Mr. Le Van Phuong, residing in Tan Lap commune, Dong Phu district (Binh Phuoc) said that after many long months of intense sunshine, termite mushrooms sprouted after the cool rains at the beginning of the season. This fungus is special in that, they only appear in places where termites nest, from the footprints of workers passing through. The new umbrella termite mushroom, which grows naturally in the forest, has the highest price. “During the process of crawling around the nest, worker termites leave behind a saliva-like substance. After the rain, this substance grows fragrant mushrooms. Those who went to pick mushrooms at night, before they could see the mushrooms, smelled the sweet aroma of mushrooms at the top of the forest,” Phuong shared. According to Mr. Phuong, the termite mushroom season only lasts a few months and emerges from the ground at about 2-3 am and withers in the early afternoon. Therefore, people take advantage of going into the forest at midnight to look for mushrooms. People who use flashlights, those who shine motorbikes run into the forest, to rubber lots or cashew fields to look at mushrooms all night. Those who go to shave rubber will be the first to encounter termites because the work of tapping latex is usually done at night. However, once you see the mushrooms, you have to know how to pick them to get all the mushrooms and sell them at a high price. “We had to use very strong wooden sticks, as small as fingers, to poke the mushrooms. In the early morning, the new mushroom sprouted its head on the ground, so the body was still lying on the ground. Therefore, using a stick to poke down, lift the whole mushroom body up. Especially do not use iron rods because the next season the mushrooms do not grow again, it takes time to find other places, “said Phuong. Those who go to pick mushrooms must use a sharp tree to get the body of the termite mushroom deep in the ground. In the past, people went to pick mushrooms just to stir-fry with melon or melon tops as food for their families. Seeing that the mushroom is crispy, more delicious than any other mushroom, plus many people know the great taste and value of the forest termite mushroom, so the mushroom is purchased at a high price, from 700 to 900,000 VND/kg. Therefore, many people stayed up at night to look for termites. In each termite mushroom season, Ms. Cao Thi Thuy, residing in Tan Phu ward, City. Dong Xoai (Binh Phuoc) all drive back to their hometown in Bu Dang to look for mushrooms. According to Ms. Thuy, termite mushrooms have 2 types, white body and black body. The black body is tough, crispy, sweeter than the white one, so the price is also higher. “Mushrooms are very fragrant. Going to look for mushrooms, just need to be sharp, you will smell the faint aroma of termite mushrooms somewhere. Holding the searchlight around, you will see small dim light spots of the mushroom, “said Ms. Thuy. People use motorcycle lights to pick mushrooms. According to Ms. Thuy, the price of termite mushrooms in recent years has always been sky-high. If 3 years ago it was only 450,000 VND/kg, last year it was 700,000 VND/kg. This year, at the beginning of the season, selling to people around the area is also 750,000 VND/kg. After each heavy rain, the lucky person can pick a few kilograms of mushrooms, making a few million easily. In recent years, grasping the market demand in big cities, many people in Dong Phu practice “dealing with termites”. Instead of going to the forest with a lamp to pick mushrooms every night, all day they drive hundreds of kilometers across areas considered to have many termites to buy and collect goods. Mr. Nguyen Huu Mieu in Thuan Loi commune, Dong Phu district, who has been trading in termite mushrooms for 7 years, said that this fungus is hunted by consumers everywhere. In particular, they only buy forest termite mushrooms. Termite mushrooms are hunted by traders everywhere with high prices. Only by purchasing termite mushrooms, 3 members of Mr. Mieu’s family can earn about 3 million VND/day. This year, if mushrooms are still abundant and the price of mushrooms is as high as now, the income of mushroom traders like him will definitely be higher. According to medicine, mushrooms are rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, protein and other nutrients that are very good for health, especially people with diabetes, the sick and the elderly. Eating termite mushrooms regularly can improve immunity against cancer cells, anti-aging… Delicious dishes made from termite mushrooms are very simple and rustic, such as: pancakes filled with termite mushrooms, fried termite mushrooms, termite mushroom soup, termite mushroom porridge…

Fresh and dried seahorses and sea dragons are available for sale at Ham Ninh market. With fresh seahorses, it costs about 5 to 8 million VND / kg, but if bought retail, a pair of large seahorses cost about 80,000 VND, the smaller pair, about 40,000 VND. With dried seahorses if straight tail (dried while alive) costs 70 thousand VND / fish, while the dried seahorses cost about 40 thousand VND / fish … The market of Ham Ninh fishing village is located right next to the wharf and for those who first come to Phu Quoc will be surprised to see countless fresh seahorses almost all colors brown, black, yellow, pink … all kinds are sold in large pots, small pots, with oxygen tubing. In the provinces bordering the western waters of the country, Phu Quoc is considered the largest natural seahorse beak. January to April each year is the breeding season of seahorses when they find rock caves, dead coral reefs … to mate. This was also the time when Phu Quoc fishermen caught the most seahorses and sold them crowdedly in Ham Ninh market. In addition to customers who buy for self-treatment and