Early in the morning, Sang took me to Uncle Ba’s garden on his motorbike. Sitting behind him, I turned my head to look at my mother, at the familiar scenery gradually disappearing from sight. Going far away for the first time made me feel anxious, and the chilly morning mist easily made me feel sentimental.
Sang said, “Tell me if anything happens up there. You can endure it, but don’t hide anything from me, okay?”
I tried to sound cheerful and replied, “You’ve told me that a hundred times already. And when did you buy a motorbike? And where did you get the money to buy so many things? And a phone for me too?”
Sang accelerated up the bridge, saying, “I’m working four times a year, you know. Buying a few things isn’t difficult.”
I pressed him about what four times a year meant, but Sang just smiled without answering. The motorbike arrived quickly, stopping in front of the factory gate where several dozen people were gathered around a thirty-seater bus. Some hurriedly ran to register, others hastily loaded their belongings into the storage compartment under the bus.
Sang parked the motorbike in the lot and led me to where the people were boarding. The driver stood in front of the bus, scribbling a few lines in his notebook whenever someone came to register. Seeing Sang, he looked over with an extremely warm expression: “Sang, you’re here? Is this Phuc? Get on the bus, get on the bus, son.”
Sang patted my shoulder, encouraging me: “Get on the bus. I can take care of Mom at home. Just work hard. And take this with you for safekeeping.”
As he spoke, Sang thrust a thick envelope into my hand. I strongly refused: “You keep it and use it. I’m provided with food and lodging there, I don’t need anything. You’ve given me everything already, I won’t accept this.”
Sang squeezed my hand tightly, holding the envelope, his eyes firm as he said, “I didn’t ask you to use it. Keep it for yourself. If you don’t use it, return it to me when you get back. There’s no one there who would lend you money if you’re short of cash.”
I wanted to argue, but the driver urged me on, his voice louder than the engine starting: “It’s time for the bus to leave, hurry up, Phuc!”
Sang patted my shoulder a few times and pushed me towards the bus door. After I got on, the driver quickly pressed the gas pedal and the bus started moving. Since there were no other seats, I sat in the back seat, looking out the rear window and still seeing Sang standing there watching until the bus disappeared from sight.
I kept looking back until someone next to me nudged my shoulder, making me jump. Lùi, sitting to my left, asked, “What are you staring at so intently?”
Nhí, the one who was “eating his rice too quickly,” said, “He’s probably never been here before, that’s why he’s staring so much.”
[Eating rice first: speaking/answering first even if it wasn’t asked to them]
Brother Dau shushed: “Your mouths are so fast, they’ll kick you off the bus.”
The last seat had five seats, and I already knew three of them. Lui, Nhi, and Brother Dau went carrying rice with me at Mrs. Be Nam’s house so often that we were familiar faces. Lui asked again: “Hey, you’re going too, Phuc?”
I replied: “Of course I’m going, Dad. Easy work, high pay, who would refuse?”
Nhi pouted: “So you’re going to leave your mother alone at home? You’re here all year round, everyone tells you to do this and that, and you make money. We only go because we’re sometimes hungry and sometimes full. If I had work to do all the time like you, I’d stay here.”
Brother Dau yelled: “You guys are too nosy. Aunt Hai Nguyet is still strong and healthy, she’s not weak like your parents, so why are you so worried?”
Both Lùi and Nhí were the youngest in their families. Lùi had three older brothers and two older sisters, while Nhí had four older sisters and one older brother. The oldest child in their family was even older than my mother, which is why Mr. Đậu said what he did.
The two chatterboxes still wouldn’t stop. Nhí yelled, “I haven’t even told you yet, and you’re leaving too? Aren’t you afraid someone else will take Hương away before you leave her here?”
Lùi chimed in, “You’re stupid. He’s going to earn money to marry her.”
I asked, “Which Hương? Is it Hương…”
Nhí interrupted, “That’s right. Hương from the mountain pass!”
Lùi laughed so hard he shook, and everyone in the car behind them burst out laughing. Even though Mr. Đậu knew they would tease him about Hương, he couldn’t stop them. He pretended to elbow me sideways, Nhi dodged to the side, pushing and hitting Lui, who then fell onto me, and I fell onto the guy sitting in the corner. He couldn’t catch me in time, and his bag clattered to the floor of the bus.
I awkwardly picked it up for him, saying, “Sorry, I accidentally hit you.”
He replied curtly, “Oh, it’s nothing.”
Feeling awkward about the silence, I tried to strike up a conversation: “Oh, you came to the city alone?” I asked because I saw him sitting crowded with us, constantly staring out the window.
He replied, “Yes, I came alone. My name is Minh, from Vo Doi hamlet.”
