Peach and pear wine by Thach Lam

Writer Dinh Hung recounted: on the third day of the Lunar New Year (1942), Thach Lam invited some close friends to visit and enjoy the spring atmosphere at his family farm in Cam Giang. The guests were the stage artist couple The Lu - Song Kim, writers Khai Hung, Tran Tieu, poet Huyen Kieu, Dinh Hung, doctor and artist Nguyen Tuong Bach and Mr. Kim Hoan, manager of Doi Nay Publishing House.

Dinh Hung was the youngest so he was called "tieu tu", which was mispronounced as "tieu tuu". Thach Lam, as the host, treated his friends very warmly, but according to his personality, in addition to Tet dishes such as banh chung, pickled onions, jellied meat, and pork roll, he also had spring wine from his homeland. At that time, France had a monopoly on supplying wine to our people. All types of wine on the market were controlled by French agents. Despite all the difficulties, writer Thach Lam still managed to find a precious jar of wine. He asked his family to bring out a large jar of wine, with four Chinese characters "Dao le my tuu" stuck on the outside of a pink paper.

Everyone sipped and enjoyed the taste of this fine wine to discover which was the peach and which was the pear. But all they could smell was the strong aroma of distilled sticky rice. No one understood, so they asked the owner. Thach Lam smiled and replied: peach and pear fine wine is a word that is reversed into de lao fine wine, meaning precious smuggled wine. If the Westerners caught him, he would be thrown in prison.

Laughter erupted in the literary camp.

Thach Lam returned to celebrate Tet at Cam Giang camp on the thirtieth. At that time, he was tired and afraid of the cold. Mrs. Nhu had to have someone burn a large pile of firewood in the middle of the house to keep warm. Yet somehow, Thach Lam still asked his literary friends to come and visit and treat them warmly. No one expected that this would be the last meal and wine of Thach Lam and his literary friends in Cam Giang. Because in June of that year, Thach Lam passed away forever.