Like children skipping back to the village...

The old way back to the countryside is full of emotions. Photo: THUY BAT NHI

Those are the indescribable feelings of the "old" generation in the city, with the lingering nostalgia for things that are very old...

The "hopeful" people

Mr. Pham Xuan Quang (residing in Thanh Khe, Da Nang) always considered himself a "hopeful" person. He left his hometown Dai Loc when he was still in school. "At that time, my family was so poor that my parents sent me to my uncle's house to go to school. There was war and fighting, and the village was short of rice, but both my parents just wanted their children to study. So when my uncle let me stay and go to school, I was very happy. That's why I've been in Da Nang until now."

Mr. Quang counted the time, counted the years spent in this city, "in the blink of an eye, it has been several decades". When he first came to Da Nang, the Hue intersection area was still muddy, his uncle's house was near the current Huynh Ngoc Hue street, there was no way for vehicles to enter, the house was full of sand dunes. The entire Thanh Khe commune at that time, bamboo clumps grew densely. After studying, then escaping the resistance war, becoming a cadre participating in the Youth Volunteer Movement to liberate Da Nang, Mr. Quang thought he would only have to look back at his homeland "far away".

“But after retiring and arranging a job and house for my children, I still like to go back to my hometown. Several times a year, when there is a family anniversary or a ceremony, I always go back. To the village, to check on my parents’ house, to go around and meet relatives,” Mr. Quang excitedly recounted.

However, the truth is that when he returned to the village, he returned to his childhood. “I was so happy, going from the street to the house, I remembered my childhood friends, then greeting my uncle, my aunt, remembering this person who gave me some sweet potatoes, that person who gave me money to buy Tet clothes… Tet came, wearing the Ao Dai, standing in the middle of the yard, looking up at the sky, missing my father and mother, breathing in the excited and elated air, it was so great, so hard to describe”.

Mr. Quang's feelings, looking out, with his peers - the generation that went through the fire of war, lived with Da Nang gradually changing into urbanization, compared to his hometown each year is different, each generation of young people grew up and also left the village, sitting together, naturally sharing the same feelings. In a private corner, between Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, people can easily see gray-haired people sitting alone in the late winter afternoon, late spring, seemingly very leisurely but full of mood.

Those people, just need to recall the old Tet, old customs, childhood stories, they will "transform" into another person, laughing and talking, always telling stories...

Back to yourself

When old men of seventy years old sit together, they often start telling each other stories about their hometown.

People from the city return to their hometowns to visit graves on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Dien Ban. Photo: Xuan Hien

There is a vast space of memories in the hearts of those old friends, so they call each other by "vulgar" names and "old man's names". Especially, the temple and pagoda scenes of their childhood, the village festivals of the first and second months of the deprived children of the past... The emotions of those "past" people, truly never fade.

Pharmacist Vo Dinh Dieu, who has lived 2/3 of his life in Da Nang, has just left the "pharmacy" for 3 years now, and admits that he has never forgotten his hometown Cau Hai (Thua Thien Hue).

In recent years, it can be said that more than half of the year, he returned to the village, taking care of one thing after another, from the family to the village. He commented that every time he returned to the village, he felt like a child, “skipping on the road”, looking at the scenery and missing his hometown, looking at the trees and missing the people…

“In fact, people like me are too old, telling stories of the past, only seeing poverty and hardship, which is not suitable for today's youth. But what needs to be constantly reminded is that through life's experiences, we need to help the children not forget the rules, ethics and etiquette that our ancestors have instilled over generations, passing on to the next generation a solid, deep foundation” - the old pharmacist confided. With that in mind, he determined that the occasions of returning to the village are an opportunity to recall, write in the record book the necessary customs and rituals so that the next generation does not forget their roots, does not forget the etiquette with their predecessors.

Returning to their hometown, for people like Mr. Pham Xuan Quang and pharmacist Vo Dinh Dieu, is not simply to bring back memories. They return to their village, or more precisely, set foot on their village, to return to their true selves!

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nhu-tre-tho-chan-sao-ve-lang-3150152.html