The old elevator with two iron doors that had to be opened and closed by hand took us to the second floor, where the relics of the family of the contractor of the Independence Palace, Mai Hong Que (real name Tran Van Lai - Nam Lai), a famous rich man in Saigon 70 years ago and also a brave commando soldier, were displayed.
His life story was partly portrayed through the character Hoang Son, owner of Dong A Paint Company, in the movie Saigon Special Forces, a classic work of Vietnamese Revolutionary Cinema.
We were greeted by Mrs. Dang Thi Tuyet Mai (aka Dang Thi Thiep) - the second wife and Mr. Tran Vu Binh - Mr. Nam Lai's son. Mrs. Tuyet Mai and Mr. Binh are the ones who are preserving the last remaining evidence of their husband and father.
Mr. Tran Van Lai's house, once used as a secret meeting place for Saigon commandos, is now a museum.
Reunion through photos
An old lady, nearly 100 years old, wearing a faded blue outfit, a Buddhist monk's hat, her steps unsteady and needing someone to help her, still tried to reach out and touch the portrait of Mr. Nam Lai hanging high up, shouting happily: "Nam Lai, Nam Lai is here!".
She is Venerable Thich Nu Dieu Thong (real name Pham Thi Bach Lien), a female special forces officer in Saigon - Gia Dinh city, a comrade of Mr. Nam Lai nearly 70 years ago. During the particularly fierce period of the war, being closely pursued, they disguised themselves to operate in the heart of the enemy. The small liaison girl Dieu Thong, always lost in the crowd, was pampered by Mr. Nam Lai like the youngest child in the family.
Now, the war is long gone, the country has been unified for nearly half a century, they reunite through... photos.
Venerable Dieu Thong (right) and Ms. Tuyet Mai in a rare reunion.
Venerable Dieu Thong could not hide her emotion: “He is a billionaire, a contractor. He was always the contractor for the interior of the Independence Palace. Back then, he had many houses, many cars... He was rich but he loved me very much, he gave me everything I asked for. Where are all the houses now, where are all the dozens of houses?”
It seemed like the mundane life and memories that had passed nearly 70 years ago had been lost in the sound of the evening prayers and morning chants, but no, the portrait on the altar brought Venerable Dieu Thong and Mrs. Tuyet Mai back to the memories of the man they always admired and were attached to.
At that time, Mr. Nam Lai was known as billionaire Mai Hong Que: hundreds of kilos of gold, dozens of houses, dozens of cars... That was due to his business talent, his unique ability to create a cover, and his thriftiness to contribute to the revolution.
Even now, when recalling, the two women still say: "It was truly a perfect cover, helping the revolution a lot and especially ensuring the safety of those who worked with him."
In the past, the image of Mrs. Tuyet Mai was not very good in the eyes of the rich people in Saigon. In the eyes of everyone, including the nun Dieu Thong at that time, Mrs. Tuyet Mai was just a "lover" old enough to be the daughter of billionaire Mai Hong Que. She came for money.
Venerable Dieu Thong, Ms. Tuyet Mai and Mr. Tran Vu Binh next to the portrait of Mr. Tran Van Lai.
From "servant" to contractor tycoon
Before becoming billionaire Mai Hong Que, Mr. Nam Lai was just a poor boy in Vu Dong commune (Kien Xuong district, now Thai Binh city, Thai Binh province). To escape poverty, at the age of 13, he left Vu Dong for Hanoi. Alone in a strange city, he asked to be a servant for rich families.
When the French boss had to return to his country, the young man Nam Lai was sent back to the judge Pham Gia Nung with the introduction: "This is a good person."
From then on, Mr. Nam Lai was close to the judge. He was quick and intelligent, so the judge took him along on many occasions to meet guests. The judge's concubine even proudly showed off to guests that he was her husband's nephew, and considered him as her own child.
Born into the Tran Dong A family, he was enlightened about the revolution very early. At the age of 16, he officially joined the revolution, becoming a commando soldier. With a credible background as the descendant of the judge Pham Gia Nung, he was sent to Saigon to work. However, to live openly in Saigon was not easy.
According to the organization's arrangement, he became the husband of Mrs. Pham Thi Phan Chinh (real name Pham Thi Chinh), also a female commando living under the name of the niece of the owner of Phu Xuan gold shop, one of the richest tycoons in the city at that time.
After becoming husband and wife, thanks to Mrs. Chinh's support, the prestige of his wife's family with the government at that time as well as his own ingenuity, under the guise of Mai Hong Que, the "good servant" was trusted to be the main contractor, responsible for decorating the interior of the Independence Palace.
After receiving the contract for the Independence Palace, business deals came to him one after another. From here, billionaire Mai Hong Que became famous throughout Saigon. Under the guise of a billionaire, Mr. Nam Lai built secret bases and political struggle bases in Saigon.
The remaining evidence of the family of the "owner of Dong A paint company".
