A night at the wholesale market - Part 1: Staying up with the night market

When the city streets are deep in sleep, the yellow lights quietly stretch across the empty streets, where each house has closed its doors, quiet, at Rach Soi wholesale market, a new day has just begun. The night is dark, the cold dew penetrates the skin, but the atmosphere in the market is already bright with the hustle and bustle of life. There is no loud car horn or crowded people, here there is only the familiar murmur: the sound of trucks, the sound of people calling each other, the echoing sound of hawking goods.

A sleepless night at Rach Soi wholesale market, blending into the hustle and bustle of the traders and hard-working workers, I followed every hurried step, listened to the late night cries, felt every drop of salty sweat to understand more deeply the fate of people who are working hard to make a living.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Yen, resident of Rach Gia ward, prepares fish for customers. Photo: HUONG GIANG

Turn night into day

I arrived at Rach Soi market when the clock had just moved to 11pm, at this time the market began to bustle. I walked slowly among the stalls that were gradually opening. The light fishy smell of fish, the strong smell of soil clinging to vegetables, the smell of vehicle exhaust, the smell of human sweat, the smell of ice melting on the cement floor, everything blended into the characteristic smell of the night market - pungent, salty but lively. The calls from the warehouse owners, the intermittent sound of motorbike engines, the hurried footsteps of the porters, all created the bustle of the market. The light here was not bright but opaque white, dim but enough to see the drops of sweat rolling down the forehead, the red eyes from lack of sleep.

When trucks loaded with fruits, meat and fish enter the market, the porters start their work. A seafood truck has just entered the market, before the engine has even turned off, 6-7 bare-backed men quickly unload seafood from the truck for the warehouse owners. I met Mr. Lam - a bare-backed man carrying boxes of fish on his shoulder. Each step he takes leaves a splashing sound of water on the market floor. Quickly wiping the sweat running down his forehead, Mr. Lam said: "My working day usually starts from 11pm the day before to 5-6am the next day. Every night I earn 200,000 - 300,000 VND, I get paid the same day I work." A few steps away from Mr. Lam, a muscular man named Bang, his bare back drenched in sweat, is bending over carrying a large foam box of seafood. His voice is hoarse, and he breathes heavily every time he bends down to lift the heavy boxes. Here, each person has a different situation, but because of life, they choose a job that is very hard and tiring, requiring "night to day".

A few meters away, the seafood stall of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Yen, a resident of Rach Gia ward, was lit up. Ms. Yen and her relatives were busy sorting squid and fish. Her hands were so nimble, the cold water splashing on my face made me shiver, but she still smiled: "I'm used to it, if I don't come here at night, I feel like I'm missing something..." She opened the lids of large boxes, took out each fresh fish, squid, and shrimp and sorted them. At 45 years old, with 30 years of experience selling seafood at Rach Soi market, Ms. Yen said she was used to the opposite pace of life: "Sleeping when it's light, working when everyone else is still sleeping".

I stopped by the area where trucks were unloading agricultural products. A woman in her 70s was quickly picking out bunches of vegetables still covered in dew. Her hands were small and thin but agile. She wrapped each bunch of green cabbage and sweet cabbage and carefully placed them on her old bicycle. Her name was Nam - a vendor at Tac Rang market. Mrs. Nam said: “Every night, I go to the market at 11pm to get vegetables and then sell them again, earning 100,000 - 200,000 VND/day. Going early is the only way to get fresh goods at a good price. If it rains or is windy, I still try to go, because if I take a day off, what will I eat?”

Outside the market, ancillary services have also sprung up to meet the demand, with food and beverage stalls serving those who work through the night. I stopped at a roadside porridge cart, where the smoke billowed, the aroma permeating the cold air. Porters, drivers, and vendors stopped by, took the opportunity to eat a bowl of hot porridge, then continued their work. I ordered a bowl of porridge, ate it, and listened to the simple but energetic stories of everyday life.

I stood there for a while, feeling my feet numb from the icy floor. The night wind blew coldly, but I did not leave, because amidst the cold and bustle, I was gradually understanding the meaning of the night market.

The “heart” of the food supply chain

At Rach Soi market, thousands of tons of food are distributed every day to small markets, kitchens and households in the province and surrounding areas. The work takes place continuously from late at night to early morning. It is this bustling pace of life that keeps the food supply chain running smoothly, and people have full, fresh meals.

Mr. Cao Van Tuyen - a trader living in Chau Doc ward said that every night, hundreds of people from localities such as Hau Giang , Can Tho; Long Xuyen ward, Chau Doc and neighboring communes such as Tan Hiep, Giong Rieng, Hon Dat... flock here to get goods to the market in time. We work all year round, regardless of holidays, New Year or rain or wind. Because if the market doesn't sleep, we can't rest.

The market is also an important bridge between producers and consumers. Prices and supply here closely reflect the reality of agricultural production, signaling the ups and downs of the market. Traders not only trade but also play a role in regulating the market, collecting goods from vegetable gardens, fruit gardens, and livestock farms, then distributing them quickly and effectively. Farmers rely on the prices and quantity of goods sold at the market to adjust their production plans, avoiding the situation of "good harvest, low price".

In response to the trend of consuming clean and safe food, wholesale markets are also changing dramatically. Many traders apply traceability technology, invest in cold storage, and improve quarantine and hygiene procedures. This is a positive signal that helps the market become a traditional trading place, a sustainable development model, suitable for modern market trends.

Wholesale markets not only maintain the rhythm of life for millions of people but also serve as a vivid demonstration of the connection between producers, sellers and consumers. For the market to continue to operate well, it requires attention and proper investment in infrastructure development, improving service quality and ensuring food hygiene and safety.

I left Rach Soi wholesale market when the first rays of sunlight had just begun to shine on the market. Large trucks were rolling everywhere, while retailers were busy transporting goods to small markets. Somewhere, people who had just finished their night shift were looking for a place to rest, falling into a deep sleep to prepare for a new day of hard work to make a living…

(To be continued)

Huong Giang

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/mot-dem-o-cho-dau-moi-bai-1-thuc-cung-cho-dem-a427075.html