Unique 'porch library' of 90-year-old veteran in Nghe An

Born in 1930 in Hau Thanh commune, in 1951, following the call of Uncle Ho, Nguyen The Vien put down his pen and volunteered to join the Youth Volunteers to serve the Cao Bac Lang campaign. In 1953, he transferred to the army to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Joining the fight against the French and then continuing the fight against the Americans, after the country was unified, he stayed to serve in the People's Army Newspaper, until 1986 when he retired, as a 2/4 class disabled soldier.

Every day, Mr. Vien's "porch library" welcomes local people to come and read books. Photo: Nguyen Hoang

His hometown is a commune in the low mountains, where life is difficult. Since his retirement, he has returned to his hometown to plant trees, raise fish, read books, write poems and participate in activities in a number of local socio-political and professional organizations.

People in the residential area recounted that when he first retired, he carried out many "campaigns": moving to a new land "creating the world" which people at that time called "Nong trang"; once blocking a small river to make many ponds to raise fish; establishing a nursery to provide seedlings for people to green the bare hills; exchanging deep rice fields for a large area of ​​highland to renovate and grow fruit trees... He was a dynamic, bold, persistent person, true to the qualities of a soldier when completing his mission and returning to build a normal life.

Veteran Nguyen The Vien's hobby is reading books and chatting with people every day. Photo: Nguyen Hoang

When visiting him, the first deep impression is the reading space. It is the extended porch connecting to the garden with bookcases, tables and chairs, shady trees...

His bookshelf has more than 500 books of all kinds, stored from his youth until now. At the same time, there are many types of newspapers, magazines... If readers have time, usually retired people, they can read books that were published a long time ago such as "The Steel Was Tempered That", "So Do", short story collections by Nam Cao, Nguyen Cong Hoan... Newspapers according to time or magazines such as Elderly, Encouragement of Learning, Veterans... Children can read comics, fairy tales, children's stories... Especially books from Kim Dong Publishing House from all periods. Neighbors who are farmers often read the Magazine of Agriculture and Rural Development, Animal Husbandry Techniques, Gardening Techniques...

Mr. Le Van Ton, 79 years old, an anti-American veteran, told us: "I love literature. Recently, I wanted to read the story collection "Bi vo" by Nguyen Hong again. I asked my nephew to find it in old bookstores in Hanoi but couldn't find it. When I came here, I saw it, so I borrowed it to read."

The bookshelf he accumulated since his youth has 500 books. Photo: Nguyen Hoang

His books come from many sources: they were collected during his youth, given as gifts, and bought by him; and there are also collections of poems and stories written and published by him. The books he wrote aim to record the brave examples of heroic martyrs or advanced examples in labor production, such as: "Echoes of Dien Bien", "Echoes of the Path Opening Song", "Traditions of the Yen Thanh Farmers' Association from 1930 to 2016", "Rice Flowers"...

Many children have come to Mr. Vien's "porch library". Photo: Nguyen Hoang

The porch of Mr. Vien's house was expanded to place bookshelves, tables and chairs arranged in a corner of the yard so that people could sit and read books under the cool shade of longan trees, in front of which were rows of lotus ponds giving off a sweet fragrance on summer days.

Although we were pleased with this reading space, we were still curious to know why it was not organized in a room. He said: “When I retired, my family lived in the house left by my ancestors. The money we earned through labor and production was invested in building houses for our children and grandchildren.” He pointed to the sign that read “Nghe An Province Veterans Association presents Dien Bien Gratitude House” and continued: “In 2014, with the support of the Provincial Veterans Association, I was able to build a new 70 m house.². The old house was renovated to worship ancestors. The new house is just enough to live in, not enough room to make a reading room. And if there was, it would not be as convenient, not as attractive as this, and would not be as effective"...

At the age of 90, his eyes sparkle with joy and a hearty laugh every time his neighbors, after work, stop by his house to read books, read poems and drink green tea... The stories are always buzzing after each hard day of work, warm with the love of the neighborhood.

Nguyen Hoang