?? haha..


I looked at Tracy, the way her facial features stand out against her shoulder length hair. She is pretty, definitely prettier that Kate if I were to be honest. She’s taller too, about the same height as me, and her smile, Tracy did not just smile with her lips, she did it with her eyes too.


She tilted her head sideways and raised a sweet seductive eyebrow at me.

Tracy : need to consider that long ?? haha…


Jake : haha.. Yes… I like you too…


Tracy laughed and brushed back her hair behind her ears, looking every bit like a sweet girl in a Taiwanese drama.


Tracy : will you go out with me ?? hahaha.. if Kate allows that is…

I turned towards Kate and she folded her arms and pretended to consider her request.


Tracy : I can pay….. I’m richer that Kate and her brother you know..hahahah…

I just smiled shyly without giving a reply.


Tracy : This is what I like about Singaporean men…. Like to pretend to be shy.. ahah…


Kate : Oh please… I don’t know about the others… but this one…. This one is definitely not shy… haha..


Tracy twitched a side of her upper lips and paced around me, stroking her chin.




Tracy : Ok… ok… I’ll consider… haha..


We came to a café and the girls took a seat while I get their orders

[ilikeoldchangke]

Tracy’s men arrived too and out of courtesy I went over and offered to get them drinks.


I bought coffee for the guest and I excused myself to the washroom.




When I came out, Tracy offered to pay me for the drinks I got for her men but I declined to accept it.



Jake : You all are guest…. My treat…

Tracy gave me a naughty smile.




Tracy : I’m falling for you already Jake…. Haha..

I took the next table and gave the girls some space to talk.




5.30pm



Kate and I brought our guest to a seafood restaurant in Clark quay and bought them dinner.


Tracy : I absolutely loveeeeee…. Chilli crab….my god… so nice…. !!!


During dinner, Tracy helped me deshelled a crab claw much to my surprised and I hesitated for a second or 2 before accepting it.



Tracy : haha… still pretending to be shy Jake ? haha…

Jake : thank you… thank you….


Tracy : You know…. You accepted something from me… you have to give something in return…. That’s our rule…

Jake : Are you trying to bribe me ?? with a crab claw…??


Tracy and Kate burst out laughing in amusement as they licks the gravy off their manicured fingers.


Tracy : no… haha…I’m not… but…. I want something in return…


Jake : Say it.. if it’s within my means… I’ll get it for you…

Tracy smiled and crossed her legs, looking at me with her big endearing eyes.


Tracy : I’ll tell you when I think of it. … haha..


The table was cleared and when dessert was served, the conversation became a little more serious.



The casual and relaxed atmosphere was gone.

It was gone the moment Kate asked Tracy for help.



Kate : Can you do anything …. To help us… ?

Tracy wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked at her men. They understood what their boss wanted and all of them got up and excused themselves to the bathroom.


All except 2 who stood a distance away and lit up a cigarette while they kept an eye on Tracy.

I got up too, it’s only right that I gave them space to talk but Tracy asked me to stay.



Tracy : It’s ok Jake… you can stay… .. I just don’t want what I say to get spread among the rest of the men….. Fungye is pretty active in taiwan…. His men and mine hang out often at the same pubs…

Tracy took a sip of water and she turned towards Kate.



Tracy : Rules are rules Kate… there is nothing I can do… the results are cast in stone… it’s a tie…. This is of your elder’s own doing…. There’s no one to blame…

Kate : I know… but.. perhaps… you..



Tracy : I have manpower…. But I can’t fly a planeload of them over…and even if I could… they would not want to get involved in this either… it’s not our fight…


Tracy went on to say that Fungye is a ambitious man, but because he is not a native of Taiwan, he had difficulty getting beyond his current standing. He’s not getting the support he needs to expand.


Kate : Is there nothing at all ??? that you can do ??

Tracy : I’m sorry Kate… I wished it didn’t come to this but…Fungye will be in charge….and our business dealings…. Between organisations…the preferential rates…and all….. We go to who’s in charge… If the vote is not honoured…. No one will deal with you anymore… all your connections your family built up over the years… it will be gone…


Tracy asked for a refill of her drink and went on.


Tracy : I heard that there’s a 9th vote….



My heart skipped a beat when Tracy mentioned that.

Tracy : There are rumours…. That either Gabriel…. Or Ah Keong is holding on to it….




