Bus trip before Tet

Mr. Thuoc woke up to the sound of loudspeakers selling banh gio, banh bao, and sharpening knives and cutting boards on the street. Startled, he touched the pillow on his head and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the pile of money was still intact. Last night, during the farewell dinner with his workers, the contractor was very enthusiastic but he did not dare to get drunk. He was only afraid that if he got drunk, a thief would come in at night and steal the pile of money, which would mean losing Tet. Looking around, the workers were still sleeping soundly. They must have drunk too much last night, so they would probably sleep until noon. It was only natural, after a year of hard work, living in temporary accommodation, exposed to the sun and rain, they had to get drunk. Looking out onto the street, seeing the bustling Tet atmosphere, he missed his hometown even more. Quickly packing his clothes into his backpack, he walked out to the main road to catch a bus to the bus station.

“Buy salt at the beginning of the year/ Buy lime at the end of the year”, the loudspeaker’s crackling sound had just started but was drowned out by hundreds of street sounds. The bus was packed with people, a young person had just stood up to give him his seat. Looking out the bus window, his eyes were drawn to a peach blossom branch that someone was carrying on the back of the bus. His house also had a few peach trees like that. Some grew wild on the sidewalk in front of the house, some were planted on the fence, and some were right in front of the kitchen. There was no need to fertilize, prune, or pluck the leaves. The trees just grew like that, holding the four seasons in their trunks, waiting for Tet to bloom on time. When you get tired of looking at the flowers, you wait for the fruit season. The peaches are sweet and fragrant, the whole neighborhood is just waiting for them to ripen so they can share them. At this time, his grandson must have been running in and out waiting for his grandfather to return. “Grandpa is bringing Tet home for you”, he hugged his backpack tightly in his hand, his heart filled with emotion…

The streets were crowded on the eve of Tet, and the cars had to move slowly. It was almost noon when he finally reached the bus station. People were pushing each other, and sometimes they fell forward while walking. It was as if the whole city had gathered at the bus station. After waiting for passengers, it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon before the bus left the station. He looked around the aisles and saw that everywhere was filled with goods. These were things that people would not feel comfortable putting under the trunk of their cars. Sitting right next to him was a young man who had fallen asleep as soon as he got on the bus. But every now and then, he would suddenly wake up and glance down at the bundle of small wild plum branches wrapped in newspaper under the front seat. Catching his gaze, the young man rubbed his eyes to wake up and said with a smile:

- This flower blooms beautifully and lasts long.

- In recent years, there has been a trend of playing with wild peach and wild plum. But not everyone knows how to play. Maybe you are bringing them home as gifts for your lover?

- No, I brought it back for my dad. My dad was a border guard, stationed at the northern border. Where he patrolled, this spring, when the white mist parted, you could see peach and plum blossoms blooming everywhere.

- So your father must have retired a long time ago?

- My father died in 2019 in a drug case, sir. Every year I bring a bunch of wild plums home to burn incense for him.

- Ah…

Mr. Thuoc was silent for a moment, suddenly moved by a bunch of wild plums sticking out of the newspaper with rough, moldy branches. To make it easier to pick up and drop off passengers along the way, the bus did not take the highway but followed the national highway. "Please understand, during Tet the traffic inspectors are very strict. Stopping and parking on the highway will be fined easily." Someone, before putting on his nightgown, called the driver to call when he reached this or that point. Someone had time to sleep and woke up to ask casually: Where are we? Someone pulled out a child's ao dai from their backpack and asked the person next to them: Do you think it's pretty? I bought it for my daughter to celebrate Tet. I searched all over the market and found this one the most pleasing. Stories about Tet, about husbands and children, banh chung, carp... just kept going on. Although we were not familiar with each other, sitting together on the same bus, we felt that every family's Tet was like our own. The worries were all the same color. Mr. Thuoc dozed off for a while but then remembered the stack of money in the bag he was holding tightly in his pocket. The car swayed on the small road, the stories gradually faded, and Mr. Thuoc fell asleep without realizing it.

Halfway there, the bus suddenly turned on the lights. The bus boy asked loudly:

- Does anyone need to go to the toilet? If so, the bus station will arrange it, otherwise we can go straight.

Some people rubbed their eyes and replied: Yes! Please stop and use the restroom, driver!

- Yes, then wait a moment until we get to the restaurant in front, please get off the bus. We're already halfway there, so the bus company would like to collect the fare.

Everyone was looking for money to pay the bus conductor. Mr. Thuoc was also woken up, he fumbled to open his backpack to get money. But suddenly he felt guilty, his hand stopped for a few seconds then quickly searched. He couldn't find it! It was clear that the stack of money he had put at the bottom of his backpack was nowhere to be found. He shook each piece of work clothes vigorously but still found nothing but a bottle of essential oil falling out.

- What's the matter, uncle? - the young man sitting next to him turned and asked.

- Money! All my wages from several months of hard work are gone. More than twenty million. My money…

His voice was trembling. It sounded like he was about to cry. That was all the money he brought home for his hard-working wife. It was said to be Tet spending money, but in reality it was used to pay off some debts that she had borrowed when she was in a tight spot to pay for her grandchild's education and medicine. He worked as a construction worker, but he didn't receive his salary every month. The contractor usually owed him a few months' salary. Yesterday, when paying the workers, the contractor gave him an extra million as a gift for the little boy at home. But now he was nowhere to be found. Was he dreaming? No! Everyone was gathering around to rummage through his belongings to help him find them. They were saddened to see that his luggage for Tet was nothing more than a few worn-out work clothes, with holes all over them, covered in lime. The young man lifted his backpack high and saw light shining through a sharp cut on the side, right at the bottom of the backpack.

