(Baonghean.vn)- In the last days of the year, along the road from Pha Danh to the communes of Huoi Tu, Na Loi, Doc May of Ky Son district, many bamboo huts have appeared, built by the Mong ethnic people to sell mustard greens. What is special is that in addition to bundles of young mustard greens, the people also sell a lot of mustard greens that have flowered.
The end of the year is also the time when Mong people in Ky Son district harvest mustard greens. Mustard greens are grown on fields in the valleys of communes such as Pha Danh, Doc May, Na Loi, Huoi Tu... These are high mountainous areas with cold climates and clouds all year round. Mong people only need to sow seeds on burned fields, the vegetables grow very quickly, grow well and are harvested by people, carried to Huoi Tu, Muong Long markets, and brought down to Muong Xen market for sale.
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| Mustard greens are grown a lot by the Mong people in their fields. |
In early spring, when the weather starts to warm up, it is also the time when the canola fields that have not been harvested bloom and sprout. Previously, canola flowers could not be used, so people often cut them down to plant other crops. However, for many years now, the Mong people have loved the Mong people's canola flowers. The Mong people's canola flowers are crispy, slightly bitter, but the more you eat them, the sweeter they become and have a distinctive aroma. Many eateries and restaurants in Muong Xen town have also found ways to prepare canola flowers into specialties such as boiled canola with soy sauce and boiled eggs, stir-fried canola flowers, pickled canola flowers, etc.
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| People bring blooming mustard greens to the street to sell. |
Although it has become a specialty, consumption is very difficult because mustard greens are grown in far away fields. To bring the greens to sell, people have to walk all day, carry the greens home and then take them to the market to sell. Meanwhile, mustard greens must be harvested in a short time, must be quickly cut when they first flower, if left to grow old, they cannot be used. Therefore, many people have set up shacks right on the side of the road, at the foot of the fields to sell mustard greens. Each bunch of mustard greens costs from 2000 to 3000 VND, occasionally there are customers asking to buy but around these vegetable shacks there is always laughter.
The mustard flower season and the huts along the forest edge are gradually becoming a cultural feature of the Mong people in Ky Son during the days leading up to Tet.
Some pictures of Mong people's mustard greens in Ky Son:
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| The end of the year is the time when mustard flowers bloom. People cut the mustard stems and sell them. |
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| The Mong child followed his mother to pick cabbage. |
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| Carrying cabbage down the mountain. |
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| Along the way from Huoi Tu to Keng Du commune of Ky Son district, Mong people in Na Loi and Dooc May communes set up shacks to sell vegetables. |
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| These shacks mainly sell vegetables, sugarcane and wild rats. |
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| Many students take advantage of their days off to sell mustard greens. |
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| A Hmong girl smiles brightly next to a bunch of mustard greens. |
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| In recent years, Ky Son mustard greens have been considered a specialty by people in the lowlands. |
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| Each bunch of mustard greens is sold at the shack for 2000 - 3000 VND, and brought to Muong Xen town for about 5000 VND. |
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| Although each bunch of mustard greens can only be sold for about 2,000 - 3,000 VND, for ethnic minorities in border areas, this is truly a valuable source of income, helping families to have more abundance during Tet. |
Nguyen Khoa - Ho Phuong