Kate : I… I don’t know about that…



Tracy : Well, let’s hope they do have it…. And that they would have the balls to challenge Fungye the right to lead….



Tracy said that while she could not help us with changing the decision of the vote, what she can do, is provide us with information .


Tracy : I’ll send you everything we know about Fungye….. as a friend…


Kate : Thank you Tracy…

Tracy smiled and invited Kate to Taiwan when things settled down.



10.30pm


I got back home and took out the 9th vote and stared at it for close to 30 minutes before putting it away and heading back to bed.



3rd April 2015

Friday


11am


Almost 2 weeks has passed and everything we knew and got used to have started to change.





Fungye increased the rent for my parent’s stall several folds, now it’s a hefty 4000 a month for rental of that stall.


We were not the only victims; every hawker in the coffee shop was affected.

Of course, the logical step would be to quit. I mean all of the hawker in the coffee shop are getting on in age. My parents cannot afford to pay that rent, not with what they are making a month. It’s crazy.


What about Auntie Geok you say ?



Her small corner stall commanded a rent of 3.5k



How the fuck do you sell 3.5k worth of Kuehs when you make mere cents off each piece. ?


She too threw in the hat and decided to call it a day but you know what ?


It’s not that easy.


You think we can just mass quit the coffee shop, pack up and go ?


Of course not.




All of the stall owners expressed their displeasure and everyone decided to call it a day. They’ve done this for decades, it’s time to step back and enjoy their retirement.



11.30am

On that faithful day, Fungye’s men came down to the coffee shop.



I was right there when they demanded that everyone continues their business as usual. This man, Liuhai. He said we were all indebted to the organisation and that we were obligated to continue our existing relationship with them.



Jake : Fuck you… who the fuck do you think you are ?



Liuhai glared at me and stepped towards me in a aggressive manner. Several more of his men came into the coffee shop while my dad tried to break up the confrontation.

Dad : Ok ok.. enough.. enough.. stop.. stop…



I was ready to punch that fucker right there and then.



I could see Orh pao grabbing the ice pick he used to break up chunks of ice and hiding it behind his shirt from the corner of my eye. He ignored the customers in the queue and stepped out of the stall.

Auntie Geok too came over, too feisty for her age as she demanded that Liuhai and his men get out of the coffee shop.


Liuhai smirk and spit a glob of saliva onto the floor. He turned and pretended to look away but he made a move on me, trying to strike the side of my head with his palms. My dad saw what he was trying to do and he jumped infront of me, taking the brunt of the blow before collapsing onto me on the floor.


There was chaos as customers ran out of the coffee shop. Orh pao dashed over and sent one of Liuhai’s man onto the floor within the split of a second. Everyone jumped him, and my dad went over to help pull him out of the fray, kicking and pushing back the attackers.



I grabbed a chair and smashed it on the head of one guy, sending him onto the floor in pain.

Uncle’s Ben’s delivery truck arrived and several of Johari’s men jumped out.



Bill appeared too out of nowhere.

The voices in the coffee shop were so loud that I could hardly hear myself shout at my Dad to get out of the fight as I hammered another fucker with the stool in my hands.


Ben separated the fight, shouting at both sides.



Uncle Ben : Get the fuck… out of the shop Liuhai…

[ilikeoldchangke]

Liuhai smirked and spit a mouthful of blood on the floor.


Liuhai : This is not over…



He left with his men and I immediately went over to my father and Orh pao.

My mum panicked as she saw my dad bleeding on her head .




Orh pao was down as well, groaning in pain.


Everything happened in a blur.



I remembered Gabriel rushing down and he personally sent both Orh pao and my dad to a private hospital.


Gabriel : Don’t worry Jake… don’t worry…. They have the best insurance coverage money can buy….


My mind can hardly register anything that couple of days.


Orh pao had a broken rib while my dad needed 12 stitches on the head.


As if that was not bad enough, he dislocated 2 fingers on his right hand and he needed surgery to pop them back.




My blood was boiling as I stared blankly at the hospital wall.


30th May 2015


Saturday

9.30pm


Just slightly 2 month after Fungye took over, the organisation was turned upside down.


Terry could no longer get money for his cash flow and Suwen took the opportunity to leave him , not only did she leave, Suwen took close to 150k worth of jewelleries with her when she did.


