(Dan Tri) - Before moving to the official residence, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's family lived in a 25m2 room in a collective house on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi).
Corner of the 3rd floor balcony - where General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's family lived for more than 10 years (Photo: Manh Quan).
"Cuong, come cut my hair"
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong studied at the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi University (8th course). He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1967 and was assigned to work as an editor for the Hoc Tap Magazine (now the Communist Magazine). His family moved from the Kim Lien apartment building to the Communist Magazine apartment building on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street. At that time, the Communist Magazine apartment building was actually an old French villa, with an area of over 100 square meters, with 3 floors, including 8 small rooms, where 8 families of cadres and employees of the Communist Magazine lived. They shared 2 toilets and a water tank in the yard. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's family had 5 people, including: Mrs. (the General Secretary's biological mother), Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Phu Trong - Mrs. Ngo Thi Man and their two children, living in a 25 square meter room on the 3rd floor, without a kitchen or a toilet. Meanwhile, Mr. Cuong's family lived on the first floor of the apartment building. Many times visiting "Uncle Trong's" house, Mr. Cuong still remembers the arrangement of the room, from the table leaning against the wall with 2 chairs, bed, shelves, mezzanine, the alley in the house converted into a kitchen, balcony... "In the past, we often met Uncle Trong, talked, visited each other every day, the relationship was close like people in the same family. Uncle Trong's family considered my daughter as an adopted grandchild, often called to the house for dinner", Mr. Cuong said.
The 25m2 room (now renovated) used to be the residence of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's family when he worked at the Communist Magazine (Photo: Manh Quan).
Although it has been renovated many times, the room still retains the original four-panel door facing Nguyen Thuong Hien street (Photo: Manh Quan).
In the memories of his neighbors, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is "a different person", sincerity radiates from him, typical of the elegant and refined intellectual class.
Every time his hair got a little long, "Uncle Trong" would call: "Cuong, come and cut my hair." The two sat on the balcony, cutting hair and chatting - simple, warm stories typical of the old days.
In Mr. Cuong's memory, Mrs. Ngo Thi Man, the General Secretary's wife, was a gentle and simple person. The simple meals cooked by Mrs. Man "nourished" the childhood of the children in the apartment building.
Even though she later became the wife of the General Secretary, Mrs. Man still often stopped by Nguyen Thuong Hien Street to go shopping. She wore an old hat that only the people living there could recognize, strangers did not.
"Sometimes when I go to the market, I meet Ms. Man. We talk, ask about family, health and work. Although the two families are no longer neighbors, they are still close and friendly," said Mr. Cuong.
At the wedding of his son, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, then Chairman of the National Assembly, only held an internal family event, inviting neighbors on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street and very few friends. Mr. Cuong was one of the few guests invited to the wedding held at the Vietnam-Soviet Cultural Palace.
"Meeting old neighbors at his son's wedding, Uncle Trong gave warm hugs and shook hands with them. Since he moved to another place, I also occasionally visited to ask about his family's health," Mr. Cuong said these were the most profound impressions in his life.
The staircase bears the old traces of "simple years" (Photo: Manh Quan).
Special memory room
In August 1991, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Magazine and was assigned an additional 16m2 room, with a kitchen and bathroom. The house seemed more "decent" than before, and the whole family no longer had to share a bathroom with the neighbors.
Later, when General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was appointed Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, the whole family moved to the official residence.
A few years later, Mr. Cuong had the opportunity to own the room where General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his family used to live.
After nearly 30 years and several renovations, the room still retains the balcony corner full of cool green leaves and the four-panel door overlooking Nguyen Thuong Hien street - where "Uncle Trong" and his family often stand and chat intimately with the neighbors.
Occasionally, in conversations with relatives and friends, Mr. Cuong confided that it was a special memory room - where General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's family lived for many years.
He kept the room as a beautiful, simple and humane memory, a space of memories of the General Secretary's family.
Balcony corner - one of the special highlights of the room (Photo: Manh Quan).
"Departure is not the end, but will continue in the future"
Hearing the news of "Uncle Trong's" passing, all the memories rushed back into Mr. Cuong's mind like a slow-motion film.
He walked up the stairs, a narrow and dark passage leading to the nostalgic room on the third floor. Standing from the corner of the old balcony, Mr. Cuong said "his heart was empty" as if he had lost a family member.
The day "Uncle Trong" became General Secretary, Mr. Cuong had few opportunities to meet him, only occasionally asking about his family. Most recently, he heard that "Uncle Trong" was in the hospital, but he did not expect the General Secretary to pass away so suddenly.
In an emotional moment, Mr. Cuong said he wanted to dedicate his last words to "Uncle Trong" - simple words like the life of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
"He lived a life dedicated to the country, loved and respected by the people. I still believe that passing away is not the end, but will continue in the future...
"Farewell to my uncle - General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong", Mr. Cuong choked up.
According to information from the Central Council for the Protection of the Health of Officials, after a period of illness, despite the devoted treatment of the Party, the State, a group of professors and doctors, and the wholehearted care of his family, due to old age and serious illness, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong passed away at 1:38 p.m. on July 19, at the 108 Central Military Hospital.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong passed away at the age of 80.
The funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was held as a State funeral, taking place over two days, July 25 and 26.
During the two days of National Mourning, flags will be flown at half-mast in agencies, offices, and public places, and no public entertainment activities will be organized.
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/dieu-chua-biet-ve-can-nha-tap-the-25m2-cua-tong-bi-thu-nguyen-phu-trong-20240720151139317.htm
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