Landlord spends 150 million VND on New Year's Eve party: "I thank the tenants"

The landlord likes to meddle in other people's business.

On the afternoon of January 27, the loud music in a 3,000m2 row of boarding houses in Thanh Loc ward (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) made many people excited.

31 banquet tables were spread out inside the boarding house. The tenants had just returned from work, no one gave any "orders" but each person quietly did their own thing, helping to prepare for the New Year's Eve party.

Boarders happily help each other prepare for the year-end party (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

The women who stay take turns cooking chicken hotpot and arranging the spring rolls, rice vermicelli, and grilled meat on plates, while the men help carry tables and chairs and install sound and lighting.

This is the 18th year he has held a year-end party at the 165-room boarding house. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam (58 years old), the landlord, is still moved when he sees the tenants happy and in harmony with each other.

Mr. Tam confided that if he went back 18 years ago, to the early days of the boarding house, the beautiful scene above would not have appeared, but instead would have been scenes of fighting and hatred among the tenants because of unnecessary conflicts.

"Of course, managing a large boarding house will be very difficult and complicated. At that time, I came up with the idea of ​​organizing a year-end party, so that everyone in the boarding house can have the opportunity to meet, reconcile all disagreements, and enter a new year of loving each other more. And yet it has been maintained until now," Mr. Tam said with a smile.

The landlord confided that there were quite a few tenants with "unique" personalities who had bothered him. But Mr. Tam had never thought of evicting them.

"I always think that love will definitely change a person, although it takes a long time to do that. There are people who are very hot-tempered and rude when they first arrive, but after a while they become gentle and kind," Mr. Tam happily shared.

This year, the economic situation is difficult, but the landlord still continues to organize a spring party for the residents, even though he has not yet paid off the bank loan.

He and his wife specially raised 30 chickens and grew vegetables all year round to cook for parties. The New Year's Eve party was also planned and prepared by the couple 3 days in advance.

The chickens that Mr. Tam personally took care of were used to serve the party (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

In addition, Mr. Tam and his wife also prepared 165 gifts including cooking oil, candy, fish sauce, coffee... (each worth 400,000 VND) to give to each rented room. Currently, about 400 workers are renting rooms from Mr. Tam's family.

Mr. Tam organized gift giving for workers and children in the boarding house (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

In 1986, Mr. Tam moved from his hometown of Binh Dinh to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business, working in many jobs, from being a worker, electrician, mechanic, factory manager,... He also lived in dilapidated rented houses, with very limited living conditions, and understood the hardship of workers.

After a period of struggling and saving up some money, in 2005 Mr. Tam's family built 40 rooms in this area. Later, the landlord borrowed more capital from the bank to expand the number to 165 rooms.

Mr. Tam was moved when his actions were able to influence many "special" cases in the boarding house (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

"I used to live in a boarding house, so I understand the difficulties and hardships of people from the countryside who come to the city to depend on others to make a living... We have kept the room rent here low for many years," Mr. Tam explained.

A difficult year and new year wishes

The total cost of organizing the activity was more than 150 million VND, Mr. Tam expressed that it was nothing after a difficult year for workers and laborers who lost their jobs.

"It's like my way of showing gratitude to the tenants. This year the economy is difficult, instead of staying in a room with 1-2 people, workers switch to staying in a room with 3-4 people to save costs," said Mr. Tam.

Witnessing workers losing their jobs and their pockets getting tighter and tighter, Mr. Tam felt extremely sorry.

Mr. Tran Xuan Hoang (32 years old), a worker living in this boarding house, said that due to economic difficulties, he and his wife had to eat and drink as frugally as possible to have enough money to pay tuition and raise their young daughter.

Mr. Hoang choked up when talking about his situation (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

In 2014, Mr. Hoang from Quang Binh , with his wife and children, came to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business, carrying with him the dream of changing his life, buying a small house so that his family could have a warm place.

After all those years working as a garment factory worker, not only was he unable to buy a house, but he also lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic. Having lost his dream and having no money to provide for his children, Mr. Hoang held back his tears and applied for a job as a driver with a meager salary.

The money the couple makes is just enough to get by each day, causing Mr. Hoang to have many sleepless nights, tossing and turning, blaming himself.

"I don't dare dream of buying a house anymore, I just hope to have money to take care of my children. This year I didn't go home for Tet, my grandparents in the countryside called me so many times, crying their eyes out. Who wouldn't want to go home right now, but without money, what can we do...", Mr. Hoang smiled, but his eyes were filled with tears.

Staying in the city during the holiday when he needs to be with his family, Mr. Hoang couldn't help but feel sad.

Speaking of this, he heard the landlord calling him out to eat the New Year's Eve party. Mr. Hoang's face lit up again, he went out to eat with the other tenants.

"I have stayed in many boarding houses but have never received such special care and treatment from the landlord. I have been here for 5 years. Uncle Tam organizes a party every year and also supports me financially whenever I encounter difficulties or need. My family is very grateful and feels comforted when working far from home," Mr. Hoang confided.

Faced with economic difficulties, many workers feel comforted when receiving enthusiastic care and attention from their landlords (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

Next to Mr. Hoang, Mr. Le Van Len (32 years old, from Phu Yen province) also excitedly invited everyone to sit at the table.

Because he had Saturday off work, Mr. Len spent the whole day helping prepare for the year-end party.

"This year, most of us did not return home for Tet because our finances were so tight. We really missed home, and Tet came and we missed it even more. But thanks to the landlord's care and help, we felt very happy," Mr. Len said with a smile.

Amidst the loud music, the workers in the boarding house all had smiles on their faces. They told each other about their recent experiences and their wishes for the new year. After the clinking of glasses, it seemed like everyone had put aside all the sorrows in life and all the annoyances they had with each other in the old year to step into the new year with more hope.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/an-sinh/chu-tro-chi-150-trieu-dong-dai-tat-nien-toi-tri-an-nguoi-thue-phong-20240128072747244.htm