When I saw Terry at his shop that day, he was but a defeated old man. He lost weight, he looked sad and pathetic.



My dad recovered properly and we went back to the stall to continue selling noodles. Not because we were threatened, but because of Gabriel.

We found out that Gabriel has been paying the shortfall in rent with his own money while still charging everyone the same rate. My parents felt bad, so did the rest of the hawkers and they decided to chip in, make as much as they could and pass the excess to Gabriel to lighten his load.




24th June 2015

Wednesday


11pm


Lucy invited Roland and I over to her place for a drink.

Bill was there too.


The mood was solemn.



Roland’s overhead for his spa surged so much that he needed to dig into his savings.

Jake : Can you cancel the lease ?


Roland : What lease ?? haha… I rent from Gabriel… it’s all verbal… hahah …


Roland revealed that he wanted to pack and go as well but he too found out Gabriel was topping up the shortfall.



Roland : It’s not fair to him… not after all that he’s done…

Lucy’s pubs and KTVs too were in a bad shape.



Lucy : Fungye’s man…. They stir up shit so often…. A lot of my regular customers decides to switch spots….they’re just fucking looking for trouble… it’s bad…. My girls are unhappy too…


I found out from our drinking session that day that Fungye had decided on his inauguration date.


It was to be on the 9th of August.


Our national day. Our Golden Jubilee…



Roland : Well…. He sure chose a good day to show us the finger eh… haha..

Lucy : Fuck him… maybe he’ll get a heart attack and die…



There was no hiding the elder’s hate for Fungye.






10th July 2015

Friday

Ben, Andy and Gabriel were at the coffee shop. The chose the last table at the corner and were pouring through their documents. I could tell they were trying to hide as much as they could from Fungye but at the top of their worries was money.


I could tell they were running into serious cash flow problem.

Fungye had demanded for control of the finances, squandering away the reserves Gabriel had built up over the years. He rented a place in the middle of orchard road, and several apartments for his men.


He used Gabriel and Andy’s company as a front, employing his men and getting the valid work passes to remain in Singapore.



By Gabriel’s last count, Fungye had close to 80 men in Singapore holding various passes, from work permits to social visit passes. Those that could not remain in Singapore for long, would return home only to be back here again as tourist.


Kate lost a bit of weight as well and I could see she shared the stress her brother was going through.

Ah Keong on the other hand, had not been seen for months.



He never came to his chicken rice stall, he never even showed his face.


I heard from Kate that Ah Keong ‘s factory was used by Fungye to store duty unpaid liquor.

Kate : He’s hopping mad the last time I called him.




11th July 2015

Saturday

3pm.




I don’t know what got into me but I decided to drop by King’s shop. It’s been a while since I last saw him too. When I reached his warehouse, I could see trucks unloading deliveries and goods. The lunar 7th month is approaching in a couple of months time, King has already started stocking up on the items for sale.


I walked into his shop much to his surprised.


King : What are you doing here??

Jake : Nothing… just happen to be in the area…


King lost weight as well. I could almost see the bones under his sunken cheeks. If he had looked like a wrinkled old man before, now he looked close to a rotting corpse.

Jake : You ok ??


King did not looked like he wanted to talk but I guessed he needed and avenue to vent his anger and frustration.

He offered me tea in his office and launched into a 30 minute tirade about Fungye.



King : He stashed so much duty unpaid cigarettes in my warehouse !!!! … that fuck…. Piece of shit….

As if that did not make King angry enough, Fungye stashed them in the same space where King kept idols of deities and gods for sale.



King : His men knocked over and damaged so much of them that I prayed they would get struck by lightning …

He was panting, gasping for breath by the time he was done.


Fungye took King’s delivery truck as well for transport for his own men, and King had to lease another one just to make daily delivery.

[ilikeoldchangke]

I left King’s place and went back home.


Nothing short of the word miserable could be used to describe everyone’s situation.




Gabriel used to distribute a modest dividend to all the elders every quarter, base on their contribution to the organisation’s funds. That too has been stopped till further notice.



As the news of Fungye’s inauguration banquet spreads, everyone dreaded the arrival of that day.



My parents and I worked harder than before, toiling away at the noodle stall everyday.


We started work 2 hours earlier, trying to catch the crowd in the wee hours of the morning and we ended 2 hours later too, desperately trying to grab onto a few late lunch goers.


