A warm voice came from the other end, the voice of an elderly man: "Do you recognize my voice?"
He thought quickly: There is a way of speaking clearly and slowly:
- I recognize the accent of my hometown, but honestly, I don't know who it is!
Laughter echoed! I vaguely recognized it, from the mischievous laughter: Is that Văn? Is it Văn?
- Excellent! So excellent! You still recognize me! And it's not just excellent! You're strong, at least your mind is strong! And I'm still in your memory!
There was a moment of silence here, heavy and stifling, the sound of breathing almost imperceptible.
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Illustration: China. |
- It's been almost 60 years since we last met, but how could I forget you! Tell me about yourself! And how did you find my phone number?
Mr. Van's voice was low and deep:
- I went back to my hometown, visited my cousin's house, and asked them for an update on the situation and their phone number. Things have changed so much! The guy who gave me his number was only a few years old when we left our hometown, and now he has several grandchildren!
- Yeah! "Old man, I'm getting old too!" It's getting dark this evening, let's meet up!
There was a few seconds of silence, then Mr. Van asked: "Will you be home tomorrow?"
He was in a hurry:
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Mr. Van spoke calmly:
- I'm in Hanoi . Please send me your address, I'll come tomorrow morning!
Surprised? I've known this old man's character since I was a kid; when he says something, he means it, and when he promises, he keeps it.
- Great! I'll welcome you. Stay for a while! I'll take you sightseeing, and you'll have plenty of time to translate the inscriptions on the stelae!
Mr. Van's raspy laughter:
- Do you still remember my habit of "stuttering and talking too much"? My knowledge of Chinese characters is very limited, I learned it all by myself and by observation, far inferior to yours since you studied classical literature at university. I came to Hanoi from Thanh Hoa this morning. Tomorrow, I'll visit you in the morning and then return home after noon. Will two old men from the same village, who studied together since childhood, separated for 60 years, recognize each other and greet each other?
He laughed along too:
- Of course we recognize each other! We definitely recognize each other.
After waiting for her husband to text their home address to his friend, she looked at him with a joyful expression:
- Is Mr. Van coming to our house tomorrow?
He nodded.
- You heard that, right? Yes, you remember Mr. Van, don't you?
- Of course I remember! I remember him from what my grandfather told me. And he remembered all of his friends in great detail. He talked about them so frequently and vividly that I recognized them as soon as their names were mentioned.
- Are you trying to win your husband's favor? Now, tell me, what do you think of a brief "biographical sketch" of Mr. Van?
- Mr. Van, from the neighboring village, had a difficult situation: "an old father and a young son." When his father was nearly sixty, he remarried his mother. Ten years later, his father passed away, leaving him with poverty, hunger, a few books in classical Chinese, some basic Western writing, and the honor of having an eldest son from a previous marriage who was a martyr in the war against the French, along with him and his brother. Despite all that hardship, his mother still managed to raise both brothers through university. Mr. Van is a geological engineer, and his younger brother is an agricultural engineer...
- Yes! I really admire you! You remember everything so accurately, as if you were an insider. Actually, I wasn't as close to Van as Chu, Tien, and Quoc. We were from the same village, went to school together, and respected each other. In our school days, we were both struggling financially, but he was insecure, always thinking he wasn't as good as his friends. Also, because he was always curious and asked people who knew Chinese characters and Sino-Vietnamese words, and was careful in his speech, clothing, and daily life, we called him "the young scholar." When we studied together, Van wasn't in the group that walked 10 kilometers to high school every day, let alone sing, play football, or anything like that. When we went to vocational school and even after graduating and starting families, I was here, while Van was all the way in Lai Chau . When we went back to our hometowns, we were always out of sync, only keeping in touch through mutual friends. Now that we're at the end of the road, luckily we've found each other again.
My great-grandfather wanted him to stay and play for a few days!
- Probably not. It's the same with me; even though I've retired, I haven't let go of my work, and I'm also hesitant to sleep in unfamiliar places.
- Let me tell the kids, tomorrow we'll all come over for dinner with Uncle, and whoever can arrange it can take the two of them to some places to visit. Uncle, please plan your time carefully. Will we have dinner at home or at a restaurant tomorrow?
- Home-cooked meal! I don't need to tell you what to do for shopping or cooking, just please get me an extra plate of liver.
- Liver disc?
- Yes, pork liver! Of course, it's clean, fresh pork liver.
