Special noodle bowl

During the three years of high school, he spent more time at school than at home. He went to the kitchen table, and before he could open his mouth, Aunt Tieng asked:

- Ah! Is there no grass in the yard today that you came here?

It laughed, because its aunt often joked with it like that, so it didn't find it strange.

- Give me a bowl of "special" noodles, lots of bean sprouts, lots of fried onions and pork rinds.

- Needless to say, it took 3 years to get there.

It chuckled...

Three years, oh only two years and two months, but by the end of the year, I'm sure there will be only one "color" loyal to that special bowl of noodles. She's been selling at the canteen of this commune's high school for who knows how long, but since the day she entered this school, who knows if there's been any student like her!?

- Maybe later if you want to eat special noodles, you have to go back to school to eat "Auntie Tieng" brand noodles, because outside people will probably carry brooms... hihi - He both praised and was shy about the broom in his aunt's hand.

Tô hủ tiếu đặc biệt - truyện ngắn của Hương Hào (Trà Vinh) - Ảnh 1. — Illustration

In class, he was just an ordinary kid with nothing outstanding. His life began to turn upside down when his grandmother passed away. Strangely, he had never heard anyone mention his parents, and his miserable childhood made him not even bother to ask about them. His mother had passed away or left since he was five or six years old, he didn't know and no one had told him, and who his father was - forever an unanswered question. Since his grandmother passed away, he didn't know who he was, where he belonged (because his grandmother had kept the secret his entire life!), he had no one to confide in, no one was waiting for him when he came home from school, or when he wandered around here and there, no one looked for him, no one yelled at him anymore!

After that, he was adopted by his aunt. But was she his aunt? He didn't know her whereabouts. He only knew that the woman called him "black girl" and called herself his aunt. When he went to school, every time the school asked for a photocopy of his household registration to reduce his tuition, he would ask for a delay, delaying day after day, month after month. Because his aunt never showed him his household registration book, so he could see if his name was in it. He was even more clueless because he lost to his aunt in a game of cards, not daring to say anything. As a result, his aunt took care of everything, waving her hands in a wave. He studied silently, and his aunt fed him whatever he ate. Sometimes, while studying, he had to collect scrap metal to sell for snacks, and when he was older, he worked at this or that coffee shop to have money to buy school supplies. The homeroom teacher and friends, seeing the family's situation, all contributed money to pay for tuition and other fees. Once, the homeroom teacher of grade 10 asked him to submit his household registration to complete the exemption procedure, and even asked to invite his parents. He could not explain clearly because no one thought his life would be so twisty and twisted.

***

Seeing his situation, another boy in the deep fields took him in, but his household registration was still attached to his aunt's house. I heard that his aunt received some money every month. If you leave his name out, you will lose that money. He didn't care at all, just tried to learn to read and write. His studies had declined since he was born, from being an excellent student for 9 consecutive years, now he was almost average, only his passion for drawing was not shaken. He drew regardless of time. During the afternoons at school, after eating noodles, he whispered to the librarian. So, he read books freely. After reading, he took out paper and pen to draw according to his imagination the scenes of the streets, the countryside, the characters in the book he had just read. Everyone acknowledged that he had talent, drew well, had an aesthetic eye for mixing and coloring. Was this passion helping him cling to life!? He had won first prize in the "Dream School" drawing contest in a series of activities to celebrate Vietnamese Teachers' Day. That year, he was still shy and a first-grade student. The teachers in the school often "ordered" him to draw diagrams and pictures with the teaching aids of the teachers. However, in the scribbles he made when he felt stressed or bored, he had never dared to draw a picture of his family.

At home, (his wife had died of a serious illness before he negotiated to bring her back), studying in the same class as his son, having a sister and younger siblings was somewhat comforting. But the clothes and hair when going to school were worlds apart. His son was pretentious and took care of himself, had perfume, new clothes, and rode an electric bike to school. As for her, her old clothes were so wrinkled that he would only buy her a new set every now and then or borrow from a neighbor. She didn't need to think too much, as long as she had clothes to wear. Going to school on the old bike that her brother bought from her, she felt happy. She just told herself to try to study no matter what. Only through studying could she hope for change.

- Study hard, no one will take care of you later - Aunt Tieng often told her that.

- I know that, I tried my best, but… - Every time I touched this deep pain, tears suddenly wanted to flow.

At school, besides his classmates, he also had a special friend, his aunt. He often confided in her. She loved him like her own grandchild and he loved her very much. She often scolded him for skipping lunch.

- Hey! If you don't want to eat, go somewhere else. Don't call me if you faint!!!

