Working hard to make a living.

Street vendors work tirelessly selling their goods in the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year). Photo: TIEU DIEN

As the Tet holiday atmosphere begins to permeate the coastal city of Rach Gia, urban life becomes more hectic. Many freelance workers take on seasonal jobs such as loading and unloading goods, trimming ornamental plants, cleaning houses and gardens – they do whatever they are hired to do. Street vendors hope to sell more goods. For these freelancers, earning a little extra money selling goods in the last days of the year is a great joy. They are working hard, seizing every minute, trying to make ends meet so their families can have more income to cover expenses during Tet.

Mr. Ha Huynh Sang, residing in Rach Gia ward, wakes up at dawn to pick up goods at Rach Soi market, then travels throughout the streets of the area selling fruit. Without a stable job, his family's livelihood depends on the income from each day's sales, and he spends his entire life as a street vendor. For Mr. Sang, Tet (Lunar New Year) is not a time for rest. In the days leading up to Tet, he still travels from early morning until late at night, taking advantage of busy hours to sell his goods.

Sang shared: “Tet (Lunar New Year) is the busiest time of year for business. Customers buy a lot, so I take advantage of the opportunity to stock up on goods to sell. For street vendors like me, selling a few hundred thousand dong a day is a high income.” "There are only a few days during Tet (Lunar New Year) each year when we can earn extra income, so we have to try our best. We just hope to earn a little extra money to take care of our children, buy household items, and have a happier Tet."

Many freelancers take advantage of every day of work to earn extra money for Tet (Lunar New Year) preparations. Photo: TIEU DIEN

For freelancers, the period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year) is when the job market is most open. They can easily find temporary work, earning more than usual. Mr. Tram Thanh Tan, residing in Thanh Loc commune, has earned a living as a motorbike taxi driver for many years. In the days leading up to Tet, Mr. Tan looks for work transporting goods to earn extra income. His wife finds work cleaning houses for families in need, and on days when there is no work, she sells chicken and duck eggs in the Thanh Loc industrial zone. "Closer to Tet, more goods flow to the market, so the income is higher. During this time, I earn several times more than usual. On average, I earn about 300,000 to 1 million VND per day from transporting goods a few times," Mr. Tan shared.

Late in the afternoon, while many families were preparing to gather around a warm and cozy dinner table, on a street corner on Ngo Gia Tu Street, Rach Gia Ward, Mrs. Bui Kim Cuc was still diligently pedaling her old three-wheeled cart to earn a living. Every day, Mrs. Cuc travels from one street to another, buying and collecting discarded cans, plastic bottles, and cardboard boxes, hoping to fill her cart. Having earned a living collecting scrap materials for over three years, Mrs. Cuc works diligently every Tet (Lunar New Year). She utilizes her free time to collect more recyclable materials, seizing every opportunity to earn extra money.

“During the day, I cycle along the streets and alleys, buying and collecting scrap metal. On lucky days, I can fill 3-4 carts at the scrap yard. On good days, I earn a few hundred thousand dong, on bad days, a few tens of thousands dong, enough to cover my living expenses. In the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), people shop a lot and clean their houses, so there's more scrap metal. Therefore, I try harder than usual to fill a few more carts,” Mrs. Cúc confided.

While the streets are bustling with the arrival of spring, the footsteps of many freelance workers still echo through the early mornings and late afternoons as they struggle to make a living. Despite the hardships, they hold onto a simple belief: with a little more hard work, the Lunar New Year will be more prosperous, and their families will experience more joy when spring arrives.

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Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/miet-mai-muu-sinh-a476259.html