Lottery tickets here!

Sell ​​dreams to people

One morning in early March, it was drizzling, gusts of wind blew into the corner of the small shop next to Dai An bridge, making everyone feel cold. From Hung Vuong street, a young man in his 20s with dark skin entered the shop. This man walked to each table and offered a stack of lottery tickets to customers. It was raining, sales were slow, so when a customer asked to buy, he smiled brightly. That young man's name was Hoang (26 years old).

Every day, from early morning, Mr. Hoang goes to the agent in Dong Ha city to get about 200 lottery tickets to sell - Photo: TRAN TUYEN

Hoang's house is in Trieu Phong district. Every day, from early morning, Hoang goes to the agent in Dong Ha city to get about 200 lottery tickets and then cycles around the alleys to sell them. "Each time, I spend 2 million VND as a deposit to get 200 lottery tickets to sell. Some days I sell them all, some days I don't. For each ticket I sell, I make a profit of 1,000 VND. If I sell all of them, I make a profit of 200,000 VND. If I don't sell them all, I return the remaining tickets to the agent," Hoang said, looking at the stack of lottery tickets that still had quite a few left.

Mrs. Leu invites customers to buy lottery tickets - Photo: TRAN TUYEN

Despite his young age, Hoang has been selling lottery tickets for more than 5 years. Every street corner and shop is familiar to him. Every day, Hoang sells from 7am to around 3pm, then returns to the agency to return any remaining tickets. “My customers are all kinds of people, of all ages. Many people have won the lottery when buying tickets from me, the highest was 6 million VND, the lowest was 200,000 VND. Many people even gave me money when they won,” Hoang said.

About an hour later, Ms. Leu (60 years old) entered the shop. Ms. Leu is from Quang Binh province. After getting married, she lived in her husband's hometown in Ward 2, Dong Ha city. Up to now, she has been selling lottery tickets for more than 20 years. "This is a freelance job, anyone can do it. You only need a small amount of capital to sell. I don't have a stable job, my studies are also incomplete, so I chose to sell lottery tickets to make a living. It's favorable when it's sunny, but quite difficult when it's rainy. Thanks to God's health, I still sell regularly," Ms. Leu shared.

Every day, Ms. Leu takes about 450 - 500 lottery tickets from the agent to sell. That morning, she sold 100 tickets. On lucky days, she sells all of them, but most of the remaining tickets are returned to the agent. “This job is like selling people dreams. Many people buy lottery tickets with the hope of winning prizes and receiving money. There is a saying that people often joke with each other, “After 5 pm, no one knows who is richer” for this reason. Over the past 20 years, many people have come to me to exchange lottery prizes, from a few hundred to a few million VND,” Ms. Leu said.

Nurture your dream

Mrs. Leu's husband works as a "handyman", doing whatever he is hired to do. They were married for more than 11 years before having children, so now that they are old and weak, the couple is still raising two young children. The first is in 9th grade, the second is in 5th grade. Her husband is often sick, so the burden of the family falls on Mrs. Leu's shoulders. Although the lottery ticket selling job is free, without pressure or commitment, everyone wants to sell a lot of tickets to have more money to support the family.

Walking all day long, many days in the hot sun she felt dizzy, had to lean against a tree to rest. When tired, she rested, when thirsty, she asked for water. For each lottery ticket sold, Mrs. Leu earned 1,000 VND. Therefore, she still tried to sell as many as possible every day, each lottery ticket sold meant she had more money to support her children.

At 9 pm, I met Mr. Hien (70 years old) at a drinking place on Ly Thuong Kiet street. Mr. Hien was thin, had a haggard face, and patiently went to each table to invite customers to buy tickets. After about 10 minutes, he quietly got on his bicycle and headed to the row of shops across the street.

Previously, Mr. Hien worked as a construction worker. After a work accident, his health was no longer good, so he switched to selling lottery tickets. Every day, after selling the day's tickets, he went to the agency to get the next day's lottery tickets to sell in the evening. Although his income is more unstable than that of a construction worker, if he is diligent, he can earn a few hundred thousand dong each day to support his children's education. "My wife sells vegetables at the market. My eldest child is in his second year of university, and my youngest is in 7th grade. We try to spend frugally and save money to support our two children's education. As long as I am healthy, I will continue to sell lottery tickets," Mr. Hien confided.

Buying lottery tickets not for... the prize

When it comes to buying lottery tickets, many people will immediately think of the prize. Who doesn’t want that? However, the remaining few who buy lottery tickets do not hope for a prize. They buy lottery tickets simply out of love.

Mr. Nhat, living in Ward 5, Dong Ha City, is a typical example. For many years, he has bought a few lottery tickets every week. He buys lottery tickets not for the prize but for the ticket sellers. Sipping a cup of black coffee, he shared: “Every time I see women selling lottery tickets, I see the image of my grandmother and mother. Working hard and toiling for the hope that their children will have a better life. Therefore, I often buy a few tickets to support a woman passing by holding a lottery ticket.” Not only does he support the lottery sellers, this simple act also helps him feel warmer and more peaceful.

Mr. Quang in Gio Linh town is similar. When mentioning his hobby of buying lottery tickets, he smiled and said: "Many times when I come home, my wife finds many lottery tickets in my pocket and asks me why I always buy lottery tickets? Are you now also looking for a game of chance?"

He did not explain the reason to his wife. For many years, he had been quietly doing charity work, sometimes giving small gifts to lonely elderly people, sometimes donating with a group of friends to give scholarships to poor students who had overcome difficulties.

He also often buys lottery tickets to support people in more difficult circumstances than himself because he knows that many lottery ticket sellers are disabled and elderly people. Regardless of rain or shine, they quietly go through every street corner and small alley to sell lottery tickets to make a living. Each lottery ticket gives them a little more hope to step into a brighter future.

Tran Tuyen

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/ve-so-day-192570.htm