Once upon a time, my village had a man named Pho Cao.

No one knows when the profession of barbering was born, but in many rural areas, wherever you go, when asked about this job, all the elders know. In my village, too, in the past, there was a man called Mr. Pho, who went back and forth in the villages every day and from time to time would call out: "Who wants to cut... hair... hair... hair... hair?".

Indeed, Mr. Pho had a proper name, but probably because of affection, the villagers used to call him by this general name - a shortened form of the two words Pho Cao. As for the word Pho, when I grew up and learned, according to folklore, this is the way people refer to skilled craftsmen, such as Pho Coi (rice miller), Pho Hoan (pig castrator)...

Bowl haircut.

I remember, Mr. Pho, who often came to cut hair in my village, was a middle-aged man, thin, riding an old bicycle, with a wooden box on the back containing tools for cutting hair and a folding chair.

Life in the countryside used to be very difficult. When our generation of 5x and 6x was born, each village and commune had only one or two barbershops, and they were usually located near the market. Adults who wanted to get their hair cut had to spend time waiting there, while farming was always busy. Children like us lived far from the market, so it was not easy to get to the barbershop. Besides, farming and gardening were very difficult to earn money, so in some families, when their children's hair was long, many parents used a pocket knife to shave or used scissors to save money. SinceMr. Pho came, head shaving has gradually decreased, because the itinerant barber worked hard to go to the hamlets, and his wages were quite low. In some cases, if people didn't have money, he would let them pay on credit. In other cases, when the harvest season comes, people will pay him in rice instead of wages.

Mr. Pho's house is said to be in town, about four kilometers from my village. Usually, he cycles to the village around noon and starts his work by calling out. Any house that needs a haircut invites him in. Sometimes he chooses a place under the shade of a large tree, opens his toolbox, prepares it, then places a chair and hangs a mirror on the tree trunk so that the customer can see with his own eyes the process of changing his hair. After the customer sits properly on the chair, Mr. Pho gently combs the hair, then uses clippers and scissors to neatly trim the hair according to the customer's request. Mr. Pho cuts hair very quickly, beautifully, carefully, and is good at pleasing customers, so every time he comes to my place, everyone likes it. Many times, under the cool shade of the tree, in the peaceful atmosphere of the countryside, people have their hair cut while chatting about all sorts of things in the village, outside the neighborhood, amidst the clicking of the clippers and the slicing of the scissors.

With us kids, Mr. Pho was always close, sometimes joking and teasing, making everyone like it. Once, he even bought a whole pack of bird egg candies in different colors, green, red, purple, yellow... and gave each of us a few, and everyone loved them. There were cases where he saw a child with long hair, and when he asked, he found out that his parents didn't have money, so he immediately called them over to cut their hair. My friend Lac, who lived in Go hamlet, was an example. At that time, Lac was ten years old, an orphan, and his family had many siblings and was in financial difficulty. So when his hair grew long, Lac asked his aunt to use scissors to cut it, so his hair was messy, some high, some low. After the summer break to prepare for the school year, one day, seeing Mr. Pho cutting our hair, Lac approached me and asked me to speak up for him so he could get a haircut. He promised to go collect cicada corpses to sell to a traditional medicine shop, and save up the money to pay. Hearing that, Mr. Pho immediately agreed. Not only did he not take the money, but he also cut Lac's hair for free many times after that.

Lam's case is also unforgettable. One afternoon, when we were playing marbles near where Mr. Pho was cutting her hair under the tree in the middle of the village, Lam came over with a flustered face. When we asked, we found out that his mother had given him money to get a haircut. On the way, he was afraid of losing it, so he took it out and counted it over and over again. Unexpectedly, when he got there, the money was no longer in his pocket. He searched and searched but still couldn't find it. He was afraid that his parents would scold him when he got home. Feeling sorry for his friend, we continued to search with Lam, but we couldn't find where the money had fallen. Lam was on the verge of tears. Hearing us kids whispering and discussing, Mr. Pho discovered the incident. After hearing Lam tells the whole story, Mr. Pho immediately told him: "Okay, okay. Sit on the chair and I'll cut your hair! Next time you have money, keep it safe, okay?"

Old-time barber.

Having been with the villagers for a long time, Mr. Pho Cao became close, like a villager. When there were death anniversaries, parties, and occasions when he passed by, everyone invited him. As the years passed, life today has developed in all aspects. Not only in the city but also in the countryside, there are now many elegant and luxurious barber shops, and no longer do you see barbers going around cutting hair. However, in the memories of the elderly, the image of Mr. Pho Cao from the past but full of familiarity is not easily faded. That image is like a dotted line in a colorful picture of the homeland of a time, permeating and nurturing the souls of many generations.

A few days ago, while chatting with folklore researcher Vo Trieu Duong, I asked him about the village and commune stories in Ninh Hoa in the past, including the profession of traveling barbers. It turned out that when he was young, Mr. Duong and his friends of the same age had met Mr. Pho Cao who came to practice in his hometown and had their hair cut by him. Mr. Duong seemed interested when recalling the story. He also told me about the story in Ninh Hoa in the past, in some localities, when cutting children's hair, some Pho Cao would cover a bowl with a lid and use scissors to cut the surrounding area, called "bowl-covered haircut"...

HOANG NHAT TUYEN

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/nhung-vung-ky-uc/202407/ngay-xua-lang-toi-co-ong-pho-cao-dd54233/