Early in the morning of the first day of August, the tide on the Rac River, the section adjacent to Cam Nhuong estuary (Cam Linh commune, Cam Xuyen district, Ha Tinh), drops according to the daily cycle.

This is also the beginning of a hard working day for many women in Cam Linh commune.

After a quick breakfast, they brought along their tools including styrofoam boxes, plastic baskets, mesh bags, plastic basins, sacks, drinking water, etc. With protective gear, in addition to hats, they covered their faces, wore socks and gloves.

When they go down to the river, they hold a plastic basket or a mesh bag in one hand or use a rope to tie a styrofoam box next to their body. In water over 1 meter or up to their necks, the group of women feel around with their feet. When they find oysters, they reach down to pick them up and put them in their baskets or mesh bags.

When the bags were full, the women brought them to the sandy beach at the river's edge and continued their work of diving and searching for "spoils of war". As the sun rose higher and the harsh sunlight shone on their faces, they became more and more tired.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam (65 years old, resident of Cam Linh commune) is one of the oldest people who have been doing this job for many years. On a summer day, Ms. Tam went with her granddaughter who is in 7th grade.

Searching on the Rac River from 5am to 10am the same day, the grandmother and her granddaughter scooped up 3 nests of oysters. "During the diving process, it is normal to get sunstroke and have sharp oysters cut your hands and feet. This job is very hard, everyone who comes here to work has difficult circumstances, I am no exception," Ms. Tam shared.

Around noon, Mrs. Tam and her grandchild finish their work. The oysters will be put into sacks and taken home by electric bicycle. The work does not stop at this stage.

When they got home, the grandmother and granddaughter used a sharp hammer to split the shell in half to get the insides to sell to customers at the market. Each day, they harvested several kilograms of the insides.

"With oysters priced at 70,000-80,000 VND/kg, today the two of us earn about 140,000-160,000 VND/kg. Every time we go diving in the river, some days we earn a lot, some days we earn a little. I just hope to have enough money to go to the market to buy daily food, and the rest to buy books and new clothes for my grandchild for the new school year," said Mrs. Tam.

Mrs. Bui Thi Doan (63 years old, living in Hamlet 2, Cam Linh Commune) went to the river to dive for oysters alone. After a morning, she had collected oysters in a plastic basket and a mesh bag. The woman used a shoulder pole to carry the oysters home.

"Every day, I earn about 1kg of oyster guts from the river. The money I earn from selling is enough to cover my daily expenses. On days when the river is calm and the sea is calm, that's all we hope for," Ms. Doan said happily.

During their time diving on the river, the women often travel in groups to support each other when needed and chat to forget their fatigue. Their cheerful laughter and chatter echoes throughout the river.