People who 'carry the sea to the forest'

(Baonghean) - People who sell salt on the street often jokingly call their job "carrying the sea up the mountain".

During my recent trip to the coastal area of ​​Dien, I happened to meet her - a woman who has been selling salt on the street for 30 years. She is Nguyen Thi Van, residing in Trung Hau hamlet, Dien Van commune (Dien Chau). After following her for a day, I realized how hard this job is.

Nguyen Thi Van's salt cart. Photo: Nhu Suong

In May, the golden rays of the early morning sun cast shimmering threads through the morning mist. At the coconut trees at the village entrance, the group of workers from Ms. Van’s village had gathered in large numbers. The old motorbikes made a loud noise due to long-term operation, lined up in a long line on the roadside. On each motorbike, there were 4-5 sacks of about 200 kg of salt, tied securely to ensure they would not slip on the road. On the basket or frame of the motorbike, everyone had a scale and a large bottle of water.

Salt traders always go in groups, mainly women and friends in the same village. Van's group has a total of 9 women, all around 40 to 50 years old, all of them seem quite resourceful and healthy. The clock struck 6am, all the women wore long-sleeved shirts, covered their heads with scarves, leaving only their eyes exposed, then put on old helmets and got on their motorbikes, started the engine. "The group's rule is that everyone gathers at the village entrance, waits until exactly 6am then gets on the motorbike and goes. Anyone who arrives after 6am is considered to have missed work that day!" - Van explained to me and quickly accelerated straight ahead to catch up with the group.

As we walked, the women in the group assigned each other to go to different areas. Today, their “area” of operation was the Quynh Luu - Nghia Dan area. I accelerated and followed Ms. Van towards Highway 48, the sound of the vehicle heavily clattering as it climbed the long slope. On the way, Ms. Van and I had the opportunity to talk about this arduous job.

Ms. Van (born in 1971) has been selling salt since she was 18 years old and has now passed the 30-year mark. At nearly 50 years old, she no longer has the same vigor as she did in the beginning. Her face is covered with wrinkles and her skin is darkened by the sun, wind and dust of the road. Her sunken eyes show signs of hardship. Her hair is quite long, starting to show some gray.

Weighing salt to sell to customers. Photo: Nhu Suong

When I asked about the salt trading team in her village, she said: “In Dien Van commune, while most of the men choose to work at sea, almost all of the women do business. They either trade fish or shrimp paste, fish sauce, or if they have less capital, they trade salt or scrap. Because in the coastal area, no family has land to produce. If they work for hire, it is rare to find someone to hire them, and it is not as stable as trading.”

In the past, salt sellers like Ms. Van had to shout until their throats were dry to find a buyer, but now they have a battery-powered recorder, which makes it less difficult. At the beginning of the village, at the end of the street, wherever they go, the distinctive accent of the coastal people can be heard: "Who wants salt... oi... oi..."

“In the past, salt traders only traveled by bicycle. Each trip usually carried a ton of salt and took two or three days to return. But at that time, they “made money” because the price of salt was still high and the currency did not lose value. Only in the last ten years, people have traveled by motorbike, although they can carry a lot of goods, they cannot sell much because there are more people doing the job,” Ms. Van confided.

Even with the means and tools, the work is not less arduous. In the scorching May sun, the asphalt roads seem to blow heat into the face, draining away the person’s strength. The water bottle hanging on Ms. Van’s bike has gradually emptied while she has not sold much. “This is my business! There are not buyers every day. The salt stall has even fewer customers because a kilo of meat can be used up in two days, but a kilo of salt can last a whole month,” Ms. Van shared.

At noon, we took a break under a big tree by the roadside and took out the rice ball with sesame salt to eat. The rice wrapped in the morning had dried up and could no longer hold the sesame salt. Both sisters had to close their eyes and swallow it with cold water to wash it down, then wait for the sun to cool down before continuing to sell the remaining salt.

Because the vehicles always carry tons of salt, salt sellers must have a steady hand to control the motorbike, especially in unexpected situations. However, many people in the trade have been forced to quit their jobs because of accidents along the way and some have even lost their lives. A friend in the same village named Hien who worked in the salt trade also passed away nearly a month ago due to a traffic accident. However, for the sake of making a living, many people in Ms. Van's salt trading village still defy the hardships and dangers, sticking with the profession until now. Because, her whole family depends on a few hundred bucks of profit from the salt cart that she sells every day.

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