Before that, the two met by chance at a workers' boarding house in Ho Chi Minh City, when Nhu's mother went to find a room and Banh's grandfather "keeps a place" in the next room. Their quick everyday acquaintances caused them to develop feelings and decide to get married after only a few months. At that time, Banh had no money to save because he still sent his income back to his hometown, so he had to quietly borrow more than 40 million VND to get married, hide it from his parents so they wouldn't have to worry. The wedding was simple, just a few family gatherings. Three days after the wedding, the couple started to pay off their debts, with only more than a million VND left in their pockets.
The first days of their marriage were a series of struggles. Like early pregnancy, still working the 12-hour night shift. Unemployment, cooking at home, taking care of his wife, and managing housework. They said that there were only two "fitting up" groups of clothes, cold breakfast with dried fish, walking 3-4km to the factory to save money on vehicles.
When returning to his hometown, Banh worked in many jobs: extracting ponds, selling gasoline, following mixed harvesters in the hot weather, with peeling hands due to sunburn but still worked until the end of the season.
The turning point came when Banh tried to create content. With an old phone and cheap iPhone, he returned to meals and everyday moments. Unexpectedly, his video is loved by many people for its authenticity. The first "salary" was only 1 million VND, but it was enough for the couple to have faith. Bung learned how to cook, learned from experience to make sauce and dipping sauce to sell, while Nhu took on spending, financial management and savings for the future.
When they have accumulated an amount, they do not use it for themselves but use it to repair the dilapidated house of Bang and his parents. "My wife fixed it for my parents to live with, not to worry about who can live with it," Banh shared. In the family life, he quit smoking when his wife was pregnant because he was afraid of affecting his young child; and Nhu saved so much that she saved up to buy her husband a scooter to conveniently go to work. The two agreed on a clear spending method: the husband gave all his income, the wife kept the budget and re-issued living expenses every month.
On the stage of "Love is a wedding", Banh unexpectedly gave his wife a small gift - a teddy bear instead of a late birthday gift that he had to wait until his salary was full to buy. Thank you for the past 10 years for me, for my children, for this family, he said. Nhu, although sometimes self-conscious, is still steadfast in her simple choice: "Only a good couple and mutual respect are enough".
The story of Mr. Banh and Nhu reached the audience thanks to its fair and persistent truth. From a worker dormitory to a shelter for 11 years, they have gone through poverty with love and gratitude.
