8 years of organizing year-end parties for tenants
Mr. Do Van Nam in Team 7, Yen Xa, Tan Trieu Commune (Thanh Tri, Hanoi) is the owner of a 14-room boarding house. In addition to 3 rooms rented by students, the remaining 11 rooms are mainly rented by freelancers and workers working in the Tan Trieu craft village cluster.
“For the past 8 years, every year I have organized a New Year's Eve dinner to invite all the tenants. Some years I hired someone to cook the feast, some years I bought a pig from Hoa Binh and sent it back, and the whole neighborhood butchered it and prepared all kinds of dishes. My wife and I are retired, and we have a piece of land left by our ancestors to generate more income, so I always keep in mind that the tenants are also the ones who bring us income. At the end of the year meal, I also gave each person a pair of banh chung as lucky money, everyone was happy and joyful,” said Mr. Nam.
Ms. Dam Thi Tu is also the owner of a row of 6 rooms for rent in Yen Nghia (Ha Dong, Hanoi). Ms. Tu used to sell votive offerings at Ha Dong market. For the past 3 years, she has used all her savings to build 6 rooms for rent.
“I quit selling to build a boarding house to have money for my old age. I rent out 6 small boarding houses for 2.1 million VND/room/month, the total income is nearly 13 million VND/month, minus electricity, water, cleaning... I have about 8 million VND/month left,” said Ms. Tu.
According to Ms. Tu, the tenants of her house are mainly freelancers, and a few rooms are for workers at a nearby mechanical engineering company. “Most of the tenants are from the beginning, few people move away, so the landlord and the tenants are close and attached. Every year on Tet, I prepare several New Year’s Eve meals for the whole neighborhood to enjoy together, and then give each person a kilo of ham to eat during Tet,” Ms. Tu said.
Warmth to people far from home
Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai is currently renting a room in Area B, Phat Tin Collective, Van Quan Ward (Ha Dong, Hanoi). As an hourly maid, for the past few years, Ms. Mai has often worked until the morning of the 30th of Tet before returning to her hometown.
“As a worker far from home, I usually work hard to earn a living, leaving early in the morning and returning late at night, so I don’t have many friends. Luckily for me, the boarding house has 8 rooms for rent, and I live with a kind and generous landlord. Because we live in the same area and have a shared door, when we are away, our clothes are left outside to dry, and when it rains, he helps us put them away. For the past few years, every Tet, he organizes a New Year’s Eve meal for the whole neighborhood. Even though I am busy, I still make time to join this emotional meal. It warms our hearts on the days before Tet, eating a meal, sharing the past year… to work hard together in the new year,” Ms. Mai said emotionally.
Also receiving the same attention from the landlord as Ms. Mai, Mr. Tran Thanh Tu, who is renting a room in Vinh Tuy ward (Hoang Mai district, Hanoi), said that his boarding house has 10 rooms.
“For many years now, on the evening of the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, the landlord has organized a New Year's Eve party for the entire boarding house. The landlord and his wife did not order a meal but instead posted information on the zlao chung group to ask for everyone's opinions on the menu. After that, the women in the boarding house would go to the market and cook together in the afternoon. Whoever came back early would join in, we were very happy because it felt like having a New Year's Eve dinner in the countryside. Everyone contributed, everyone was happy and joyful,” Mr. Tu shared.
