Curious, Randa quickly checked the messages on his phone to find out what was really going on.
He started reading from the very beginning. His brow furrowed as he went through each word, unable at first to make sense of what his friends were discussing in the group chat.
But as he scrolled further down, the frown slowly faded from his face, replaced by astonishment.
"Wait… are those eggs really magical?"
Still in disbelief, Randa typed a message to confirm whether his friends were serious.
As if they had been waiting all along, their replies came instantly.
Seeing this, Randa could only smile bitterly.
"Judging from how fast they replied, I guess it must be true."
It turned out that the teh Talua he had given them the night before really did have miraculous effects.
According to their stories, after drinking the egg tea, their vitality as men had skyrocketed, giving them more confidence with their wives.
The happiest one, of course, was Rizky. He had long been suffering from his wife's terrible cooking, and last night had been the perfect chance for him to "punish" her.
Seeing all this, Randa couldn't help but feel excited.
"Hahaha! If that's the case, I don't need to worry about how to sell these eggs anymore!"
At first, he had been troubled by the fact that his hens were laying more and more eggs.
It wasn't that he feared they wouldn't sell—he just didn't want to sell them at the same price as ordinary eggs.
That thought alone made him grin.
He also recalled how cheerful his mother had been that morning and finally understood the reason behind her unusually good mood.
Randa decided to tell his friends that starting today they could buy teh Talua from him to help keep their households harmonious.
As a good friend, he felt it was his duty to help them—even if it meant, in his words, "diving into a sea of fire." A bit dramatic, perhaps.
But just before replying, he suddenly froze as if struck by a realization.
"If these eggs are so effective, then why didn't I feel anything?" he muttered, puzzled.
"Could it be that I have… a problem down there? Is that why the eggs don't work on me?" The thought terrified him.
Randa's mind started to spiral, and worry set in. As a normal man, he couldn't imagine having that kind of problem.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
After a long silence, the truth hit him.
"Ah! Of course—it must be because of the Prison Style Workout I've been doing lately!"
He remembered how, before eating the eggs infused with the Tirtha water, his body had felt exhausted from training. But today, after eating them, he had been able to train harder and with even more energy.
Relieved, Randa finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was fine.
He then sent a message to his friends, letting them know that teh Talua was now available.
Not long after, his phone was flooded with notification sounds.
Randa smiled helplessly. Clearly, they were all very enthusiastic about his eggs.
Once that was taken care of, Randa got ready to shower and pack up.
...
That evening, after coming home from selling, Randa didn't go straight to clean up as usual. Instead, he headed to the backyard to check on his chickens.
As he reached the coop, he was greeted by the smell of manure and the clucking of hens.
This time, though, the things that usually annoyed him somehow felt like pleasant music to his ears.
After all, he had decided to sell his free-range eggs at thirty thousand rupiah each—about two dollars—five times the usual price.
He began caring for the chickens more diligently, even cleaning the coop with extra care.
Caught up in his excitement, he worked late into the night until his father finally called him back inside.
Realizing he had gone overboard, Randa stopped and returned home.
He washed up, ate dinner, and rested for a bit.
At the dinner table, he announced his plan to sell the eggs—both raw and as teh Talua—at five times the normal price.
His mother frowned in disapproval, while his father was left speechless.
Meanwhile, his teenage sister Nisa burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! You'd make a perfect scammer or MLM salesman. Honestly, you have the talent—and the heart of a crook!"
Randa froze at the jab, then shot back in his usual older-brother tone—half joking, half annoyed.
"Hmph! If I'm a scammer, then you're eating the fruits of my scams too! If you don't like it, don't touch my eggs. My eggs are delicious and packed with nutrition, after all!"
Nisa snorted irritably, while their parents exchanged silent glances. They didn't argue, because the benefits of the eggs were real—it wasn't unreasonable to sell them at a higher price.
In fact, ever since Randa's success selling fried bananas, his parents had grown somewhat accustomed to the idea of selling things at premium prices.
Dinner ended with more egg talk.
Later, Randa took a short rest in his room while his parents went out to check on the shop.
Afterward, he stepped outside for some fresh air.
Near the porch, he heard faint commotion from outside. Curious, he walked over.
To his shock, he saw a group of men gathered in front of their usually quiet grocery shop.
He approached and spotted a familiar face.
"Hey, Rohid. What are you guys doing here with so many people?" he asked.
Rohid, who had been focused on something, turned around. The moment he saw Randa, his serious expression broke into a broad smile.
"Hahaha, Randa! We're all lining up to buy teh Talua from your family! I can't believe something this amazing actually exists!" he said enthusiastically.
