Wandering merchant life

Along the Mekong Delta

As dawn gradually broke, Vinh Phong floating market in Vinh Phong commune was already bustling. Mr. Tam (Nguyen Van Tam), originally from the old Hau Giang , was busy loading goods onto the boat with his wife to prepare to follow the Chac Bang river all the way to Ca Mau... Meanwhile, some other boats were transferring fruits and vegetables from the boat to the wharf, then taking other goods down to the boat to go back and forth.

Merchants traveled back and forth across the Mekong Delta. Photo: PHAM HIEU

Quickly arranging the fruits, Mr. Tam excitedly, he himself did not remember how many times he had come and gone to Vinh Phong floating market and how long it had been, maybe 5-7 years ago or even longer. He only remembered that when Cai Rang and Nga Nam floating markets were crowded with boats, Mr. Tam and his wife tried their luck in Kien Giang (now An Giang province) to sell, and then made a profit. And so, according to the season, he and his wife transported agricultural products from other places to sell, then bought local goods to sell elsewhere. Just like that, the lives of merchants like him continuously revolved with the shipments, each high and low tide from year to year throughout the Mekong Delta.

Mr. Tam said, after decades of being a merchant, the happiest thing was having two children right on the river. His son was named Giang, his daughter was named Thuy, as a reminder of a beautiful memory of his life. "Now they are over 30 years old, married, have stable jobs on the shore, so now my wife and I don't have many worries," Mr. Tam said.

According to Mr. Tam, life on the river is inconvenient, material things are not as abundant as on land, but love is always full like the high tide of the Mekong River... He said, the happiest thing in the life of a merchant is after a tiring day of buying and selling to make a living, when the floating market is less crowded, a few boats are anchored at the same dock waiting. The vọng cổ verse in the song " Tình anh bán ngủ" at that time was also sung as if to pour out all the worries of the merchant's life and blend with the moonlight, to be a companion. As for the wives, the topic is about their children in the countryside, plans to buy land to have a place to settle down and get married when they are of marriageable age... And there is also the story of breaking up with business partners, saying goodbye to life on the river. Many people say they can't bear it, but that is also a part of life.

Deeply feel the sorrow of a merchant's life

“It sounds romantic, but merchants are very sad now,” Mr. Tam said in a low voice. Then he confided that “buying goods” by boat is no longer like before because now most of them are transported by truck; agricultural products have fallen in price, while high fuel prices… have caused many people to quit their jobs and do other jobs. Therefore, only those who have been on boats can understand the sadness of today’s merchant life…

After a few stories and a few cups of tea, it was time for Mr. Ba Tai and his wife to start their new journey. The old diesel engine belched out black smoke, pushing Mr. Tam and his wife's boat away from the dock. The boat, like a mobile home, gradually moved away and disappeared into the vast space, leaving behind the echoes of a merchant's life before the changes in life. Because few people would have expected that, not long ago, in the West, famous names such as: Cai Be, Cai Rang, Long Xuyen, Nga Nam, Tra On, Ngan Dua, Ca Mau , Vinh Thuan, Rach Soi floating markets... were bustling with customers every day, but now they have gradually thinned out.

We also left Vinh Phong floating market, to the former sugar capital of U Minh Thuong - where along the canals there are still junks that used to transport U Minh sugarcane to Cai Lon river, then downstream to sugar factories in Long Thanh or all the way to Vi Thanh. However, now they lie quietly under the red canals of the cajuput forest, only more than half of their rotten trunks are exposed.

Stopping in front of Mr. Hai Tan's house, residing in U Minh Thuong commune, to ask about the sugarcane trade and sugarcane transportation in the past, Mr. Hai's eyes lit up, then he looked at the edge of the canal - where the old boat lay still forever under the water. Although he was nearly eighty years old, with white hair and a thin figure, his eyes still shone with the "spirit" of a life of going up and down the river. He said that the boat at the wharf was his close friend, sharing the golden age when he was still young. On that boat, he used to transport sugarcane from this area to all the sugar factories in the area, and when the price of sugarcane dropped, he turned to transport Ba Dinh pineapples to Vinh Thuan floating market (now Vinh Phong) to sell. Many times when he was in the mood, he would rush all the way to Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho to satisfy his desire to wander the river... He said that the boat used to be his home, his fire, the place where his children were born, and also the place where they left and came to live on land; Then about ten years ago, it was his turn to no longer have the strength to stay up all night, steering the boat through each small canal, pouring into the Cai Lon River.

Merchants are like that, used to living by the seasons, used to reading the weather by the clouds. Even though they are worried, even though they know the future is unpredictable, those who still have the strength cannot leave. Because this profession has been imprinted in every wrinkle and callus on their hands, how can they give it up. And those who have to leave are forever filled with longing.

PHAM HIEU

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/lenh-denh-kiep-thuong-ho-a462762.html