"For example, there are sago trees everywhere here. The trunks of this palm family can be made into starch after being cut open and mashed and diluted with water. They are the main food for many local indigenous people. Sago powder is the main food of Xiangjiang and
The raw material of sago (sago rice), a dessert in teahouses in Guangdong Province."
Lao Wang talked about a very common plant, the sand valley tree. As expected, Li Fang looked suddenly enlightened. There were still many such trees, and Li Fang often saw them here.
"I know this." Li Fang said.
Lao Wang smiled and said: "There are many things you don't know! The Sago tree group that likes to grow in wetlands will bring many agricultural and sideline products to the locals, such as saffron cakes made from Sago tree powder and topped with durian.
Palm sugar coconut milk syrup is the best.”
"I really don't know about this, and I haven't eaten it before." Li Fang said a little dejectedly.
"How many days have you been here? The sago tree has many uses. For example, the sago tree fruit, sago tree powder and coconut juice, and pandan leaf juice are all made locally.
Featured products.
Fried shrimp cakes made from sago tree powder, onde-onde desserts, dipped in coconut shreds, have a fragrant and first-class taste. They are also called ongol-ongol in Bangka Belitung. It is worth mentioning that its seeds rem yak are very abundant.
, big and thick, here people pickle it and eat it.”
"How come I haven't seen these things before?" At this time, Li Fang asked suspiciously.
Lao Wang laughed loudly and said: "This is more interesting. It can also be said to be sad. Just like some people in our country, they worship foreign things! Whether it is Indonesia or East Timor society, under Suharto's pro-American regime for a long time
Under the influence of poison, people often worship foreign things and think that the moon is a foreign round.
Just like the rest of the country, they use a large amount of foreign exchange to import temperate fruits such as apples, grapes and California oranges from Australia and the United States. As a result, whether it is fruit stands in big cities in Indonesia or fruit stands in East Timor, they are all foreign products.
Even our domestic fruits are imported here.
However, their local fruit varieties are becoming increasingly rare. I used to see them, but now they are completely extinct. Of course, there must be some in the countryside, but you can’t go there, so you haven’t heard of them.
normal."
When Lao Wang said this, both Han Peacock and Li Fang were speechless. This is really like domestic, but domestic is better. After all, the land is vast and rich in resources. Many people cannot afford to eat imported fruits, so local fruits still account for the majority.
.
And East Timor is an island country. Its own economy is very weak. If foreign products erode even slightly, local products will lose their foothold. In addition, the gap between rich and poor here is too large, and there is even less market for local fruits.
What you can eat, you want better food, you can’t afford it, you can’t afford anything, you can’t even have enough to eat. This is the current situation in East Timor. It can be said that the gap between the rich and the poor is too big. And the rich
There are very few people, but they control 99% of the wealth here, and as 99% of the poor, they only occupy 1% of the resources.
"Is there anything else I don't know here?" At this time, Li Fang also became interested.
"Brother." Lao Wang said without hesitation.
"Breast? What is it?" Li Fang asked doubtfully.
"Kem is also a kind of wild fruit. The appearance of milk kem is a bit like the hawthorn fruit in northern my country. The trunk and branches are also covered with thorns, but the skin is smoother. The pulp is more delicate, with a rich fragrance and sweet and sour taste. However, this Fewer and fewer people know how to grow fruits now.
People here have a lot of excellent local fruits that are popular among the people, but they underestimate themselves. They adopt an indifferent attitude, do not actively research and develop, and allow them to decline or even become extinct. This is absolutely a kind of tragedy." Old
The king sighed.
Han Kongque said at this time: "That is to say, we Chinese pay attention to these things and can also see the benefits in it."
Li Fangdao: "What's the use of paying attention? The locals don't plant or protect it, but we plant it, we protect it, and we gain wealth through hard work. They are jealous, so it's better not to do it."
Han Kongque had also heard about the virtues of the natives here, so he would not comment.
Lao Wang interrupted at this time: "Let's not talk about this. Let's talk about some happy things. Some fruits are still very good, such as a kind of fruit called asam berani. You can also find pictures of it on Google. It is the most popular in the mountains.
It is a common fruit. Its shell breaks into pieces when you pinch it lightly. Its inner flesh is powdery and fragrant. It has a thin flesh with moderate sweetness and sourness, and a hard core.
Then there is the snakeskin fruit, which more people know about. It sells quite well here, and is also exported to the United States, Japan and Hong Kong. Recently, it has also been sold to our country.
Mushrooms are well-known here, and those from Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra, are the best. Those sold in the streets and alleys of Jakarta all use the name "palembang" to indicate their high quality. This mushroom is refreshing and detoxifying, and you will never tire of eating it.
.”
Lao Wang sighed a little as he spoke, and there was a strong sense of memory in his words.