processing, many vendors at the “miracle” market are willing to soak for customers with “miracles” … … from cleaning seahorses and sea dragons to selling both. white wines and bottles or jugs for soaking. According to Ut Map, who has sold seahorses in Ham Ninh for more than ten years, with seahorses, saliva works best, second is the eyes. When soaking in alcohol, fresh seahorses will produce saliva, so the effect is better than dried ones, so if soaking 10 fresh seahorses, with dried seahorses to soak up to 20. Seahorses here have two types, spiny type and non-spiny type. The spiny-free type is purchased faster by the middlemen because the wine is less fishy when soaked like the spiny fish. Because of the use of seahorses for the health of men passed from each other, Ham Ninh is considered to be a place that specializes in selling all kinds of “preventive medicine”. In addition to seahorses, also known as walruses, there are sea dragons, which are similar in use to seahorses, which are widely sold in dry food stalls. Along with seahorses, many visitors are overwhelmed by another kind of “miracle” that is probably only available in the “miracle” market, which is seal seal, sea cow seal is hung or sold right on the front plastic trays store. Another kind of miracle that the gentlemen are looking for is sea cucumber, but in Phu Quoc it is quite rare, but at the Ham Ninh market it is still present. Although it is a natural seahorse beak, but in Phu Quoc this very cute animal is being caught in the way of salvation and destruction due to the large purchasing power of tourists. According to incomplete statistics, each year about 1 million seahorses are caught in the waters of Phu Quoc.

Ms. Bui Thi Binh, a focal point selling rice orchids in Tuyen Quang, said that she caught up with the trend of playing wild flowers, so two weeks ago, she started selling this forest flower. According to Ms. Binh, rice orchid is a type of flower that grows in many mountainous areas or in the forest. In the countryside, they often grow around the edge of the pond. Even branches are tall, overcrowded, and many houses have to be cut down to make it airy. However, in recent times, this flower has become extremely expensive and is welcomed by many women. Rice orchids – forest flowers are pouring into Hanoi in recent days Every day, she has to collect from people to cut branches in forests, bushes, mountainous areas to sell. But depending on each day, there are days when the weather is nice, people can cut a lot, and it rains almost no. Flowers are cut wherever they are bundled to deliver to guests in the provinces: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh … all clean up there. “I poured wholesale from 10 bundles for 180,000 VND / bundle (10 branches). Most customers get from 20-40 bundles. There was a blooming session, I sold up to 2,000 branches but still lacked a form to return customers, so I made an appointment to begging for the next round, ”she said. Similarly, Ms. Tran Tra Giang, a flower sales hub in Au Co (Tay Ho, Hanoi) also admitted, on this occasion, rice orchids are quite “hot”, so taking advantage of the flowers in season, everyone wants to own one. pot of rice orchid plugged in the house. Because this flower is only available for about a month, from March to April is all. This flower has a scent like the smell of herbs, pleasant cool, like the smell of forest galangal. The flowers are pinkish white like a pearl, and the wrong branches are plumping like a grain of rice, representing fullness. When blooming, the flowers have a very vibrant red-yellow color, so they are favored by many women. Because they look very similar to rice cotton, traders call them rice orchids This flower buds white pink, when blooming flowers will be yellow Currently, she retails for 240,000 VND / bundle (10 branches). Where the customers order, she gathered them there to freshen them. Calculated that every day she sold 200-300 branches of rice orchids, many days also sold 400-500 branches. Not only visitors from the North, many in the South like in the city. Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, Thanh Hoa, … are also very curious, love this flower. You have to pack the transfer boxes by plane for everyone. Ms. Thu Huong – owner of a flower shop in Nguyen Tuan (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) – said, compared to other flowers, rice orchids are quite durable, can be played for 14-20 days depending on each person. Each flower is 80-100cm long, suitable for large jars of water hyacinths or jars. This type of flower usually grows in the Northern mountainous areas such as Tuyen Quang, Hoa Binh, Yen Bai … Therefore, people have to work very hard to cut beautiful and satisfied branches to sell. Accordingly, it is necessary to choose branches with even leaves, not torn, and flowers in equal clusters. Lan rice is currently quite expensive, but still attracts customers to buy and play “The price of rice orchids fluctuates 250,000-300,000 VND / bunch depending on each day, tens of times more expensive than many other flowers such as roses, chrysanthemums, … However, the goods come back as much as possible, many days. My goods are in a out of stock condition, “she said. Just finished setting up a vase of rice orchids, Ms. Dang Thi Thu Ha from Nghia Tan (Cau Giay, Hanoi) shared: “It’s been a while since I saw the kind of childhood flowers, so recently, on the” online market “, flowers are sold out. Rice orchids I bought 10 branches to play for strangers ”. Ms. Ha said that when she was a child, her mother often picked these leaves and bathed them so that they could scent, even growing into dust for no one to take. But now it turns out to be expensive, having to book 2-3 days in advance to get it.