Sibu Tales : '半斤八两 Half catty eight tahils''

Two women were rivals in the chicken market in Sibu and they were often only too happy to trade verbal abuses from early morning to noon.

The market was used to their tirade of abuses.

One day, a customer made a mistake of looking at the chickens in the wrong stall. She was supposed to buy a specially ordered chicken (by her daughter)from Stall A. But she mistakenly chose a chicken from Stall B because she thought that it was the one she ordered. The lady owner of Stall B knew she had made a mistake but she did not say anything.

The customer had it weighed and then she paid for it.

But before she left, the owner of Stall A appeared and she recognised the customer, saying that her daughter had told her to give her the specially ordered chicken.

That started a huge argument. Stall A owner accused Stall B owner of stealing her customer.

Both of them were fiercely arguing with each other and even raised their Chinese cleavers.

Fortunately, the local Foochow headman came by and stopped the quarrelling.

The headman happened to be related to the customer and he offered to buy the pre ordered chicken. But that did not stop the Stall A owner from threatening the Stall B owner.

By that time a large group of people have come by to watch the public quarrel.

The husbands of the two women came also to help out.

In the end the Foochow penghulu paid for the chicken and walked away, shaking his head and saying under his breath, "These two women, half catty eight tahils." SAME.