'Sold out' of Tet goods, sales staff flee store

The subsidy period has passed more than 30 years ago, but for many people who lived during that period, this is an unforgettable memory, especially during the days leading up to Lunar New Year.

Folklore researcher Nguyen Hung Vi (born 1955) said: "During the subsidy period, all goods from soap, matches to daily necessities such as rice, fish sauce, salt, meat, fish... had to be bought with coupons at trade stores and department stores, but with very limited quotas."

According to Mr. Hung Vi, all of these coupons are only valid for one month, and the goods are scarce so people rush to buy them. Therefore, food stores are always overloaded.

Some people waited, and when it was their turn, the staff announced that the goods were sold out, so the market opened at 6am but people lined up from 2am to 3am, using bricks, chicken cages, and plastic sandals to reserve a spot.

Many funny situations, people fight each other to the point of "breaking heads and splitting foreheads" just because of queuing.

“When I was 10 years old, at 2am I went grocery shopping with my father. It was just before Tet, it was drizzling, windy and cold. I was wearing a thin, worn out sweater, sitting on the back of a bicycle, my teeth chattering.

When we arrived, it was still dark, the street lights were dim and yellow, but we could already see people bustling about and the sound of conversation filled a corner of the street.

A woman was standing in line with a chicken cage in her hand. After a while, she went out to use the restroom. Before leaving, she placed the chicken cage in a designated spot. When she returned, she saw that the chicken cage had been thrown out, and someone else was standing in the spot she had marked.

She came to demand it, the two argued, neither would give in, they started fighting, scratching each other until they bled, everyone had to intervene for a long time before they stopped. Such things happened all the time during the subsidy period…” - Mr. Hung Vi recalled.

The researcher, born in 1955, said: “Back then, the standard for each person was only a few ounces of meat for the whole month, so we always craved meat. Eating a piece of meat was a luxury for any child because the daily meal consisted of cassava, cassava, millet seeds or horse tooth corn - a type of corn soaked overnight, simmered all day but still hard as rock.

Having saved up all month to get some meat coupons for Tet, my father and I went to buy it, lining up from early morning until late afternoon. When we got to the counter, we were told that the meat was out and we would have to wait a few more days.

My father and I were about to return home. Seeing me sad and feeling sorry for my son, my father went to see my brother-in-law, the head of the food department, and "cried". As a result, we were given a pair of buffalo feet to bring home, but the buffalo feet were inedible and could only be used to make glue" - Mr. Vi happily recounted his memorable memories of the subsidy period.

Folklore researcher Nguyen Hung Vi added that during the subsidy period, families with someone working in a food and provisions store were very precious. Because they were given priority in everything they bought, saving for new, fresh items. However, he said, this was the suffering that no one understood of the employees of the trading stores.

One year, near Tet, there was a shortage of food, and his uncle had to find ways to escape from work many times for fear that if relatives came to ask for help and he couldn't help, he would be criticized.

Due to the crowded conditions, theft was common. Since they lived on ration stamps, these stamps were considered as gold, carefully wrapped in handkerchiefs, and brought to exchange. Many people kept them carefully in their pockets, but when they lined up, they turned around and touched their pockets to find that the ration stamps were gone.

“I remember, on December 26, the shopping atmosphere was very bustling. At the banh chung stall, there was a man wearing faded blue worker clothes, riding an old bicycle carrying a small peach branch. He parked his bicycle next to an electric pole, went inside to exchange for food stamps. More than an hour later, he ran out, his face pale, looking around frantically.

While looking for him, he wiped away the tears rolling down his dark cheeks. Seeing that, a few people asked and found out that the worker had his pocket cut open and all his food stamps were taken. At that time, on the Tet tray of each family, having a piece of meat or a piece of ham sliced ​​as thin as a leaf was an extremely great happiness. Losing the stamps meant that the worker's children would miss Tet. In the extreme moment, he burst into tears because he felt sorry for himself" - Mr. Vi continued slowly.

With such hardships and shortages, Tet is considered an important event of the year. From young to old, men and women eagerly wait for Tet to come to eat delicious food. Many years have passed, but Mr. Hung Vi still remembers clearly the feeling of waiting for Tet when he was a boy.

"The happiest days of Tet are the days of preparing for shopping. Even though we have to line up from early morning, jostling each other just to buy a box of mixed jam, a few ounces of green beans to wrap banh chung, a few ounces of meat, a piece of pork skin, some MSG, dried bamboo shoots... But that alone is enough to make everyone excited and eager. Children look forward to getting new clothes, eating candy, and gai biscuits that they can only enjoy once a year.

Nowadays, in modern life, every family has "a full feast" on Tet, with excess material, the feeling of happiness and anticipation for Tet gradually fades away..." - Mr. Nguyen Hung Vi confided.