Her house was nestled at the foot of the hill, nestled in the middle of a lush garden. This was the season for the longan trees to ripen, and the bunches of fruit hung down, looking so enchanting. The guests looked around and saw no one, and before they could call out, the dog jumped out and barked loudly. A child of about ten years old poked his head out from under the tree, a rubber gun dangling from his neck, and politely asked:
- Do you need anything from my grandparents?
- Oh, I came to ask you to prescribe some medicine. Are your grandparents home?
- My grandfather works far away. My grandmother is probably in the forest. Wait a moment, I will call her.
Illustration
Before he could finish speaking, the boy had already run away. The guest looked up and suddenly felt pity for the small figure swaying on the gentle hillside. A moment later, he saw the figure of a woman carrying a bundle of firewood down the hill. Leaning her sickle knife on the ground, she knelt down, and lowered the bundle of firewood on her shoulder onto the porch. Mrs. Thoan was out of breath. She took off her hat and fanned herself so she could turn to ask the guest:
- Do you need something from me?
- Ma'am. I was told that you have a very good medicine for kidney stones, so I came to ask you to cut it for my mother.
Mrs. Thoan was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled and told the guest:
- It's been years since I've seen someone come to ask for a prescription. I thought people were advertising herbal medicine all over the internet. Just order something and it will be delivered to your home. No one would come here to ask for a prescription anymore. Has your mother been to the doctor yet? What did the doctor say?
- My mother had surgery to remove gallstones but they still recurred. After the last surgery, her wound got infected, it was so miserable. Now my mother is afraid of surgery, she wants to use traditional medicine for safety.
Mrs. Thoan invited the guests into the house, casually wiping the dust off the table. Looking at the tea set, the guests knew that it had been a long time since anyone had visited. As if she understood the guests' gaze, she explained:
- I understand. Uncle is away at work, so there are no male guests coming to drink tea. Only occasionally do female guests come to visit, standing in the yard or garden, working and chatting. Tea that has been left for too long is not good to drink, so I'll just have a cup of water.
- Where do you work?
- Well, I went to help build for my nephew in Hanoi . I'm old and weak, but I can't make money at home. The land is like a dog eating rocks and chickens eating gravel. Growing crops is useless. I can only rely on the forest. And the forest only harvests once every five or seven years. Speaking of the forest, I remember that in the past, when the forest was dense, there were many medicinal plants. But now, every house clears away the bushes so that the plants can grow well, so medicinal plants are rare. But let me look for it, I'll come back in a few days. The medicine I get back still has to be chopped and dried in the sun for a few days.
Exactly three days later, the guest returned. As soon as he reached the gate, he saw several trays of herbs drying in the yard. Mrs. Thoan carefully packed the herbs into individual doses, not forgetting to introduce each type:
- This is the morning glory plant, a vine with a sweet, cold taste that is very good for treating frequent urination, painful urination, and urinary incontinence. This variety is the hardest to find here. I went through several hills to get some. This is the moneywort plant. This is the Eclipta prostrata. It used to grow around the house, but now I have to search hard. This is corn silk, which I dry and store every season to drink as a diuretic. There are a few other types, can you remember them all? If you have them where you live, just pick them up and boil them for your mother to drink. No need to go far. And later, I will pull out some medicinal plants and plant them in my garden for convenience.
- I see people often hide their medicine. Aren't you afraid of revealing it if you tell me everything?
- Oh my gosh! I also learned about it thanks to someone telling me. Thanks to that, I have cured many people. The more people know about good remedies, the better. Herbs are safe, benign and found in nature, so they save money for those who cannot afford them.
Suddenly outside the gate, a little boy's voice rang out, he was happily shouting when he found a nest of chicken eggs in the forest. Holding the eggs in his shirt, the little boy happily told his grandmother:
- It's the plum blossom chicken, grandma. I've been watching it for days, it's nest is so clever it's hard to detect. Look, thirteen big round eggs.
- Cu Ty is so good, let me save it and sell it to buy new clothes for you to go to school.
The little boy smiled, his hair still covered with cobwebs. Looking at his figure, the curious customer asked:
- Are the child's parents also working far away that I didn't see them twice?
- We have all gone to work abroad. Unfortunately, going there is not as easy as other people. The work is not steady, the salary is low. We have been struggling for a long time and still have not paid off the loan to go. But never mind, let's keep talking or it will be dark soon. Be patient and climb the hill, I will show you some medicinal plants to pull up and bring home to plant.
The guest followed her, looking around and asking if this land used to be planted with cassava? When the guest was stationed at the nearby army barracks, there were nights when the troops marched through this quiet, gloomy area, only the sound of cuckoos calling for their friends could be heard. Occasionally, an owl would fly overhead, making a terrifying sound. After nearly ten years of returning to this place, things have not changed much. Only the bushes of sim and mua are no longer there like in the old days, it is true that the forest has been much more cared for by the people. She told the guest about the years when the forest was still a barren, wild hill range. She followed her husband to reclaim the land, built the first thatched house with palm leaves, and walls made of earth mixed with straw. The young couple had nothing at that time except a pot without a lid and a blunt hoe. Their hands were blistered by the hoe, their feet were bleeding from the gravel, the forest began to turn green, and children were born one after another.
