The story of the cow herder - Lam Dong Electronic Newspaper

Illustration: Phan Nhan

The northeast monsoon blew in, making the weather on the Lam Vien plateau even colder. At this time, the sun was already higher than a pole, and thick fog was tightly packed in the deep valley. Holding a whip in his hand, Nam absentmindedly walked under the pine forest canopy, his heart filled with memories of his hometown. He thought to himself: “I wonder how my mother and two younger siblings are doing now? Especially during the days before Tet, Viet and Van will have their mother buy them new clothes like when their father was still alive.” Images of pain and hunger kept appearing in the mind of the 11-year-old boy.

Nam recalled the image of his father when he died, his face covered in blood in the cellar behind the bamboo bushes. That day, Mot was a member of the guerrilla team, due to conflicts and conflicts in love affairs, he was criticized by the organization, he was dissatisfied and deserted to follow the enemy. He led the police, white-shirted police and a group of militia to surround the house, they opened the secret cellar, calling on the guerrilla team to surrender. Mr. Nam Lai - Nam's father - fiercely resisted. They threw grenades into the cellar, he caught them and threw them back, later one of them got stuck in the cellar door and fell back, exploding, killing the entire guerrilla team.

The thatched house was dilapidated, empty, and hollow, the wind blew in through the front door and through the back fence, and there was nothing worth a penny in the house. Every day, people in the Banyan tree hamlet often saw Mr. Nam Lai's three children wandering around the potato fields and cassava fields to glean and dig up the remaining pieces of potato sprouts and dried cassava... to bring home and boil, to eat until their mother came home at night to have money to buy rice. Since the day their father passed away, their mother had been taking care of everything, working hard to go back and forth to buy goods from the big market to sell to the neighbors in the upper and lower hamlets. On her thin shoulders were always heavy loads of melons, eggplants, pumpkins, green squash, meat, fish, a little bit of everything. Despite the heavy burden of the long journey, they never complained or sighed, but deep down in their hearts they were always worried and weighed down by the pain of losing a husband, children without a father, and hunger that was always lurking. And so! During the days before Tet, she followed her friends on business trips, carrying goods such as clothes, sandals, and food up the Thu Bon River to the highlands of Hon Kem, Da Dung, and Ty Se Dui Chien (in Nong Son district, Quang Nam province), selling to the locals. When the boat returned, it was full of bananas, oranges, areca nuts, and betel leaves to sell to the female traders at Pho market. With the money coming in and out, she bought each of her three brothers a new set of clothes. On Mr. Nam's altar, there was also a banh tet, a plate of jam, fruit, sticky rice, sweet soup, and a loaf of banh to (a special type of sticky rice cake of the people of Quang Nam) and votive paper money along with incense and candles.

Ms. Tu, Mr. Nam Lai's older sister, married far away from home, and today had the opportunity to return home to visit her relatives. Seeing her sister-in-law's lonely and poor situation, her heart ached even more. That evening, after dinner, the two sisters chatted and confided. Ms. Tu let out a long breath and then opened her mouth to suggest:

-Seeing the situation of my aunt and children, I could not help but feel sorry. Now like this, you let Nam go with me to Da Lat, during the day he will go look after the cows for my family, at night the brothers and sisters will guide him to study more, if we leave his studies unfinished, it will be a pity for him in the future.

Hearing this, the young woman's eyes became brighter, she was secretly happy in her heart, "the family has one less mouth to feed, the children can go to school, clothes don't need to be bought, every year there is money sent back to help". But the young woman's heart was full of worries, not knowing what the future would bring. She felt so sorry for her child, at such a young age he left his mother, perhaps God had brought this family to ruin.

- Can you hear me? said Ms. Tu.

Startled for a moment, Nam Lai's wife mumbled...

- Let me think about it and I'll tell you later.

The day she saw her son off to Da Lat with Aunt Tu, the face and corners of her eyes were marked with crow's feet, blurred with tears. The two younger siblings reluctantly held his hand, reluctant to let Nam go. The car rolled on the village road, smoke and dust filled the air, Nam turned his head to look back at the silhouettes of his mother and two younger siblings gradually disappearing behind the bamboo grove. Now, Aunt Tu was the only relative in a strange land.

***

Ms. Tu's house was on the outskirts of Da Lat, bordering the Suoi Vang forest. The house was a mess with a vegetable garden, a coffee plantation, and a herd of more than 20 cows. She couldn't handle all the work by herself. Two years later, she personally came back to pick up Nam's mother and two younger siblings to work for her, living in Da Lat.

- I'll leave it to you and the kids to look after the coffee plantation and the cows.

That same year, Nam finished first grade (equivalent to grade 5 today) and passed the primary school exam. Ms. Phuong, Ms. Tu's daughter, talked with Nam and his mother:

- He is growing up every day, he needs to continue studying in high school. Nam is a smart and studious child. When I teach him, he learns very quickly. If he doesn't understand something, he asks again and again and takes careful notes. Do you think what he says is good?

Nam Lai's wife felt confused:

- If you can help me, please come over and thank me. I'm so happy. - paused for a moment. The problem is, where do I get the money to go to school?

-I will discuss this with my mother. -After saying that, Phuong turned to Nam: -With your academic ability, I believe you can skip grades and finish high school in two to three years.

During the day, he took the cows out to eat, and at night he attended private schools in the city. Three years later, Nam graduated and took the exam for his junior high school diploma (equivalent to grade 9). During this time, young men who turned 17 had to go through a “personal release form” – a form created by the Ngo Dinh Diem government to monitor young men from dodging military service.

***

Following the herd of cows across the mountainous region of Northwest Da Lat from Ban Tieng, Da Nghit up to Suoi Vang hydropower plant, there are footprints of cow herders. One day, looking for a lost cow by the stream, Nam was wading upstream to the other side of the hill. Suddenly, he heard a clearing behind a big tree, causing him to stop.

- Where are you going?

- Yes! I'm looking for the lost cow.

Nam observed the stranger carrying an AK gun, wearing a floppy hat, and sandals. He thought to himself: “Is this a revolutionary or a Viet Cong impersonator?” Through the way he spoke, he saw that the man seemed gentle. The two of them exchanged information and asked about his family, current living conditions, where his hometown was, and why he had come to this country… Nam did not expect that meeting that day would be a turning point in his life. After many meetings, they became close friends. One day, the liberation soldier took Nam to meet Uncle Ba:
- This is Uncle Ba - our leader.

Nam nodded and mumbled, "Hello, uncle."

- Come here, sit down on the stall, have a drink and let's talk happily.

Uncle Ba asked about his family background, where he was from, who he was living with now... Hearing his deep voice and his words that easily touched people's hearts. At this time, Nam quietly observed, Uncle Ba had a tall and slender figure, a haggard face. Perhaps the years of hardship and tension on the battlefield had robbed him of his middle-aged man's resolute appearance. He sat closer to Nam and gently advised:

- You have to try to study, study and have a solid grasp of basic knowledge, have culture to convince others.

Pausing for a moment, Uncle Ba continued: To enter a house, one must have a key to open the door. The key here is your brain, only with a good key can you open the storehouse of human knowledge. That is why you must study and study well, so that in the future you can be useful to others.

After that meeting, Nam thought about Uncle Ba's precious advice. The more he pondered, the more profound it became, considering it a red thread running through his life.

***

Gunfire resounded throughout the country. The liberation army fought big battles into the enemy's lair. The struggle movement in the cities broke out simultaneously, workers, traders, students took to the streets to protest for people's livelihood, democracy...

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