Summer days of childhood in Quang Trung apartment building

(Baonghean.vn) - On summer mornings, after our parents went to work, the children of Quang Trung apartment building, with keys hanging from strings around their necks, gathered at the older brothers' and sisters' houses to participate in games. The boys played Chinese chess, the thin-lipped girls played Chinese checkers, and they drew chalk in the hallway.

1.The children who were constantly yelled at by their parents now got to play the role of commander-in-chief, commanding generals, grand marshals, generals…what could be better? The children who hadn’t had their turn yet were divided into two sides to cheer for the undecided battles.

Khanh and Nhat, who were richer, sometimes brought their seahorse and puzzle sets to join in the fun… those sessions were very lively, with loud shouting. Occasionally, the old lady Ky, who was over eighty, would come over and gently remind them: "You can play, but don't make too much noise."

Children in Quang Trung apartment building - Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Bored with the game of hopscotch, the girls switched to the game of pass. Tam and Huong asked their mother for an eggplant the size of a ping-pong ball, then pooled together some chopsticks to use as tools. One hand tossed the eggplant high, the other picked up cards, and sang “One day, one tomorrow, son, mussel,… A couple of me, a couple of sisters… Three banyan leaves, three bodhi leaves. “Chi chi chan chan/The nail blew the fire/The horse died in the chapter/Three kings and five emperors/The judge went to find/U a u ap”. It was so much fun.

Usually the boys rarely played with the girls, and only occasionally did they get together to play hopscotch or tap-the-pole. The boys were as good at hopscotch as the girls.

2."Here's the newspaper, go get it."

As soon as we heard the mailman and the newspaper announce softly, we, the children in the upper floors, abandoned all our fun activities and ran downstairs to receive the mail and newspaper. In the 70s and 80s of the last century, when the internet was not yet popular, letters were a happy connection, exchanging news with relatives. Every family received 4-5 letters every month, and some families received dozens of letters.

Our apartment complex had many writers, journalists and teachers, so our uncles also ordered many types of newspapers, such as Van Nghe newspaper, Quan Doi Nhan Dan magazine, Nhan Dan newspaper, Nghe An newspaper, and many of our friends' houses also ordered Thieu Nien newspaper, Nhi Dong newspaper...

The most fun was when they went to read the newspaper. Usually, Mr. Duong and Ms. Lan were trusted by the uncles to receive newspapers for the entire apartment building. At first glance, being a “mail carrier” seemed easy, but getting started was not simple at all. At the very least, you had to remember which day, what newspaper was there, and from which house. If there was a shortage, you had to ask the mailman immediately to avoid missing or losing the address. At the beginning of summer, some of the naughty kids missed out on the newspaper first, and later, they failed to complete their duties and were “dismissed” by the uncles.

The eyes of childhood... - Photo: Thanh Cuong.

We kids sat down on the hallway of the building, passing around the newspapers to each other, devouring the newspapers we had just received. Usually, the newspapers were available after 9 o'clock, and we kids only had about 2 hours to read them, so each of us was glued to the newspaper, especially if we got our hands on the Thieu Nien or Nhi Dong. When we came across good poems or difficult math problems (in the Tuoi Tre Math Magazine), we would huddle together to read or take out our pens and work hard to solve them.

Some of us who didn’t like reading newspapers played the “stamp peeling” game. The older ones taught us to use razor blades to separate the postage stamps, then use Sao Vang balm to erase the postmarks for reuse. On days when there were many letters, we shared them among ourselves and each of us got a few stamps, which looked as good as new after erasing. At first, we were scolded by the letter owners, but gradually we learned to only “peel” the stamps from easy-going recipients.

Around noon, Mr. Duong and Ms. Lan would collect all the letters, report them, and smooth them out. The children on each floor would be assigned the task of delivering the letters to the owners of each household. To avoid losing them, the men would deliver them, and if the owner of the household was absent, they had to push them through the door slot. They were forbidden to take them home and lose them. We children listened to this carefully, because if we disobeyed and were reported by the homeowner, we would not have the chance to read them tomorrow.

Spinning, spinning… the summer days of us kids in the Quang Trung apartment complex. And then, in my dreams of childhood, I remember the chess games, the stamps…

An Thanh