The man who once bailed water with Uncle Ho | Gia Lai Electronic Newspaper

(GLO)- During a recent business trip, we heard Ms. Vu Thi Mui (No. 509, Quang Trung Street, An Tan Ward, An Khe Town, Gia Lai Province) recount her profound memories of meeting Uncle Ho twice.

Mrs. Vu Thi Mui was born in 1936 in Dai Kim commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi. During the resistance war against the US, she and her husband worked in Hanoi. After the liberation in 1975, they were transferred to Gia Lai. Mr. Tran Dinh Long - Mrs. Mui's husband - was appointed as the Director of An Khe Brick Factory, and she was a babysitter for the factory.

Meet the man who used to bail water with Uncle Ho photo 1

Mrs. Vu Thi Mui recounts the times she met Uncle Ho. Photo: Nguyen Anh Minh

Mrs. Mui recalled: “In 1952, we were bailing water to fight drought in the rice fields at the village entrance when we heard people cheering: “Uncle Ho is here, Uncle Ho is here”. Everyone was bewildered to see where Uncle Ho was and saw an old man wearing brown clothes, rubber sandals, and a beige hat coming from behind the bamboo hedge. Uncle Ho raised his hand and waved to everyone. Everyone shouted: “Uncle Ho, Uncle Ho is here”. Uncle walked straight to where we were bailing water with a double bucket and asked to join us. While everyone was still hesitant, Uncle grabbed the rope of the woman who was bailing water with me. Uncle jokingly said that I would show him how to bail water. So I was lucky to bail water with him. After the first few buckets of water, I was still not used to it, but after a while, Uncle was bailing water evenly with me. When he stopped bailing water, Uncle said: When I was young, I went bailing water with my mother to fight drought, so I became so proficient”. At this point, Mrs. Mui could not hide her emotion, her eyes welling up with tears. “When everyone had gathered in the communal house yard, an officer came to invite Uncle Ho to come and talk. We listened in silence. After Uncle Ho left, I was still standing there, bewildered, not believing that I had met Uncle Ho, had splashed water with him. Even now, after decades, I still remember that moment clearly,” Mrs. Mui said.

Regarding the second time she met Uncle Ho, Mrs. Mui gently shared: “I don’t remember exactly what year it was. At that time, I was working as a caterer for a military unit stationed in Dong Anh district, Hanoi; I was called by my superiors to be assigned a special task, to fetch water for Uncle Ho to water the plants. I quickly went to prepare the tools, feeling very excited because I was about to meet Uncle Ho for the second time.”

After completing the mission, Mrs. Mui was informed by her superior that a cadre brought a star apple tree from the South. The Government had organized for Uncle Ho to plant the star apple tree in the area where her unit was stationed to make it easier to protect Uncle Ho.

She slowly recounted: “Uncle Ho and the Central Committee's delegation traveled in a convoy of black cars. There were so many cars that it was hard to tell which car Uncle Ho was in. When the convoy stopped, Uncle Ho got out of the car in the middle of the convoy. The unit commander invited Uncle Ho to the area prepared for planting trees, everyone stood in a circle around him. Uncle Ho placed the star apple tree in the hole, carefully covered it with a shovel. I held a watering can full of water and gave it to Uncle Ho to water the star apple tree. After watering the tree, Uncle Ho instructed the children to take good care of the star apple tree so that it would grow quickly because this was the affection of the people of the South for the North. After saying that, Uncle Ho waved goodbye and quickly went to the car to return to Hanoi. Everyone watched Uncle Ho's figure and the convoy gradually disappear into the distance.”

After 1975, Mrs. Mui and her husband returned to work at An Khe Brick Factory. In the first years after liberation, the country was full of hardships, and An Khe Brick Factory also encountered many difficulties. However, with the will of Uncle Ho's soldiers, remembering Uncle Ho's advice, they joined hands to put An Khe Brick Factory into stable operation. In particular, Mr. Tran Dinh Long, as the Director of the Factory, was a soldier who had met Uncle Ho. He devoted all his heart to developing the factory, serving the reconstruction of the local economy. An Khe Brick Factory was awarded many certificates of merit from the central and local governments. When Mr. Long passed away, Mrs. Mui was willing to donate his medals, certificates of merit, and certificates of merit to the Provincial Museum for preservation, serving propaganda work.

Mrs. Mui is now old, her health is declining, she has to go to the hospital regularly for treatment, but when asked about meeting Uncle Ho, she excitedly tells the story. For her, although the time she met Uncle Ho was not long, it was a great honor, a motivation to help her strive to overcome all difficulties in life.

NGUYEN ANH MINH

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