Cashew Tree Sweet Soup Shop - Tay Ninh Online Newspaper

Students of Tay Ninh College of Education. Photo: Ly Tam Ninh

If anyone has ever been a student at Tay Ninh Pedagogical College (located at Lam Vo intersection, Ninh Son ward, Tay Ninh city) from the 2000-2001 school year onwards, every time they hear someone mention the Cay Dieu sweet soup shop in front of the school, many dear memories suddenly come flooding back, as if recalling a very familiar and very attached feeling throughout their student life of going to school twice a day.

The Cashew Tree Sweet Soup Shop - doesn't have a sign like the others. Actually, that's just the cute name we students often call it, because it's just a small, nameless shop located on the side of the road, surrounded by a large, green canopy of an ancient cashew tree all year round.

From afar, it looks like a giant umbrella, protecting the shop through many rainy and sunny seasons. Through the ups and downs of the years, none of us remember clearly why it was there and how old it is this year. But we only remember one thing clearly, that it is a place filled with memories of a time to remember and love.

At that time, the restaurant did not have many dishes like now, only two simple main dishes: bean sweet soup and Thai sweet soup. I like bean sweet soup the most. Because I am addicted to the nutty taste of beans stewed over the right heat with the rich taste of coconut milk, the cool bean aroma mixed with the strong durian aroma creates a unique flavor for bean sweet soup that I cannot mistake for any other sweet soup and cannot find anywhere else.

After graduating from high school, to fulfill my father's unfinished dream, I packed my bags and left home to study. Most of us students were children who grew up in remote, isolated rural areas. Partly because we had just left our parents' arms and were alone; partly because we were unfamiliar with the new life and the sudden change in living environment, we loved and cared for each other, and were willing to help each other in studying as well as in daily life. We gathered together and chatted like a family.

Having decided to leave home to find knowledge so that we could bring knowledge to the children in the future, we studied very seriously. In addition to going to class twice a day, we also studied in the evening to prepare for the next day's school, so our breaks were very short, at most we just went to Cay Dieu shop to eat sweet soup and share our feelings with friends. Over time, we became accustomed to it, Cay Dieu sweet soup became a place for us to connect and share our love without even realizing it. Whether it was a birthday, a weekend meeting, or treating friends to a scholarship, or any reason that invited us to eat, we immediately thought of Cay Dieu shop as if it was a pre-programmed part of our brains.

The shop starts selling at noon until late at night, so except for school hours, no matter what time it is, whenever we need something, we call each other to go to the shop. There were many times, after school at noon, walking under the scorching sun of Tay Ninh, we were hungry, thirsty, and tired. So we rushed into the shop, each of us had a cup of sweet soup, eating and chatting animatedly, making a noisy scene in a very quiet corner, so much fun!

The afternoon slowly fell on the old, barren royal poinciana trees, stretching out their soft, curving arms in all sorts of shapes and forms, looking so funny. A few rays of yellow sunlight at the end of the day passed through the cashew trees, shining emerald green, and it was also the time when school was out. This was the time when we often invited each other to stop by the shop to enjoy the few moments of rest after a long, tiring day of studying.

Then there were rainy nights, lying down missing my mother, missing my father, missing home, missing my hometown so much. We would go out to the coffee shop together, sitting and telling each other about our childhood. Living days filled with happiness in the loving arms of our parents in the peaceful village.

Thu was the one who cried the most of all, and that was right because Thu had lost her mother when she was young. So every time she mentioned her childhood, Thu would cry, two tears rolling down her chubby, adorable cheeks. Next was me, and then the whole group just sat there sobbing, the atmosphere seemed to sink, that night was a very long night...

Then November 20th came. After the ceremony, our class was rewarded by Mr. Tran Quang Cuong - our music teacher - with a satisfying meal of Cay Dieu sweet soup because my class, along with nearly 200 students from Tay Ninh College of Education, participated in the choir competition with other departments and branches and won first prize with the song "My Village" by the late musician Van Cao. We ate sweet soup and listened to him tell stories about his journey to find letters, about the ferries that he had firmly steered, many times reaching the shore intact. He was the one who inspired and gave us strength to walk firmly on the path we had chosen so that in the future we could continue to weave the dream of bringing letters to the children - the future generations of the country...

Time flies, almost 20 years have passed. We have grown up and contributed our efforts to build our homeland in all parts of the country. The beloved school of the past is still silent with time. The Cay Dieu sweet soup shop has not changed at all. Every time I return to visit the old place, I seem to hear somewhere the warm voice of the teacher, the laughter of my friends from the past. My heart always secretly wishes to return to my childhood...

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