It details the rise of a Chinese businessman who becomes rich after finding a kite made of paper money in a village, who then uses dishonesty to advance his personal wealth before disowning his daughter after she converts to Islam and marries a Javanese man.
Written in a journalistic style and derived from actual events, Tjerita Oeij Se was inspired by the life of the tobacco tycoon Oey Thai Lo.
Investing this money, Oeij Se is quickly able to become a successful businessman, dabbling in various aspects of trade and building an extensive home for himself, his wife, and their two children.
Years pass until one day a Dutchman named Vigni comes to and asks permission to store a locked chest filled with gold in Oeij Se's home for safekeeping.
[2] Scholar of Indonesian literature Jakob Sumardjo notes that the novel's style is very journalistic, focusing exclusively on events significant to the plot.
[3] Several writers, including Sumardjo and Leo Suryadinata, write that the novel was based on news stories and the life of the tobacco tycoon Oey Thai Lo.
[6] Sumardjo cites a 1936 magazine article which describes events which may have inspired the story: in 1901, a Dutch ship was thrown ashore, leading to chests of paper money being collected by locals who claimed right to what they could scavenge.
[12] In 2000 the novel was reprinted in the inaugural volume of Kesastraan Melayu Tionghoa dan Kebangsaan Indonesia, an anthology of Chinese Malay literature.