There's a special bonus for working on Sundays. Ko Aheng pays more than usual. On weekdays, his workers are paid Rp. 8,000, but anyone who comes in on Sundays will receive Rp. 10,000.
Ko Aheng used to want to close his business every Sunday because he thought no one would want to come in, as Sundays are a family vacation for most people in the city. However, since his employees decided to continue working even on Sundays, Ko Aheng has kept his business open and only pays extra on Sundays.
I didn't know about this myself, as I only started work on Friday afternoons. Ko Aheng didn't explain to me about the bonus for coming in on Sundays. He also didn't forbid his employees from being unable to come in on Sundays. Instead, they have agreed to take turns taking Sundays off so that Ko Aheng's business can remain open every day.
It's also natural for Ko Aheng to pay his workers more every Sunday. Besides providing work allowance for those who still come in, the central market in P City is twice as busy on Sundays, and orders for crushed ice cubes from meat and fish vendors are higher than usual.
There aren't as many workers on Sundays as on weekdays, as some take time off, as agreed with the workers at Ko Aheng's business. Despite the higher demand, Ko Aheng doesn't force them to work to fulfill all the meat and fish vendors' requests.
The workers continue to perform their duties as usual, according to the number of people working that Sunday. To meet the double-digit demand, Ko Aheng reduces the price per pack of crushed ice from Rp 1,000 to Rp 800, on the condition that the meat and fish vendors themselves instruct their workers to pick up the crushed ice, wrapped in plastic bags, from Ko Aheng's shop.
Because they really needed it, every Sunday they were willing to pick up the ice packs, outside of the usual orders brought by Ko Aheng's workers, for just over Rp. 800, cheaper than the Rp. 1,000 per pack delivered by the workers.
When the lunch break arrived, I ate lunch with the supplies I'd brought from my boarding house that morning. I was quite tired, not used to working all day, but I was excited about paying the rent, which the landlord usually collects on a specified date, the next afternoon.
"Ryan!" Ko Aheng called. I, having just come from the bathroom to clean myself, immediately went and sat across from Ko Aheng, as work hours were over.
"Yes, Ko, what's up?" I asked.
"Here, your wages for today," Ko Aheng said, handing me Rp. 10,000. I then reached into my pocket and pulled out two thousand rupiah bills, handing them to Ko Aheng, intending to return the Rp. 2,000, because I didn't know the pay was 10,000 rupiah on Sundays, not 8,000 rupiah.
"Oh, why are you giving me 2,000 rupiah back?" Ko Aheng asked, surprised.
"Didn't Ko Aheng say that if you work half a day you'll get 4,000 rupiah, and if you work a full day, you'll get 8,000 rupiah?" I said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about the special Sunday pay. Every Sunday, I'll pay the workers who come in extra than usual, 10,000 rupiah, so you don't have to give me the change," Ko Aheng said.
"Oh, I see, Ko. Wow, I'm so lucky I came in today. Thank you, Ko. I'll take my leave now." I said happily.
"Yes, be careful on the road!" Ko Aheng said with a smile. He was even more pleased to see me, even though I was new to the job and the youngest among his employees, yet I was so agile and diligent.
As usual, I returned to my boarding house from Ko Aheng's business by taking the public transportation that passed in front of the central market in P City. The fatigue I had felt earlier seemed to vanish when I remembered that the money I had earned from my work over the past three days was enough to cover this month's rent.
****
Monday afternoon, not long after I got home from school, Mrs. Eva, the owner of the boarding house, came to collect the rent for the row of tenements she had built. Like all the other boarding house residents, I paid the rent owed to Mrs. Eva. I had the afternoon school shift that week, so I worked at Ko Aheng's ice cream shop from morning until 12 noon.
Mrs. Eva's residence was quite far from the boarding house she owned. Judging by her appearance and facial expression, the landlady seemed to be around the same age as Mrs. Dola, one of the female teachers at my school. Despite having two children, each in fifth grade and the youngest in kindergarten, she still looked as good as a teenage girl at the time. Perhaps because Mrs. Eva was relatively well-off and had enough money to maintain her figure.
The landlady preferred to sit on the veranda of Sugeng's house, as Mrs. Eva considered the family friendlier and more relaxed than the other boarding house residents. On Sugeng's veranda, there were seats, though they were only made of planks, and a table the same length as the chairs. Coincidentally, that night, Sugeng didn't bring his satay cart around the housing complex surrounding Mrs. Eva's boarding house. Occasionally, he would just sell satay in front of the boarding house he rented. So, his customers, who had learned that Sugeng wasn't selling on certain nights, came to the place themselves.
"Sugeng!" Mrs. Eva called.
"Yes, Mrs. Eva," Sugeng replied.
"Please make two plates of satay, one for Ryan," Mrs. Eva said.