Go early and come back late
After 10 p.m., in Hoi An ancient town, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (Cam Pho ward, Hoi An city) was still tirelessly pushing his wheelchair to help his wife sell lottery tickets in the cold, rainy weather.
Mr. Hung shared that he has been doing this with his wife for more than 30 years. On average, he sells about 100 lottery tickets a day. On days before Tet, he and his wife "go out early and come back late" to have more money to buy Tet.
Not far away, Ms. Le Thi Hoa (48 years old, Dien Thang Trung ward, Dien Ban town) wore a raincoat and hat in the cold rain, inviting customers to buy balloons.
“On normal days, I can only sell 5-10 fruits per day. But from December 20 onwards, I can sell an average of more than 50 fruits per day, which gives me some extra money to buy new clothes for my children,” Ms. Hoa happily said.
Not only in the city, poor workers in the countryside also run back and forth looking for work during the days before Tet.
With an unstable job and raising two school-age children alone, Ms. Huynh Thi Le (in Tam Phu commune, Tam Ky city) always has a difficult life. At the end of the year, there are so many things to worry about. In addition to selling fruits and flowers at the market, she also takes on cleaning jobs for families who request it.
“My main job is to clean wooden doors, glass doors; sweep away cobwebs, scrape stains on walls or gates, fences... Every day I work from 7am, sometimes until dark, and I get paid from 300,000 to 400,000 VND. During the day I sweat profusely but still don’t get tired, but at night, my arms are exhausted,” Ms. Le confided.
Hope you have a full Tet
Before Tet, all the streets in Tam Ky city are filled with flowers. Amidst the bustling crowd, rushing to choose and buy Tet flowers, Mr. Ho Thanh Vinh (An My ward, Tam Ky city, a three-wheeled vehicle driver) also hurriedly helped the gardener carry flower pots onto the vehicle to take home to customers.
“Every year, I go to the Spring Flower Market to transport flowers for hire. The income depends on the distance, ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 VND. The job seems “easy” but requires strength and care. Yesterday, a “colleague” of mine had to pay more than 3 million VND to a customer because a tree fell or was damaged during transportation,” Vinh said.
Ms. Le Thi Lan, a flower trader at Tam Ky City flower market, said that this year the weather was cold and rainy, and the North suffered heavy damage due to storms at the end of the year, so the supply was scarce. The prices of flowers such as chrysanthemums and kumquats for Tet have increased by 1.5 to 2 times compared to last year, so the selling prices have also been pushed higher.
“This year, I spent more than 100 million VND on flowers. This whole week, my wife, children and I have been sleeping and eating outside the flower market to sell, but the purchasing power is very low, while the rent for a 10-meter plot of land is nearly 20 million VND. If the situation continues to be sluggish like this, the whole family will miss Tet.
Hopefully in the coming days, the market will be more active, so that the family can earn more money to prepare for Tet" - Ms. Lan said.
