This job only happens once a year, students can easily earn millions before Tet holiday

TPO - In the days leading up to Tet, many students work part-time by picking apricot leaves. If they don't mind the heat, a student can earn millions in a short period of time.

January 16, 2025 | 12:59

TPO - In the days leading up to Tet, many students work part-time by picking apricot leaves. If they don't mind the heat, a student can earn millions in a short period of time.

A job that only happens once a year, students can easily earn millions before Tet holiday photo 1

These days, the "capital" of yellow apricot trees in Thu Duc City (HCMC) is bustling with activity due to the upcoming Tet apricot season. Garden owners are currently tidying up, shaping, and taking care of the trees, preparing to bring thousands of apricot pots to market. During this time, garden owners need to hire people to pick apricot leaves so that the flowers bloom on the right day.

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For apricot garden owners with large planting areas, they cannot afford to pick leaves, so every year near Tet, they have to hire workers whose main task is to pick leaves. This work is done at the time when thousands of apricot pots are waiting to be "released" to be sold on the market.

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Coming to Tu Hong apricot garden (Linh Dong Ward, Thu Duc City) these days, we can see the hustle and bustle of the workers, most of whom are students and freelance workers. Many students work actively, their income can reach several million VND in a short time, this income helps people have more money to spend, buy bus tickets, clothes to go home for Tet.

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At Tu Hong apricot garden, there are thousands of apricot pots, estimated that with the number of hired workers, it would take 2-4 days to finish picking. On average, each apricot tree has 2-3 workers picking leaves, the completion time is 1-2 hours.

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Mr. Nguyen Van Linh, manager of the seasonal workers group, said that the job of picking mai leaves is similar to other seasonal labor jobs. It is like manual labor for ordinary workers. The salary for picking mai leaves each year will fluctuate according to the needs of the garden owner, fluctuating around 260,000 VND/day and working for 8 hours/day.

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As every year, the demand for workers picking mai leaves in Thu Duc City is very high, garden owners are looking for workers to prepare to sell mai for Tet. Therefore, Mr. Linh took on the task of calling on students to participate in part-time work by picking mai leaves. After agreeing with garden owners, he immediately announced on social networks to students who needed part-time work. This year, the number of workers picking mai leaves is nearly 200 people. On average, each garden needs from 20 to 30 workers.

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Phan Thi Duong, a student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that this was the first time she had worked as a mai leaf picker. Duong shared that the purpose of her work was to earn money to buy a bus ticket home to help her parents during the upcoming Tet holiday.

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With 3 years of experience in picking mai leaves in gardens in Thu Duc City, Hoang Huynh Nhung, a student at Dong Nai University of Technology, said this is a rather strange and interesting job because it only happens once a year.

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Nhung added: "This job only requires going to the garden, "soaking" in the hot sun from morning to afternoon and continuously picking each apricot leaf with both hands. However, not everyone can pick it, but must learn how to do it correctly. The step of picking apricot leaves is very important, it must be meticulous, and the right time must be chosen so that when picking, the branches are not damaged and the buds are still retained."

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Despite being exposed to the sun and standing a lot, many students feel very happy and excited when participating in the work. Many students share that this work is easier than many other part-time jobs.

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Under the midday sun, workers take turns picking tree after tree, rarely taking breaks. To protect themselves from the sun, everyone wears only jackets, gloves, and masks.

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At Tu Hong apricot garden (Linh Dong ward, Thu Duc city) these days, we can see the busyness of workers who are picking apricot leaves for hire. Some workers said that this job not only brings a relatively good income, but also has a spiritual meaning as a reminder that Tet is very near. On the other hand, this job as well as many other seasonal jobs for Tet are contributing to bringing the Tet atmosphere to each family.