Lui, being nosy, chimed in, “You live right next to the forest? No wonder I’ve worked in so many places and never seen you before.”
Nhi joined in, “And how old are you this year?” Minh replied, “I’m seventeen. How old are you?”
Lùi said, “I’m twenty, kid. This guy’s name is Nhí, nineteen!”
Minh turned to me and asked, “And how old are you?”
I shyly replied, “I… eighteen.”
Đậu asked, “You’re eighteen, Phúc? If you hadn’t said anything, I’d think you were sixteen. And these two devils, their mouths are chattering so much they’ll age faster. Nineteen or twenty, but they look no different from thirty!”
Nhí wouldn’t be outdone, “You’re talking about other people. You’re right.”
“The four of them look middle-aged but they talk too much! They look like father and son when they’re with Ms. Huong!”
The front of the bus was full of married men and women, or those in their thirties, so they weren’t as boisterous as the old men sitting in the back. Occasionally, when Lui and Nhi cracked jokes, the men and women would chuckle in response.
The bus bounced along the bad road, and the driver didn’t dare go fast as the old vehicle made a rattling sound every time a wheel rolled out of a pothole. It took three hours to reach the rest stop. Everyone in the front started getting off, and I eagerly asked Mr. Dau: “Oh, are we there already?”
Lui chimed in: “Yeah, I thought Can Tho was much further. It only takes a little over three hours to get there.”
Mr. Dau clicked his tongue: “Arrived? We’re only halfway there, guys. Go down and see if you need to go to the toilet or something, hurry up.” “And don’t buy anything in there, okay? It’s really expensive.”
Nhi covered his mouth at the intersection and said, “Yeah, I need to pee. I thought if I went any further, I’d pee right in the car.”
Anh Dau, like a mother hen leading her chicks, trotted down from the car, not forgetting to wake Minh, who had fallen asleep at some point. As soon as Nhi jumped off the car, he ran straight to the banana bushes by the roadside, pulling at his belt buckle. Anh Dau exclaimed in alarm, “What’s that, man? You pee in the toilet inside, for heaven’s sake!” “There’s so much rice!”
Nhi urged, “Hurry up, brother, I can’t hold it in any longer!”
Dau grumbled as he hurried along, “Who told you to drink so much water?”
That’s what he said, but in this hot weather, no one on the bus could stand not drinking. But seeing the toilet at the rest stop for the first time really shocked me. It only had one long urinal for a dozen people to relieve themselves at once. I looked at the two stalls, both closed. It seemed I had to show off my… for everyone to see.
The others were no different from me; seeing the shared urinal, they hesitated a little. Only Nhi didn’t care, because he was about to burst. He stood in the corner, pulled his penis out of the small hole in his trousers, and started urinating, his face showing satisfaction at finally relieving himself after the long journey. He didn’t know we were commenting on his erect, veiny penis. Although the skin was dark, the head was bright red and shiny.
Dau, however, was different. My dick looked fuller, but it wasn’t as hard as Nhi’s. Nhi even teased me: “It’s a bit dark, man, you must have used it many times, right?”
Anh Dau pretended to punch him, and Nhi stopped teasing him and put his still-erect dick back into his pants. Seeing that we were still hesitating, Anh Dau hurried after leaving: “Hurry up, we’ll be late and the car will leave us behind. I’ll go to the car first.”
Hearing that, all three of us dragged ourselves to the urinal. I stood in the middle, the two guys on either side. My dick had been standing up ever since I saw Nhi’s dick, so I was too embarrassed to look down. I needed to pee but couldn’t, and I didn’t dare strain because I knew what would come out would be just precum.
I thought the other two were the same, but then I heard Minh say in my ear: “Phuc’s dick is so big. And white too.”
Lui added: “And it’s curved up too, man.” “As beautiful as the dicks of those guys in the porn movies I watch.”
It turned out they had already finished peeing, while I was still holding my dick in. I panicked, hid my dick in my pants, and said, “Finish peeing and get in the car, you two.”
Lùi grinned mischievously, “Too embarrassed to pee, huh?” “Are you gay, man?”
I was about to deny it, but Minh patted Lui on the shoulder and pulled him away: “Come on, let’s go first, don’t tease him anymore.”
I was about to deny it, but Minh patted Lui on the shoulder and pulled him away: “Come on, let’s go first, don’t tease him anymore.”
Afterward, I walked back to the car. Now that I felt relaxed, I took in the view inside the large rest stop. People were selling all sorts of delicious and strange things, and I didn’t know if they were delicious or strange to other people, but to me, they certainly were. I secretly thought that when I had money, I would go home to visit, and when I stopped at the rest stop, I would buy a few things for my mother.
