Memories of the victory meal

 

He vaguely saw that Mr. Nhan was thinner than before... Mr. Huu thought, it was only natural because he was almost a hundred years old! The same loose, dangling sleeve still hung there because he had lost his left arm. Mr. Nhan approached the head of the bed and gently shook it, using the hand of his remaining arm: Uncle, come back, my child. He woke up, feeling lost. Then he got up, turned on the light, made a pot of Tan Cuong tea... Mr. Huu muttered to himself: Let's do it!

The year of At Mao 1975 also had many strange things. It was only the end of January but there were already showers and thunder and lightning. The elders said that year was the year of the Water element - Dai Khe Thuy (big water in a big stream). In the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, anyone with that element is flexible, adaptable, and easy to adapt. The same goes for the country, every year of At has miracles.

Mr. Huu's hometown is right at the foot of the Tam Dao mountain range, on the eastern slope of Thai Nguyen, with three towering peaks, the highest of which is 1,143m, seven or eight kilometers from the district center. The district high school is located in the center, and senior students stay near the school to save time commuting.

Mr. Nhan's house was a kilometer away from the school, so it was convenient for the brothers to stay and study. That year, Dong Chung hamlet was as poor as most Vietnamese villages. It was just that they were poor but very compassionate. Mr. and Mrs. Nhan and Thanh gave birth to seven or eight children in a row, so they were also poor and miserable. Fortunately, thanks to the Cong River behind the village that provided irrigation, and the fields in front of the village that were fertile and flourishing all year round, Dong Chung was better off than other villages...

In the previous resistance war against the French, it goes without saying that this land was no different from a battlefield. The fact is that during the years when the US used its war to destroy the North, enemy planes from their bases in Thailand came to bomb the North. When they wanted to enter the airspace of Thai Nguyen and Hanoi, they often flew over the top of Quat Nan, then flew very low under Tam Dao mountain to avoid radar, quickly dropped bombs, and then flew back in panic. But because of that, enemy planes were intercepted by our air force and missiles, burning and crashing countless times. As a result, Dai Tu was the place where the US air force kept an eye on. During those years, this area was the evacuation site for many agencies and military units to train and intercept US planes. Quat Nan peak also witnessed the heroic sacrifice of our air force. That was on April 30, 1971, a Mic 21U plane led by a Soviet instructor named Yuri Poyarkov and a young Vietnamese pilot named Cong Phuong Thao sacrificed themselves on the top of the mountain...

In March 1975, we began a major battle on the southern battlefield. The news programs of the Voice of Vietnam radio station continuously broadcast war news. Mr. Huu's family at that time was not well off but had an Oriongtong radio that received signals very well. Mr. Nhan suggested bringing it to the dormitory for everyone to listen to. So every evening, the uncle and nephew spread out mats on the porch to listen to the news.

Mr. Nhan never left Dong Chung hamlet in his entire life, so the development of the war was explained by his student Huu: - We started the campaign from the Central Highlands, which was very accurate, uncle. Military strategists used to say that whoever controlled the Central Highlands would control the entire coastal strip... The enemy was surprised in Buon Ma Thuot, falling into our trap... The enemy abandoned the Central Highlands and fled, uncle. Nguyen Van Thieu declared to evacuate at will... Hue and Da Nang were liberated... Patriotic pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung flew the enemy plane to drop bombs on the Independence Palace. The heartwarming reports and memoirs of Cao Tien Le, Ngoc Dan, Vinh Quang Le, Hoang Nhuan Cam... The song "The Road We Take" by Huy Du performed by Doan Tan was extremely heroic...

On the morning of April 30, Mr. Huu still went to class, at noon he cycled back to Dong Trung, Mr. Nhan went to the field at the beginning of the village, as soon as he saw Huu's shadow, he shouted loudly: Saigon is liberated, victory is here... On the afternoon of May 8, 1975, Mrs. Thanh, Mr. Nhan's wife, returned from the market, she told the boarding students: - Tomorrow the commune and district will organize a rally to celebrate the victory. The cooperative will slaughter pigs, each person will be given 3 taels, invite you to eat together.

Around 11am on the 9th, Mrs. Thanh brought the meat home. She told everyone to fight over the fat to eat sparingly. She took two kilos of pork belly and pork leg. She said why bother, let's go home and roast it to celebrate... The meal was served on two wooden trays placed on two double mats. A few days ago, there had been showers so the water spinach was young and green, and because it had fat, Mrs. Thanh made both boiled water spinach and stir-fried water spinach with garlic. She had planted a 6-month-old Du rice variety, the yield was low but the rice was extremely fragrant and delicious, and because it had meat, last night she ground a basket of rice. She sliced ​​the pork into small pieces, marinated it with Tan Viet Hoa soy sauce, and fried it in a cast iron pan, scooping two bowls from each tray. Mr. Nhan took out a bottle of Ngu Da Bi wine that she had saved for a long time and solemnly announced the start of the victory celebration...

As the rear base of the resistance war against the US, the people of Hung Son, like all the other northern localities at that time, participated in many things at the same time. Raising healthy children to join the army to fight; directly fighting against the US's destructive war and increasing production to supply food for the battlefield. The movements "Three ready, three responsible". Not a pound of rice is missing, not a soldier is missing"... were born. Mr. Nhan said: Contributing as much pig and rice as possible to the State is a sacred duty and responsibility to the Fatherland. And, Mr. Huu said: We ate a delicious meal and the food will never be as delicious.

That night he muttered: Let's do it! It was probably this May, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of unification, he returned to Dong Chung, prepared a meal exactly like the one to celebrate the victory that year. Simply memories, nostalgia, gratitude.

The next morning, on Nguyen Duy Ke's Facebook, there was a message: Farewell to my father, grandfather... In front of the 98-year-old man's coffin, Mr. Huu muttered: Farewell to you, the pure farmer who quietly contributed to the nation's victory with his hard work and the beautiful memories of his children and grandchildren.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202503/ky-uc-bua-com-mung-chien-thang-4090540/