Bustling market in the afternoon, missing the countryside market on the eve of Tet

In Dai Loc district, Quang Nam province, there are rural markets that are most bustling in the afternoon. The days leading up to Tet, the markets are even more crowded and bustling with people coming and going.

Họp chợ đông vui buổi chiều, thương nhớ chợ quê ngày cận Tết - Ảnh 1. — Hoa My, an afternoon market in Dai Loc district - Photo: LE TRUNG

DT 609 route through Dai Loc district lies along the Vu Gia river, where there are afternoon markets that have been ingrained in the subconscious and lifestyle of the people for generations.

Close and intimate, because there is not simply buying and selling, but also friendships being exchanged, a place for villagers to exchange stories and ask about each other.

Hoa My Market, Dai Nghia Commune, is only open in the afternoon. The small market is located along the Vu Gia River with green alluvial fields of flowers, vegetables and fruits.

Here, familiar local products are harvested and sold at the market, in addition to meat, fish, clothes...

The days leading up to Tet, the market becomes more crowded and bustling, people flock to buy many Tet items such as fruits, betel and areca nuts, cakes.

Phu Huong market, Dai Quang commune on the afternoon of December 28 was packed with people.

On both sides of the sidewalk, there are all kinds of Tet goods for sale such as flowers, fruits, betel and areca nuts, green bananas, and traditional cakes such as banh to and lotus seeds.

The women sat in front of the market with simple stalls selling fruits for the five-fruit tray such as coconut, papaya, and custard apple. The best-selling item was probably betel and areca nuts, with the old women quickly rolling them to sell to customers. People came and went busily, hurrying to buy to get home before dark.

Họp chợ đông vui buổi chiều, thương nhớ chợ quê ngày cận Tết - Ảnh 3. — Betel leaves and areca nuts are sold to customers at Phu Huong market. Betel leaves and areca nuts are the best-selling items near Tet - Photo: LE TRUNG

Mrs. Hai (70 years old), a long-time vendor at the market, said that she has been selling betel and areca nuts here for a long time, especially on days near Tet when many customers buy them to bring home to worship. "I will try to sell a little more tomorrow and then take a break to celebrate Tet," Mrs. Hai confided.

Ms. Lai, a vendor at Ha Nha market in Dai Dong commune, has a stall selling only fruits from the five-fruit tray such as coconuts, papayas, or plastic flower baskets. She said that the market usually only opens in the morning, but during Tet, it opens in the afternoon to serve customers' needs. The items sold in the afternoon are usually fruits and votive paper for Tet.

I bought a young coconut to make a fruit tray for the ancestral altar for 25,000 VND, and she gave me a papaya. "Never mind, Tet is coming, let's sell it for fun", she said. That's how the rural market is, sincere, warm and very simple.

Countryside markets are a unique feature of the land, people and culture of those places. There are markets that are dozens or hundreds of years old, not only a place to trade rustic and simple specialties of the countryside, but also a "refuge" for grandmothers, mothers, sisters, some of whom spend their whole lives in the market, like their second home.

There is also the deep nostalgia of many generations of people far from home, especially those who do not have the conditions to return home when Tet is near.