In the days of June, when stepping into the barn of mutual love and affection in Tien Lang (Hai Phong), everywhere is filled with the pungent smell of waterpipe tobacco.
Waterpipe tobacco is dried full of sugar in Vinh Bao The season of “harvesting” waterpipe tobacco starts from the end of May and lasts until the end of June. It is no longer as bustling as it used to be, but these days, stepping into the barn of “mutual love” in Tien Lang (Hai Phong), Everywhere is filled with the pungent smell of pipe tobacco. Many households give up planting because they work too hard In the middle of the hot summer afternoon of June, Mr. Nguyen Tien Su, in Ly Hoc commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city is still working hard with his wife and children while trying to make new Thai medicines – morning exposure. The rectangular screens have an area of about 2m2, filled with waterpipe tobacco. The pungent smell of pipe tobacco rose in every corner. Pointing to dozens of rolls of waterpipe tobacco lying inside the house, Mr. Su said that after days of planting and caring, it was time to break the medicine and cut it. If there are drugs, they must be incubated and stored carefully in the house. In those days, people had to go out in the yard, in the summer to sleep, to make room to brew pipe tobacco. Each batch of pipe tobacco will be incubated for about 4-6 days. “Waterpipe tobacco can’t be soaked in rain, drying with dew only has time and stages, so when brewing, you have to spend an area in the house for the medicine, people can sleep outside,” said Mr. Su. According to Mr. Su, pipe tobacco is a “specialty” that is grown in many places, but the most delicious is the water pipe grown in Tien Lang, Vinh Bao. This is considered to be the land that produces tobacco to advance to the king. “The land here does not grow rice, but grows waterpipe tobacco. There are many houses growing 1-2 samples of waterpipe tobacco. If cared for well, each pipe tobacco tree also gives 50-70kg, selling at current market prices from 100-200 thousand VND/kg, special types up to 700-800 thousand VND/kg, some types up to both million VND/kg. With a value many times higher than that of growing rice, many households have given up growing waterpipe tobacco because it is too hard, “said Mr. Su. Keeping the “fire” of the profession Ms. Vinh, from the same commune of Ly Hoc, said that compared to the old days, the production of waterpipe tobacco is easier now, thanks to the machine, there is no need to cut by hand. But the stages of pressing the tops, breaking buds, watering, picking leaves, drying dew, drying in the sun, incubating … still have to be as complete and thorough as before. “Growing waterpipe tobacco is 3-4 times more economical than growing rice, one tree of medicine can give 10 million dong. But every day I have to go to the field to press the tops, break the buds, water, pick the leaves, and then spend the whole house on the potion, I go out to the yard to sleep… It’s so hard, so many people quit their jobs,” said Vinh . Mr. Su added, after hard care for about 4-5 months, it is time to harvest waterpipe tobacco. Waterpipe tobacco, after being broken, will be pulled out and rolled up. The healthy leaves are used to make clothes, and the torn leaves are used to make intestines. The roll of pipe tobacco is 2-2.5m long, about 20cm in diameter. After rolling up, is to arrange the waterpipe tobacco close to each other and keep it indoors or on a cool shelf to incubate for 4-6 days, until the tobacco leaves from the inside to the outside are golden, then proceed to cut the medicine. “Each roll of medicine must be the same length and size before it can be put on the slicer. That’s why people who make waterpipe tobacco must be very careful in rolling up the tobacco, arranging the leaves so that they do not break. It takes 45-60 minutes for each roll to manually cut medicine, now it takes only 5-10 minutes to finish one roll,” said Mr. Su. After cutting, the pipe tobacco will be shaken evenly, then dried. Waterpipe tobacco is dried on the screen, on the floor must be evenly hand, to avoid lumps, it will not dry evenly, leading to bad smell or damage. If it rains, it is not possible to dry the medicine, it must be dried, using dry straw to smoke at the bottom until the fiber dries. When the batches of waterpipe tobacco are completed, cover with blankets and nylon to keep the heat for the tobacco to dry evenly and the next day in the sun, continue to dry until it is dry and golden. “The burning will make the color of the pipe tobacco not as yellow as the sun, but it will increase the smell of smoke, making the pipe tobacco more delicious, richer and more sought after by buyers,” said Mr. Su. Ms. Vinh still remembers, more than a decade ago, every time during the tobacco season, the families exchanged labors to harvest the medicine. At the end of a working day, families will gather to have dinner with a “fun like a festival” atmosphere. Waterpipe smoke will spread in the afternoon that evening, men and even women can smoke, older women will pick up pipe tobacco, place it in betel leaves, and eat areca pieces to make them more spicy and warm. hot. “Today, wage jobs are paid, the exchange of jobs and shared meals are no longer available, so the scene of men sitting and smoking by the cup of tea at the end of the day, and women eating betel leaves and adding medicinal fibers. But every season when the water pipe comes back, I still feel happy because the cultivation of waterpipe tobacco in recent years has been stable, the medicine has a good price, and people’s lives are getting better and better,” said Mr. Su. The “capital” of medicinal plants in both area and quality belongs to Kien Thiet commune (Tien Lang district) and Ly Hoc commune (Vinh Bao district). These two communes are adjacent to each other, separated by the Han River. According to data from Hai Phong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the two districts have nearly 2,500 hectares of waterpipe tobacco, with a total output of 3,264.6 tons in 2020. The productivity of waterpipe tobacco reaches 1.6 tons/ha, many households earn 500-600 million VND/year from waterpipe tobacco.
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