Gabriel initially refused to accept the extra money the hawkers put together for him, but as the months went by, he had no choice but to take it even though it was barely enough.


Gabriel : I swear….. I will return all of you…. Every single dollar…

Auntie Geok waved Gabriel off.



Auntie Geok : I so old already… bring with me to die ah…. No need la…


Gabriel wanted to laugh but instead I saw him tried to choke back his emotions.





9th August 2015

It’s our national day.


Our golden Jubilee.




2.30pm


I could see families decked out on red and white, smiling as they made their way to the train stations, no doubt to join in the celebration.

I was tired, really tired.



My parents had gone straight to bed upon washing up but I could not sleep.

I could not close my eyes no matter how tired I felt.


That fatigue of working such long hours was beginning to take it’s toll on me.



Even Kate lost weight as she rotated and manned the coffee stall together with Orh pao for 24 hours on weekends. The family or organisation depending on how you call it, has fallen onto it’s knees.


It’s pathetic no matter how you look at it. Morale was low, hardly anyone smiles anymore.


It’s like the elders fell so hard onto the ground that they could not pick themselves up again.


No schemes from Lucy.

No naughty plans from Roland



Nothing from Gabriel as well, he’s burning himself out trying to cope with the finances.



I walked across my place to the bustling mall and ordered myself a cup of coffee for take away.


I walked around aimlessly, Staring blankly at the cup in my hands, I just zoned out until I was snapped out of it by a commotion in front of me.



A toddler had fallen down, and she was sobbing away. Someone was playing with those soup bubbles and she was happily bursting it until an older boy came along and they fought for the same bubble.


The older boy shoved the little girl to get the bubble and she fell, bawling away.



I saw her elder brother rush forward, a young kid of about 5 years old.


He shouted to his parents that his Meimei ( sister ) had fell because the other boy had pushed her. The commotion attracted a few onlookers but they soon lost interest.




The older boys’ parents came and apologised, scolding their son for being naughty. The girls parents just smiled and said it’s fine. They’re just kids.

The boy pulled his sister up and helped to brush her hands and knees.



A few steps behind the parents, a old man with a head of grey hair and wrinkles on his face came to the little girl as well.



The little girl ran to her grandfather, complaining to him that the boy pushed her.

Little girl : Ah gong… ( grandpa ) korkor ( elder brother ) push me.. …. Sob.. sob…


The old man laughed and he bent down to the little girls height.


Grandpa : It’s ok.... hahaha.. it’s ok… just pick yourself up when you fall…



It was a pretty sweet scene , grandfatherly advice for his precious granddaughter, and I smiled as I sipped my coffee until something happened that caught me totally by surprised.



The grandpa turned and checked to make sure the parents are out of earshot before he gave more advice to his grandchildren.



Grandpa : If someone pushes you…. You push back… heee.. hehe…


He giggled in a naughty manner and so did the kids.


Grandpa : You push them back so so hard….. that they would think twice about coming near you again…. Hheee.. heheh.. ahha… ssshhhhhhhhh….



He put his finger to his mouth as the kids giggled, as if trying to tell them it’s a secret between them.


The kids ran off again to play and I locked eyes with the grandpa. He gave me a smile and walked back after his grandkids.



I went back home and sat down at my desk.


I took the pen I had kept in a wooden box out and stared at it.



For a good 30 minutes, I just stared at that pen as countless thoughts raced through my mind.


The fatigue, the lack of sleep.


The miserable state of affairs.


Everything that happened within the past few months just kept coming into my head as I stared at that pen .



The longer I looked. The angrier I got.



The angrier I got, the more irrational I became.



My breathing got faster and I could feel my heart thumping away.




I closed the wooden box with a snap and I looked up and out of my window at the same time, talking to myself in the empty room.




Jake : You want a banquet …… I’ll give you one you’ll never forget…




…………………………………………..

[badboy]

Jake is going into EVIL mode!

u go Jake..show them what it means to fuck with Singaporeans.

HUAT AH!!!!

[koebshaq0_0]

Originally Posted by badboy

Jake is going into EVIL mode!

u go Jake..show them what it means to fuck with Singaporeans.

HUAT AH!!!!

Don't ever fuck with Singaporeans (although technically Fungye is also one). LOL. Nice one bro.

[train8]

Amazing story bro!