On her way to sell lottery tickets in Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city, when passing by a zero-dong vegetable stall located on the embankment near Rach Ngong 2 bridge, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuoi (60 years old) stopped her car to get a papaya to bring home to cook soup for dinner.
“Nowadays, buying vegetables in the city is also expensive, so every day when I go to sell lottery tickets, I stop by to buy some vegetables to eat. The owner here is very enthusiastic, every time he gives me a bag to put my things in, sometimes even gives me extra necessities, so I really appreciate it,” Mrs. Tuoi said warmly.
The owner of this fresh and meaningful vegetable stall is Mr. Tran Hai Au (38 years old, Ninh Kieu district). All the messages of sharing are expressed by him through a board with the words: “Free. Whoever needs it, take it! Whoever has extra, give it! As much as you want, just enough is enough! Wishing everyone peace!”
Mr. Au shared that he works in the restaurant business and sees that the price of vegetables is not cheap at this time. While his family still has a vacant piece of land, he decided to grow clean vegetables to give to people in difficult circumstances.
To have clean, fresh vegetables to serve the people, every day Mr. Au diligently cultivates and takes care of his small garden. Notably, this work of his is also supported, helped and accompanied by his parents.
Mr. Tran Van Tay (Au’s father) excitedly said: “I help my son grow vegetables in a safe way, using only organic fertilizers, not chemical fertilizers. Each time, I sow enough types of vegetables such as Malabar spinach, green cabbage, water spinach, etc. so that people have many choices for their meals.”
In addition to serving homegrown vegetables, Mr. Au also regularly goes to the market to buy many other types of vegetables and tubers. A vendor at Tan An market shared that, knowing that Mr. Au buys vegetables for charity, she both sells and gives them away, always choosing fresh vegetables for him to send to the people.
Mr. Au's meaningful work gradually spread, many people around also willingly contributed vegetables, eggs, bananas, jackfruit... and even necessities. "Through Tiktok, a person in Da Nang learned about this zero-dong vegetable and root stall, so he sent sausages, sugar, soy sauce... in the box, asking me to give them to people when they came to receive vegetables and roots," said Mr. Au.
At Mr. Au's free vegetable stall, not only do many people come to receive but many more people come to give. Even though it's just bunches of vegetables, bananas, squash, gourds... it has contributed to spreading charity work, showing concern for the daily meals of freelance workers, lottery ticket sellers, and families in difficult circumstances in the area.
