Leisure talk: Early rain of the season

The first rain of the season means summer is coming. Summer is for resting, relaxing, and experiencing nature with fascinating and attractive folk games. But unlike my peers, my childhood did not have a summer. My friends' summer was spent catching crickets, beating drums, fishing, and fighting... My summer was spent helping pick longans and rambutans, catching crabs and snails, raking mussels, and selling orange cakes and sticky rice cakes from top to bottom of the village to earn money for the next school year.

Although I know that the first rains of the season are a preparation for a hard life to earn money for school, I still love the first rains of the season. Because, after the hot and humid days, the first rains of the season will cool down and cleanse the space, the grass and trees after a dry season will sprout, and my life of making a living under the river will also begin. When the first rains of the season appear, a freshwater mollusk also begins to reproduce: mussels. It can be said that mussels have nourished my entire childhood. The section of the Bon So River in front of my house is blessed by nature, in season, there are a lot of fish, shrimp and mussels. The river is only about a thousand meters, but all year round it is bustling with life. Shrimp fishing, lifting the net, pulling the net, setting up the trap... And, the most bustling is still the mussel season. In the third lunar month, young mussels the size of chopsticks are dense on both sides of the river. They hide in the mud and eat alluvium to grow. At this time, no one has gone to catch mussels, but to "raise" them to grow. In the fourth lunar month, the rainy season officially begins, the mussels are as big as a little finger, a few poor people occasionally go down to the river to rake a few, scoop up the intestines to stir-fry or cook soup to improve their always scarce meals. But most people on both sides of the river do not catch mussels at this time, but still wait for the mussels to grow a little bigger. In the fifth lunar month, when the rain is heavy, the mussels eat alluvium, become plump and round, as big as a thumb, then the mussel harvesting season begins. When the water is low at about half the river, on both sides of the river, people sit in basins and pots, waiting for the water to dry up a little so they can go down to the river to rake mussels, making a section of the river bustling. As soon as the water dries up, dozens of people rush into the water, some rake, some scoop, some dive... The sounds of life resound on the river. The water level rotates according to the tide at which time, people go down to the river at that time. Sometimes, when the water is low at night, people also wait until night to go catch mussels. On bright moonlit nights, shallow water, the rustling sound of raking, laughter, and even someone's small singing, it's so peaceful, lively, and serene.

Mussels can be processed into many delicious dishes, especially mussels from the river in my hometown, their intestines are often plump, white, fresh, and fatty. Mussels stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, mussels braised with dry pepper, mussels used as pancake filling, mussels cooked with mixed vegetable soup... In particular, take out the mussel intestines, leave it hot like that, scoop a spoon into a bowl, pour a piece of fish sauce mixed with chili, this combination will be difficult to control the taste buds, because it is indescribably delicious.

Now it is almost the rainy season, but for many years now the Bon So River has not had the bustling sounds of the mussel season, because the river is polluted, the mussels are in danger of extinction. The mussel season, the season of making a living for me and many people here, is only a beautiful and sad memory.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-dam-mua-dau-mua-185250524180726165.htm