'Screen prince' and his unique way of giving lucky money on the first morning of the new year

Although he is in a period of strong development with a chain of restaurants and a new film project, the actorGo home sonstill prioritize spending time with family during Tet holiday.

For Quoc Truong, the most memorable Tet memory was when he was in primary school, when he was still an innocent and carefree boy. "At that time, every time I heard that Tet was only a month away, I was happy because I could buy new clothes. In the past, our economy was not abundant, so we could only buy new clothes on Tet, so I was more excited. But now, sometimes we don't even buy clothes for Tet," the actor recalled.

Time is the most meaningful Tet gift for parents

Now that he is successful and financially well-off, Quoc Truong believes that the most meaningful gift to give his parents is time. "My parents no longer lack anything. They have a house, and although they don't have much money, it's enough to be happy. What they need most now is their children's time with their family," the actor confided.

Despite living 200 km away from home and being busy with business and playing the lead role in a movie, the actor still arranged to return to his hometown from the 26th of Tet. "I spend the 24th and 25th of Tet in Saigon to meet friends and celebrate the end of the year. Then around the 26th and 27th of Tet, I return to my hometown with my family and stay until my parents 'kick me out'," he humorously shared.

Quoc Truong said: "When the family is together, we are almost always together, no one is separated. When the children go out to eat with friends, their parents go with them, or when the parents go out to eat with relatives, my brother and I go with them. From the 26th of Tet to the 7th or 10th of Tet, the family is always together," he said.

On the 28th and 29th of Tet, he often takes his parents to buy flowers to decorate the house. Quoc Truong's father - a former lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture at Can Tho University - is very knowledgeable about ornamental plants, so the house is always filled with flowers and apricot trees during Tet. "If we are lucky enough to come back at the right time, the whole family picks apricot leaves together, otherwise around the 29th of Tet, I take my family to buy flowers to decorate the house," Quoc Truong said.

The kitchen corner of Tet is rich with flavor and the unique custom of giving lucky money

Quoc Truong and his mother are the ones who cook for the family during Tet. He inherited his passion for cooking from his mother: "Almost anything my mother can cook, I can cook, just not as delicious as my mother."

The traditional dishes that are indispensable on Quoc Truong's Tet meal tray have a strong Western flavor such as braised pork in wine, bitter melon soup, pickled onions... "These are dishes that must be available every year and must be cooked every year," the actor shared.

This year, instead of going to Vung Tau like previous years, Quoc Truong plans to take his family on a spring trip to Dong Thap on the third day of Tet. He explained: "A few years ago, I went to Vung Tau but the traffic was so bad that it turned from a trip into a journey of self-torture, so it was quite impressive and scary. My parents are getting old, so this year I will take them to Dong Thap to have a little change of scenery."

In particular, Quoc Truong's family has a unique way of giving lucky money on the morning of the first day of the New Year. There are 6 members in the family, including 4 adults and 2 children. For the younger children, he gives lucky money with a specific amount. As for the 4 older members, he will exchange a new stack of money, then divide it into 4 parts for everyone to choose.

"In these 4 piles, the amount of money will be different - some piles will have more, some piles will have a few less bills. After choosing and counting again, some people will be happy because they chose the pile with more bills, but some will also feel a bit regretful, not because they are sad because they have less money, but jokingly say: 'If I had known, I would have chosen the other pile!'

The atmosphere at that time was very bustling and happy. In return, my parents and siblings also gave me lucky money, but it was only symbolic. For me, that was enough to be happy."