As evening falls, when the old year is only counted in a few hours, the rural market in Ca Mau begins to become more crowded. Not the afternoon of the 30th of Tet as is customary for many years, because this year there is no 30th, but the Tet market still meets fully in the last afternoon of the year.
Different from the busy atmosphere of the morning, the year-end afternoon market has a slow appearance. Sellers are not in a hurry to display goods, and customers are not in a hurry to go to the market. Along the market are the yellow color of marigolds, chrysanthemum morifolium, and a few pots of apricot blossoms still with buds. Next to it are shiny green watermelons, large and small fruits, neatly placed on tarpaulins spread close to the ground.
All are products made by people themselves. Flowers were grown many months ago, watermelons were cared for through rain and sunshine, now they are brought to the market with the desire to sell them to have a little more money to prepare for Tet. Each small stall is the result of a year of persistent labor.
At this market, profit is not a big deal. Customers offer low prices, sellers still happily nod if they see "profit". Some stalls sell cheaper than expected, but in return there is a feeling of relief when goods are reduced, and Tet in the house is closer. Many people say that going to the market at the end of the year is not to get richer, but to have a Tet atmosphere.
Buyers also have a gentle attitude. Not bargaining harshly, not comparing every thousand dong. They both buy and ask about crops and business in the old year. Some people only buy a small pot of flowers, a handful of watermelon, but stay to talk for quite a long time as if to preserve a little bit of the taste of Tet in the countryside.
The year-end afternoon market is also a familiar meeting place for villagers. Sellers know customers' faces, customers remember sellers' faces. Children follow their parents to the market, eagerly looking at colorful fruits and flowers. Older people leisurely choose goods, gentle eyes in the slow afternoon.
When the sun gradually fades, the market is also sparsely populated. Some stalls have sold almost everything, some stalls still have a few individual items left. However, the atmosphere is still gentle, no one seems sad. Sellers collect goods in laughter, in simple New Year wishes.
The year-end afternoon market in Bac Lieu closed quietly, but left a warm feeling. There, people sell Tet with simplicity, with smiles more than profits - a very unique beauty of rural markets, of Tet in the Mekong Delta.
