Two of my maternal uncles had a share of fishing in the South China Sea after the Second World War but luck was not with them because they joined up with a few men to share a boat and that boat shipwrecked after a few trips.
When they caught a large muang ngii, my mother told us that the fishermen would eat the fish head first and then salt and sun dry the other parts. They would reserve all the better fish for sale in Sibu
The fish they caught would be iced in the ice box below the deck. Life was not easy because they had no wireless radio and everything depended on nature.
They did quite well when they had good weather.
After the fishing boat shipwrecked, my two uncles went to Sibu to work as wharf labourers.
In the 60's my ngie mah had a tenant who rented the spare apartment in the big house.
Mr and Mrs. Ho Wang operated a mandong boat. Because Mr. Ho sailed the mandong boat from Nang Chong to the sea coast, he often could get some fresh muang ngii from the Melanaus. He had a small box lined with gunny sack which he used as his ice box. The few blocks of ice in this box could keep fish fresh for at least three days.
Thus as part of his goods, he would have fish from the sea coast to be sold to villagers in Nang Chong. One of the best fish he would bring home was muang ngii, a fish very welcome by the Foochows.
Mrs. Ho was most fond of muang ngii bones for soup. And each time she made some muang ngii soup she would call my grandmother to have a small bowl.
My grandmother would also buy some muang ngii from Mr Ho to deep fry. The muang ngii slices would also be coated with Red Wine Lees or Ern Chow.
When Mr. Ho became more successful in his business, he and his family moved away. My grandmother missed them a lot because Mrs. Ho was like a daughter to her.
My grandmother used to say that her Nang Chong house had very good Feng Shui because many people who lived there for a short while became very successful. She remembered Mr. Peter Chong who lived in the house during the Japanese Occupation, when she herself was stranded in China, Tan Sri Lau Hieng Ding who lived with her for six months during the Communist Period, and a few others. And of course Mr and Mrs. Ho.
However towards the last decade of my grandmother's life she did not enjoy muang ngii as much as she did when she was younger. Firstly she was visually handicapped and secondly, muang ngii, a delicacy became very rare in the market. Thirdly, she could no longer go to Sibu easily to buy from her cousin,who was a salt fish monger.
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