"Hide" ginseng water for fear of running out
At the intersection of Ha Ton Quyen and Nguyen Chi Thanh streets (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), people around here are familiar with the scene of ginseng water carts with customers lining up to buy.
Ms. Boi An (28 years old, living in Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City) said: "My family prepares about 1,000 bottles of ginseng water every day, but they sell out in less than 3 hours. My father sometimes has to hide the ginseng water cans because he is afraid that if they sell out, his acquaintances will be angry if they come to buy without them."
Every night, the ginseng water cart has dozens of people waiting to buy (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
Having said that, she and her parents continued to fill the bottles with ginseng water to sell in time. Group after group of customers lined up to buy, so the three sellers could not stop working. Most of the customers were of Chinese origin, some of whom had been drinking ginseng water here for 20 years.
"Give me a glass of ginseng water to quench my thirst!", a middle-aged man quickly pulled over and said loudly. After finishing the glass in less than 2 minutes, the customer quickly left, saying "so cool".
"I've been drinking here for more than 20 years. Every time I pass by for work, I stop by to drink. The ginseng water here is very cool, cooked with a traditional recipe so it's very flavorful. A worker like me is happy to be able to drink a cool glass of water at a cheap price," this person said with a smile.
Ginseng water is cooked by Ms. Tran herself according to a family recipe (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
Continuously, some people bought 8 bottles of ginseng water at once, and some people brought 1.5 liter ginseng bottles to fill up.
At 8:00 p.m. on May 10, Mr. Quach Thanh Luy (37 years old) drove his wife and children to the ginseng juice shop. Mr. Luy said: "A few days ago, I stopped by to buy 8 bottles to drink. My friends recommended it before, so I came to try it and found it delicious. The ginseng here is very sweet and has a full ginseng flavor, not too much sugar like other places."
Mr. Man Hue (56 years old) continuously fills the ginseng barrel to sell in time (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
It is known that the ginseng water cart has 6 main types including seaweed, chrysanthemum, 24-flavor sugarcane, bitter water, and dried summer grass, sold at prices ranging from 6,000 to 25,000 VND, depending on the size of the bottle. The source of customers does not only come from retail buyers, Ms. An's family's ginseng water cart also supplies many familiar customers such as restaurants and pubs nearby.
A 27-year-old ginseng tea cart owned by a Chinese family earns millions of dong every day (Video: Nga Trinh).
3 generation ginseng car
Every morning, Ms. An’s family wakes up very early to prepare the ingredients. The ginseng water is cooked according to a family recipe. Ms. Tran Hue Tran (54 years old, Ms. An’s mother) revealed that ingredients such as water chestnuts, sugarcane, coriander, pandan leaves, etc. will be put in the stove to cook for a few hours.
The ginseng water here is delicious not only because it is a combination of many quality ingredients, but also because the owner cooks it with all her heart (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
The ginseng water is then taken down, filtered through a sieve, and measured into cans to be brought from home for sale. "These ingredients are cooked together and are very good for your health," said the ginseng water cart owner.
According to Ms. Tran, this ginseng water cart has been passed down for 3 generations. In 1996, her grandmother came up with the idea of selling ginseng water on Ta Uyen Street (District 5). When she passed away, the ginseng water cart was passed down from Ms. Tran's mother, then to her, until today. After moving many times, the shop finally settled on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street.
Ms. Tran said that this ginseng water cart has been attached to and supported her whole family. Recalling the early days of inheriting the traditional profession, Ms. Tran still remembers that the revenue at that time was only 8,000 VND/day.
Day by day, remembering her mother's advice to do business with all her heart, Ms. Tran became more and more satisfied with each bottle of ginseng tea she brewed. When customers came to drink, she and her husband always asked about their feelings or occasionally chatted. From then on, people admired Ms. Tran and her husband's generosity and often came back.
Many people have become regular customers of the ginseng water cart for more than 20 years, because they like the generosity of the owners (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
Ms. Boi An recalls that since she was a child, she and her parents sold ginseng water on the street. At that time, her family was poor and had to stay at her grandmother’s house. On rainy days, the ginseng water cart could not sell any bottles. The street was flooded with rainwater, and her family had to frantically clean up.
"At that time, the three of us sat looking at each other sadly, biting peanuts to ease our hunger. Sometimes we felt helpless, but thanks to that, we felt more sorry for our parents," Ms. An confided.
From living in a rented house, her family has relied on the ginseng cart for more than 20 years, and finally bought a house to shelter from the sun and rain. Now, although Ms. An has a stable job, she still helps her parents sell ginseng every night. She shared that her parents' efforts are the motivation for her to try harder every day.
"Starting a business is always difficult. The important thing is to love the job and do your best with all your heart, then one day you will succeed," Ms. Hue Tran shared.
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