"Uncle Wang is a local Chinese?" Han Peacock judged.
"Huh?" Li Fang looked at Old Wang doubtfully.
Lao Wang was stunned for a moment, then said calmly: "I used to live in Indonesia, then I went to West Timor, then I went to East Timor, and finally I came here."
Although Lao Wang said it in an understatement, Han Kongque and Li Fang both heard the bitterness in this series of changes.
Given Lao Wang's age, if he has lived in Indonesia for a long time, it is obvious that he has experienced Indonesia's modern anti-Chinese movement.
Both Han Kongque and Li Fang thought of this, so they both remained silent.
"Haha, don't be sad because of me. After all, the country is now rich and powerful, and we Chinese overseas can also feel proud. Aren't you interested in the fruits here? In fact, there are many fruits that can be manipulated." Lao Wang laughed.
, broke the somewhat dull atmosphere.
"Local vegetables and fruits are not cheap. Locally produced oranges cost 5,000 to 10,000 dong per kilogram. The bigger ones are more expensive. I can only afford 5,000 to 7,000 dong. Anything over this price
I don’t choose to buy tangerines. There are also tangerines imported from China, which are sweeter and cost 12,000 dong per kilogram." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"Trading with shields?" Han Peacock asked.
Lao Wang said: "The dong is actually the currency of Indonesia. The U.S. dollar is mainly used here now. You see, this is the original currency."
As he said this, Lao Wang took out two banknotes from his pocket, and Han Kongque saw the Chinese characters on them at a glance.
"Escodo? Why are there Chinese characters on the currency here?" Han Peacock asked.
Lao Wang said with a wry smile: "Before 1975, East Timor was still an overseas province of Portugal. At that time, East Timor had its own currency, called Escudo, and the banknotes also had Chinese characters printed on them, namely these four characters Escudo.
However, after East Timor became independent in 2002, it did not have the ability to issue its own banknotes, so it used U.S. dollars, or else it used Indonesian currency, so this escudo disappeared."
"It's nothing. Even East Timor's stamps are printed overseas, not to mention banknotes. Even if banknotes can be printed, there is a lack of talent to manage these banknotes, so we simply use U.S. dollars.
However, East Timor's issuance of its own coins (which are also minted overseas) is a good supplement to its domestic dollar economy. In the long run, when East Timor can truly become independent and prosperous, it will still have to issue its own banknotes.
Yes, after all, having its own currency will be more beneficial to its economic development." Li Fangdao.
"This is not the point. I just want to know why Chinese characters appeared on the currency here." This is the focus of Han Peacock's attention. It is not a trivial matter for a country's currency to have characters from other countries on it.
Lao Wang said slowly: "During the Portuguese colonial period in East Timor, the Escodo banknotes also had Chinese characters printed on them. The main reason was that there were a large number of overseas Chinese living in East Timor. In order to maintain their rule, the colonists also printed Chinese characters on their issuances.
on banknotes.
As early as the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were Chinese people who came to East Timor from the "Southern Ocean". With the development of history, more and more Chinese moved to East Timor during the Portuguese colonial period. Before 1975, each of the 13 counties in East Timor had
There are Chinese schools in all counties. Except for the one in Dili, which ranges from kindergarten to middle school, all other places are primary schools.
At that time, Chinese education was relatively common, and even the currency of East Timor had Chinese characters, which shows the great influence of the Chinese. However, after the Second World War, East Timor suffered two major turmoils, and the local Chinese were not spared and suffered heavy losses.
, what makes them most sad and regretful is that Chinese education has been forced to interrupt.
Before 1975, there were Chinese schools in each of the 13 counties in East Timor. Except for the one in Dili, which ranged from kindergarten to middle school, all other places were primary schools. Chinese education was relatively common at that time, so in
East Timor used to have Chinese characters on its currency.
However, after the coup in 1975, all Chinese schools were closed by the authorities, and Chinese children lost the opportunity to systematically study Chinese culture. After more than 20 years, an entire generation of Chinese could neither speak Mandarin nor write Chinese characters.
, let alone understanding Chinese culture.”
Both Han Kongque and Li Fang fell silent. Although they had heard of such things before, they were definitely not as shocking as hearing them from an old Chinese.
Although Lao Wang did not say a word about what he had experienced, from his slow words and heavy tone, both Han Kongque and Li Fang could hear how much bitterness there was.
"If we don't talk about this, let's just say that the fruits here have a lot to do as long as they are handled well. Li Fang may know it, but you definitely don't know, Xiao Han. The exchange rate of the Indonesian rupiah, that is, the rupee, is more than 2,000 to the RMB.
"One, so don't look at the fruits here that cost thousands of dong per catty. They are actually very cheap." Seeing the dull atmosphere, Lao Wang immediately changed the topic. (To be continued.)