Pressing wheels

(Baonghean) - During the rainy season, we might have to reinforce the house again, sir! Because I heard about the incident where an old villa in Hanoi collapsed, killing two people. It's terrifying…

- You're always worrying. That house was built during the French colonial era, whereas your house, which you're so good at, only got built about ten years ago...

- Yeah, I heard the house was already weak, and then it got hit by a long, heavy rain, so the walls started to crumble like that…

- Before, we always heard about storms and floods causing deaths and property damage elsewhere, but rarely in the capital, right? Yet, just one overnight rainstorm caused such misery for the people. Many streets were reportedly flooded up to a meter deep. Living in the capital and experiencing such hardship is unbearable; it would be better to just go back to the countryside...

- As for the phenomenon of "streets suddenly turning into winding rivers," Ho Chi Minh City deserves the title of "king of specialties"! Some are due to rain, others to high tides. But fundamentally, it's because of "one person's work, three people's destruction": the flood control team keeps working, the construction team keeps doing their job, it's a chaotic mess! The most painful thing is that in just 10 years, over 25,000 billion VND of taxpayers' money, plus borrowed funds, has been wasted, yet flooding persists...

- They say the rich young master of Bac Lieu squandered money, but now even he would have to call those flood control guys "grandpa," wouldn't he?

- You're calling him "grandpa" or "master"! Just kidding! Spending money like that, even the high tide would have to bow down to you guys!

- With a system where "officials do the work, the people suffer" like this, when will the people ever be free from hardship?

- "The people suffer for what the officials do" is one thing! But then there's the "the son suffers for what the father does" situation! Did you hear about the recent case where two candidates almost failed to get into the security academy because they didn't disclose their father's criminal record?

- Why not? Because one of the two candidates is from Nam Dan, Nghe An province, of course! If we don't care for each other, who will we care for? It's so frustrating! What era are we living in that we're still tormenting each other with this "background check" mentality?!

- Of course, there are some fields of study that are a bit specialized. But to force a child, just starting out in life, to bear the burden of a suspended sentence imposed by their father 23 years ago, before they were even born, is truly... Luckily, the press found out and spoke up to help, otherwise...

- 28 points, even being honored by the Provincial People's Committee, and yet he almost failed, how unbelievable! Of course, the mistake has been corrected, but that emotional trauma is probably hard to forget, sir. Poor kid...

- But the crime must have been minor enough to qualify for a suspended sentence, right?

- Yeah, I heard that during their "wild youth," they might have gotten into some kind of fight, like "village lads fighting over a crowing rooster"!

Oh my goodness, that's all it took to almost ruin my nephew's future! While so many egregious crimes are happening right before our eyes, affecting so many people, they only receive a palpable punishment, so it's the same thing happening year after year. It's incredibly frustrating!

- Are you talking about the flood control issue? Yes, that's right. In my opinion, there should be heavy penalties for those who squander public funds "like wind blowing through an empty house," only then will taxpayers' money stop being wasted.

- No, I'm talking about those unscrupulous mooncake makers! It's strange that every year there are inter-agency inspections, fines, and public shaming... yet the filth remains the same, year after year. Even my sweet tooth, who's addicted to baked and sticky rice mooncakes, had to shake her head and refused to eat any more the other day – that says it all!

Illustration: Internet

- I heard in China that a man forgot about a box of mooncakes for 10 years, and when he opened it, the mooncakes were still perfectly intact!

- "Ten years of old love," and it turns out their stuff still hasn't gotten moldy? Amazing! Do you know where they sell that anti-mold solution? I'd like to buy some... to give to my wife, hehe!

- To let your wife get rid of her mustache and then brag about it, how disgusting! What kind of man are you?!

- I'm afraid we can't afford not to prevent mold! Isn't it true that around this time of year, all kinds of bosses, big and small, are getting crushed by mooncakes? Don't think that being crushed by a ghost is scary, being crushed by a mooncake is even worse! I heard that some boxes of mooncakes given as gifts cost up to 14-15 million VND!

- Then it should be called "Mid-Autumn Festival cakes"! If all those gifts were converted into rice, or at least changed into "...recovery cakes," wouldn't so many poor people be able to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival, and maybe even the corrupt officials would feel a little better!

- Forget it, how light is that! Do you think they're just carrying the cakes? The cake box is just an excuse; what's inside is the real deal...

So, mooncakes have become so distorted now? What's left of the children's festival then! And those corrupt officials should be made to taste these "illusory mooncakes" so they understand the suffering of the people who have to eat these "illusory mooncakes" year after year!

- Tsk! I told you "art is a deceptive moonlight"! "The moon shines, the cakes are sent, the money is spent," what can you do about it!

- Yes! That's another type of widespread flooding, isn't it? Hic!

Jackfruit & Know-It-All