- Why serve that dish to a guest you haven't seen in 60 years? Even you rarely eat it. Could it be that Mr. Van, as you said, is being cautious and avoiding it because he's afraid of liver damage?
- Just buy it for me. I've already researched the benefits and drawbacks of eating liver.
The next morning, around 8 o'clock, Mr. Van arrived. The two friends embraced each other as soon as Mr. Van stepped off the bus, surprising everyone who witnessed it. They both gently patted each other's backs.
- How come you're still so young? Your body is as toned as a young man's.
- And you, do you get any hair treatments? Your hair is still so smooth and green! And strangely, you hardly have any wrinkles on your face.
- I thought climbing mountains and wading through streams to find ore would make you strong and tanned, but I didn't expect you to be so petite, fair-skinned, and more scholarly than before.
- As for me, I imagined writers would wear thick glasses, but surprisingly, their bright, smiling eyes remain exactly the same.
Watching the elderly couple walk side by side, their steady yet nimble gait and postures making it impossible to guess their age. After accompanying his son to visit a national historical site and admire the river with its two distinct currents, the old man escorted his friend back to his home. A meal was laid out amidst the cheerful chatter of the host and guest.
His eldest daughter greeted him warmly:
- Excuse me, sir! It's been almost 60 years since you and my father had a meal together. We were too busy to help my mother with the cooking, so we asked my parents if we could take you to a restaurant for convenience, but my father wouldn't allow it. For this family meal, we invite you, and we invite my parents.
As soon as he entered the dining room, Mr. Van exclaimed:
- You and the children have worked so hard! How can a simple meal be like a feast?
He smiled happily:
- There's no fancy banquet here, sir. It's all simple, traditional dishes. I don't know if they'll suit your taste.
Then Mr. Van subtly glanced at the dining table, then stared intently at Mr. Ngoc, his voice choked with emotion:
- You two are so thoughtful! It must be you, sir, who managed to find such a delicious plate of pork liver? You remind me of...
Mr. Ngoc's children, grandchildren, and even his wife looked at the two men with worry. Mr. Ngoc's hands trembled, and his voice also shook:
- That's right, sir! I never bother preparing meals for guests. My wife is used to it. But today I'm making an exception. I instructed my wife to buy as much pork liver as possible. You can rest assured about the quality, cleanliness, and safety of the liver she chooses and boils. That being said, if you're abstaining from eating it, please don't eat it for my sake.
Then the host looked at the guest:
- There are two pork offal dishes that I don't always eat, but whenever I do, I want to cry. They are stomach and liver. Eating stomach reminds me of my parents, and eating pork liver reminds me of my grandfather.
Forgetting to even invite Mr. Van to raise a glass or pick up his chopsticks, the whole family looked at Mr. Ngoc, waiting for him to tell his story.
- When I was in fourth grade, I was sick. My parents, out of love for me, asked what I craved, and my mother would go to the market to buy it for me. I mumbled, "I'm craving boiled pig's stomach!" My parents looked at each other, then whispered something to each other. That afternoon, after letting my younger brother go play at the neighbor's, they set aside a small portion for him, leaving almost half a stomach for me to dip in fish sauce and eat on its own. It was the first time in my life I'd ever eaten so much delicious boiled pig's stomach! It was rich, creamy, chewy, and crunchy. I guess eating the stomach helped me recover quickly, get better fast, and go back to school. Later, I learned that my parents had to borrow money to buy the stomach, and they had to carefully store the bottle of fish sauce that my fiancé had given them for ten days, waiting for a family event to use it, just to pour it for me to dip in.
Mr. Ngoc clinked his glass against Mr. Van's:
- Please, sir! I'm getting carried away and being rather tactless... Let's have a drink and tell some fairy tales, shall we?
Mr. Van gently touched his lips to the wine glass and then continued:
- When we were kids, pork liver and pork stomach were always something we craved. Getting to eat a small, thin piece was something we'd savor for a long time.
Seeing the two men chatting, little Tom eagerly begged his grandfather:
Grandpa! What about that piece of liver that made you cry?
Mr. Ngoc looked at his friend, then at the whole family:
- Yes! It's pig liver, but not liver lobes or pieces of liver, but liver pulp.
