In the middle of the bustling streets of workers getting off work, a squatting market appears, imbued with the familiarity of the Mekong Delta. Here, sellers do not use scales, but measure out the products on plates, baskets, etc. for customers to choose.
Ms. Be sells vegetables by the plate, without using a scale - Photo: AN VI
The market is located on Street 54 (Tan Tao Ward, Tan Binh District), where many workers stop by after work to buy bags of vegetables, baskets of fish, etc. at reasonable prices.
Unique market selling by plate, basket
Vegetable stalls and fish stalls are spread out on canvas along both sides of the road, and every now and then people stop by to choose their goods, chatting and laughing. Although it is a "squatter" market, the goods here are still diverse, from meat, fish, vegetables to specialties of the West.
As a habit attached to the workers' lives, the market only opens from 4pm to about 8pm, mainly serving workers who get off work in the afternoon. At noon, the street becomes deserted.
Most of the vendors here sell just enough. For example, Ms. Nguyen Thi Be (41 years old, living in Binh Tan district) takes 10kg of various vegetables and 5kg of grapes to sell every day. She said that the food is fresh only when it is sold out each day.
“I live in a rented room so I don’t have a place to store goods for long. I go to the wholesale market around noon to buy that much and then display it for sale in the afternoon,” said Ms. Be.
Ms. Be's vegetable stall, like many others around her, does not use scales to sell, but instead displays them on baskets and plates with the invitation: "A basket of 10,000 VND, come in, everyone!"
Most of the vendors here only take enough food to sell in the afternoon - Photo: AN VI
Ms. Be does not weigh the goods at home, after getting the goods from the wholesale market, she brings them straight here and then puts them on each plate. Like with carrots and white cabbage, each plate will have about 3-5 tubers. Potatoes and many other small tubers will be put in larger quantities, all with the same price of 10,000 VND/plate.
“I just estimate, just fill a plate. I’ve been selling like this for years, I don’t lose money, but I probably won’t make as much profit as I would by weight,” Ms. Be shared.
Not far away, the fish stall of Mr. Phuc and his wife (living in Binh Tan district) also loudly invited: "Fresh fish for a basket of 20,000 VND, come and choose, come and choose".
Not only vegetables, fish are also sold at 20,000 VND/basket - Photo: AN VI
Mr. Phuc's fish stall sells a variety of fish, from sea fish to freshwater fish. He sources his supplies from Binh Dien market early in the morning, runs his hawking business in the morning, and at 4 p.m. he comes to the market to sell to workers after work.
“In the morning, I still weigh the fish normally. In the afternoon, when I sell to workers here, I sell by the basket, each basket has about 2-3 fish depending on the type, almost a kilo, not a small amount,” said Mr. Phuc.
60,000 VND can cook many meals
According to Mr. Phuc's explanation, selling by plate or basket makes it convenient for workers to choose and buy in just the right quantity.
“If I sell by the kilo, it’s hard. I used to sell by the kilo. Workers mostly buy a few fish for an afternoon snack, but weighing a few fish is too small and too expensive.
"It is more suitable to sell in pre-measured form like this," Mr. Phuc added.
Vegetables arranged on a plate cost between 10,000 - 20,000 VND/plate - Photo: AN VI
And whoever buys a basket of fish, Mr. Phuc gives them a bunch of green onions and chili peppers.
As usual after work, Ms. Diem (38 years old, living in Binh Tan district), a worker at a nearby company, stopped by this market to buy food to cook dinner.
She said that selling by basket or plate like this has been around for a long time and is suitable for workers' expenses.
Ms. Diem (in pink shirt) and many other workers said that selling with plates helps them balance the amount of food more easily - Photo: AN VI
“For example, I live alone, so it’s weird to go to the market and buy just 1-2 tomatoes, the seller doesn’t even know how to weigh them. But here, I just buy a plate of 2-3 tomatoes, which is enough for one meal,” Ms. Diem explained.
With 20,000 VND, Ms. Diem can also buy a basket of three sea fish. That is enough to eat for the afternoon and tomorrow morning before going to work.
And with only 60,000 VND, Ms. Diem was able to buy a decent amount of food that could last several meals: two plates of tomatoes for 20,000 VND, a plate of straw mushrooms for 10,000 VND, a basket of fish for 20,000 VND, and with the remaining 10,000 VND she bought a basket of mangoes for dessert.
Selling a dozen eggs by the dozen is still profitable.
Many food vendors in this market are also workers. For example, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huynh Nhu (32 years old, living in Binh Tan district) is working as a leather shoe processor for a nearby company.
For the past few months, she has not worked overtime due to low sales. After finishing work at 4:30 p.m., the woman from Tien Giang province runs to Mien Tay bus station to pick up chicken eggs, duck eggs, and dried fruits that her family sent by bus from the countryside to sell.
She said if the sale is good, each session like that can make a profit of 100,000 - 150,000 VND.
Getting goods from the West, Ms. Nhu also sells in the West style: "Like my mother, in the countryside, a dozen eggs are 14, but here I sell a dozen eggs, 12 eggs, still making a profit and receiving support from many workers.
I also work as a worker, so I understand the difficult situation of the sisters right now. Selling for a small profit is fine, so that everyone is happy," Ms. Nhu said with a smile.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doc-la-khu-cho-khong-can-ky-chi-ban-dong-theo-dia-20250221125955634.htm
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