1/ House 51 has French-style architecture, so in the summer, just step through the door to feel the cool air; Winter will be a warmth different from the cold weather outside. Also step through that door, on the left is the area of the permanent security department. Next is a large space with a sofa and teapot so siblings can sit and talk. Inside there are 2 stairs.
I still remember that the distance between the two stairs is quite far, the reporter room also has 2 doors, each door is close to a staircase. That's why sometimes young reporters want to "escape" their bosses and go to their room to leave their bags on the desk, hang their shirts on the chair and then go down the back stairs to the first floor.
In the mid-90s, last century, back under the roof of House 51, hardworking young reporters came to work early in the morning, took the opportunity to go to the old town to have breakfast and then return to work. In the morning, when leaving the newspaper office, turn right to see a shop of rib porridge. Walk a little further and turn right to Luong Van Can, a shop of pho and sticky rice with fat chicken.
Ten meters away, there is an old lady selling vermicelli with bamboo shoots, her bowl is always full. Because they sit on the sidewalk and only have low plastic chairs, customers have to practice holding hot bowls to eat. Yet because of the delicious broth, sweet fresh sprouts, and fragrant bamboo shoots, her shop is always crowded with customers. Therefore, if you want to eat leisurely, you have to go a little early.
At noon, across the street is Mrs. Tuyet's rice restaurant whose signature dish is shrimp paste. Mrs. Tuyet's rice is always more expensive than other restaurants but is very delicious. She just arranged a very low table, put the dishes on it and sat in the middle. Whatever the customer wants to eat, she just needs to move her hand in an arc to get all the food for the customer very quickly.
Going back towards Bat Dan, still on Hang Bo street, on the left is Ms. Dung's popular rice restaurant. Ms. Dung's rice is not as expensive as Ms. Tuyet's rice, but it is still delicious. Sometimes young reporters are taken to the noodle shop at the end of the street by their uncles and siblings. At first she sat on the sidewalk, then moved into the house in the alley. The dish that people often call is soft wing neck. After that, her vermicelli and vermicelli shop moved to Hoe Nhai street. People who are addicted to soft wing collars still go there to eat.
Talking about House 51 without mentioning Mrs. Nung's restaurant would be a mistake. Mrs. Nung's house is a few houses away from House 51. Outside the door, Mrs. Nung displayed all kinds of candy, milk, and cigarettes. Anyone who wants to drink beer or wine can go inside, there are tables, chairs and some simple drinks. This is often the meeting place for brothers and sisters at lunchtime or after stressful work hours. My sentence back then was often "Mrs. Nung's restaurant". As for young reporters, when meeting friends, they often meet "Mrs. Nung's banyan tree" because in front of Mrs. Nung's house there is a very large banyan tree.
For women, I really like the custard apple season. During the season, custard apple sellers take goods from Long Bien market and sell them in the old town. During the week of the custard apple season, almost every day the reporter women only bought custard apples for lunch because they were delicious and cheap.
Every year, after Tet Ong Cong and Ong Tao, the streets are bustling. At that time, just standing in front of House 51 can see Tet is very close.
Sellers advertise as they walk, buyers quickly choose to shop for Tet. My favorite is the old scent trucks across the street. In the cold weather of the day leading up to Tet, the fragrant scent of old age dispels all the worries of everyday life.
2/ When we first arrived at House 51, everyone was surprised to see that every afternoon the administrative ladies sat in a corner to put up newspapers. Back then, newspapers had to be cagey. Every time the newspaper truck returned, the girls divided up the newspaper cages.
The newspaper at that time was still published every other day, so one day was the inside page and the other day was the cover page.
When the notice is published, the security guard is responsible for bringing the newspaper and posting it on the board in front of the newspaper door. Newspapers are also divided into departments, but reporters, especially young reporters, wait for the security guard to finish posting the newspaper before standing with their heads down to read. Of course, the first thing to do is find out if your news or article has been posted, and then read other articles. Just read until the end.
Many times, after a business trip, she doesn't go home right away but goes to House 51 to meet her colleagues. Sometimes she goes to the cafe to sit for a while, chat with her colleagues and then go home... At noon, No matter where you go for a meeting, you always return to House 51 to park your car before going to lunch.
Those years were the youth of the 7x generation of reporters.
Just like that, we were guided, loved, and grew up under the roof of House 51. Later on, some people moved agencies and sometimes still came back to House 51 to play. On holidays and New Year, those who stay in Hanoi will no doubt drive through Hang Bo Street, standing from the other side of the street to take pictures of the door of House 51 full of love, as if they have remembered it from a long time ago.
