To achieve this, they have cherished every working hour, every day living far from home, going to Hanoi to work to have a new Spring like today.
Constantly yearning for a better life
Mr. Duat and Ms. Tham are from the same hometown of Nam Dinh (old), their houses are only a few dozen meters apart. He has worked for Asti for 20 years, and has now become Deputy Head of Technical Design Department. She has worked for the company for 8 years, before that she worked at Vinh Phuc Textile Company. They got married in 2008, now have 3 children, the eldest child born in 2009, the second child born in 2012, the youngest child born in 2016. The whole family is living in a very spacious house with an area of 70m2, 4 floors high, with modern equipment. In 2014, they were one of the first workers of Asti Hanoi Electronics Co., Ltd. to buy land and build a house. The house is in Gia Thuong 2 village, Quang Minh commune, Hanoi, very close to the company.
Recalling the days when they had to live in a rented room of about 10m2, Mr. Duat and Ms. Tham could not help but feel emotional. At that time, their first child was just born, because the income of both husband and wife, who were workers, was very meager, only enough to rent a room. In those 10m2, there had to be enough beds, kitchens, laundry, motorbike parking, and the toilet was outside, which was very inconvenient in daily life. Ms. Tham will always remember when she was pregnant with her second baby, she had to buy stones to spread on the floor to reduce heat before she could lie down to sleep. When the second baby was born, they again saved up to rent another cramped rented room next door because they did not have enough money to rent a larger rented room. Fortunately, the landlord allowed chiseling, so daily life was less inconvenient.
The house was cramped, the first 2 children had to be sent to someone to look after, about 500m from the rented room. Parents on both sides at that time still had to work in the fields in the countryside and look after their grandchildren - children of the two families, so the couple had to completely take care of themselves. "Life was extremely difficult at that time," Ms. Tham said. Mr. Duat shared, "Actually, during that time, my husband and I were very discouraged, wanting to return to our hometown. But then thinking about the future of our children, we tried again. Parents are already struggling, so the children must have a better life.
Mr. Duat said simply: "We were born into a farming family, working hard from a young age, so we always want to have a better life by our own labor. That is also the motivation for us to work hard together, overcome difficulties when living far from home to earn money together.
Always live purposefully
Chatting with us in a 70m2, 4-story house, Mr. Duat and Ms. Tham recalled the early days of deciding to buy this land plot. At that time, living in a rented room in difficult conditions, and their goal was to work for the company in Hanoi, so they spent time looking for land. At that time, this land plot was priced at 6 million VND/m2.
Money to raise 2 young children, rent a house, cover living expenses accounted for almost all monthly income, so the couple had almost no savings from this source. The couple decided to sell the land in their hometown, given by their family plus the dowry money when they got married, borrowed more to have enough money to buy land and build a house. "At that time, we could not borrow money in our hometown because everyone thought that both husband and wife were workers, so there was no money to pay. So we had to find every way to manage, and the first way was to only dare to build a 2-story house" - Ms. Tham recounted.
She also remembers very carefully that the land cost 405 million VND, the land owner gave 5 million VND, so they only paid 400 million VND. The cost of building 2 floors was 500 million VND. The house was completed, the couple and children "escaped" from the cramped rented room, lacking everything to live in their own cơ ngơi, more spacious and comfortable. From then on, they gradually bought household items.
Then in 2016, another baby was born. By 2021, they had enough money to repair the house, from 2 floors to 4 floors. Looking at the radiant smiles of them and their 3 children, one can imagine the satisfaction with the current life of people who came from farmers, became workers, management officials and are assured to stay in the Capital.
Although life has stabilized and the living standard is also much higher than before, they still work hard. Every morning, Ms. Tham gets up to exercise and then goes to the market to prepare breakfast for the whole family and cook lunch for the children to eat themselves. After that, he takes her to work. In the afternoon, he and she both prepare dinner together. Occasionally, Mr. Duat and the children go to play badminton.
In the evening, Ms. Tham teaches her children to study. The couple also teaches their children discipline, from the neatness and tidiness of the study corner to how to pick vegetables, slice meat... Now, perhaps the greatest pride of the couple is that all 3 children are studying well. The eldest daughter plans to take the block A exam, knows how to help her parents with some housework, knows how to take care of her younger siblings. Occasionally on weekends, the eldest sister takes her 2 younger siblings to Hanoi to watch movies... Ms. Tham "revealed": "At the company, everyone calls Mr. Duat the second wife because he is diligent, not afraid of going to the market, cooking rice, helping his wife a lot in housework... So, husband and wife, children together, sharing everything in life".
Stepping out of the countryside, coming to the city to find jobs to earn income is the path of the majority of workers. Many people succeed, rise up in life with hard work, endurance, and effort to cultivate experience and intelligence. They are not satisfied with the present but are determined to reach for a more conditioned life with goodness for future generations and for themselves. But there are also many people who are satisfied with the life of many deprivations in small rented rooms. After youth, working hard, they return to their hometowns with fields.
Regarding the experience of having a life like today, Mr. Duat and Ms. Tham share the same view: "Whether working as a worker or doing any job, there must be a purpose and determination". The very purpose of having a good future for their children has helped them overcome everything. They calculated that if they lived in a rented room, it would cost tens of millions of VND per year in rent, plus many other expenses, and they would have to live in conditions and environments that were not as desired. Therefore, although their decision to borrow money to buy land and build a house 12 years ago faced many disagreements, they were still determined to implement it. Reality proves that they were right. Settling down and starting a new business.
When asked if he had any words to say to young workers who are far from home, coming to Hanoi to work like he did before? Mr. Duat said: Need to appreciate the money you earn. You shouldn't spend almost everything you earn, even spend it all. Many workers receive 7-8 million VND, immediately buy something without thinking about what is more necessary than accumulating and investing in the future. Having a purpose, living and working for that purpose will be successful.
