A gentle breeze blows through the tea garden.

And so they had a fight. Overwhelmed by resentment, Nụ, using the excuse that her daughter had just given birth to a grandchild in Australia and there was no one to help, impulsively bought a plane ticket to be with her daughter, driven by a sense of frustration, hoping to get rid of "him" and keep him at home tending to his ancient tea garden.

But after only half a month of being with her daughter, Nụ's anger had subsided, and she felt an intense longing for home. She wondered what her husband was doing, and whether the tea garden was being properly cared for and tended to using the right techniques...

As autumn began to arrive, the Western scenery was beautiful, but remembering the Vietnamese weather of "August with its scorching sun," Nụ felt sorry for her husband, knowing that at this time of year he had to pick tea leaves from morning until noon, while she rested leisurely all day here. Nụ was a skilled tea picker, capable of picking 30kg of tea buds a day to process into premium tea. She acquired this skill because she had been involved with tea plants since childhood. Even her name, Nụ, was given to her by her mother because she was born during the season when tea buds were just beginning to open. From the age of six, she went up the hill to help her mother pick tea. Nụ's mother often jokingly told people, "She knew how to pick tea even before she was born."

Yet here she was, lying there listlessly, all the work falling on her husband's shoulders. Thinking this, Nụ felt even more sorry for her husband and blamed herself for her tendency to get angry at the slightest thing. Then Nụ chuckled, remembering Cường once saying to her, "But I really like your tendency to get angry for no reason." And it was true; Cường had suffered countless times because of Nụ's capricious nature. But each time, he would smile affectionately and take all the blame upon himself. Sometimes Nụ wondered if it was because their relationship, from the very beginning, had been filled with conflict and jealousy (often just baseless jealousy), that she had developed this tendency to get angry and sulk for no reason today.

When they first met, the relationship between Cuong and Nu seemed to be complicated by a third party. Just when Cuong and Nu were in the throes of secret affection, Hanh appeared. Hanh was a former member of a disbanded youth volunteer unit who had been reassigned to work as a tea plantation worker. At that time, the plantation had many women, but most were older, so life was rather quiet. Hanh, however, was young, beautiful, with fair skin, long, lustrous black hair, and a carefree, cheerful personality; she loved to sing and laugh. Wherever Hanh went, the atmosphere instantly brightened. Therefore, even though she had only just started working at the plantation, she became a star. At the same time, Hanh also became a source of worry for many wives and couples at the plantation, including Nu.

Back then, Cuong was the youngest production team leader at the farm. He was from Thai Binh province and had moved with his family to Dai Tu to clear land for farming, eventually becoming a farm worker. Cuong was dignified and humble, and from their first meeting, he won Nu's affection. She secretly loved him but didn't dare confess her feelings.

With a woman's intuition, Nụ secretly guessed that Cường also liked her. Although they hadn't gone on a date yet, through their affectionate glances, subtle and endearing words, and mutual care, they seemed to have understood each other.

But ever since Hanh returned to the farm, Nu felt that Cuong seemed to be paying more attention to Hanh. Nu suffered silently but didn't know what to do. Cuong and she weren't even lovers yet. Nu often cried alone in the tea plantation. After crying for a while, she would stop on her own. The fragrant scent of tea surrounded Nu, but her soul felt besieged by unwarranted jealousy and resentment.

Back then, thanks to Cuong's initiative, the farm contracted each worker to take care of a tea hill. Being a skilled tea picker and having experience in tea cultivation since childhood, Nu's tea hill was always lush and green, yielding the highest productivity. Since the contract was implemented, everyone worked harder, competing to be present on the tea plantation from morning till night.

The plantation was vast, and there were few staff, so Cuong's footsteps had to be swift across all the tea mounds. Nu's eyes always followed Cuong, and she felt restless and distressed whenever she saw him linger by Hanh's tea mound. Whenever Cuong stood beside Hanh, guiding her in pruning or showing her how to pick the tea, Nu would become jealous, crouching down in the tea furrow and weeping bitterly…

That afternoon, the night mist had fallen, and Nụ hadn't returned, causing a commotion throughout the apartment complex. Everyone urged Hạnh to go to Cường's room to report the incident.

- Reporting to the captain, it's getting late and Nụ hasn't come back yet.