At first, she felt like she was being harsh, and she was a bit of a crybaby. But she understood that her aunt said that because she was afraid she was hungry. After a while, she got used to those overly joking words.

- Eating noodles so much will make you into noodles!

- Then eat rice?

- Eat every meal at home.

- So what do you want to eat?

She spoke loudly, her "killer" face and the sharp meat knife in her hand made him shiver, he could only sneak up to the library without saying a word.

Yet for three years it was still noodle soup, dry noodle soup, noodle soup, noodle soup...

- It's really hard, auntie. There is a hard thing, people who eat all the time don't gain weight, like me, but people who don't eat keep gaining weight.

- Then you starve to death, don't call me! - She sang the immortal song for nearly three years.

- After you graduate, no one will let you talk to me anymore.

His situation was similar to hers, so she understood and sympathized with him. He studied in the village school until the sixth grade, then dropped out and went to work as a day laborer. He did whatever he was hired to do, regardless of wind or rain. When no one hired him to work in the fields, he jumped into the job of a road hand or a water carrier. Sometimes he would spread nets, strip sugarcane leaves, and corn leaves. Otherwise, he would sit listlessly at the market selling guava and sugarcane.

Thinking so, he felt much luckier, being able to go to school and eat noodles like this, auntie. So he loved his aunt even more.

- Hey, when you go to college, where will you get the money to study?

- I take care of myself… why can many people who are in more difficult situations than me do it but I can't? - He didn't need to think for long, the words came out as fast as lightning.

Every time he thought about "university", he felt more motivated to pursue his dream of becoming a designer, a dream he had cherished since he was a child. He often thought to himself: "In life, you shouldn't always look up, but try looking down, looking down, even looking behind you, there are many people who are more difficult and poor than you, but why do they still live well and succeed? As for me, I am luckier than hundreds of people, why should I be pessimistic?". Every time he thought about it, he was urged to keep going, like someone walking in the desert, once he decided to go, he had to accept the burning of his feet and feel his way to the destination, even though he knew that the path was definitely not flat and full of cacti.

- You have such a tiring dream, poor but dreaming too high! - My aunt often sighed in frustration for him.

- Dreaming doesn't cost money, there's nothing to lose, so why wouldn't you dare? If that's the case, then try to study hard so that you can have a career with others in the future, auntie - she often smiled when justifying herself.

***

Newspapers simultaneously headlined "'Wrapping' Saigon on a cyclo, orphan girl wins prize worth nearly 200 million VND" at the fourth season of the "Vietnam - Where I Live 2019" contest organized by the London College for Design and Fashion in Hanoi. It wrapped up iconic things of Saigon such as Notre Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh Market, City Post Office , Bitexco building, street vendors, the Zoo, Thi Nghe Bridge, newsstands... on a cyclo in the drawing. Sai Gon Le La - the name of the work he entered into the contest, when he had only been a Saigonese for 9 months - was evaluated by the organizers as "... with the main black and white tones, it still does not lose its splendid luxury but on the contrary, it has a mysterious beauty; an ancient beauty that goes from simple to modern values. The work is an invitation for domestic and international friends to come to the streets, street corners, to iced coffee, to discover each very unique beauty imbued with the essence of old and new Saigon...". He shed tears dozens of times on the day his paintings were exhibited and he received the award.

Returning home, he saw that his uncle's house was full of people, bringing all kinds of gifts, cakes, fruits, bird's nest drinks, and boxed milk, saying that they were to nourish him to draw better and win higher prizes. Then he asked how much the prize money was, whether he would receive it in cash or by bank transfer, how would he calculate that money. Then he told them about their relationships, their relatives, what they called them, how they were close to his grandmother in the past, what they gave her, how they helped her family, and how his uncle was... He didn't answer anything, just nodded and greeted everyone, then smiled. But his heart was filled with indescribable sadness. How and by what means could he make his dream of studying at the Academy of Design and Fashion come true when he had nothing to show for it!? The prize money he won was all the expenses he would have to pay for when he studied for 3 years in Hanoi, and the organizers did not give him cash. If he did not study, he would lose everything. This matter, among the relatives who come to your house to receive relatives and such, probably not many people know and understand.

In front of the house, it was bustling and noisy. He took the excuse to go behind the house to wash his face and then ran across the field to Aunt Tieng's house.

- Oh my! The famous person is back!?

- Oh, don't make fun of me, auntie. I'm so tired. Do you have any special noodles? Cook me a bowl! Hee hee...

- Damn it! Sit there... coming soon... coming soon.

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.