Meat stamp counter: 'Meeting point' of Quang Trung apartment building

(Baonghean.vn) - Until now, the address of room 1, building A3 is still a place that holds many memories of "us, the storey house group". Simply, that place was the food store of the entire Quang Trung area - where we, the kids, would line up from midnight, the meeting place of the young boys and girls of the storey house group at that time.

In the late 70s of the last century, when there were more than 1,000 households living in the multi-storey building area, the People's Council of Quang Trung ward proposed that the city establish a food store here.

Not long after that, the first food store was set up in room 1 and 3 of building A3, right next to the Slide yard. We - the first children of the "storey house" to taste the moon cakes at 20 cents each, each time lining up we could buy no more than 5 cakes.

Grocery store in the afternoon light. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

During the subsidy period, this grocery store sold all kinds of things, such as salt, fish sauce, water spinach, fish, meat, etc. Each household in the multi-story house was given a Purchase Book, and each sale was recorded to prevent fraud. Water spinach was sold by weight, and each household was not allowed to buy more than 2 pounds per day. How fun!

Water spinach is imported from Vinh Tan fields, transported to the store by three-wheeled vehicles, only 2 vehicles per day. The vegetables do not arrive until around noon, but we had to get up and line up at 5am.

This place sells all kinds of things, but perhaps the most memorable memory is queuing up to buy pork, so we used to call it “A3 meat store”. Queuing up to buy meat was both “torture” and a pleasure for the children of Quang Trung at that time.

Usually, at 3-4 am, people would start lining up. Sometimes, the store would run out of meat to sell, and when they heard that the meat would arrive tomorrow, they would have to get up at midnight. Whoever lined up first usually got the freshest and best piece of meat, while those who lined up later might not get a portion, and they would have to accept the leftovers, so every day there were arguments and even fights.

Barber shop in Quang Trung building. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

In those days, families with war invalids and martyrs’ cards were given priority. At first, people had to sit in line, but it took too long, partly because their legs were sore, partly because they were bitten by mosquitoes, so instead of people lining up, people used baskets, trays, and then stones. The queuing area was dark, and it took a lot of persuasion before they installed an electric pole. When there was light, the old men took advantage of the light to set up a chess board, the teachers took out newspapers to read, and we children invited each other to play marbles and Chinese checkers.

Usually at the beginning of the hour, the fat saleswoman will come to open the door, everyone will compete to ask:

- Much meat?

- Do you have fat? Do you have heart and kidney?

- How much weight can each person buy?

- Remember to leave me the pig's leg to cook porridge for my sick mother.

When the three-wheeled vehicle sputtered near the store, everyone was in an uproar, all activities stopped, everyone hurriedly stood in line. The sounds of fighting for seats, the sounds of shouting... resounded throughout the corner of building A3. The children quickly ran home shouting:

- Mom, the meat is here…the meat is here!

The women put on their sandals, quickly grabbed the stack of ration stamps, and shouted as they walked:

- Folks, the meat is here, the meat is here…

Every time like that, the store in my neighborhood was allocated three or four pigs. There were heads, intestines, pig feet… but what people liked most was to buy some fat. The fat was skimmed off, fried, let cool, and put into glass jars to stir-fry and cook vegetables for later consumption. After frying the fat, there were a few pieces of meat left, which families often braised with salt to celebrate big events of the month, usually fathers and mothers would use chopsticks for their children.

Occasionally, especially during Tet, the shop sells freshwater fish from Ke Go Lake or sea fish. Grass carp weighing tens of kilos, often with their brains removed, are brought in to be sold instead of pork; on lucky days, the shop also sells beef.

The grocery store is also a dating place for the older couples. When queuing up to buy meat, you have time to confide, do housework without being managed, it is truly a double job. I also have a guy, not a "high-rise resident", but whenever he knows I am queuing, he follows me. The trivial stories at the A3 meat store later followed him throughout his years studying abroad. If in the West, he heard that the A3 house was demolished, he would be sadder than anyone else because that meat store was the meeting place for the two of us once. I miss you so much, A3!

Phan Hao