Quantum Leap - Vol. 1 The Leap That Starts It All

C020 Hangover

"Haiyoo... sleepyhead. Just wake up, izzit? You all really party hard last night. Hahaha... You had been drinking more than me and yet are able to wake up earlier than myself. I had never had a good celebratory feast in a very long time and it happened to be with my good buddy after all. I am very happy, very happy indeed."

Gao jokingly mentioned it to the brothers as he slowly walked towards them.  He was grinning widely and was rubbing his tummy, most probably from eating too much from last night's feast or simply had just dump a pile of poop in the communal outhouse. Hahahaha."

"Fortunately for me, I had turned in early last night as I don't think I would be able to wake up if I were to drink like you brother. Furthermore,  I think after drinking too much Tuak, the hangover today would take some time to clear... !"

I defensive spoke up for the rest since they were too groggy to compose intellectual words for Gao.

"Stay for lunch first, my brothers. Lunch would be ready in about 10mins or so. A hot meal would be able to clear away the grogginess that you all are suffering right now. Hahaha... I had mine already and it would be best to treat our guests well, am I right?"

"Run along now for a cold shower and then freshen up after that. You would be leaving here right after lunch, would that be alright for you?"

Gao then turned around and headed back to his house as he instructed his servants to prepare the lunch for his guests. At that moment too, he checked with the rest of community that was not involved with the last night's party as the share of the wild boar's meat had been used to prepare the meals for the day.

"Oooh... This is damn bad right now...! My head is gonna split in two right now...! Urrgghh...!" Cheng unsteadily stood up as the other brothers supported each other and struggled to stand up as the immense hangover really makes standing up straight seems like a chore. It was a darn struggle and the standing part nearly made everyone tumble and topple over.

"After a cold shower, it should be able to remove some of this goddamned hangover. Next time, I will limit to two bamboo liquor and not more than that. No matter how much I love to drink, but this Tuak is really a potent kind of alcoholic drink. Too much of it could really kill you, Bo, do you believe me or not?! I really hit my limit and could not stop drinking because of the music and the thumping of the fantastic drums and dancing...!"

Ding remarked as he made his way to the men's communal shower and had used his sarong that he had earlier slung over his shoulders as a wraparound bathing robe. All the three brothers were supporting each other as they made their way to the communal bath. As we had no other types of wear to change after that, we had to make sure we do not wet our clothes that we would be wearing back once again.

I soon followed them preparing myself to douse with the cold groundwater in the deep well; hoping that the cold water would somehow lift this hangover away. The coldness of the water immediately brought me back to my senses as it was very refreshing and I could tell you that it is freaking freezing when the first bucket hits me. The pores on my skin immediately contracted and it felt just like bare chicken skin that had just been plucked. Hahaha...!

During my past life, I rarely drink except on occasion and it would only be limited to half a bottle of chilled cabernet, port or sherry. This bamboo liquor is potent at more than 70% proof for sure. It was like the moonshine of the East and I knew that some trees such as maple could be used as one of the main ingredients for an alcoholic beverage once it had been fermented over some time.

Frankly, it was an experience for me that I could not forget at all. All in all, it was really worth it since little did I knew that the experiences that I had along the way would be used throughout my leaps.

The rest of us had changed to our wraparound cloth, pulled water from the well and douse ourselves with it. After a really cold and refreshing shower, we wore back yesterday's clothes and used the sarong as a towel and somehow managed to dry our bodies and hair.

After wringing the sarong a few times we hung it near the platform we had slept earlier. After a short while, Gao came with two servants of his, carrying two trays containing several banana wraps that I presume would contain steamed rice. The sarong that we had used to shower was later hung in the laundry drying area where the soft breeze and sun helped to dry the sarong up so we could use it once again before heading back home.

Two earthen jugs were present with several bamboo cups. A large bowl of the dish was brought in as well. When the trays were set on the mat in the middle of the platform, our mouths started to water as the dish that was prepared was rather sumptuous. Cheng was half expecting to find the earthen jugs to be filled with some kind of alcoholic beverage but was a little dismayed when he discovered that it was filled with honeyed water.

This honeyed water was one of the drink that would be used to alleviate the hangover after last night's party. Furthermore, honey was one of the ingredients for many medicinal purposes.

Today's lunch would be the belly from the wild boar that was cooked in black fermented soya bean with bits of chopped carrots, tomatoes and slices of onions. The sauce was made by mixing black soya beans, vinegar and garlic.

