In the warm spring sunshine in Tho Ha ancient village, I was really surprised at the “stirring” rise of plants and flowers after the cold winter days. It is a sloping embankment with young grass overflowing with grass that meanders around the village. The rice field in front of the house is like a green velvet carpet when it’s a girl. But more surprising is still the garden of medicinal herbs grown
Grandfather said, he used to fight in the battlefield for many years. During those difficult years, there was not enough food to talk about medicine when sick. So the soldier’s life was in the forest, naked with nature, often looking for medicinal plants. He said, in nature there are many precious medicinal plants, even the vegetables we see every day are medicinal herbs that can cure many diseases or are very good for health. Therefore, the domestic vegetable garden grows mostly medicinal plants in Tho Ha ancient village
In the corner of the garden in Tho Ha ancient village, Grandpa planted a few lemongrass bushes, ginger bushes, every bush is green and shiny. A section of fence, hairy plumes have covered themselves with countless oval, heart-shaped leaves that are purple. Along the fence are some old cloves. Looking at each root as big as wrists, rough skin, Grandma nodded in delight: “These roots can be dug for soaked tubers!” In the garden, my grandmother also showed me many other valuable herbs: wormwood, perilla, lemon basil, basil; which is lettuce, guise leaves, mint, smell of ship (coriander), … Any tree under the hands of grandma’s cultivation and bathing is also tender and full of life.
Although he had heard it many times, but every time he went to the garden with his grandfather, he would excitedly explain about the uses of vegetables grown by his grandfather. Dingun leaves, from the leaves to the roots, you can’t leave anything, any part of the plant can be used as medicine: the roots are tonic, diuretic, good for the weak and weak body; leaves cure fever, boils, swelling; Stems and branches treat low back pain and numbness. Perilla has a spicy taste, warm properties, cures colds, bloating, vomiting… Plum leaves are often used to promote digestive health, treat digestive-related diseases, especially inflammatory bowel disease. colon… At times like that, I see my grandfather as a real doctor.
I still remember when I was a child, every time I coughed hoarsely and couldn’t speak, my mother would go to the garden to choose young lemongrass leaves and pound them to get water to drink. It’s only been a few days and it’s gone. There are days when I have a fever, my face is as red as a fruit, and my mother goes to the garden to quickly pick up a handful of pounded lettuce and squeeze out the water to drink. My grandfather too, whenever he got sick, he just needed to use herbs from the vegetables in the garden. He said: “It should not hurt a little to use Western medicine, because Western medicine also has many side effects. If possible, you should use Southern medicine and Northern medicine to heal.”
Having a vegetable garden planted by my grandfather in Tho Ha ancient village, my mother rarely has to go to the market to buy vegetables. Mother said: “There is nothing better than eating clean vegetables that you grow yourself”. Thanks to my grandfather’s vegetable garden, my brother and I often eat delicious dishes that we love. Fried beef with guise leaves with a seductive aroma. Boiled meat with fish sauce served with spicy basil, with an unforgettable cinnamon flavor. Especially the snakehead fish soup cooked with dill is delicious. Whenever there is a soup of snakehead fish cooked with dill, my brothers and I keep racing to eat without knowing if we are full. At meals like that, her mother happily said: “It’s all thanks to the skillful and industrious hands of my grandfather”. Hearing that, Grandpa could only look at the family, smiling gently.
