Special hobby of 111-year-old man with 73 great-grandchildren in Nghe An

“In Nghi Quang commune, there are currently 5 people over 100 years old, of which Mr. Tran Van Coi in Trung Tien hamlet has the oldest age of 111 years old. Despite his old age, he has good health, rare clarity and optimism,” said Mr. Chu Van Du – Chairman of the Elderly Association of Nghi Quang commune (Nghi Loc district).

To prove his point, Mr. Du took us to Trung Tien hamlet, where Mr. Coi lives. Located about 700m from Nghi Quang Commune People's Committee, Mr. Coi's house is surrounded by a fish pond and a lush vegetable garden.

We were greeted by a woman around 50 years old. We asked and found out that she was Vo Thi Binh (born in 1971), the youngest daughter-in-law and also the one who has taken care of Mr. Coi for many years.

Mrs. Binh said that this fish pond and vegetable garden were the result of Mr. Coi's efforts to improve and take care of them since he was young. At 75 years old, he still digs the garden and fields better than young people. At 99 years old, he still picks vegetables from the garden, bundles them neatly, and loads them onto his bicycle to go to Nghi Quang market to sell.

Seeing his old age, his family tried to stop him, but he loved working so much that he continued to do it. Only in 2016 (when he was 104 years old), unfortunately, he fell off his bike while going to the market to sell vegetables, causing his legs to weaken a lot. Since then, he has "refused" to stay at home, not going to the market or hoeing the garden anymore.

He is very talkative and lives happily with everyone and his children and grandchildren. Regarding food and activities, he especially likes salted fish with rice and sticky rice.

“During Tet, there were meals when my grandma ate almost a medium-sized banh chung, or if she didn’t eat banh chung, she could eat four slices of banh tet,” Mrs. Binh shared with a big laugh.

Mr. Coi had 8 children. However, one of his sons died early, so the number of his married children is 4 boys and 3 girls. Currently, he has 29 grandchildren; 73 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

At the age of 111, Mr. Coi's hearing has become impaired and his movements have become slower, but he is still able to take care of his personal activities. In particular, his memory is still very good. His joy and optimism have not disappeared as he still jokes and teases his children and grandchildren every day.

When asked about the secret to longevity, the 111-year-old man smiled toothlessly: "I don't know why I'm not dead yet. I prepared two coffins. She (Mr. Coi's wife) used one, and the other one is mine, I haven't used it yet..."

Adding to the story, Mr. Chu Van Du said that people in the commune have often asked Mr. Coi the secret to living a long and healthy life, as clear-minded as he is now. He often laughs loudly and says: "There is no secret!"

But what people notice about him is his healthy diet, cheerful spirit and enthusiasm for work. Perhaps that is the secret to his health at such a rare age./.