Bustling "ghost market" during flood season

Products of the flood season. Photo: PHAM HIEU

Bustling at night

Met Mrs. Ngo Thi Ut, resident of Vinh Te ward - the owner of a fish farm, sitting at the "ghost market" waiting for fishermen to bring fish to weigh. It was only the beginning of the fifth watch, but there were already nearly 20 people gathered here, chatting away in the night. The fishermen were carrying heavy buckets and buckets of fish to sell, laughing and chatting away.

The owner of the warehouse was urging the workers to quickly classify the fish, shrimp, and crabs. Meanwhile, the owner’s daughter was more relaxed in her role as “accountant”, busily writing notes and tapping on a small computer, creating a rather bustling scene at night.

Seeing that the worker and her husband were overwhelmed, Mrs. Ut rolled up her sleeves and sat down on a small chair to quickly select the fish. We waited until Mrs. Ut had rested before we dared to approach and ask about the fish and fish sauce in this “ghost market”.

Mrs. Ut said that during the flood season, there are a lot of wild fish, so fish farms have to buy them from nearly 3am until early morning so that they can leave them with traders to bring to the markets to sell to people. “Like these guys, around 3am they bring fish, shrimp, snakes, rats… from the fields. I buy them, then sort them out for the dealers, and traders bring them back to sell at the markets early,” Mrs. Ut said.

Mrs. Ut's fish farm buys perch, snakehead fish, goby fish, catfish, catfish, and silver carp for 50,000 - 130,000 VND/kg; field mice for 60,000 - 90,000 VND/kg... According to Mrs. Ut, the water level in the fields is still quite high, there are many fish but not as much as in previous years. Around the end of October, the water level will recede, and there will be more fish and shrimp. Fishermen will have a more attractive income thanks to this.

As for the name "ghost market", Mrs. Ut explained that because there are many fish stores near each other, people called it a market when they saw it crowded. Moreover, the market only exists during the flood season and only opens from late at night until dawn, so people call it "ghost market"...

Earn decent money

Coming to sell fish at Mrs. Ut's fish market, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, who makes a living by fishing nets in Vinh Te ward, said that there is more water in the fields now. Linh fish, silver carp, snakehead fish, perch, catfish and many other products also follow the water. At this time, people who make a living by fishing nets, traps, and traps like him also drift day and night on the vast fields of water to make a living.

“Now the fish are coming in more often. Every night, I catch a few hundred thousand dong from my net. On a lucky day, I earn more than 1 million dong, sometimes more than 2 million dong, so I really like it!”, Mr. Dung shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chuol, a resident of Vinh Te ward, holding a bag of cleaned field mice and a bunch of snakes he caught late at night and brought here to sell, said that in addition to setting up nets, he also runs a boat along the flooded canal banks to hunt for field mice to sell for extra income.

“After setting the net, I diligently use the lamp to catch mice and snakes, waiting for the time to check the net. On average, I earn a few hundred thousand dong each night, and if I’m lucky, I can pocket millions,” said Mr. Chuol.

According to people who make a living during the flood season in Vinh Te area, at this time, there are many large catfish, so the price is high, so if you catch one, you can "grab" millions of dong; wild perch, which are normally rare, are now also available in this "ghost market"; as for copper snakes, especially the fat water lily snakes, they have quite a high price...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Day - a fish trader at the "ghost market" said that at more than 3 o'clock, she and some other traders went to the fish warehouse along Vinh Te canal to buy flood season products to bring to the market to sell for profit.

“I wake up early to go to the market to buy fresh fish, bring it to Chau Doc market to sell and earn a few hundred thousand dong a day. People love the products of the flood season so they sell very quickly! Many people also buy them as gifts to send to relatives and friends in other areas, so fish, shrimp, especially snakes are hunted more,” said Ms. Day.

One interesting thing about this market is that when fishermen bring their products from the flood season to sell, they are always treated to a hot meal by the store owners to regain their strength after a long night drifting in the vast fields of water.

According to the warehouse owners, this is a form of maintaining relationships and, more importantly, it shows the affection and generosity of people living together as grandparents in the Southwest region.

Leaving the “ghost market” of Vinh Te freshwater fish as the sun gradually rises, along the fields of thick alluvium, men after a long sleepless night are still diligently preparing nets, crab traps and even fishing nets to continue looking for products of the flood season… All create a picture of the countryside that is both lively and peaceful in the remote border area.

PHAM HIEU

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/nhon-nhip-cho-am-phu-mua-nuoc-noi-a464487.html