gay butcher

bee and i used to have breakfast at the marine terrace hawker center some years back. and after breakfast, we would do our marketing at the adjoining market. and there was this young (ok, in his mid-late 20s) chap who helped his dad sell pork there. and whenever he sees us, he would call out to us in an extra friendly manner. he is what one would describe as a bengish person. quite cute. interesting. bee and i had always suspect he was gay. it was not just becos he paid special attention to us, but rather, his overall mannerism as well as his turn out and dressing. imagine a butcher assistant spotting a pony tail, dons a bandana, wears sleeveless muscle tees, and has a well toned, buffed up body with arms that all gay men yearn for! can almost imagine a fantasy porn clip right? heh heh... his dad passed on about 2 years back and now he owns the store. he is a lot more mature now and spots a neat and short haircut. these days, he wears sleeved t-shirts (usually the body hugging type) and matching berms. very trendy and very unusual for a butcher. otherwise, nothing has changed. he still calls out to people and he still flirts with us whenever we visit the market. of course, we enjoy his attention. and while we suspected his sexuality, we didn't really care nor try to verify it. after all, each of us has our lives to live. but certainly - a gay ah beng butcher, how interesting right? bee and i gave him a nickname. we called him zhu rou rong... or "porky rong", don't ask why the name rong, it just sounded nice and appropriate.

bee and i last visited the market around lunar new year this year and that was the last time we met him. and today, after visiting the clinic with mum, we decided to have our breakfast at the hawker center. as we ate, i noticed quite a few young assistant butchers walking pass my table (towards the smoking area). i didn't care much. these must be the sons of all the other butcher uncles. time flies and a new generation of butchers are in the making, i thought. halfway through breakfast, mum said she wanted to have roast pork for lunch and asked to be wheeled to the roast pork store (which was located behind zhu rou rong's store). and as i walked towards zhu rou rong's store, i realized all the young assistant butchers are his! wohh! meat store indeed (in more than one ways!) and as i approach the store, zhu rou rong saw me and shouted out in cantonese "wa! so long never see you already! where did you go to?" i smiled and replied "been busy, no time". well, cantonese is not a language that i can converse comfortably in and my sentence came out a little off-tone, i thought. but what caught me off-guard was his next reply. a reply that made all the neighbouring aunties turned and looked at him... he shouted out "no time? chey... you got married to someone is it? (har? mou tark harn? chey... lei kar chor yarn ah-marr?)" and he laughed...

well, you cannot really feel the punch of this sentence when written/ translated into english, but in cantonese it sounded really weird. every one just seemed stunned and it was silent for that very short moment. but thankfully, they recovered and aunties simply smiled. i bought the roast pork and wheeled my mum along. that was when zhu rou rong noticed my mum. and from his sudden change in behaviour, tone and facial expression, it was quite clear he felt a little embarrassed with his remark. i just smiled, wished him good bye and continued my marketing. heh heh... my only conclusion from this whole episode is - yes, zhu rou rong is indeed gay.

picture from http://www.cracked.com