But exactly one year later, their lives underwent a complete change in spacious and solid houses in Huong So new residential area, not far from the old place. The joy of welcoming the first Tet in the new land is radiant.
Huong So new residential area is well planned
The spring of dream has arrived
No longer welcoming guests in the cramped houses in Thuong Thanh, the new residents from Thuong Thanh are now comfortable and confident in newly-built houses in Huong So planned area.
Spring music somewhere is mixed with the melody of the gentle and boisterous song "The first spring" by musician Van Cao. "Now swallows come back in spring/ Among natural seasons, this happy season has returned / The spring of dream is coming first ... The lyrics of the song seem to speak for the people's joy.
“This is the first Tet our whole family can live in the house after many years of awaiting. More happily, the neighbors from the old place, who now come to the new one, are also close together. Everyone is willing to give mutual support in need, so they feel joyous and warm,” said Ms. Le Thi Thuy Van, a Thuong Thanh resident, who settled in Huong So.
Unlike the worried expression a year ago, this woman, who has just turned 50, said that because of poverty, she had to hold on to the heritage land for more than 20 years and did not dare to think that she would be relocated to a new house. But then that dream also came true when the government promised a new residential area with adequate infrastructure before welcoming the people to a new place.
Ms. Van's family was allocated the land, supported in house construction and many other interests. On the day of moving the house, the authorities at all levels returned to share fun and give gifts. It was too funny for words.
The spacious houses on the frontage tarred roads with green trees, electricity, and telecommunications ... are not inferior to the luxury urban areas. More importantly, the resettlement place is not far from the center and the old place, so it is convenient for the people to work and move.
“We have settled for a few months since then and are now preparing to welcome the New Year in a new land. I just hope that everything is favorable, everyone is healthy with stable job, so we are joyous,” Ms. Van said while tidying up and arranging the furniture in the house with the new paint to welcome the first spring.
Jams and cakes are also prepared early by her family to invite guests and relatives on Tet holiday. She said this is the first Tet in the land that will be associated with the rest of her life.
Huong So people in the new residential area fly the flags to welcome the Lunar New Year of Buffalo 2021
Human heart is as funny as a barrel of monkeys
Along the well-planned roads, we came to a row of "turnkey" houses for 25 poor households provided with land and money by the government to build houses. Every house was bustlingly preparing to welcome the New Year in a happy atmosphere: Some cleaned up the ancestral altar; others decorated the flower pot ahead of the gate to be pleasant to the eyes while the children were playing...
Seeing us again, Mrs. Le Thi Nho, 80, happily said that time flows in the blink of an eye. Last year, we sat in a cramped and dilapidated house on a slope on Thuong Thanh area with so many anxious questions in mind, but everything is now quite different.
She said that because of the dire poverty, her household was provided with land and money to build a house. In August 2020, her household moved to the new house as a predestined relationship, which helped her and her old husband escape the anxiety caused by constant storms.
“It’d have been dangerous if we’d not moved away opportunely last year. Only a big storm like last year could break down the old house in Thuong Thanh any time. It’s happy to live in a new and solid house without any worry,” Mrs. Nho said emotionally. The joy will probably help her live a few years longer.
Mrs. Nho has one foot in the grave; therefore, that she welcomes the first Tet in a newly-built house after decades of waiting is without doubt beyond compare. More happily, some of her children were also allocated land, and then built the houses in the new residential area, close to their parents' house.
She said that at the New Year's Eve party, she will make a decent tray of rice, as her sincere heart to express her gratitude towards the earth gods, invite her ancestors to welcome Tet and pray that her family, relatives and neighbors welcome the new age, peace and smoothness. Everyone also plans to cook a pot of banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and fat pork) to gather together on New Year's Eve as they celebrated for decades in Thuong Thanh.
"Our generation doesn’t mind one way or the other, but we’re delighted that our children and grandchildren can be out from under, have a better future and a more favorable life," Mrs. Nho opened her heart and did not forget to invite everyone to her family for cakes and a spring cup of tea as a thank you from the people in the resettlement.
Story: Nhat Minh
Photos: Nhat Minh-Thanh Huong