After the dish had been simmered in its own fat with a little later of water for some time, a thin layer of oil from the belly meat would be extracted in that manner and be seen skimming on the surface. There is no need to add additional oil or fat since the fat from the belly pork would suffice in braising the meat.

The sweet smell of the sauce wafted into our nostrils. Also, this dish is very well known in either Indochina or Polynesia. While some called it braised belly pork, it was also known as 'adobong baboy' elsewhere.

"Come...Come. Let's eat! This is our village speciality called 'Humba'. We serve this on occasions when the hunters have brought in their kills such as boar or hog."

"But the wild boar that you had brought in, that single beast can feed one village for some time."

Gao explained as he passed the mounds of wrapped banana leaves to us. I can say that the meat was so succulent that it virtually melted in our mouth.

The three brothers ate noisily, munching and talking with their mouths full; complementing Gao about the way the dish was prepared.

A simple one-dish-meal was enough to make one's happy and the hangover slowly lifted off from our heavy heads.

After lunch, Gao and the brothers made two rolled tobacco and shared among one another.

Since I was a casual smoker in my life back in the past life, the thought of smoking the rolled tobacco was like smoking 3 to 5 sticks of cigarette at one go.

It was like having a puff of shisha which was equivalent to 3 sticks of cigarette. I wondered how much damage my lungs had been and I think I would pass on this one.

I didn't dare to smoke one as I thought that a single puff of that rolled cigarette can surely burn a humongous hole in my lungs immediately and also cloud my brain cells too...

We chatted about 30mins or so and finally excused ourselves to return back to our settlement. Gao extended his hand for everyone to shake and he wished that he hoped to meet with us again sometime in the future.

We bade our farewells to Gao and the rest of the settlers as we made our journey back to Bamboo Village as the estimated time of travel takes about two hours.

With our tummy full to the brim, we let out satisfactory burps as we made our way home.

"That braised pork belly in fermented soya beans really tasted very nice. We do not have the luxury of having meat in our village as the beasts were nowhere to be seen, right?"

"But if we could have meat occasionally and for the Stone Village to have fish, we can easily make an exchange, don't you think so?"

I highlighted to the brothers and they seemed to notice that this particular Bo was a tad different from the original one and seemed to be smarter than before and also was able to fight and defeat the wild boat with a single strike from the keris.

Dusk was approaching fast when we reached our settlement. It was a relief since we had made several stops in between to drink up some coconut juice from the plantations around the path that leads to our village.

We had left Stone Village right after lunch around mid-afternoon and had reached the perimeter of our village.

When we entered the village, the big bonfire in the middle of the courtyard had already been lit as tongues of flames were leaping from it in the distance.

The women folk who were attending to the courtyard activities, welcomed us when we passed through the entrance of the village.

Ani was there and ensuring that the grains that had been pounded were carefully packed in the hemp sacks before they would winnow them on the day after.

The moment Ani saw us entering the village, she rushed up to me and held on to my arm as she sidled next to me. "How was your trip there, Abang? Have you eaten anything yet? If not, do you want me to set up some things for you later on?"

Ani stood close to me and I could feel the warmth of her body radiating against me as I could feel her sweet breath close to me as well.

"Coffee would be great, Ani, along with some snacks. We had already eaten quite a heavy meal en route here, so I guess it would be best to have something light."

Anything heavier than this, I would have trouble sleeping tonight." I held on her arms and gave her an assurance that we would not bother her much and just prepare something light instead.

She walked off in the direction of the house while the rest of the brothers went back to their respective houses and bade goodnight to me.

Since the trip was long and tiresome, coupled by the feast that we had in Stone Village, hosted by Eun's friend who happened to be the great-grandson of the village chief, I doubt they would have the energy to go to the meeting point and to chit chat and while the night away.

I washed my feet at the foot of the stairs before heading upstairs into the house. I then changed to my sarong and dumped the clothes worn previously into the wicker basket at the corner of the living hall.

I took the keris with me and laid it in front as I sat cross-legged. Ani came with an earthen small pot and two cups as she laid it on the floor in front of me.

She then poured hot steaming, fragrant coffee into both cups as I took a cup and slowly sip it down.

The hot black coffee was very welcoming indeed and I was able to relax a bit after I had drunk a refill.