- In the early 1990s, there was a lot of hunger, my dear. There was a constant drought, one season was lame and the other was stunted. The whole village didn't even have cassava to eat. Luckily, there was still a forest to grow crops.
- Farmed forest?
- That's right. When hungry, people would go into the forest to pick handfuls of bitter vegetables and young bamboo shoots. Children would sometimes stuff their stomachs full with the fruits of the blackberry, sim, and mua, which were still growing in abundance at that time. Some people would dig for yams. Others would look for mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. When hungry and poor, people often get sick. Medicine was scarce, and many children died and were buried under these forests.
The visitor suddenly felt discouraged, but when he looked up, he saw only a quiet, peaceful green. The visitor dug through the rotten leaves and pulled out a few young medicinal plants, the smell of the soil coming out was pleasant. To the visitor, the soil always had a fragrant smell, it was the smell of life. The sunset reddened the western sky, a few storks flew back to the forest. Mrs. Thoan urged the visitor to return quickly, the road was still long, this season the rains often fell suddenly at night. The visitor quickly hung the medicinal plants on the cart, tied up the bundle of medicinal plants, then turned to ask her:
- Miss, how much does the medicine cost?
- Just bring it home for your mother to drink. I have cut the medicine to cure many people but have not taken a single penny from anyone. The medicinal plants are the gift of the forest. If your mother is cured and you are kind, next time you come, just bring a package of cakes, incense sticks or a kilo of fruit so I can burn incense and worship the local god. But if it is too far, then forget it.
The guests stood hesitantly in the yard, moved by the heart of the woman over sixty, her face marked by worries and wrinkled skin. In the basket she was carrying was a handful of mixed vegetables she had picked in a hurry from the garden. The little boy innocently boasted that tonight he would be eating rice with the shrimp she had caught at noon in the small ditch. Her hands were black from a lifetime of soaking up the sap of the forest. The clothes fluttering on the clothesline in front of the house were all worn out. Even the unpainted, gray house gave people a feeling of sadness. Under the guests' feet, moss grew sparsely on the peeling yard. Here, only the green forest and the kind hearts of the people were as gentle and warm as the early autumn sunlight of August.
The guest left, and when he looked through the rearview mirror, he saw the little boy still standing under the gate, watching him. Next time he came, he would bring sweet candies and put them in the boy’s hands. The car drifted on the long road, in the sky, mother birds were rushing back to their nests. The guest could only smell the gentle scent of the forest…
Rules
Live beautifully with total prizes up to 448 million VND
With the theme Loving Heart, Warm Hands, the 3rd Beautiful Life contest is an attractive playground for young content creators. By contributing works expressed through various forms such as articles, photos, videos ... with positive content, full of emotions and attractive, vivid presentation suitable for different platforms of Thanh Nien Newspaper.
Submission period: April 21 - October 31, 2023. In addition to the forms of memoirs, reports, notes, and short stories, this year the contest has expanded to include photos and videos on YouTube.
The 3rd Beautiful Living Contest of Thanh Nien Newspaper highlights community projects, volunteer journeys, good deeds of individuals, entrepreneurs, groups, companies, enterprises in society and especially young people in the current Gen Z generation, so there should be a separate contest category sponsored by ActionCOACH Vietnam. The appearance of guests who own works of art, literature, and young artists loved by young people also helps the theme of the contest spread strongly, creating sympathy among young people.
About the contest entries: Authors can participate in the form of memoirs, reports, notes, reflecting real stories, real events and must have accompanying character images. The article must express the content about a character/group that has taken beautiful, practical actions to help individuals/communities, spreading warm, humane stories, optimistic and positive living spirit. As for short stories, the content can be composed from real or fictional stories, characters, events... of beautiful living. The contest entries must be written in Vietnamese (or English for foreigners, the organizers will take care of the translation) no more than 1,600 words (short stories no more than 2,500 words).
About the prize: The contest has a total prize value of nearly 450 million VND.
In the category of articles, reports, and notes, there are: 1 first prize: worth 30,000,000 VND; 2 second prizes: each worth 15,000,000 VND; 3 third prizes: each worth 10,000,000 VND; 5 consolation prizes: each worth 3,000,000 VND.
1 prize for the article most loved by readers (including views and likes on Thanh Nien Online): worth 5,000,000 VND.
For the short story category: Prizes for authors with short stories participating in the contest: 1 first prize: worth 30,000,000 VND; 1 second prize: worth 20,000,000 VND; 2 third prizes: each worth 10,000,000 VND; 4 consolation prizes: each worth 5,000,000 VND.
The Organizing Committee also awarded 1 prize to the author with an article about entrepreneurs living beautifully: worth 10,000,000 VND and 1 prize to the author with an outstanding charity project of a group/collective/enterprise: worth 10,000,000 VND.
In particular, the organizing committee will select 5 honored characters voted by the organizing committee: award 30,000,000 VND/case; along with many other prizes.
Articles, photos and videos to participate in the contest, readers send to the address: [email protected] or by post (Only applicable for the Article and Short Story contest categories): Thanh Nien Newspaper Editorial Office: 268 - 270 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (clearly write on the envelope: Works participating in the 3rd LIVING BEAUTIFULLY contest - 2023). Detailed information and rules are posted on the Living Beautifully page of Thanh Nien Newspaper.
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