Reflecting on how the Old Quarter's tycoon teaches his children to be good people

Mr. Nguyen Thai An was the eldest son of a wealthy family in Hang Dao Street. At the age of 75, he still remembers the old memories, from when he was a fifth grade student at Nguyen Cong Tru Primary School. He recalls them with all the respect and nostalgia...

Live always be kind to people below

His family had a shop named Thai An, which specialized in trading silk, textiles and garments. The number of foreign traders at that time was very large. His parents (he called uncle and aunt) often exported fabrics to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia... His aunt always taught her children how to behave properly, even with the servants.

In communicating with servants, from the word of mouth, his aunt also reminded them to be very respectful, not to raise their voice or speak loudly.

At that time, Mr. Thai An's house had about ten people living there. Although the old lady or the servants helped with all the housework, she absolutely did not allow Mr. Thai An's brothers to rely on her.

In addition to his family of eight, this three-story house also has dozens of servants.

Being a tactful and gentle person, she never offended anyone. “Whenever there was delicious food, my aunt would say: “This portion is for Nu. She rarely gets to eat it. We can eat it anytime.”

Or when the old lady is sick. At that time, please invite her.director(Doctor) came with difficulty. But my aunt still enthusiastically invited him to her house to treat her and take care of her medicine carefully.

"My aunt always taught us how to treat servants like that. Gradually, it became a way of life in the family."

That family tradition has created for each member of Mr. Thai An's family a close lifestyle, without competition, knowing how to share and love.

“I remember every Tet holiday, my aunt often prepared gifts for the workers very thoughtfully. In addition to their salary, she often gave them extra money to go home for Tet.”

Because he valued his servants as his own, many of his servants stayed with his family their entire lives. Some even asked to return to their hometowns to get married, but every Tet holiday, they did not forget to come back to visit, bringing a pair of chickens and some kohlrabi as gifts.

As a businessman, you must do business honestly.

The memory of the young Thai An is still filled with the rhythmic calls of the sticky rice seller passing by the door every morning or the bread seller with the bamboo basket slung over one shoulder. At that time, Mr. Thai An often received some coins from his aunt to buy breakfast.

In addition to a few coins as gifts, his aunt gave him an extra coin to buy whatever he wanted. He saved up and put it in a clay piggy bank. Every full moon of August or the 30th of Tet, Mr. Thai An would cut it open to go to Hang Thiec to buy steamboats.

The train was made of tin, and the fire heated the water box, creating steam that propelled the train. The toy that made a squeaking sound had a special appeal to children like him at that time.

At the age of 75, Mr. Thai An still remembers the old memories intact.

“My aunt and uncle never gave me money to buy things I wanted right away. I had to buy them myself with the money I had saved and saved.

Thanks to that, since I was a child, I was very interested in business. When I was 6 years old, I often folded paper lions or horses and put them on a tray to sell in front of my house.

To get their son used to trading, whenever they entertained foreign businessmen, his aunt and uncle would take their son along. In his memory, those were the best restaurants in Hanoi such as My Kinh or Dong Hung Vien located right on Hang Buom Street.

“My aunt and uncle always taught me that in business, we must remember four words:will, virtue, trust, and righteousness. Ambition means the will to get rich. To get rich, one must have virtue, which means knowing how to share with the poor. When doing business, one must keep one's word; and also means one must remember one's roots and ancestors for giving one the life one has today.

Although when the revolution succeeded, like many patriotic bourgeois families at that time, Mr. Thai An's uncle and aunt also donated gold and silver to support the new government. None of his siblings continued the business, but the lessons his uncle and aunt taught him about honest business were still deeply ingrained in Mr. Thai An.

“I remember, my aunt and uncle always chose the best source of goods to sell. Even though the product price was higher, my aunt still gave discounts to customers. Because they always kept their word, many days to deliver the goods on time, my aunt and uncle had to work hard until late at night.

Always putting reputation first, the owner trusted the couple very much. Many times the couple bought a large quantity of goods but the owner still let them pay on credit without asking for anything more.

Whether studying or working, one must be kind.

Mr. Thai An's aunt was a resourceful person. Except for busy business days, in her free time or on holidays, she often prepared meals herself without having to borrow the help of an old nanny or a servant. At that time, Mr. Thai An's younger sisters also had to go to the kitchen to help her cook.

Being Hang Dao's daughters, his younger siblings were taught very strictly by their aunt about the duties of women. From how to go to the market, choose food to how to cook dishes, everything was drilled down to the smallest detail.

My aunt is very disciplined, not easy-going or indulgent. What my aunt hates the most is sloppy work. Even sweeping the house must be done carefully, absolutely not in a hurry.one cut to the ear, two cuts to the nape of the neck.

In the 50s, Mr. Thai An was sent by his aunt and uncle to study with the best teachers in Hanoi at that time.

Born into a wealthy family, Mr. Thai An and his siblings were carefully cared for and educated by their aunt and uncle since childhood. After each class, he was tutored in martial arts, music, and painting by the best teachers in Hanoi.

“Those teachers, I remember, were musician Doan Chuan; martial arts and fencing from Vo Dinh Quynh - the former Indochina champion; and painting from Manh Quynh - a famous painter.”

Because of the importance of studying, in Mr. Thai An's house there is an unwritten rule: after finishing dinner, all the brothers must voluntarily sit at the table to study.

His aunt and uncle's way of raising children was both firm and gentle.

“My uncle was very determined in teaching his children. He was very strict, with a whip, but my aunt was very gentle. If we refused to study, he would punish us by not eating or use a whisk handle to hit our buttocks to remind us. After each time, my aunt often took me out to eat sweet soup, not forgetting to remind me."Remember what I said next time".

Teaching children has rewards and punishments, so every time I got 10 points, he often took me to Hang Buom to reward me with a bowl of green tea.

The way of raising children with love but always with discipline and strict discipline has trained Mr. Thai An's brothers to be highly responsible in everything. That way of raising children also greatly influenced Mr. Thai An's way of raising children later on.

“My aunt and uncle never set rules for their children to follow. But through their every word and gesture, my siblings and I understood that each of us had to live a decent life.”