The boatman and his wife ‘carried’ the river fish

Two people from the same hometown of My Quy, when they were young, farming was not enough to live, for many years in exile, they worked as a ferryman everywhere from Cao Lanh, Sa Dec to An Giang. Six years ago, they returned to Doc Binh Kieu commune in Thap Muoi district, about 20 km from their hometown, opened a small grocery store in combination with ferrying people across the river.

Two years ago, a school of small fish appeared at the wharf, feeling sorry for their grandparents to spread rice for them to eat. The number of fish is increasing day by day, from a bowl of rice to a pot of two kilograms of rice, then five kilograms. Then they moved the wharf more than 200 meters away from the old place. Before leaving, Mr. Tai had just fed the fish and said: “If you want me to raise it, go over there.” Unexpectedly, the fish followed, thinking they were predestined for them, the two decided to raise.

In order to have money, grandparents did not hire boatmen, but used the house, taking advantage of the same profit. Initially, the two people fed the fish with rice, thinking that the rice was submerged under the water for fear of waste, so they switched to pellets, each bag of 50 kg costs 300,000-400,000 VND. The school of fish is getting bigger and bigger, a bag of food is not enough. The cost is too high, while the income from the boating profession is difficult to bear, he and his wife eat jackfruit, which is cheap at only 500-1,000 VND per kg.

Observing the school of fish, seeing that the big fish eat while the small fish can’t, she cooks with a pot of rice to treat small fish. On average, the cost of feeding fish is about 100,000 VND per day. “This fish is not eaten, not sold. We just pray that we love the fish, God loves us, the family is strong and healthy,” Tai’s wife shared.

The heart of the old couple with the fish, spread to many people, they help their grandparents when they have jackfruit, bananas, and some papaya. Some people even give old rice or a few thousand dong to buy fish food. People love the fish a lot, but there are many who want to catch them. Each time, the grandparents begged to spare the fish. Every night, the two of them took turns staying awake a couple of times. The house has two more guard dogs.

Once a school of fish was drugged, some died, some left, grandparents were sad. “I prayed to Mrs. Uncle (a god in folk beliefs) if we still had the grace to raise fish, we would help them return,” Mr. Tai recalled. A few days later, some small fish began to gather, the two continue to raise them to this day, with one weighing more than 5 kg. They are not afraid of grandparents, every time they feed, they can touch their heads or lift them up.

When feeding fish, grandparents do not need to give orders. Just seeing the figure of two people, thousands of fish immediately gathered around, most of them were river catfish, catfish, sesame flower, sesame Vinh, white pompano… She sliced ​​the jackfruit, cut it into pieces, and tossed it all over her face. country. The fighting fish eat, from time to time splashing the water jubilantly. Each feeding takes nearly 30 minutes, adding that much time for two people to admire and pet them.

“Many people say that my husband and I do a lot of money, but we don’t care. Every time I get tired of feeding the fish, I naturally feel happier and healthier,” said Mr. Tai.

The ferryman and his wife save money to feed the river fish

Ngoc Tai