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1880-1911: Sih Khay Hie, the one-man business
Shortly after his marriage in 1880, Sih Khay Hie started for himself. He set up his own textile shop in Gang Warung Kulon , and his stay in the Dutch East Indies became more permanent as he received his official residency permit on August 7, 1882. The first few years could not have been easy ones for the business. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Dutch colony went through difficult economic times.
Sih Khay Hie started out as a small retailer, and gradually grew to be a distributor. He sold textile products such as yarn (for weaving factories), mori (white cotton used in batik production) and regular kain klontong (printed cotton) sold to retail customers. He traded with European importers on credit: the importers gave him credit in the form of goods, i.e. textile products. After selling the goods, he would return the credit in cash. This type of business dealings required little capital.
Family parties
The highlight of our family life was Chinese New Year. This period meant three parties in a row for the Sih family: one on the day of Chinese New Year, then Engkong Tiauw Hin’s birthday about nine days later, concluded by Tjap Go Meh on the 15th day after Chinese New Year.
On New Year’s Day, the grandchildren had to give New Year’s Greetings to Engkong and Mah in the parlor. Engkong Tiauw Hin would be clad in European clothing, as usual, while Mah Djoen would wear a shanghai dress. Many people would come to give New Year’s wishes, and cake would be served on those occasions.
The family would go to Gang Warung on that day to pray in front of the ancestors altar and wish the other members of the family a happy new year.
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Thuiswinkel Waarborg