Unique jobs that only happen once a year, "making a fortune" during Tet

Bronze polishing profession

With more than 20 years of experience in polishing bronze incense burners during Tet, Mr. Phan Van Hung (60 years old, Ha Lam town, Thang Binh district, Quang Nam ) has built a solid reputation. Therefore, every time the traditional Tet holiday approaches, his establishment always attracts a large number of customers.

After December 23, bronze incense burner polishers are busier during Tet (Photo: Ngo Linh).

Every year after the 15th day of the 12th lunar month, Mr. Hung sets out his tools for the job, including a motor and some other items such as erasers, brushes, clean cloths, etc.

For small incense burners, Mr. Hung spends about 1 hour to clean, larger ones take more than 3 hours. The price is fixed, small ones cost 100,000 VND/set, large ones cost 300,000 VND/set. On peak days, he can take orders to clean 7 small incense burners.

"After a while, it became a habit, customers trusted us so they came every year to support us. There were years when there were so many customers that we had to wait until the afternoon of the 30th to get off work," Mr. Hung shared.

The cost of cleaning a small incense burner set is 100,000 VND/set, a large one is 300,000 VND/set (Photo: Ngo Linh).

Many incense burner and bronze lamp makers said that only after the day of sending the Kitchen Gods to heaven do they get so many customers that they are exhausted, because after that day, families clean up the altars in their homes.

Selling sand instead of incense burner

The profession of selling sand for incense burners is a special profession in Quang Nam and only happens once a year, near Tet. The sand sellers are mainly people from rural areas. The sellers of this item do not solicit or advertise loudly.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai (65 years old, Binh Giang commune, Thang Binh district) said that the sand used to replace the incense burner must be white sand, carefully screened, dried to be clean so that there is no more gravel or pebbles, showing respect for the deceased.

According to the ancients, the incense bowl on the altar should not be moved arbitrarily because it would be disrespectful to the ancestors and the worshiped people, and touching the incense bowl could disrupt the current life of the family. Except after December, when the altar is cleaned and the sand in the incense bowl is changed to welcome the ancestors.

"I have been selling sand instead of incense burners for more than 5 years. Since December 23, I have brought carefully filtered sand to the front of Hoi An market to sell. Although my income is not too high, having a little money to buy Tet is fun," Ms. Mai shared.

Kumquat porter job

Hoi An is known as the kumquat growing capital in the Central region. During the 2024 Lunar New Year, the locality will supply more than 100,000 kumquat bonsai pots to the market.

Near Tet, traders flock to the kumquat village to transport goods for sale, creating more jobs for the hired kumquat transport workers here.

Kumquat porters are usually local people or common laborers from other places. Kumquat porters are usually divided into small groups of 4-6 people, with a leader to help contact work and negotiate.

Kumquat porter job is busy at the end of the year (Photo: Ngo Linh).

Groups often agree on a price for loading and unloading, avoiding competition for work or being forced to pay higher prices. This seasonal job brings in a good income, so the "kut mach" job attracts a lot of workers at the end of the year, near Tet.

Mr. Nguyen Van Danh (54 years old, Dien Ban town) has been a kumquat porter for about 5 years. Normally he works as a construction worker, but when he finishes his work near Tet, he asks to be hired as a kumquat carrier. This job requires agility, good health and carefulness.

"Every year after the 15th of December, we work without time to rest. But this year, the consumption market is quite slow, so the closer to Tet, the more work there is. Every day I can earn 300,000-600,000 VND, plus a little money for Tet shopping," said Mr. Danh.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/nhung-nghe-doc-dao-moi-nam-chi-lam-mot-mua-hot-bac-dip-tet-20240204123353032.htm