Hardship in the fields
Early in the morning, the wind from the fields rustles through the simple roofs, people sit huddled in front of their porches, chatting about the harvest. Passing through several canals, many people are working hard to push their boats to herd ducks into the rice fields for harvest. The deeper we go into the Long Xuyen quadrangle, the more we can see the lives of the people here. Vast fields, sparse roofs, on one side is white water, on the other side is autumn-winter rice being harvested. Duck herders wade in the fields, watching the flock of ducks peck at the fallen rice grains.
A flock of ducks on the dike in the Long Xuyen quadrangle field. Photo: THANH CHINH
For two months, Mr. Vo Van Thanh, 54 years old, living in Vinh Gia commune, built an "ideal hut" on the dike, eating and sleeping with the ducks like a wandering wanderer. Up to now, Mr. Thanh has been attached to this difficult job for more than 30 years. Currently, he raises 4,000 laying ducks, harvests thousands of eggs, and earns millions of dong every day. During his days with the ducks, Mr. Thanh wanders everywhere. Whenever he hears from friends in the duck farming profession that there are rice fields being harvested, he transports the ducks by truck to that place. Mr. Thanh said that in order for the ducks to have a place to eat rice, they have to rent the newly harvested rice fields from farmers, each hectare costs 60,000 VND. "Every crop, I rent 200 hectares of harvested rice to feed the ducks with rice, snails, worms, and insects. Thanks to that, the ducks lay eggs well, and my family has a good income," Mr. Thanh confided.
The truck carrying ducks had just passed the dike, the dust was flying everywhere, we went deep into the alum field and met Mr. Nguyen Van Na (Tu Na), 62 years old, living in Chau Phong commune, sitting huddled in a duck farm. At this age, he is still passionate about raising ducks in the fields. Hearing the sound of ducks running loudly by the water as if a flock had broken out, Tu Na looked out into the field to watch his flock of more than 3,000 ducks lay eggs.
Seeing us asking about duck farming, Mr. Tu enthusiastically said that although duck farming is hard, it is fun, especially every morning when he sees ducks "dropping eggs" all over the farm. When duck eggs increase in price, he earns 5-6 million VND each night. Thanks to that, Mr. Tu has been attached to the job of raising ducks in the fields for decades. "I take care of the ducks because they bring in money. When I see ducks sick, I have to buy medicine to inject them immediately. In addition to feeding them with rice that has fallen on the fields, I also buy supplementary food to help them lay big eggs. Every time I call out, the whole flock rushes to my feet. Having raised ducks for many years, I love my hands and feet and don't want to quit the job," Mr. Tu Na confided.
Dream of changing life
Recalling the golden age of duck farming, Mr. Phan Van Buon, 65 years old, living in Phu Lam commune, said that 20 years ago, he raised 6,000 laying ducks and a herd of 10 buffaloes. When the harvest season came, he drove the ducks to dry in the fields, not having to hire them like today. When the harvest season ended, Mr. Buon transported the ducks in a boat to the border fields with neighboring Cambodia for several months. “It was very hard, my friend! Raising ducks makes you get used to the smell. When you mention it, you remember the job of raising ducks in the fields. Every night, I collected over 3,000 duck eggs, and many days I was lucky enough to earn millions very easily. Many times when the price of duck eggs was high, it was normal for me to hold 100 million VND in my hand,” Mr. Buon recalled.
People herd ducks to the newly harvested rice fields. Photo: THANH CHINH
According to him, duck farming is also very difficult. If you want ducks to lay eggs well, the farmer must master the technique of molting the ducks 3 times a year, each time 20 days. Thus, each year the ducks lay eggs for about 10 months, the farmer has a good income. After 3 years, the farmer will sell the whole flock of ducks to the butcher, because at this stage the ducks are old and do not lay many eggs. After that, people buy ducklings and raise them for about 6 months to harvest the eggs. Raising ducks in the fields is the most exciting time when the price of eggs increases. If the price of duck eggs drops every year, the farmer will be sad.
In the past, when talking about Mr. Buon, everyone in the neighborhood knew him as a great duck farmer. In his youth, Mr. Buon used the dike as a shelter, at night he looked at the moon and stars, heard the frogs croaking and missed home terribly. As the years passed, he followed the ducks, wandering everywhere. Sometimes he went to the border, when the harvest season was over and the water was ready to go to the fields, he took the ducks to Bac Lieu and Ca Mau to feed them with rice husks. Just like that, the days passed quickly, now that he is old, Mr. Buon gave up the job of raising ducks in the fields with regret. "I am old and cannot continue this job forever, my friend! My children have stable jobs working in Ho Chi Minh City, so I have given up this job until now", he said with a sad voice.
Few people become rich by raising ducks in the fields. Over time, they quietly go through the fields hoping for a stable life and a better life for their children.
THANH CHINH
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/chay-vit-mua-gio-bac-a467581.html
Comment (0)