On the afternoon of January 29 (December 19), Ms. Cuc’s family (57 years old, living in Ben Tre province) took turns bringing each flower pot to the bank of Ben Tre river to load it onto the boat. After transferring more than 100 pots of apricot blossoms and 50 pots of bougainvillea flowers, Ms. Cuc went home to prepare dinner.
At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, the boat started the engine to begin the “carrying Tet” journey from Cho Lach district (Ben Tre) to Ho Chi Minh City. On the boat, which was not too big and had faded over time, Mrs. Cuc and Mr. Duy (38 years old, Mrs. Cuc’s son) took the opportunity to eat the prepared rice and gain strength to cross the river.
At 5:00 p.m. the same day, Ms. Cuc’s family’s boat arrived at Binh Dong wharf, right at Tau Hu canal, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. After registering with the Ward People’s Committee, Ms. Cuc was approved by the Ward to sell.
Over the past 20 years, Ms. Cuc cannot remember how many homes she has “brought Tet” to in Ho Chi Minh City.
On the night of the 30th of Tet, we boarded a boat to return home
At the end of the 12th lunar month every year, the spring flower market at Binh Dong wharf is bustling with boats loaded with fresh flowers and ornamental plants from the Western provinces to Ho Chi Minh City for sale.
On this occasion, along Binh Dong Street and Tau Hu Canal parallel to Vo Van Kiet Avenue are decorated with apricot flowers, chrysanthemums, bougainvillea flowers, bonsai trees, kumquats,…
“Come in and see these flowers, apricot blossoms are only 200,000 VND/pot, buy them to support me,” is what Mrs. Cuc advertises every time a customer passes by.
In Cho Lach, Ms. Cuc’s family has 4 acres of land growing apricot trees and bougainvillea flowers. This year, the flowers she brought to sell have been cared for for more than 6 years. These flowers cost from 200,000 VND to several million VND depending on size and style.
Mrs. Cuc’s quick afternoon nap (Photo: Hoang Huong).
She arrived at Binh Dong wharf for 2 days, but the number of flowers she sold was only a dozen. According to Ms. Cuc, compared to other years at this time, customers still do not buy many, most people go to see.
“Thanks to the family’s self-purchased boat, there was no rental fee, otherwise it would have been a lot of money. A few years ago, my husband and I sold together, but last year had no revenue so this year the couple divided the sale at two locations. . My husband came later, selling on Nguyen Van Cu, District 5,” said Mrs. Cuc.
This year, although busy with work, Mr. Duy still took the opportunity to leave early to come home to help his family bring flowers to sell. According to Mr. Duy, traveling by boat takes a lot of time, but this method of transportation is better than using a truck, the flowers will not fall or break branches.
“Every year, whether sold out or not, on the night of the 30th we take the boat home. When the boat just passed Binh Dien bridge and heard the sound of New Year’s Eve fireworks, my heart became even more eager to go faster to reunite soon. with my family,” Mr. Duy confided.
“I have to go every year, staying at home is so sad”
After traveling dozens of kilometers from Ben Tre to Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Lien (50 years old) ate a loaf of bread and checked the flowers for sale.
10 years ago, Ms. Lien’s parents planted apricot trees, but only for fun. When she got married, she discovered the economic value that apricot trees brought, so she and her husband decided to borrow and contribute capital to start a business.
This year, Ms. Lien brought about 200 pots of apricot blossoms to Ho Chi Minh City. In her garden, she still has many trees, but those trees are not of good quality, so she keeps them and waits to sell them next year.
“Last year I brought more, but I couldn’t sell them, so it was considered torn. This year I brought just enough but I don’t know if I still have drafts or not,” Ms. Lien said, laughing.
The boat filled with apricot blossoms arrived at Binh Dong port on December 22 (Photo: Hoang Huong).
To transport the above apricot to the city, Ms. Lien rented a boat from December 20 to December 30 for 20 million VND. Arriving at Binh Dong wharf, she was alone all night, looking after the goods all morning.
“This job is very hard, working hard all year long “selling your face to the earth, selling your back to the sky” only hoping for a Tet season. Apricot growing is inversely proportional to the grower, beautiful trees will eventually wither. Even though it’s difficult, I I can’t quit, this job has supported my family for many years,” Ms. Lien confided.
Along Binh Dong wharf, when asking the oldest Tet flower seller, everyone probably knows Mr. Hoang and Ms. Ngon (over 70 years old, from the same hometown of Ben Tre). Although they are old, every year, Mr. Hoang and his wife are the earliest to bring flowers to Tau Hu canal to sell.
Many small traders were happy to complete dozens of kilometers to Binh Dong wharf (Photo: Hoang Huong).
“I’ve been selling for decades. This year I don’t go by boat. On December 15, my wife and I rented a truck for 3 million VND to bring flowers to sell. Even though some years we sell for profit, some years we have losses, but every year we have to sell. I can’t go, I can’t go, I’m very sad at home,” Mr. Hoang said.
Recalling the old Binh Dong wharf, Mr. Hoang recounted that this area used to be complicated, with all kinds of evils, and small businesses who came to sell were often stolen.
However, in recent years, the trade has been in order, the authorities organized a spring flower festival on the wharf under the boat, police and security forces were on duty 24/7, so people as well as traders more secure.
