Hardship

With a scarf wrapped around her head and clothes typical of an elderly villager, Tran Thi Huyen, born in 1982 and living in Vinh Linh Commune, Quang Tri Province, appears before the camera transformed into an old woman.

In costume, she becomes the central character in humorous short videos inspired by everyday rural life.

Her social media videos have attracted millions of views and numerous positive comments.

Yet few viewers would guess that behind the humorous, endearing elderly character known as "Me Huyen Quang Tri" is a woman whose life has been marked by considerable hardship.

Born into a poor farming family with many children, Huyen had a difficult childhood. She left school after ninth grade and began working to help her family support her younger siblings.

She married at 19. A year later, while pregnant with her first child, she learned that the baby had cerebral palsy. Already struggling financially, the family faced even greater difficulties as the child required frequent medical treatment.

Huyen later had a second child. With another family member to support, she worked even harder to make ends meet.

To earn additional income, she began preparing and selling rustic dishes and specialties from Quang Tri, including dried fish simmered with peanuts, sesame and lime leaves; fermented pickled vegetables; and sesame salt with seaweed.

Without an established brand, however, sales remained limited. She mainly supplied her products wholesale to grocery stores and market vendors.

In 2023, Huyen decided to build a presence on social media, producing videos and livestreaming to sell her products.

Having long been passionate about acting, she began writing her own scripts based on the daily lives of local people, the sourcing of ingredients and the preparation of traditional foods.

To attract viewers, she transformed herself into a stooped elderly woman with blackened teeth and the unmistakable manner of a rural farmer.

"I remember the old days and the images of elderly women making fermented sauces and pickling vegetables," she said. "When I was little, my grandmother also showed me how to prepare these foods. So when I started making videos, I wanted to recreate those familiar, affectionate memories."

"I decided to become a rural woman in her late 60s, speaking in the local accent, with a straightforward, rustic manner, to share everyday stories and show people how our traditional foods are made. Through the image of an elderly village woman cooking and introducing local specialties, I also wanted to bring back memories of childhood and the countryside as it used to be," she added.

A life transformed

When Huyen first began playing the character, her makeup was far from elaborate.

Before filming, she tied up her hair and covered her head with a scarf in the style of an elderly woman.

To make herself look older, she smeared soot and even mud on her face and attached black tape to her teeth. She hunched her back, wrinkled her face and spoke in the rough, distinctive manner of an elderly rural woman.

Although she had never studied acting, her performances came naturally and she immersed herself in the role.

After about a year of persistent effort, Huyen's short videos began attracting a large audience. Many have surpassed one million views across social media platforms.

Her growing online popularity also transformed her business selling traditional foods and local specialties. Products she prepares herself began attracting orders from customers across a much wider market.

To meet rising demand, Huyen established a production facility in her hometown.

Her facility has since received a certificate from the Quang Tri Department of Agriculture and Environment confirming that it meets food safety requirements.

"My main product now is dried anchovy-like fish simmered with peanuts, sesame and lime leaves," Huyen said. "The fish is cooked with various seasonings under a process designed to ensure food hygiene and safety."

Her facility currently sells around 1,000 boxes of the product each month, generating monthly revenue of approximately VND150 million ($5,700).

"Thanks to social media and online sales, my business has changed, and my life has improved as well," she said. "But the decisive factor in keeping customers is still product quality. No matter how famous you are or how engaging your videos may be, customers will turn away if your products are poor quality. On the other hand, if the products are good and meet food safety standards, customers will return and may even recommend them to many more people."