In the midst of the bustling city, there is a person quietly doing good deeds.

For the past five years, on many roads in Go Dau ward and surrounding areas of Tay Ninh province, people have become familiar with the sight of a man on a nail-collecting vehicle, regardless of rain or shine. This "special" vehicle slowly rolls along, collecting potential hazards on the road and contributing to traffic safety.

The man is Mr. Ly Van Minh, commonly known as Mung, residing in Ward 1, Go Dau Commune. Mr. Mung was born in 1981 and comes from a disadvantaged family. Every day, he sells soft drinks at a small roadside stall and repairs bicycles for customers to earn a living and care for his elderly mother. Despite his difficult life, his charitable spirit is always open, as he dedicates his time and effort to removing nails from the road to ensure safe travel for everyone.

Mr. Ly Van Minh (commonly known as Mung, residing in Ward 1, Go Dau neighborhood) stands beside a drum with a series of magnet boxes attached, which he designed himself.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Manh, Mung's neighbor, every day, from early morning, he sees Mung opening his shop, selling a few bottles of soft drinks and coffee, and repairing and patching bicycles for passersby. Around 5 PM, after making sure his elderly mother has eaten and rested properly, he prepares his tools, starts his familiar nail-collecting vehicle, and heads out to the streets. On days when the shop is quiet, he leaves earlier and returns home around 11 PM as usual. Even on rainy days, Mung diligently works on his free nail-collecting vehicle.

During his time repairing bicycles, he observed that most flat tires were caused by short pieces of steel wire; in addition, there were nails, screws, staples, thin triangular pieces of steel, etc. Mr. Mung said: "These small but sharp objects have forced many people to walk long distances with their bicycles. Some people have fallen and had accidents because of sudden flat tires; students are late for school; workers are late for their shifts; and elderly people are too exhausted to walk because they have to push their bicycles to find a place to get them repaired."

Witnessing these scenes repeatedly, Mr. Mung was deeply troubled. From that, he came up with the idea of ​​attaching a small trailer to the back of his Honda motorcycle to carry an air compressor and repair tools, so he could promptly assist people who encountered problems on the road.

Not stopping there, he also independently designed and welded rows of boxes containing magnets to the front and rear of the trailer's two wheels. These magnets are used to attract sharp metal objects on the road surface. Locals commonly call this vehicle a "nail-collecting vehicle," and Mừng also adopted that name for his vehicle.

Before officially putting the nail-collecting vehicle on the road, Mr. Mung conducted numerous tests and improvements to ensure the vehicle was compact, maneuverable, and safe. He added flashing lights for nighttime warnings and drove the vehicle at a slow speed to maximize the effectiveness of the magnets in attracting metal objects.

Mr. Mừng prioritizes removing nails from roads with high traffic volume. These include areas near markets, schools, hospitals, industrial zones, and major transportation routes such as Provincial Roads 782, 784, 789, and National Highway 22B.

Mr. Ly Van Minh sets off to remove nails from the road.

Not only does he collect nails from the road, but whenever he encounters people with flat tires, Mr. Mung is always ready to repair them for free. In cases where the tires or inner tubes are severely torn and cannot be repaired, he replaces them with new ones and only charges the cost of the tires and inner tubes, thus maintaining a supply of materials to help others. All expenses for fuel, food, repairs, and maintenance of the nail-collecting vehicle are covered by him personally.

After each trip collecting nails from his truck, Mr. Mừng gathers about 3kg of various metals, but he can't sell them as scrap metal because they are too small and fragmented. Fortunately, there is still a scrap metal dealer in the area, Mr. Tạ Hùng Vương, who is always willing to buy them as a show of support for Mr. Mừng's kind work.

“The scrap metal that Mr. Mung collects is difficult to sell; some places buy it, some don't. However, I still agree to buy it at a price of about 3,000 VND/kg to help reduce accidents for road users. This is also a way for me to support Mr. Mung's charitable work,” said Mr. Ta Hung Vuong, owner of a scrap metal yard in Ward 1, Go Dau commune.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of life, there are still people quietly doing good deeds, "absorbing" potential dangers for road users. Mr. Ly Van Minh's nail-collecting vehicle not only removes sharp metal fragments but also leaves behind a sense of trust, warmth, and humanity on the roads. His kind actions reflect a simple, quiet lifestyle, without calculating gains or losses, dedicated to the benefit of the community.

Quoc Son

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/giua-pho-dong-co-mot-nguoi-lang-le-lam-viec-tu-te-137799.html