Behind the hustle and bustle of making a living

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - They are the silent people in today's hustle and bustle, leaving drops of sweat and footprints on every road at dawn, or in the hot summer noon,... Even though they know it is hard work, behind them are their families, wives and children, so everyone makes an effort and tries to overcome.

Porters working hard at the market corner. Photo: Tran Hang

At 3 pm, in the sweltering heat of summer days, Mr. Trinh Van Loi from Hoang Thanh commune was present at Dong Huong wholesale market for vegetables, fruits and food (Hac Thanh ward) to start his shift of loading goods. He hunched his back and shouldered to carry sacks of onions and garlic weighing dozens of kilos down to his stall. Having worked as a “coolie” for more than 10 years, his shoulders have sunken, his hands are calloused like stone. “Every day I load goods from 3 pm to 9 pm, earning about 250,000 VND. I am happy to have work. Every day off is a worry for the next day,” Mr. Loi said while picking up the sack on his shoulder.

His wife died of a serious illness when his children were young. Mr. Loi shouldered the burden of raising his two children by his own hard work, both in the sun and in the rain. “I just hope that my children will study well and not have to do manual labor like their father.” In the hustle and bustle of life, people like Mr. Loi always quietly live and work to build a home with their own sweat and hardship.

At 4 a.m., when the whole village was still awake, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao, from Tho Binh commune, was already on her old motorbike, loading it with baskets full of jackfruit, boiled bamboo shoots, green tea, lychees, bananas... collected from the houses in the village since the previous afternoon. "Each season has its own produce, whoever in the village has something, they call me to come and get it, a little bit of each item makes up a whole truck," Ms. Hao smiled, her hands still deftly tying the baskets before setting off.

Ms. Hao chose a small corner in the Dong Huong wholesale fruit and vegetable market to display her goods, squeezing between vegetable stalls, carts, calls and bargaining. From the time it was still foggy until noon, Ms. Hao diligently offered each bundle of tea and bunch of bananas. On lucky days, the goods sold out early at 1 p.m., so she still had time to stop by to buy a bag of rice and some food. But on slow days, she would gather up her goods, quickly transport them to the industrial zones, and wait in front of the gates to sell the rest.

“On busy days, I get home at 3-4 pm, exhausted. If it rains, I’ll lose a lot of money. But if I take a day off, my family will miss a meal, so I have to keep going,” Ms. Hao said, looking down at the bunches of bananas and dozens of bundles of green tea still on the cart.

In the middle of a scorching summer afternoon, when many people are looking for a place to escape the heat, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga, a worker at the Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company, is still working hard with her old garbage truck, pushing it through each street. Wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a conical hat, covering her face with a mask and a sun-protective scarf, she quickly sweeps and collects each garbage bag hanging on both sides of the truck. For more than 15 years in the profession, she has gone through many shifts, sometimes cold at night, sometimes hot during the day. "Every shift is hard, but I'm used to it. Seeing the street clean and the garbage collected in the right place makes me happy," she laughs lightly, her voice hoarse from the dust and heat. Although the work is hard, for Ms. Nga, it is an indispensable part of her life.

Environmental workers silently keep the streets clean day and night.

As for Mr. Pham Van Thanh, 38 years old, in Thieu Toan commune, he and his colleagues were pouring concrete for the third floor. His shirt was soaked with sweat, his face was sunburned, Mr. Thanh said: "Although the work is hard, having a job is very good, each day I earn nearly 400,000 VND, plus a few tens of thousands of extra money is enough for my children's education and to take care of the family."

His wife has heart disease, Thanh is the main breadwinner in the family. On rainy days when he cannot work, he takes on cleaning and transporting goods for hire so as not to waste his working days. “I just hope I am still healthy and can work, so I will keep trying. If I quit my job, I will lose my meals,” he confided.

The reality is that, from the “cuu van” to the fruit seller, from the environmental worker to the mason, they all have something in common: quietness and diligence. Each person has a different fate, but everyone strives to overcome difficulties and not surrender to fate. Some have been in the profession for decades, some have just started, but regardless of the circumstances, they all choose to work as a way to maintain dignity and nurture hope.

In the midst of a life of hardship, what moves us most is their determination, resilience, optimism and belief in a better tomorrow. Because behind them is a long story of love, of silent sacrifice, of simple meals filled with laughter. They not only earn a living, but also nurture faith for themselves, their families and a humane society.

And perhaps, in an era where people are easily swept away by material values, it is those silent workers, with their dirty hands and persistent hearts, who remind us of the true meaning of honest labor, of humanity and never-ending faith.

Tran Hang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phia-sau-nhung-buoc-chan-nbsp-hoi-ha-muu-sinh-254041.htm