Step over the other side of the slope of life, many gourd growers still dream of becoming a billionaire from incense. Cruel time passes, dreams have not come true …?
Climb the pass and wade the stream
Mr. Ho Van Don (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district, Quang Ngai province) has more than 20 years “dreaming” of a billionaire agarwood. When he was not in his 40s, Mr. Don roamed all over the mountains and forests of Tra Bong, climbed to the top of Ca Dam to “hunt” for gourds. “At that time, we all walked, but still climbed the pass, waded the stream, and searched the forest and high mountains at night to find gourds. Each ride takes about 3.4 days. The sacred forest, poisonous water or the serpent do not count, as long as the natural gourd can be planted. If this plant produces bass, it will become a billionaire ”, he recalls. Then Mr. Don also planted about a hundred gourd trees. Careful, medicinal, so much effort he focused on those trees with the wish to change his life soon. As the years passed, hope gradually faded when there was no tree radiating the desired scent. Mr. Don walked out into the front garden, fiddled with the roots that emerged on the ground of a big tree, thoughtfully: “Last year, people came to buy 42 trees for 42 million VND but did not sell. These trees are over 20 years old. They buy it to pump medicine into the oil plants, from which the oil becomes frankincense. They buy at low prices, successfully pump oil, and sell at a hundred times higher price. I think it doesn’t make much money to sell the tree, and then we spend it all so we just leave it behind, who knows? Then last year’s big storm, most of the trees fell, now only a few left “. When the movement of planting gourd trees emerged, Mr. Don thought it would be harvested only a decade or so. Now over the age of 60, he is disappointed because he has not seen the depression yet, but selling well-grown trees to traders is regretful. “Out of these trees, only one tree can create oil, and we will have a big profit, at least a few hundred million, many billions. Now that he is old and weak, his life will not be enjoyed, so leave it there, and his children and grandchildren will enjoy it later, ”said Don. Poke holes, pour honey Mr. Ho Van Linh (Bac 2 hamlet, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) is known as a “veteran” in gourd plantations. Mr. Linh brought out a large plastic wrap, in which there were pieces of wood chips of many sizes. Choosing a small piece, he lit a fire and said: “This is the stem of the gourd tree that has just produced oil from the drilling of the hole, it is young so it is soft and easy to rot, the aroma is also mild. But nonetheless there is hope… ”. Mr. Linh’s garden now has about hundred gourd trees over 20 years old. In 1999, he also planted this many trees, but most of them were hit by storms, and had to lose weight. “Planting this seed is planting the hope of a life-changing. Back then, the towel went to another province to work as a hired laborer in the place where the plant is growing, and the son got sick so he had to go home … If we worked for a long time, maybe we would know more good tips “, Mr. Linh said. Three years ago, the trader came to ask to buy plants to pump chemicals to create oil, but he shook his head to refuse. Not willing to sell much effort, hoping for decades with a cheap price of 1 million VND per tree, Mr. Linh hired a worker to drill holes in the body of the gourd. “This hole, when it comes in, will create oil. Ordinary honey does not dare to drink because of regret of money, but bought it and poured it in these holes to lure, but did not see it, ”he smiled sadly. After saying that, Mr. Linh stumbled towards the end of the garden, pointed at the tree which was quite large, about one person hugged and said: “See these holes, it is natural, not drilling. It is the most hopeful tree in this garden. 
Mr. Ho Tan Linh put a lot of hope in the gourd tree with holes formed naturally on the body Unfinished dream More than 20 years ago, the story of the woodworkers suddenly became billionaires because they found the bass that spread everywhere, fascinated many men in the forest looking for bass in the hope of changing their lives. When the source of frankincense, the male period … naturally in the forest has been exhausted, many people find ways to create it by injecting acids, probiotics into self-grown gourd trees. Seed companies that saw the opportunities in people’s dreams of life changing also burst into action. The movement to grow gourd just spread further. More than 2 decades have passed, the dream is still unfinished. People who still have hope, who was depressed and surrendered. 15 years ago, Mr. Ho Thanh On (Dong hamlet, Tra Son commune, Tra Bong district) just over the age of 30 determined to change his life and bet on a big “gamble”. A relative who worked as a worker at the gourd hatchery in Binh Phuoc told him about the “secret” to become a billionaire. So he bought the seedlings of 5,000 gourd plants, sold them to his neighbors 4,000 trees, and kept 1,000 trees in his own garden and field. “With that many trees, 10 years after selling each tree 10 million, it will get 10 billion”, this man calculated. However, after planting a few years, the trees will die massively, and the trees live languishly waiting for buyers. Three years ago, he sold 116 trees for 55 million VND to traders in Da Nang. They drilled holes for the drug to be transplanted, but now it is not able to create incense. The billionaire’s dream fades over the years, Mr. On still lives in the old house in the middle of the garden. Storm No. 9 last year caused many trees to fall onto the roof, causing damage, but he has not bothered to fix it for the past four months. And Mr. Ho Van Chan (Bac 2 village, Tra Son commune) has also dissipated hope of changing his life thanks to incense. “There are only trees selling here, but never creating agarwood. I do not see the depression forever, the wind storm added, so the trees fell down. So I cut it off, the garden planted there, just rented a flat car ”, he shared. 
Many gourd trees fell down and were damaged by heavy storms Meanwhile, his hope has not yet been relieved, Mr. Ho Tan Linh (village Bac 2, commune Tra Son) firmly: “In this land, people always say: first ivory, second incense. There is still hope there, I have waited for more than half of my life, then there is nothing more … “. When the dream has not come true, every day Mr. Linh and his wife still have the burden of living. In addition to the shifting fields, he dug a pond to raise fish and planted many other plants in his garden. Life is miserable, but he never intended to “sell young rice” his hope. According to Mr. Dinh Van Phong – Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tra Son commune, a few decades ago, the movement of growing gourd was strongly developed and spread throughout the mountainous communes. “In Tra Son, all the villages are growing gourd plants, but after a while seeing ineffectiveness, many people cut them down to switch to acacia plantations. A few sell cheaply to businesses ”, Mr. Phong said. Decades have passed, unintentionally cruel time. The handsome brother is now handcuffed with silver hair, his dream has not yet come true. Some people are still chasing, someone got bored? But the story of frankincense in the highlands of Quang Ngai is not over yet.
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