The wedding of a rich farmer and a beautiful woman, people left their fields to come out to watch.
Talking about rich farmer Nguyen Mau Anh, people in Ha Tinh still remember many anecdotes about his wealth. Among them, there were two major events in his life, he spent a large amount of money and rice, which surprised many people...
Roll out the red silk carpet to welcome the wife
According to Mr. Nguyen Mau Con (born in 1925, residing in Thach Luu commune, Thach Ha district, Ha Tinh - cousin of rich farmer Nguyen Mau Anh), this rich farmer's family had a lot of wealth at that time.
Therefore, for important events, Mr. Mau Anh is willing to spend money without hesitation.
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| Mr. Nguyen Mau Anh's two daughters-in-law confided: "During his lifetime, my father-in-law was loved by many people because he contributed a lot of wealth to the government and took care of the poor." |
In his 30s, Mr. Mau Anh fell in love with the daughter of a Chinese teacher in Can Loc district, Ha Tinh. According to the village custom at that time, if a man wanted to marry a woman from another commune or district, he had to have a lot of money to meet the bride price.
Knowing the rich farmer Mau Anh's wealth and to test his sincerity, the bride's family requested two conditions. That is, Mr. Mau Anh must build a road from the groom's house to the bride's house and must spread mats on the wedding day route.
After hearing the wedding challenge from his future father-in-law, rich farmer Mau Anh happily accepted and asked for permission to give him 3 months to fulfill the bride's family's wedding challenge.
On his wedding day, people from Thach Ha and Can Loc districts left their fields and came out to watch Mau Anh's family carry the bride along the road he built himself.
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| The altar of Mr. Mau Anh's family has been used for over 120 years but has never been damaged. |
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| The lacquered ivory cup is one of the luxurious items that Mr. Mau Anh's family still preserves today. |
On the entire route, Mr. Mau Anh directed to spread red silk carpets bought from Van Phuc silk village (now in Ha Dong, Hanoi) instead of spreading mats as challenged.
Groups of people carry trays full of silver jewelry to the bride's house to ask for her hand in marriage.
Father's funeral lasted for many days
Not only was the wedding lavish, the funeral of this rich farmer's father was also mentioned by people.
In 1936, when his father Nguyen Mau Quynh passed away, Mr. Mau Anh immediately had a coffin made of rosewood, meticulously carved with dragons and phoenixes, and built the biggest tomb in the district.
At his father's funeral, he invited the Ta, Tieu, Mien orchestra (an old-time funeral orchestra) to play throughout the funeral, making the atmosphere not as gloomy as other funerals.
To show his love for his father, he had his father's coffin placed in the house for many days. At the same time, he spent a lot of money, opened the granary to cook sticky rice, cook rice, slaughter pigs and chickens to treat the people of Thach Ha during the time his family mourned his father.
The funeral was famous throughout the province, so many poor people and beggars flocked to his house. The rich man's family stretched out a canvas for them to rest and had two delicious meals a day. At the time of the funeral, thousands of people came to watch and say goodbye.
Contribute a lot of wealth to the government
Ms. Tran Thi Thanh (75 years old), daughter-in-law of Mr. Nguyen Mau Anh, shared that during his lifetime, Mr. Mau Anh was known by the people of Ha Tinh not only as a man with a huge fortune but also as a man with a generous heart.
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| Certificate of patriotic emulation awarded to Mr. Mau Anh by the Ha Tinh Administrative Resistance Committee at that time. |
At that time, the French colonialists implemented a policy of keeping people ignorant, so there were very few schools in Ha Tinh.
Witnessing his children growing up illiterate and not wanting the next generation to be ignorant, in 1938, he spent his own money to build Vinh Luu Primary School.
He invited teachers to teach students in the neighboring commune of Thach Luu, which is now Vinh Luu Secondary School (Thach Vinh commune, Thach Ha district).
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| The People's Committee of Thach Ha district in 1946 thanked his family for their financial contribution to the government. |
Although he had a lot of land and money, he did not oppress the poor, but instead took care of them.
In 1945, when famine was severe, Mr. Mau Anh founded the Nghia Dan Association, calling on rich people in the province to donate hundreds of tons of rice to help the poor.
Mr. Mau Anh's association saved the lives of many poor people, so they were grateful and often called him Mr. Nghia Anh.
In addition, during the resistance movement against Japan to save the country, he also contributed a lot of money to support the soldiers. In 1945, when the country gained independence, hundreds of soldiers came to his house to celebrate the victory.
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| Certificate of recognition of Mr. Mau Anh's contribution in 1945. |
When in 1947, local people confidently elected him as Chairman of Thach Luu commune, at that time he continued to make great contributions to the government.
Rich farmer Mau Anh was a pioneer in dividing his family's land for people to cultivate. Every year, his family paid over 300 quintals of rice to the government.
With his great contributions, in 1950, Mr. Mau Anh was awarded a certificate of merit by the Ha Tinh Resistance Committee as an emulation soldier for selling and donating the most rice to the army's feast campaign in the province.
