On the weekend, I had to go through Duy Thu commune (Duy Xuyen), and the name Phu Da market caught my eye, and I was suddenly stunned. I pulled the car over to the side of the road and went to the market with nostalgia.
Phu Da Market is located on the Thu Bon River, a small market with a light yellow painted gate - the common color like many other markets in the upstream area of my hometown. The market has bamboo baskets with a few bunches of sweet potato leaves, squash tops, boiled jackfruit pieces, banana flowers... of the women and mothers.
The market bears the bold signs of the season through the typical agricultural products of the riverside alluvial plains such as sticky corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, and cucumbers that are in season. The market is a bit deserted, only a few stalls in front of the gate are bustling with people bargaining with their thick accents, just like in my hometown.
Perhaps because they drink the same Thu Bon water, people living along the river in Nong Son and Duy Xuyen have the same intonation and pronunciation - my grandparents used to say so. Past the market grounds, one can see green bamboo hedges and rows of areca trees casting cool shadows, a characteristic that brings a peaceful, pristine feeling to most of the markets along this river.
The ferry docks are also the names of markets, villages Phu Thuan, Phu Da, Ben Dau, Khe Cat... deeply ingrained in the minds, familiar and dear to the residents of Nong Son living along the Thu Bon River in the days when roads were still difficult.
These markets connect with many other riverside markets upstream such as Trung Phuoc, Khanh Binh, Ty, Se, etc., creating a bustling and crowded trade route. Ferries carry food from these markets and wharves up and agricultural products down.
I still remember vividly the feeling of waiting for the Phu Thuan - Phu Da boats to buy fish sauce, salt, and food. In those days, whenever we heard that Mrs. Thu or Mrs. Mot's boat was coming, the whole village would bring earthenware jars and 75-bottles (75ml glass bottles) to buy fish sauce and dried fish. Especially the female fish sauce, every family would buy a whole box (equivalent to three cans of cow's milk) to save for later use because it was difficult to buy each time.
Each boat is like a mobile mini market on the river, stopping wholesale at markets and retailing at each river wharf from downstream to upstream. My mother looks forward to the ferry trip downstream to sell silkworm cocoons after each trip.
Many times after catching cocoons, I waited for a long time but the boat did not come to buy them, my cheeks felt hot inside. Now the river wharf, the ferry trips going back and forth to trade are only in my memory. My hometown Trung Phuoc village and Phu Da market are adjacent to each other by both river and road, it takes about 20 minutes to ride a motorbike and enjoy the scenery. Yet it was not until my early decades that I had the opportunity to go to Phu Da market to know, to satisfy the questions of a child born in that village.
In Phu Da one morning, I joined the wholesale market with some local products and a bottle of fish sauce, and suddenly I smelled a faint, spicy scent of memories. The name of this market is associated with a sky full of nostalgia and longing for many people living along the river on the other side of Phuong Ranh Pass. So, visiting Phu Da market, I happily found a ticket back to my childhood, tasting the memories of a difficult, distant time...
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