We children were so excited, running around the banks with buckets to catch fish, but what we loved most was going into the pond to catch shrimp and snails… and then seeing who caught the most. At the end of the day, everyone was covered in mud, but their joy was boundless. Even after decades, the happy memories of those end-of-year pond-draining sessions remain vivid, prompting people to reminisce about their childhood.

In my hometown, almost every house has a pond. From the yard, through two plots of land, one higher and one lower, you reach the pond. Initially, it was just a small pond that my grandfather told me was dug up by the elders to get clay for making bricks to build houses. Later, my father hired an excavator and renovated it into a deeper, larger pond. The excavated soil was used to raise the level of the lower garden below, and a few custard apple, guava, and starfruit trees were planted there...

The children eagerly watched their grandfather pull in the fish. Photo: DUONG THU

For people in the countryside, ponds are indispensable. They are used for raising fish, as a source of food to improve meals, to store water for farming, and the water hyacinths in the pond are used to make feed for pigs… Every year, in the summer, after the first few rains, my father buys fish fry to release into the pond – carp, grass carp, silver carp… without any feed or bait, sometimes a few banana leaves or a piece of jackfruit fiber thrown in, so the fish are small but firm, fragrant and delicious.

Having a pond at home was convenient in every way. Like my father, who was known for his excellent fishing skills, a quick cast of his rod would provide a plate of fried fish or a bowl of sour fish soup for dinner. At the pond's edge, my mother would wash her pig feed, basket of peanuts, hoe, and plow after working in the fields. At the end of each year, when the pond dried up, the harvest was over, and the land was ready for the spring planting, my father would call our uncles and aunts over to drain the pond.

While clearing the pond to allow some of the water to drain, my uncles were busy setting traps and gathering snails from the branches and bamboo stalks clinging to them. The snails clinging to the branches delighted us, as we'd have a hot, boiled snail meal that evening. Each time a trap stopped, an uncle would reach in for a moment and then throw a fish ashore, causing the children to scramble to grab buckets and collect them. After the fish were gone, adults and children alike rushed into the pond. The women and mothers would choose puddles to scoop up shrimp. The children mostly played in the mud, but they could also catch snails or small fish like minnows and flagfish. They were so engrossed in their activities that they only returned home to bathe and wash up after being urged by the adults several times at noon.

Children are always excited to participate in draining the pond.

Whatever the harvest, my father divided it among the families. Two carp were given to the second daughter-in-law, whose mother-in-law was elderly, and to the eldest daughter-in-law, whose daughter-in-law was pregnant. That afternoon, the whole extended family gathered for lunch, and of course, the table was full of the "spoils" of crab and fish.

Every year, when we caught a lot of fish from the pond, we'd fry some, make soup with them to eat right away, stew a pot of fish with sour starfruit to eat for a few days, and the rest my father would clean, marinate with salt, or boil them with soy sauce and then dry them in the sun to eat gradually.

Getting covered in mud is still fun.

That was a story from several decades ago. Now, residential areas and industrial zones are gradually springing up in the countryside, the fields and gardens are shrinking, and the ponds are being filled in. The familiar ponds of Mr. Binh's house, Ms. Hanh's house, Ms. Xuyen's house, and the ponds of Mr. Luc's house, Mr. Chien's house... are gradually becoming just memories. Last week when I went back to the countryside, my father suggested draining the ponds, as it was a chance for the children to experience it.

One might think that these children, who usually only know how to study, are addicted to phones, and love modern amusement parks, and are afraid of mud, were also excited to wade into the pond with their grandfather. They were covered in mud from head to toe, but they surely had a meaningful experience, one that they will always remember fondly for years to come, no matter where they go.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/lam-lem-nhung-buoi-tat-ao-1016646