- You had your pocket cut. This cut looks professional.

- Try to remember where you last saw money?

- In the rented room. I put it there, only spent a few dozen coins on the bus fare, I didn't dare take it out or in.

- Once it's lost, it's lost. Now that I think about it, there's no way to find it. Maybe you were robbed at the bus station. Someone took advantage of the crowd and jostling to pick it.

- Bastards. Stealing the hard-earned money of an old man.

He could no longer hear the gossip and curses around him. In his mind, there was only the image of his skinny wife and poor little grandchild waiting for him to come back. His son went to work abroad and died in a foreign land. His daughter-in-law left her child with them to remarry. Due to difficult circumstances, he was over sixty years old and still had to go far away to work, carrying buckets of mortar. Yesterday, his wife called and said she would wait for him to come back before going shopping for Tet. She didn't buy much for Tet except for some food, candy, and a few new clothes for her grandchild to be happy. She ate half a leg of pig from the neighbor's. Banh chung was only wrapped in a few kilos of rice, afraid it would get hard if she left too long. Now that he had no money, he didn't know how to explain it to his wife. At this time, the car had stopped at a roadside shop. The driver told everyone to hurry up and go to the toilet or buy something to eat or drink, the car would leave in fifteen minutes. Mr. Thuoc sat in the car, absent-minded and not interested in anything. The young man asked:

- Do you want to go to the bathroom?

He shook his head slightly, leaning back in his chair. He thought about everything, maybe it wasn't lost at the bus station but on the bus. But on the bus, everyone was in their own place, if he wanted to do anything, it would only be the young man sitting next to him. No! He couldn't blame the son of a martyr in peacetime. His father had fallen for the peace of the country. But what if the story about his father was just made up by him to gain his trust? But the look in his eyes when he talked about his father couldn't be a lie. He couldn't doubt everyone because of the loss. He buried his head in his calloused hands that smelled of lime and started crying. At this time, all the passengers had finished using the restroom and gathered at the rest stop. Everyone was discussing Mr. Thuoc's theft. The young man spoke up:

- Sitting next to him, I heard him talk about his pitiful situation. His son died early, his daughter-in-law remarried, leaving behind a young grandchild.

- Oh! It's very difficult for someone at that age to have to work far away from home, otherwise he would stay home and enjoy life with his children and grandchildren.

- Now that we have lost everything, what will we use to make ends meet? Tet is coming soon. Let's say that those of us who have a lot can contribute a lot, those of us who have a little can contribute a little to help him in his difficult time. Or consider it as sending his grandson a little gift. What do you think?

- Agreed.

- Agreed.

Nearly thirty passengers on the bus gathered around. One pulled out a few hundred from his wallet. Without hesitation, he counted several green polymer bills. One pulled a cloth bag from his waistband, selected an even bill and gave it to the young man. One had time to smooth out the stack of five thousand bills that still had a faint fishy smell. The driver quickly put out his cigarette, reached into his breast pocket, and took out some money to contribute to everyone else. The young man sat down and folded the money he had just received, counting it over and over again. “Nine million in total. I’ll add another ten million.” Everyone clapped happily, and the busboy said:

- Get in the car, guys, so we can go home to our wives and children soon. If I keep following the car, my wife will kick me out of the house.

- I'm going to earn money, not to have fun.

- That said, you should still try to stay home during Tet to help your wife and children. The firewood for cooking banh chung is still waiting for you to come home and chop.

When everyone got on the bus, Mr. Thuoc was still absent-mindedly holding his torn backpack, his eyes staring out the window. The young man sat in his seat and turned to look at his companion's gray hair. If his father were still alive, he would probably be about his age now, the thought made him sad. When he received from the young man the money from the whole bus, Mr. Thuoc burst into tears once more. He couldn't form a sentence to say a few awkward words of thanks. After a moment of emotion, the whole bus suddenly became noisy and cheerful. Someone gave Mr. Thuoc a bag of candy as a gift. Someone rummaged through the gift bag to buy for their children, and shared some toys for Mr. Thuoc to take home for his grandchildren. Someone just bought some hot corn and put it on the bus, urging Mr. Thuoc to eat it, he must be hungry after the long journey. Someone asked him which part of the bus he got off at... Oh, it turns out he was from the temple village, I have a daughter who got married there. When the water rises this time, I wonder if anything can still be grown along the riverbank? The stories continued, the car passed over the bridge over the river, spring appeared in the village with bright flowers of peach and chrysanthemum.

The road home was getting closer and closer, it seemed like he could hear the sound of rice boiling on the firewood stove. He heard that the fields near his house were catching fish, so today he would definitely be treated to braised fish with pepper. The money he had worked so hard for was unfortunately lost. But he brought back some money for his wife. Holding the stack of money tightly in his hand, he looked carefully at each face around him as if he wanted to remember all the kindness that strangers had given him. The young man had fallen asleep. Under the car seat, the bunch of wild plum blossoms was still silently budding in their rough, mossy shells...