Mr. Van blinked. Mr. Ngoc spoke calmly:
- I remember the jars of liver powder he gave me. I remember the first time he gave it to me. It was one of the rare times we ate lunch together. We worked in the afternoon, so we brought rice balls in the morning and ate them at lunchtime. Looking at his rice ball, I almost cried: My rice ball was tiny but full of rice, while his had only a few grains of rice stuck to the sweet potato. I proactively suggested we share, regardless of his embarrassment; he had to listen. When he opened the food, the surprise came from him. My dipping sauce and food were just a packet of roasted salt and onions, no oil! He surprised me when he opened the jar and poured some onto a piece of paper. "It's liver! Pork liver! Try it. It's delicious!" Without thinking, I took a pinch in my hand and put it to my mouth. "I can't taste anything! It's crumbly! Dry! Hard to swallow!" "It does! It has substance! It's real pork liver!"
He chuckled, then became serious: "Don't tell anyone. Because it's not common. I have an insider, that's why I have it. It's pig liver, but it's liver powder after the liver has been squeezed dry to make liver tonic, the Philatop liquid medicine." I nodded: "Ah, I know you have family working in pharmaceuticals. Powder is powder, how can you squeeze out all the nutrients? It's better than plain salt... or something like that! Haha, like the shells of crabs or crayfish after all the water has been drained and then pounded to make soup. Squeezed dry too." We dipped our rice and potatoes in it and ate the whole jar of liver powder. Suddenly, it tasted strange and delicious. He whispered: "If you can eat it and don't mind, I'll occasionally give you some. Keep it a secret for me." And so, I got to eat his "pig liver."
Mr. Van pondered thoughtfully:
- You remember so well! But let me ask you honestly, do you know why, back then, even though we were from the same village, I rarely walked to school with you guys, and I participated less in the village youth activities than you did?
Mr. Ngoc chuckled softly:
- He must be feeling inferior because of his circumstances. And we even called him a scholar...
Mr. Van smiled kindly:
- That's partly true, but not entirely. Back then, I was working part-time while studying!
- Working for someone else?
- Yes! You guys only work for a few days carrying raw bricks for the Quang Trung Brick and Tile Factory, but I work for them almost all year round! And you're farmers, I'm a factory worker.
This dad has so many secrets!
- I work overtime, mostly at night, at a pharmaceutical company. That's it! The soup powder is a product, or rather, a byproduct, something that I, as a worker, am assigned to distribute. Making Philatop from liver involves many steps. I'm only allowed to clean the liver, meaning washing it when it's first received. I crave it so much, seeing and holding hundreds of kilograms, tons of fresh liver in my hands, but I'm not allowed to eat a single piece of boiled or stir-fried liver. Even the processed liver residue, which I'm assigned, must be kept secret and carefully preserved. The company forbids talking about it outside, and forbidding me from taking it home! Even the fact that I work there is forbidden from being revealed.
Mrs. Lai said with a sorrowful voice:
- Back then, my family was struggling, but you were even more so! And yet you still broke the rules and secretly shared your blessings with my family!
Mr. Van honestly said:
- Thank you! When you're in need, you have to think about it! I work to support myself, to pay for tuition, to buy books, and to help my mother raise my younger siblings. Otherwise, I would have dropped out of school. And your husband, how can you remember such a small thing? To be honest, I've forgotten about him. I only remember that it was thanks to his courage that I got through "Childhood Days," which were just as difficult as the writer Nguyen Hong's, and then got to travel here and there.
The children chattered excitedly, the youngest exclaiming:
- Your stories are like fairy tales.
The eldest child, who has graduated from the University of Journalism and Communication, said admiringly:
- Learning from the past helps us understand the present. You will forever be role models for us to emulate and learn from.
Mr. Ngoc picked up his cup and stood up.
- Well, the two old folks weren't planning on holding a lecture, it's just that it's been a long time since they last met and they're reminiscing about the old days. Old people often enjoy reminiscing, and unintentionally, they're making the younger generation listen as well. We've postponed the joy for too long. Now, Mr. Van, Mrs. Van, and your children and grandchildren, please come in.
The whole family stood up, some holding glasses of wine or beer, others glasses of water. The clinking of glasses and the sounds of toasts filled the air with joy.
The plate of pork liver was the first to disappear. Everyone enjoyed it. The two old men took the first bites. The fifth-grade girl, who was usually a picky eater, also held up her bowl and asked her grandmother for a piece.
Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/bua-com-gap-lai-co-nhan-postid414966.bbg
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