On the eve of Lunar New Year 2025, under the cold drizzle, on many streets in Thai Nguyen City, many farmers and traders still persistently stay by the peach blossom pots, looking forward to a full Tet season.
Having worked in the peach blossom business for more than 10 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha (Dong Hy, Thai Nguyen) understands the hardships of growing and selling peach blossoms during Tet.
For the past half month, Ha and her husband have been living with the peach trees, staying up all night to take care of them. To cope with the biting cold, they set up a makeshift tent, surrounded by canvas, as a shelter to watch over the peach trees.
"About half a month before Tet, my family is busy preparing to move peach blossom trees here to sell. This year, I brought more than 200 peach trees and set up a makeshift tent to take care of them and sleep.
My husband and I take turns looking after the family, one person is on duty, one person is resting. We work hard all year long, only looking forward to these days to have money to prepare for Tet, so no matter how tired we are, we have to try our best," Ms. Ha said with a trembling voice.
According to Ms. Ha, peach blossoms are sensitive to the weather. If not properly cared for, they can bloom early or not bloom on time for Tet.
"Each tree is carefully surrounded to keep it warm. Just a little carelessness, negligence, night dew or sudden cold can cause the flowers to wither, causing the entire tree to be damaged and lost," said Ms. Ha.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Hien (Bac Giang), a small trader selling apricot flowers on Doi Can Street, Trung Vuong Ward (Thai Nguyen City) could not hide his worries because purchasing power this year is quite slow. Although Tet is near, he and many other tree traders here are still anxiously waiting for customers to come and buy.
With his hands constantly checking each flower pot, Mr. Hien said: "This year's peach and apricot blossoms are blooming beautifully, the price is not much different from last year, but the purchasing power is not as expected.
All the money from a year's labor is spent on ancient peach trees and bonsai apricot pots worth 2-5 million VND. We have to watch carefully and turn on electric heaters to help the trees resist the cold weather.
Only a few days left until Lunar New Year 2025, the time when traders and people selling ornamental plants are waiting for the results of a hopeful harvest, compensating for months of hard work. Everyone wishes to entrust in their potted plants a warm and full Tet.
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