Cold weather, flower and ornamental plant shops in Vinh city are deserted, buyers are few and far between.

Clip: QA

Nghe An is experiencing days of severe cold. For those who sell flowers and ornamental plants, whose jobs require them to stay outdoors 24/7, the cold is more acute than ever.

A Tet ornamental plant seller on Lenin Avenue shivers in the cold. Photo: QA

Sitting huddled under a makeshift tarp in the middle of a bonsai garden - which will be the place to eat and sleep for the next half month before Tet - Mr. Le Van Quang in Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City still looked out into the distance, hoping that someone would stop to look at the trees. However, the drizzle and cold wind on the morning of January 29 made the number of people coming to buy much less. Occasionally, Mr. Quang took out his phone to check the time to pass quickly.

Mr. Quang sighed: “We imported about 300 kumquat trees for Tet, and brought them back 3 days ago. Over the past 2 weekends, everyone hoped that people would come to see the trees for Tet, however, the drizzle and cold weather caused very few customers to come and buy. In fact, some people came to see, then left... The weekend was like that, so the remaining days were even sadder. Like this morning (January 29), no one came to see the trees...”.

Fires are lit to dispel the cold, waiting for customers to come and buy. Photo: QA

Not far away, Nguyen Van Son's group also had to gather firewood to warm themselves up and sit around waiting for customers to come and see the trees. The weather was humid and rainy, and the firewood pile went out several times, forcing them to find a large umbrella to keep the rain from extinguishing it. This year, Son imported about 200 peach trees for Tet, but the purchasing power was much lower than in previous years. It had been 4 days since the goods were brought in, but the number of sales could be counted on one hand.

The fires help traders cope with the cold when they have to stay outside all day and night. Photo: QA

Mr. Son said: “This year is a leap year, finding beautiful peach blossoms to bring back to Vinh to sell for Tet is already difficult, now that we have brought them back, the number of buyers has decreased compared to previous years. Everyone is anxious. Having lost hundreds of millions of capital during this Tet season, even in the cold and rainy weather, we still have to stick with it, there is no other way.”

Small tents are the shelters of flower traders during Tet. Photo: QA

In the temporary tents of the bonsai sellers, blankets, pillows, coats, raincoats, etc. have been prepared. This is both a place to eat and a place to rest during this year's Tet holiday. When the temperature drops sharply, to cope with the cold, the vendors have to light a fire to keep warm all night. To ensure their health throughout the night of peach and kumquat cultivation, groups of vendors have to take turns, some sleeping, some staying awake, hoping that tomorrow the goods will be sold out quickly so they can return home early for Tet shopping.

However, the number of ornamental plants sold in recent days has been very low. A kumquat garden owner sits absent-mindedly on Le Mao Street due to the lack of customers on the morning of January 29. Photo: QA

“During the day, we are all exhausted from transporting and arranging bonsai trees. At night, we want to take a nap but we are also worried, afraid of losing our bonsai trees, phones, wallets… we don’t get a good night’s sleep but we have to try for a warm Tet…”- Mr. Nam, a merchant on Lenin Avenue shared.

According to the reporter, during the last 2 days of the weekend and the morning of January 29, Vinh City still experienced cold spells with drizzle, which was the main reason why people were afraid to go out. Because of that, many flower streets in Vinh City, although displaying a variety of Tet flowers and ornamental plants, were mostly deserted and unsold.

Besides, this year people's income has decreased, buying flowers and ornamental plants, especially expensive ones, makes consumers hesitant and hesitant.

Mr. Le Van Quang is worried because he has imported goods in recent days but very few customers have come to see the plants. Photo: QA

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai, a vendor in front of the gate of Vinh City Central Park, said: Last year, the economy was difficult, so her family spent all their capital to import peach and kumquat trees to sell for Tet in the hope of a warmer Tet. However, this year, sales are slow, even though there are only 10 days left until New Year's Eve, the number of trees sold has not reached 1/10. I hope the weather will clear up so that people can go see the trees, and businesses will suffer less...

Tet ornamental plants struggle in the cold rainy weather. Photo: QA

When asked about the wishes of those who sell ornamental plants for Tet, everyone hopes that people with conditions can buy Tet early, buying and selling smoothly for both parties. "To make Tet more complete, everyone has joy, and the flowers do not become firewood or trash after the 30th day of the lunar calendar, I just hope that people buy flowers early, be happy with each other to have a warm Tet in the cold season" - Ms. Hoai shared.

Source