The Story of K'Te the Lazy


(I told my friends V. and N. that I would tell them a story about a brave Chinese lady.
But as the story was too long, I would have to cut out a large portion, which I hadn't
done yet! So I wrote this in its place.)
                                                            ------


                                 In dedication to V, Nostalgia, c, and JAN.



In the Spring 1995, I had a mission in a mountainous area deep in one of the largest
forests of VN, called the "Three-Frontiers Area". I had two friends going along
with me, a journalist and an ethnologist, both ladies.
After two days staying in the Central Highlands, we moved far deep into the forest
and reach to the ethnic minority of Mah, one of the most noteworthy tribal minority
of VN. The women are mostly silent yet beautiful and all the children have deep
black eyes. And what did strike me the most was their sincerity and hospitality. Once
they believe us, they would never forget us and be so kind that we could hardly betray
them.
These people have a nice way of showing their hospitality. As they had been informed
in advance of our arrival, when we reached the forest's edge, in the dim light of sunset,
we heard the sound of a merry musical melody, played by specific instruments called
Gongs, like a warm welcome from that far-away hamlet. After two hours of drinking with
them their famous wine "Ruou Can" in a large Jar, we took leave. Twelve men, among
them some old men, ran up to the places they put their Gongs. Another melody raised
up, this time sad, sweet and desolate, as the men clapped to their gongs and danced
their gracious traditional dance, following the rhythm of the song to see us off. That
sorrowful and poignant melody followed us till the edge of the forest.
The next evening, the Chief of the district organized a party to greet us. A number of
those ethnic minority people were invited. That's when we met K'Te the Lazy.
He was famous in his tribe because of his laziness. In this land of old fixed traditions,
where the girls ask the boys to marry them at the cost of a number of buffaloes and
jars plus a span of land to cultivate coffee trees, he has not been asked till this day by
any girl, because he was very lazy, and all the girls might think he would let them die
of hunger and did nothing. So he was sitting there with his drink, silent and morose,
and replied by curt answers to some friends passing by, talking to him.
My friend the ethnologist is an excellent wine drinker. She could beat us all with drinking
wine. The more she drank, the more her face became pale and beautiful. So that night,
M., as she was called, had been drinking a lot and was a little bit drunk.
She saw K'Te The Lazy, and as she got a little naughty, she came up to his place,
"Hey, K'Te!"
"Hey!" K'Te replied, not deigning to look up.
"Why are you sitting alone like that, K'Te?"
"Hmmmm! That's it!"  was all the answer.
Some people laughed.
"Would you drink with me?" M. asked.
"Why?"
"Because I love you!"
"Hmmmm!"
I came up, but M. was getting drunk.
"Would you marry me, K'Te?"
"Why?"
"Because I love you!"
People laughed, but K'Te remained gloomy and irritable.
"What would you request?"
"Uhmm... not much! five hundred holes to plant coffee tree, OK?"
"Hmmmm!... five hundred?"
For such a lazy guy as K'Te, to clear out a good land in the forest and dig 500 holes to
plant coffee tree was rather much!
I pulled my friend away, but she was really drunk.
"Yea! five hundred holes! OK?"
People laughed and laughed. I dragged her away.
"OK" The man replied, as sad and gloomy as always.
Surely, M forgot all of this, when she woke up the next morning. And we were setting
to do our job. But the following day, as she wandered by K'Te's hut, she saw him
digging earth vehemently. And working together with K'Te The Lazy was his brother,
also famous for his own laziness like him. There were about one hundred holes already
dug out in a plot of cleared forest land. K'Te the Lazy was not lazy at all.
M. was taken with fear. Those naive and frank people knew nothing about joking.
She came to me and asked me to leave, before things could become complicated!
I saw that she was really afraid. She is an ethnologist, and she knows about the ethnic
minority people. So I asked the District Chief to lend us three a car to leave early the
next morning.
I didn't know how K'Te knew that we're leaving. Perhaps some of his friends saw M.
prepare her traveling bag. But as the car turned round a hillside, we saw the man.
He ran along with us, leaping and jumping, at times disappeared behind shrubs and
trees, at times appeared on the hillside above us, waving and shouting!... I looked at M.
Her face was as white as a paper. After a certain time, we saw the man no more.

I dropped out that place, and chose another site for my job. It seemed that M. didn't
came back there during a longtime afterwards. I really wish all the people mentioned in
this story got all the best things!