Cuong looked up in panic, then hastily dropped his bowl of barley rice:

- I'm going to look for Nụ. You girls go home and rest so you can come to work tomorrow.

"Can I come along?" Hanh asked, showing interest.

- No, going out together at night would only cause more gossip, and that would be bad for Hanh.

Cuong rushed out into the street. Hanh stared blankly at the dark sky, shaking her head.

After running for a while, Cuong was exhausted. He remembered that earlier that afternoon, while he was instructing Hanh on how to pick tea leaves, Nu in the neighboring field was still busily searching for insects among the leaves. He anxiously called out:

Nụ… Where are you… Where are you?

His anxious, urgent calls echoed deep into the cliff face.

Nụ opened her eyes when she heard what sounded like a voice calling from afar. She had probably slept for over an hour. She vaguely remembered. That afternoon, seeing Cường standing beside Hạnh for so long, Nụ felt as if a hand was squeezing her heart, her vision blurred, her balance lost, and she collapsed. Then she lay there in the tea ditch, crying uncontrollably. She cried for a long time, as if her tears were telling her how unreasonable she was, that there was nothing between them. Nụ calmed down, intending to get up and go home, but the scent of tea filled the air, intoxicating her. So she lay still, inhaling the captivating aroma. Then she drifted off to sleep amidst the fragrance of the tea. Since Hạnh's appearance, Nụ's mood had always been consumed by these unwarranted fits of anger and resentment. But these fits of anger quickly passed, like the scent of tea drifting away in the wind.

Cuong's calls continued to be urgent, echoing through the darkness:

- Nụ ơi… Nụ ơi… where are you… Nụ ơi…

Now Nụ clearly heard Cường's frantic call. Nụ ignored him. Let him die. Who told him to stand next to her for so long earlier?

Cuong stumbled and fell flat on his face, landing on something soft under his feet.

- Nụ, is that you?

Cuong shone his flashlight and exclaimed in surprise:

- Nụ, don't scare me, what's wrong with you?

He touched her forehead and helped her sit up.

Nụ feigned weakness. Cường panicked:

- Wake up... Wake up, my love...

Not wanting to worry Cuong any more, she smiled broadly:

- I was just kidding, I'm fine. I was tired earlier and fell asleep. Don't worry. I'm glad you came looking for me... I wasn't dreaming, was I?

Everyone is getting really worried about you.

Cuong embraced Nu. It seemed that at this moment he could no longer hold back the words he had kept hidden in his heart for so long:

- I love you! I've loved you for a long time, Nụ… I can feel your feelings too, it's just that I haven't dared to tell you yet.

Oh my God, Nụ kept overthinking things, losing sleep for so many nights… She was overwhelmed by Cường’s loving words and warm embrace. Happiness came to her so unexpectedly. She felt like she was floating in a dream, speaking in a choked voice:

- I've loved you for a long time too. I love you!

Cuong fell silent, then planted a passionate, burning kiss on her lips.

The aroma of tea still lingered around them.

***

Although her daughter begged her to stay a few more days, Nụ decided to return home.

After getting off the plane, Nụ hailed a taxi. She didn't tell her husband to pick her up because she wanted to surprise him.

The first time she met her husband, Nụ said:

- I came back because I missed... tea so much.

Cuong smiled mischievously. His voice was playful:

Yes! At home… Tea misses you a lot too.

A smile hidden behind a smile, a sincere voice:

- I was wrong. During the time I spent with our daughter, I realized that you were right to keep our family's traditional tea garden. I hope you understand my tendency to be easily offended.

Cuong burst out laughing, humorously:

- I'm no stranger to your sulking nature. However, usually your anger is like a gentle breeze passing through a tea plantation, but this one lasted for more than half a month before subsiding.

A shy smile.

After a moment, Cuong spoke as if trying to explain himself:

- I want to preserve that ancient tea garden, not only because it's necessary to preserve tradition, but also for another reason. Remember, that's the tea garden where we confessed our love and officially started dating. That tea garden is priceless; no economic benefit can compare to it.

After listening to Cuong's story, Nu felt a pang of sadness. She felt ashamed and had to try hard to hold back her tears.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-nghe-thai-nguyen/202603/gio-thoang-vuon-che-0551996/