Remembering Ro market... the days before Tet
Spring rain is drizzling. The countryside seems to be stirred by the bustling footsteps of people shopping for Tet. Following everyone, we will come to a rural market located next to the Lam River, full of water all year round - that is Ro Market.
The market is located on the land that used to belong to Vo Liet commune, a place that has marked an important mark in history, now in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district. It is not by chance that since ancient times people have chosen this land as a place to exchange and trade traditional goods, but because it has convenient transportation by both river and road, flat terrain, and is located near the river wharf, at the same time it is also the center of the surrounding areas.
Usually, there are markets in communes but they are smaller in scale and only meet a few times a month and on certain days. As for Ro market, it meets all 30 days a month and every 5 days, that is, on the 5th, 10th, 15th... of each month there is a main session. Around December, from about 25th, 26th onwards, it seems that every day the market is very crowded, from early morning until past noon, on all the roads leading to the market, people, every household are bustling with their burdens as if going to a festival. People from the commune pour in, people from the lower part pour in, even people on the right bank of the Lam River have to struggle to jostle each other on the crowded ferries to go to Ro market to shop for Tet. They pour in here to buy, to sell and there are also quite a few people who go to the market just to visit, to learn...
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Although the market area is not large, there are nearly 40 huts built from bamboo thatch, displaying all the products from the countryside. There are still clothes, meat, fish, candy, conical hats... but on the days before Tet, goods from everywhere pour in in countless numbers. Right from the main gate is the green color from two rows of dong leaves, neatly arranged on heavy shoulder poles, further inside are rows of rice and sticky rice. The women and girls both warmly invite customers and skillfully sift each bunch of rice, weigh sticky rice according to the customers' requests, making the market atmosphere very unique and very cheerful. Next to the rice row is the fruit row with baskets filled with bananas, oranges, tangerines, guavas, sapodillas... the products of each house and each garden are kept on the trees until today when the women and mothers bring them to the market to sell. The green of vegetables, the red and yellow of fruits... mixed with the aroma from the nearby incense shop make the hearts of market goers more excited by the approaching Tet flavor.
If we go into the painting stall... we will be surprised to see the images of carp looking at the moon, colorful peacocks and all kinds of parallel sentences filled with good wishes swaying under the porches, brightening up a corner of the market. The painting products here are mainly made from paper, from all kinds of blinds... simple and rustic but suitable for the preferences of many people here. Going to the Tet market, perhaps no one is as carefree and comfortable as us children, holding colorful balls in our hands, eating all kinds of things like stuffed candy, ginger jam, honey cakes... being able to sneak around to look at all kinds of delicious and beautiful goods, being able to sneak close to the firecrackers hiding behind the adults to be able to see and hear the crackling and booming sounds from the beautiful green and red firecrackers. Sometimes, I run back and forth to play with the colorful bouquets of paper flowers, interspersed with balloons fluttering on tightly tied bundles of brooms, and the plum and peach branches, though rough and austere, proudly show off their colorful and lush buds and shoots under the sellers' radiant eyes.
The special thing about the Tet market here is that in a small corner of the market, there are also heavy loads of young grass. Once, out of curiosity, I asked my mother, "What do people sell grass for on Tet, Mom?" My mother hit me on the head and said, "We should not forget the animals in the house during Tet because for humans, Tet means eating banh chung and candy, but for buffaloes and cows, grass is always the most delicious dish."
By the morning of the 30th, the market was still open but the number of people going to the market had decreased significantly because at this time there were only people who came late to shop for Tet because they were busy with something, or people who had come back from a long trip and still tried to stop by the market to buy some gifts for their families, while everyone else was busy with the offerings to their ancestors at home before entering the important moment of a new year with new joys and hopes.
The Ro market now still maintains the old meeting style, still retains the old area but the goods are more abundant and diverse. The new bridge across the river has created more favorable and easier conditions for people on the right bank to go shopping. And perhaps in the near future the market will be moved to a new, larger location, but the authorities at all levels, especially those who have lived, been attached to and understood the Ro market, are worried about whether it will change its traditional value? Because at this time, the Ro market is always the center of attraction for many people, the "center" of trade of the entire left bank, especially on the days before Tet. Perhaps this is a unique point, a charm that the Ro market has contributed a little to the cultural identity of the homeland, like a dish that was once famous:
My hometown is sweet with Nam Dan sugarcane
Sweet potatoes from Ro market, fragrant oranges from Xa Doai.
Nguyen Ngoc -Nghe An Publishing House