Racing against the sun to maintain its beauty
At 4 am, lotus growers in Hoai Duc commune (Hanoi) have started their working day. In the dim mist of the early morning, flashlight lights shining on the water lead the way for workers to wade down to the pond. With their feet deeply submerged in the soft mud, they carefully weave through the lotus beds to choose the most beautiful flowers to prepare for the market.
Prolonged heat waves from the beginning of the season have caused lotus flowers to bloom almost a month earlier than in previous years. Lotus growers have to start harvesting very early. Ms. Can Thi Thu Thanh - owner of a lotus pond in Hoai Duc, quickly cuts each sunflower that is still peeled. She said that lotus is a special flower, the harvest time greatly determines the quality of the product.
Lotuses must be cut from early morning, when the flowers are still in the mist and the petals have not yet bloomed. If you let the sun rise high before harvesting, the flowers will quickly lose water, reduce freshness and be more difficult to preserve," Ms. Thanh shared.
Small boats continuously carry flowers from the middle of the lagoon back to the gathering point. On the shore, people are wrapping flowers, sorting, packaging, all working urgently. Each lotus bunch of 8 to 10 flowers is carefully wrapped in lotus leaves and then transferred to a car to deliver to customers in time before the hot sun appears.
Ms. Thanh's lotus pond maintains a yield of 1,500 to 2,000 flowers per day during peak season. This is an important source of supply for the Hanoi market as well as many neighboring provinces and cities.
The morning atmosphere at the lotus pond is bustling. Traders and shippers continuously come in and out to receive goods. Everyone tries to complete the work as soon as possible because just a few hours later, the outdoor temperature will increase very quickly.
Legs wading through mud tirelessly
At lotus ponds, the ditch system will make lotus harvesting more convenient, but in large ponds, creating ditches is not feasible, costly and affects lotus, so many areas can only be accessed by walking. Harvesters have to spend hours soaking in water and mud to harvest lotus.
According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ngoc (37 years old, Hanoi), a person with many years of attachment to the profession, this is a job that requires health and experience.
Newcomers are often very tired because moving in mud is much more difficult than walking on the ground. Each step is heavier, you have to use a lot of strength to lift your foot and then continue walking forward," Mr. Ngoc said.
Not only physical strength is needed, harvesters must also be especially careful in each step. Under the leaves and mud are many growing lotus buds. If accidentally stepped on, a whole flower can be damaged before harvest day.
The most difficult thing is to learn how to recognize which flowers are old enough to pick. If cut too early, the flowers are not of quality, and if left too late, the flowers will bloom quickly and the preservation time is shorter. This experience takes quite a long time to learn," Mr. Ngoc shared.
To pursue this profession for a long time, the most important thing is passion. "Currently, many young people tend to look for office jobs or work in industrial parks. Meanwhile, agriculture in general and lotus growing in particular require great perseverance. If you don't really love lotus plants and love agriculture, it is very difficult to follow," Mr. Ngoc said.
Hardships behind the blooming lotus season
This year, unusual weather diễn biến caused lotus growers to face many difficulties. According to Ms. Thanh, prolonged heat waves have directly affected the development of lotus. Many lotus flowers are smaller than in previous years, and the yield has also decreased significantly.
Harvesting and transportation must be carried out in the shortest time to ensure lotus quality. Usually before 6 am, most of the flowers have been loaded onto trucks to be delivered to stores or customers who order.
To ensure the quality of traditional lotus tea batches, many tea production facilities do not completely depend on the delivered goods but are directly present at the pond from early morning to choose flowers. Because the lotus flowers used to marinate tea must be harvested at the right time when the petals are still closed, the fragrance is strong and the lotus rice inside reaches a moderate age.
Just harvesting a few hours late or encountering harsh sunlight, the scent of lotus can be significantly reduced, affecting the quality of finished tea products. Therefore, in the lotus season, it is not difficult to see the image of traders and tea artisans meticulously checking each flower right at the pond before deciding to buy.
It's hard work, but people in the profession are still attached to lotus because this is not only a source of income but also a passion for the flower imbued with Vietnamese culture.