From an arranged marriage, becoming husband and wife in name only, through the days of sharing joys and sorrows, Mr. Nam Lai and Mrs. Phan Chinh developed love and became a real family. However, their relationship did not last long before they had to separate.
In 1964, the enemy decided to release two of our senior officials (named Phan Trong Binh and Pham Quoc Sac) who were being held in Con Dao prison on the condition that someone in Saigon would bail them out. Following the organization's orders, Mr. Nam Lai and his wife took care of the procedures to receive them, using the excuse that they were related to Mrs. Phan Chinh. After bailing them out, the two senior officials were secretly taken to the war zone.
A few days later, the enemy discovered that the two people Ms. Chinh had bailed out had “evaporated”. They called her in for interrogation for many days but could not get any information. Helpless, they had to release her. Some time later, Ms. Phan Chinh died. Many people believe that she died from injuries sustained during the enemy’s brutal interrogations.
Suppressing the pain of separation, Mr. Nam Lai still quietly operated, continuing his cover as billionaire Mai Hong Que.
Digging a tunnel with his "mistress" to store weapons
We felt the respect of Ms. Tuyet Mai when talking about Ms. Phan Chinh, her husband's first wife. The two women were both married to billionaire Mai Hong Que according to the organization's arrangement. However, unlike Phan Chinh's "first wife", Ms. Tuyet Mai had to play the role of "mistress" with the billionaire, and was scorned by the world.
“At that time I was 18, he was 20 years older than me, playing the role of lover, concubine, everyone believed it right away,” said Ms. Tuyet Mai.
Born into a family with a revolutionary tradition in Quang Ngai, Ms. Tuyet Mai joined the revolution very early. At the age of 17, she went to Da Lat as assigned by the organization, then was transferred to Tay Ninh.
One day, in the Tay Ninh war zone, she and Mr. Nam Lai met for the first time. She called Mr. Nam Lai “uncle” and assumed he had a wife and children. Mr. Nam Lai made it clear that he needed her to coordinate the implementation of the organization’s assigned tasks: buying a house and digging a bunker to store weapons.
Photo of Mr. Tran Van Lai's family reunion after the complete liberation of the South.
According to the organization's arrangement, she followed him to Saigon. In order to operate smoothly, she and he agreed that by all means, they had to let everyone believe that she was the mistress who was taken by her boss to buy a house and support her. The bad news spread far and wide, and the news of her affair with the rich boss reached everyone's ears. Wherever she went, people scorned her, despised her, and even beat her.
That was also the goal that both she and Mr. Nam Lai had discussed in advance to achieve.
“At that time, I just followed him to do my duty. I still thought he had a wife and children at home. One day, when we passed by the cemetery, he took me to visit her grave. That was when I learned the whole story,” Ms. Tuyet Mai recounted.
Knowing the situation, she opened up to him more, and then the two developed feelings. In 1966, after a period of working together, the organization approved the two of them to become husband and wife. However, to the world, she was still the mistress who had an affair with a rich man, and was happily supported. The image of the generous boss driving his mistress to buy houses all over Saigon, although not very good, did not arouse any suspicion from the enemy.
The houses that Mr. Nam Lai chose to buy all had to be deep enough to dig a long tunnel. In a short time, he bought 7 houses near the Independence Palace, the US Embassy, the Radio Station..., which were strategic military locations of the enemy. House 287/68-70-72 Tran Quy Cap (now Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3) was a cluster of 3 adjacent houses, chosen as the place to dig the most special tunnel.
To ensure secrecy, they used knives and small shovels to dig up soil, a little each day, and then camouflaged it and transported it outside. After nearly a year, the basement was dug and completed, becoming the largest weapons storage bunker of the special forces in the inner city of Saigon - Gia Dinh, with a capacity of about 3 tons of weapons and 10 people.
Memorial stele of Saigon special forces at Mr. Tran Van Lai's house now.
To meet the schedule for the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of Mau Than 1968, Mr. Nam Lai quickly arranged for his superiors to go down to the bunker to inspect. The bunker met the requirements, and a schedule for transporting weapons down to the bunker was also immediately planned.
During the 1968 Mau Than Spring General Offensive and Uprising, Mr. Nam Lai's weapon caches were all effective. Weapons were transferred to clusters to attack the Independence Palace, the General Staff, the Embassy, etc. This was also the reason why Mai Hong Que's cover was exposed. Mr. Nam Lai was fiercely pursued by the Republic of Vietnam government and offered a reward of 2 million VND, a very large sum at that time, for anyone who could capture him.
After many days of hiding in the trash bin of Ben Thanh market with the intention of continuing to stay in Saigon to work, he was ordered by the organization to retreat to Quang Ngai (Mrs. Tuyet Mai's hometown) for temporary shelter.
After liberation, he worked at the War Summary Department (Ho Chi Minh City Command), retiring in 1981. He passed away in June 2002.
In 2015, the Party and State posthumously awarded him the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, recognizing and honoring his indomitable spirit, bravery, blood sacrifice, and contribution of many assets and materials to the revolution.
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