The secret to longevity of three sisters over 100 years old in Nghe An

They are three sisters Le Thi Thoai (109 years old), Le Thi Muu (107 years old) and Le Thi Mui (101 years old), all living in Hamlet 3, Ly Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District. According to information from relatives, the three were born in a family of 7 siblings. Currently, 4 have passed away, only 3 remain living together in a small hamlet.

Mr. Thoai with his daughter-in-law (right) and daughter. Photo: Tran Vu

Talking about her mother-in-law, Mrs. Vu Thi Luu (75 years old, daughter-in-law of Mr. Thoai) said that despite her old age, her mother's eyes are very sharp and her mind is clear. She lives a clean and tidy life. Now over a hundred years old, she still often goes to the garden to sweep and collect dry firewood. Worried about her health, her children and grandchildren often advise her, but whenever she sees no one around, she goes to the garden to work.

“Despite her age, my mother rarely gets sick. In the nearly 50 years I have been a daughter-in-law, I have never seen her go to the hospital,” said Mrs. Luu.

Sharing about the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Mrs. Luu said: “Even chopsticks sometimes collide, in life my mother-in-law and I cannot avoid conflicts, but the special thing is that my mother rarely scolds me harshly. She only gently teaches me with verses from the song "Father and Son Love Deep". "Don't be too harsh with words, don't be too harsh with reputation/ Don't be too loud, don't be too serious/ As a child, you shouldn't argue with your mother and teacher."

Just a few houses away is where Mrs. Le Thi Muu lives. She currently lives with her son's family - Mr. Le Anh Dao. She is a Vietnamese Heroic Mother whose husband and son died in the resistance war.

According to the family, in 1950, Mrs. Muu's husband died in the resistance war against the French in Nghia Lo (Yen Bai). At the time of her husband's death, she was pregnant with her youngest son. Not long after her husband died, her eldest son also died in the resistance war against the Americans in battlefield B.

Despite his old age, Mr. Muu is still quite lucid. Photo: Tran Vu

Until now, Mr. Dao still remembers clearly the difficult days of his family. He said: "My father died on the battlefield before I was born. Therefore, all the burdens of the family fell on my mother's shoulders. The family was poor, so there were times when she had to send her brothers to Aunt Mui's or Aunt Thoai's house to pick potatoes and corn in Do Luong."

Living a hard life, eating mainly cassava, rice mixed with potatoes, and vegetables picked from the garden, the old lady's health is still very good. Even though she is old, she still remembers the names of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Currently, not counting her grandchildren, Mrs. Muu has 19 great-grandchildren and is about to have more.

Like her two sisters, Mrs. Le Thi Mui is 101 years old this year but is still healthy. Her back is bent and she has to walk with a cane, but she is alert and can still recognize most of the people in the village. A few years ago, she often used a cane to visit her two sisters, but this year she had to ask her children and grandchildren to take her.

Nowadays, the three elders all live in the same village, but due to their old age, they do not meet each other as often as before. Every year, the three sisters often reunite on holidays, Tet, death anniversaries... During those meetings, the three sisters always ask about each other's health, and talk about memories of difficult days. In particular, they do not forget to send each other the dishes that the other likes.

When asked about their secret to longevity, the three old ladies just smiled and said that there was no special secret. In the past, life was difficult so they ate frugally, sometimes potatoes, corn, and on luxurious days, rice was not mixed with potatoes. However, they never drank alcohol, beer, or soft drinks. In their daily lives, they loved life, lived optimistically, and rarely got angry or yelled at others. Perhaps their comfortable mentality and lack of hatred for anyone was the secret to their longevity.

For the people here, they often compare the three old ladies to the three ancient trees of the village. Mr. Le Doan Loc - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ly Thanh commune confirmed that the three ladies Thoai, Muu, Mui have lived the longest and second longest in the village. Their simple, optimistic and gentle lifestyle is the pride not only of their family but also of the people here./.