The fields smell of ripe rice

Rice fields are almost everywhere in the country, whether it is the highlands of the Central Highlands or the Northwest. In the ripe rice season, the rice fields create an irresistible beauty for the land and sky, such as Lao Cai , Yen Bai... we cannot fail to mention the terraced fields in Sa Pa, La Pan Tan, Mu Cang Chai... And we cannot fail to mention the road to Hoi An, it is a beautiful road with straight rows of trees, on both sides of the road are rice fields in the ripe rice season, the yellow and green colors mixed together create a bustling feeling.

In the old days of Nha Trang, Le Hong Phong Street from Van Don to Phuoc Long was called Interprovincial Road 4. Fifty years ago, the road was small, with the airport on one side and rice fields on the other. The rice fields were vast, and walking on the road, you could see the rice fields in harvest season. Sometimes, the smoke from burning the fields floated in the air, creating a sense of serenity. Now, the rice fields have become urban areas, with forked roads taking people in all directions. Not to mention the distance, the 10-kilometer road from Nha Trang to Thanh is also a road that passes through rice fields. The road was small at that time, and two-way vehicles sometimes had to give way to each other. The rice fields were ripe and golden on both sides of the road, and white storks were flying back to find rice grains, but they had to fly away quickly because of the scarecrows.

The ripe rice fields have a strange attraction. When the train from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang is about to enter the station, the whole rice field is in sight when looking through the train window. The road to Ninh Xuan and the roads passing through Van Gia are also rice fields. Just the ripe rice, the image of the bundles of rice just harvested on the roadside, the image of farmers carrying rice home is a very peaceful feeling. It is also the season of ripe rice, sometimes on the road there are carpets of golden rice. Farmers take the opportunity to dry the rice in the summer sun, as if the rice will be more fragrant amidst the glare of the sun and the heat of the asphalt road.

When the rice is ripe, I remember when I was a child, I followed my grandmother through the fields during the harvest season to glean rice. The farmer used a sickle to cut the rice neatly, and after cutting, he left it there, while someone followed behind to bundle it and transport it to the shore. People without fields quietly followed the harvester, also holding a sickle to harvest the remaining rice stalks and picking up the fallen ones, more or less enough to have a few full meals. I remember, when the rice was gleaned, my grandmother would pluck each stalk, as if afraid of dropping the precious rice grains, and because there was so little rice, she just left it in the winnowing baskets in front of the house. The gleaned rice was also taken to the rice mill, and the miller would mill it for her without charging. And have you ever had a meal made from gleaned rice grains? That is a type of rice mixed from many fields, creating a very unique delicious taste, in which there seems to be a salty taste of sweat.

During the rice harvest season, I have also set out many times, riding a motorbike to Sa Pa, following the slopes to the valleys, or walking until I was drenched in sweat just to admire the beauty of the magical terraced fields. I have sat behind a rickshaw driver in La Pan Tan, crossing a small, steep road along the mountainside just to admire the golden rice fields of Mam Xoi hill.

In the rice harvest season, farmers often eat the first bowl of rice of the season as a way to thank the heavens for favorable weather and wind for a prosperous harvest. In the rice harvest season, white storks fly back to look for fallen rice grains.

KHUE VIET TRUONG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/sang-tac/202506/nhung-canh-dong-thom-mui-lua-chin-189254a/