Memories of Vinh River

(Baonghean.vn) - Where I used to live, there was also a river, not with crystal-clear water on summer afternoons, but still deeply etched in the memories of countless children from multi-story houses. That river of my childhood is called the Vinh River, or also known as the Cua Tien River because it flows in front of Cua Tien, part of the ancient citadel of Nghe An..

Even now, the clean water pipelines built by Vinaconex occasionally burst, causing chaos among Hanoi residents due to water shortages. Back then, the Quang Trung apartment complex would sometimes be without water for half a month. In the beginning, people would ask residents for well water, but over time, even the wells dried up. A water outage during the summer was truly agonizing, given the harsh climate of Nghe An province.

So, every day on their way to work, my parents would bring a 20-liter plastic container to the back of their bicycles, while we children would flock to the Cua Tien River in the afternoons. The women and mothers would put their dirty clothes into plastic baskets or sacks, slung them over the back of their bicycles, and go in groups to wash them in the river, looking like a festival procession.

Children in Nghe An province bathe in the river on a summer day. (Illustrative photo: Thanh Cuong)

The River of Childhood

In ancient times, the ancient citadel of Nghe An encompassed the territories of three wards: Cua Nam, Doi Cung, and Quang Trung in Vinh City. Cua Tien was the main gate facing south, used by the King, officials of the six ministries of the court, and the Governor-General for entry and exit. The Vinh River (also known as Con Moc River) connected the Nha Le Canal with the Lam Giang River, flowing around the moat system protecting the citadel. The section flowing in front of Cua Tien in Nghe An citadel was therefore called Cua Tien River (Mountain Gate River).

The children of Quang Trung High School usually chose two bathing spots. One was near the Cua Tien Bridge, where small boats carrying sand were anchored, so the beach was less muddy; the other was behind the Vinh Rice Mill, straight past the fire station, where many sunken iron ships were located, making it convenient for washing clothes and swimming competitions. On such days, we would meet at the slide area in Zone A, then walk in groups, the skinny children with beaming faces, for kilometers to swim in the river. After being "confined" to our hot, box-like houses all summer, under temperatures always above 40°C, this was the moment when we, the children from the high-rise buildings, felt like birds released from their cages. Recalling those days, the melody of My Linh's song "Returning to the River of Childhood" haunts each of us:

In my hometown, everyone has a river by their house.
The river in my hometown is closely associated with my childhood.
Even after all these years away from home, I still see it in my dreams.
Today I returned home and felt a sudden joy at seeing that the river never grows old.

As soon as we reached the riverbank, we quickly threw our clothes on the shore and plunged naked into the cool, refreshing river. It was a truly amazing feeling!

On that river, we freely swam, dived, and played. Meanwhile, the mothers and sisters chose a spot to wash their piles of dirty clothes. The last rays of sunlight stretched across the river; the evening at the riverbank in our hometown was truly peaceful. On some days, when we were in the mood, we would swim to the other side and go crabbing. At the end of the day, we would all gather the crabs we caught and have one of us put them in a plastic bag to take home for dinner.

Sometimes, in a moment of enthusiasm, we'd challenge each other to swimming competitions. When we got tired of competing internally at home, we'd invite kids from other apartment buildings to join us. These "Quang Trung kids'" swimming competitions made the summer days less stifling, and pushed the worries of daily life behind us.

laurel wreath

Back then, the Vinh Tan sub-district grew a lot of water spinach to supply the city. In the afternoons, when the sun was gentle, the mothers and sisters would often paddle small boats made of corrugated iron to pick the spinach along the river. On their thumbs, they would wear a sharp iron claw to pick the spinach quickly without breaking their fingernails…

Pleasant childhood memories. Illustration: Thanh Cuong.

I noticed a little girl, about my age, who went alone every afternoon to pick vegetables to help her parents. The girl, Vinh Tan, had a very pretty dimple and a stubborn, protruding forehead. Whenever she saw us shouting and competing in swimming races, she would always stop picking vegetables and intently watch the "battle" on the Cua Tien River that we kids organized ourselves.

Once, during a fierce competition between houses in Zone A and Zone B, the little girl left her small boat and approached the sunken iron vessel, the finish line of the competition. She had mischievous dimples and held a wreath of morning glory flowers in her hand.

Who won the contest?

We pointed to Quang "Dai" (now working in the Finance Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor) and quickly said:

- Allow me to proudly introduce, this is the hero of the competition…

A wreath made of morning glory flowers was placed around the neck of the winner in an unprecedented swimming competition for the children of the apartment buildings at that time.

I've returned to that riverbank many times, trying to meet the girl from Vinh Tan again, but without success. If, through Nghe An Newspaper, these memories reach the girl from the past, we only want to say one thing: all the beautiful things that belong to our memories are cherished and preserved by us, the people of Quang Trung.

N@T