A DAUGHTER FOR SALE

Chapter 2

Lung Maa knew perfectly well what kind of work the girls who went with Yai Phloy did in Bangkok, because one day he had gone to get an injection at the district health center. That day, the only too discreet doctor there had told him that two or three girls who had gone to Bangkok with Yai Phloy had come back with severe cases of gonorrhea, so severe that he had to send them into town for treatment.

Lung Maa heaved a deep sigh as he thought of his daughter who was soon to become one more in the ranks of unlucky girls. He wanted to talk with his daughter so she would understand and be as untroubled as possible. But he could think of nothing to say.

Paa Saeng, his partner through life, was lying sick in the hospital in the city, suffering from an intestinal problem. She was waiting for the money that would be used to pay for the blood and surgery needed to sustain her life. Her survival, though, would only continue her pain and suffering.

He couldn't borrow money from anyone else any more. His present debt totalled already about 10,000 baht. He'd been in debt for nearly ten years. In all those years, all his efforts had only succeeded in ensuring that his debts compounded interest slowly.

One year, the garlic price had been exceptionally good, which was why he found himself in his present state. The merchants that year had come directly to the village, buying at fourteen to fifteen baht a kilo. It meant that, for once, Lung Maa had enough money to think of working for a better life. So, he borrowed 10,000 baht. With that and the money he had saved previously, he bought another three rai of paddyfield. He was willing to pay the interest rate of 150 thang (Note: Thang [pronounced taang+ not thaang+] is a northern Thai version of bushel. During 1977, one thang of rice can be sold for 45-50 baht. Please note also that one rai [=1,600 sq. meters or 0.4 acre] of land yields 30-60 thang per crop.) of rice per year. He had planned to use the entire rice crop from the newly bought land to pay the interest and use the money from the dry season to pay off the original loan.

But he met with bad luck. The following year, the garlic prices dropped to between thirty and fifty satang (one 100th of baht) a kilo, despite his effort to appease the merchants by bringing the garlic directly to their warehouses and despite the fact that the seed he had bought had been very expensive, nearly fifty baht per kilo. He thought they were probably garlic seeds imported from China. That year began his downward cycle. No matter how he struggled by trying other crops, the profit he made was only enough to see his family through. One year, the price of rice dropped to five baht a thang, forcing him to give up his new plot of land to his creditor. But he was still left with debts worth more than the plot of land he had inherited from his parents. He debts kept steadily increasing. Now he was working his remaining four rai without getting anything himself, because the rice yield went to pay the interest on his debts. The hope that he would one day clear himself of his debts had faded.

As he thought of his past, his eyes brimmed with tears of bitterness at his fate, welling over as his thoughts turned to the future. In another tow or three days, his daughter, while still living, would be forced into hell in Bangkok. In two or three weeks, he would once again face the painful sight of his creditor callously coming to collect 200 thang of rice. This year there had not been enough water, so he was not sure if he would have enough rice to pay, and if there would be any left over. Agony tore his heart as he recalled the words of his creditor, echoing in his mind: "Maa, the money you've borrowed from me now amounts to more than the value of the land you mortgaged. What am I to do? If it keeps on like this, I'm afraid I's going to have to ask to claim your land and house. Next year my son is going abroad, so I'll be having a lot of expenses myself. So please try to pay me by then, if even only the interest."

So now his daughter had gone with Yai Phloy. He had controlled his tears. His parting words to his daughter had been to obey Yai Phloy without questions. If she had any problems, she should write a letter and let him know. He consoled her by saying if he had a chance, he would come to visit her. Of what he had prepared to tell her, nor a single word would come out.