While wandering around, I almost missed the bus without realizing it. I looked at my watch and hurried out. Dau was standing right at the bus door waving and urging me on. The bus had already started, just waiting for me to come out before speeding off. Dau instructed: “Anyone who can sleep should take advantage of the time to sleep.” “Later, when we get down there, they’ll take us to see the factory, pointing out this and that. Try to stay alert and remember everything.” I thought to myself, “He’s truly serious about earning money to get married.” Although he wasn’t rich, he was genuinely sincere with Huong.
After driving over a bumpy stretch of road, we returned to National Highway 1A. The road was smooth and pothole-free, so everyone except the driver took the opportunity to rest a little. After a few more hours of travel, the car finally stopped in front of the workers’ dormitory gate. An older woman was already waiting. She introduced herself: “Hello everyone! I’m the General Manager here. Now, please go over there to get your room numbers and bring your belongings to your rooms. The empty beds have all been numbered. You can discuss which bed you want to stay in.”
Then she turned and left, leaving only a subordinate standing in front of the stairs with a number box in his hand. He read out each person’s name.
I looked at the list and gave the corresponding number. I took the opportunity to observe everything around me. The windows in the yellow-painted walls stacked one on top of the other, reaching high into the sky. Long clothes racks hung with red and blue clothes on the balconies, which were fenced with iron mesh. Everything was huge and unfamiliar, even the winding staircase gave me a strange feeling with each step.
I, Nhi, Lui, and Minh were assigned to one room, while Dau was in the next. The room was huge, with about twenty bunk beds. Every two beds were placed next to each other, with a space between them. My room had many empty beds, but they were all top bunk beds. The four of us saw the four nearest beds were empty and rushed over to throw our things on them to “mark our territory.” Nhi and Lui slept on the other pair of beds, and Minh and I shared the other pair.
After the bus ride, we were all exhausted and starving because we left early in the morning but didn’t dare buy snacks at the rest stop. Nhi suggested, “Hey, I saw a lot of people eating at the canteen earlier. I heard it’s cheap. Let’s go grab something to eat, we’re starving!”
The whole group excitedly ran around the dorm, looking and pointing at everything before finally rushing down to the canteen. The others had probably finished eating and gone back to their rooms, so it was quite empty. The four of them ordered a bowl of noodles each, and it cost them five thousand dong each.
Ling took a bite of his noodles, his face sour, and while eating, he grimaced and complained, “Damn, this is the city, food is so expensive! A packet of noodles costs a thousand dong, and with a little broth and three or four slices of meat as thin as razor blades, they charged me five thousand dong! Damn it!”
Nhi slurped his noodles noisily, his face full of satisfaction: “Yeah, it’s expensive, but I think it’s delicious!”
I said, “You’re starving, even rice with just salt would taste good, let alone noodles with soup. Anyway, eat it, guys. We’ll find a cheaper place to eat later.”
I ate the noodles, feeling a pang in my stomach. Five thousand dong was enough for a meal with meat for Mom back home.
Minh suddenly said, “But I remember they said all the food and drinks were included before we left. Why did we waste money buying noodles?”
The four country bumpkins went to the noodle vendor’s stall to ask for clarification, and then, still feeling a bit embarrassed, they walked outside. It was true that food and lodging were included, as Auntie Ba had said, but they only provided meals at the designated times. Besides breakfast, lunch, and dinner, anything else had to be paid for.
Lùi cursed, “Damn you! Why did you invite me to eat noodles? I’ll have to starve a little longer until lunchtime!”
Nhi finished the broth in his bowl and casually replied, “Oh my god, what’s the big deal? You can take your lunchbox later to eat in the afternoon! What’s the harm?”
Minh chimed in, “So, we’ll eat dinner at midnight then, right?”
I burst out laughing, while Lui kept teasing Nhi. The whole group went up to their room. Nhi rubbed his stomach, preparing for a deep sleep. But as soon as they entered, he and Lui were bewildered to find their belongings thrown in the middle of the room. Two other young men, around their age but fairer-skinned and much more handsome than them, were on their beds.
Nhi jumped in to explain, “Brothers, I put my things here first!”
The guy on the bed casually playing on his phone, without even looking, replied, “Just because you put your things here doesn’t mean it’s your bed. If there’s no one else to sleep here, I’ll sleep here.”
Even Lùi couldn’t stand aside: “There are plenty of empty beds over there, why don’t you guys go lie down there?”
*nhóc: many
Another guy said: “You know how to say that? Why don’t you go over there?”
The four of them exchanged words for a while and were about to start fighting. I immediately pulled them back, whispering: “Calm down, let’s call the Manager to sort it out.”
Just then, the Manager from the next room came over, loudly asking: “What’s all the shouting about? Don’t you know this place requires civility? If you act up, I’ll tell Auntie Three and have you all sent home!”