Randa blinked. "Oh? You don't mind the high price?"
"Not at all! It's a real supplement. It's not like I'll drink it every day. I just want to try again today, to make sure last night's results were real."
Randa nodded, then started chatting with Rohid and the others to lighten the mood.
At first, he was relaxed, but as the crowd grew larger, he became overwhelmed.
How had so many people shown up? Last night, only a handful had tried teh Talua.
What he didn't know was that those satisfied few had already spread the word to their families and friends.
Naturally, anything new—especially something effective—spread quickly.
Soon, the crowd grew even bigger. Randa helped his mother prepare teh Talua for the customers while also handling orders from Rizky and the others.
In the midst of the busy work, one thought dampened his mood.
"What a waste… all this egg white is just getting thrown away," he grumbled.
As explained before, teh Talua only required the yolk, which meant the whites were left unused. Without another purpose, they would just go to waste.
The family could only eat around ten to fifteen whites a day. Beyond that, it was impossible to finish them all.
Frustrated, Randa tried to come up with ways to keep the whites from going to waste. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't find a satisfying solution.
The only idea he had was to sell them to gym-goers.
Since he himself had benefited from the eggs in his workouts, he was certain others would buy them too. The problem was, he didn't know anyone who trained regularly at a gym.
While he was stuck on how to maximize profit and minimize waste, Nisa suddenly walked out, frowning at her phone.
Seeing her upset, Randa grew curious.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing. It's just… I've got a pimple." Nisa explained with a sigh.
Randa glanced at her and couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. The so-called pimple was tiny, barely noticeable.
"Hey, why are you making such a fuss? Isn't it normal for teenagers to get pimples? I used to have so many they covered my whole face. But look at me now—perfectly fine, right?"
At that, Nisa shivered, remembering her brother's acne-ridden past. The thought horrified her. She didn't want the same fate, so she snapped back angrily.
"Don't say that! What if it actually happens?!"
In Indonesia, many believe that words can turn into reality, especially when spoken by elders or older siblings. No wonder she was upset.
Randa just rolled his eyes again, unwilling to argue.
"Hmph, whatever."
Nisa sat down, searching online for acne remedies while also asking her friends in the group chat.
Nisa: Guys, guys, do you know what's good for getting rid of pimples?
Olivia: What's wrong, Nisa? You broke out?
Nisa: Yeah. [Photo]
She sent a selfie to the group, and her friends immediately responded.
Dea: You can use face masks from the store. Or make your own at home.
Nisa: Huh? Make my own? With what?
Olivia: Cucumber, tomato, or even egg whites.
Nisa: What?! Seriously?
Nisa knew cucumbers and tomatoes were good for skin, but she never expected egg whites to be an option too.
Skeptical, she searched online and found it was true—egg whites were often used as a natural mask.
Nisa: But that's not dangerous, right?
Dea: Nope, tons of tutorials out there. Just don't follow the weird ones, like using toothpaste or vinegar.
Nisa nodded at that. She started thinking about making her own mask.
Just then, she glanced over and saw her brother helping their mother prepare teh Talua. That's when it hit her—there were piles of unused egg whites right there.
"Eggs are great to eat… maybe they'll work wonders as a mask too?" she thought.
Though unsure, she decided to try it herself. She walked over to her brother.
"Brother, put the egg whites in here," she said, holding out a bowl.
Randa obliged without asking much.
"What for? Making an omelet?"
Nisa smirked triumphantly.
"Nope. I'm making a face mask."
Randa blinked, baffled, but quickly gave up questioning her.
"This girl… always up to something."
Nisa stuck her tongue out playfully before dashing back to her room.
Randa could only shake his head. It seemed silly, but he was sure the egg whites wouldn't harm her.
In her room, Nisa washed her face thoroughly. Then she whisked the egg whites until frothy and cut tissue into small strips.
Using a brush, she spread the egg white over her face and layered the tissue strips until her whole face was covered, like a store-bought sheet mask.
While waiting for it to dry, she tidied up the mess she had made. Passing through the kitchen again, her mother and brother gave her puzzled looks. Nisa just huffed and hurried back to her room.
Fifteen minutes later, she peeled off the mask and rinsed her face. Whether real or just her imagination, her skin looked brighter. Pleased with the result, Nisa went to bed in a cheerful mood.
...
The next morning, Nisa woke up as usual. Still sleepy, her eyes weren't fully open, and her vision was blurry.
After washing her face, she felt refreshed. But as she looked in the mirror, something seemed off.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!" she screamed hysterically—a mix of shock, disbelief, and confusion.