Woman carries water for hire for nearly 40 years

(Baonghean.vn) - For decades, people in Van Dien commune (Nam Dan) have been familiar with the image of a woman who carries water for hire. That is Ms. Bui Thi Lien (51 years old) in Nhat Quang hamlet.

When visiting the Chua well relic, part of the Bac Son relic cluster (Bac Son hamlet), visitors often see a short, stocky woman carrying a pair of buckets and a bucket to fetch water. That is Ms. Lien - a woman who has been working as a water carrier for 40 years.

Carrying water for hire has been the livelihood of Ms. Lien and her family for the past 40 years. Photo: Huy Thu.

Lien is the second child in a farming family of 6 siblings. They have all gotten married, but she still stays at home, working as a water carrier. When she was young, she carried water to support her mother and serve the family. Because she was born with a disease, she could not do farm work, so she just stayed at home, taking care of carrying water. Seeing this, the people in the village hired her to carry water for their family, and over time, she became a professional water carrier.

The Pagoda Well, in front of Bac Son Pagoda, has long been a source of cool, sweet water for the people around the area. It is also where Ms. Lien often comes to fetch water. The distance from the Pagoda Well to the families is 200 - 500m. Every day when she goes to fetch water, she will carry water for her own family first, then for the tenants. Regardless of how many tenants there are, she still works calmly and slowly, ensuring enough loads for every household, carefully pouring water into jars and pots for them.

In the past, when every household used water from the Temple well for drinking, every day she carried dozens of loads, both morning and afternoon. Later, when most families had their own wells, especially when the tap water system appeared (about 5 years ago), the number of households hiring Lien to carry water has decreased a lot, but her "job" of carrying water still remains. The reason is that many households still like the Temple well water, because the water here used to cook rice, make tea, make wine... is still the best in the region.

Ms. Lien gets water at the Temple Well. Photo: Huy Thu.

Over time, her wages for carrying water have also increased, from 1,000 VND/load, 2,000 VND/load and now 5,000 VND/load. Although she gives that price, she does not ask for it, it depends on the person hiring her to carry the load, whoever pays the most.

With the money she earns, Lien saves it all to cover her daily expenses, along with her elderly father. Currently, the two of them live in an old house in the middle of the village.

Mr. Bui Sy Nghiem (76 years old), Lien's father, said: "He is sick so he is at a disadvantage compared to his siblings in the family. For decades, he has been carrying water, and every time a pair of buckets breaks, he buys another pair. Up to now, he has probably replaced more than 10 pairs of buckets."

Ms. Lien pours water into jars for families. Photo: Huy Thu.

In Nhat Quang hamlet, many households still hire Ms. Lien to carry water. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (66 years old), a long-time customer of Ms. Lien, said: “Our house has tap water, but the water from Chua well is more delicious, so we have to hire someone to carry it. Every day, I hire Ms. Lien to carry a few loads of water for drinking and making wine. Luckily, Ms. Lien carries water, so my family always has delicious, clean water to use.”

Mr. Tran Ba ​​Hien (84 years old), a local resident, said that because Ms. Lien was enthusiastic and proactive, carrying water whenever called, many people wanted to hire her. Before, his family also always hired Ms. Lien, every day they had to carry water 5 to 7 times.

The time when the whole village and commune had to carry river and well water for daily use has passed. The buckets and buckets used to draw water from wells in many villages have become a thing of the past, but for the people of Van Dien commune (Nam Dan), the image of women carrying water for hire to make a living, for decades, is still present and moves many people.

Huy Thu