Jobs that make millions in the first days of the year

1. Selling salt

"Buy salt at the beginning of the year, buy oil at the end of the year" is a concept deeply ingrained in the subconscious of Vietnamese people. Therefore, in the first days of spring across the country, salt is still a best-selling product. While regular salt packages cost 5,000 VND, the salt in lucky bags costs 10,000 - 20,000 VND.

Ms. Loan in Hung Yen, who specializes in selling salt bags online, said that she combines lipstick and salt bags to sell on the second day of Tet, each bag costs 220,000 VND. According to her, buying salt at the beginning of the year not only helps each family dispel bad luck from the old year and welcome good luck in the new year, but also combines it with red lipstick to bring luck, peace, and prosperity to the buyer. When buying, users can leave it onhouse corner, entrance door, hang on peach, kumquat, apricot branches, room door.

"On the second day of Tet alone, I sold hundreds of packages, not only to people who went to the temple but also to many close friends who ordered them for luck," said Loan, adding that she earns millions of dong each day.

2. Selling sugarcane

Besides salt, sugarcane is also chosen by many people after New Year's Eve for luck. According to ancient beliefs, sugarcane is a symbol of harmony, connecting the two worlds of yin and yang, helping ancestors to celebrate the new year with their descendants. In addition to selling sugarcane on the 29th and 30th of Tet, sugarcane is still sold in the early morning of the 1st and 2nd at some temple gates or garden houses.

With the mentality of not bargaining when buying at the beginning of the year, sellers often set quite high prices. Before New Year's Eve, the price of a sugarcane was 15,000-20,000 VND. Just after New Year's Eve, the sellers raised the price to 50,000-60,000 VND per stick to sell for profit, but there were still many customers.

3. Selling balloons

Selling balloons is an effective way to make money during Tet, especially at entertainment venues with many children.

Chi Thanh, a balloon seller at My Khe beach (Quang Ngai), said that on normal days she only sells 4-5 balloons, but during Tet the number of customers increased 5 times. The duck- and swan-shaped balloons are the most popular. The price of each balloon ranges from 20,000 to 50,000 VND (depending on the type). Currently, the wholesale price of a balloon is less than 5,000 to 8,000 VND.

In some locations in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the price of each ball has increased from 60,000 VND to 120,000 VND. After deducting the costs incurred due to broken or flying balls, the seller can still earn 200,000 to a million VND a day.

4. Food sales

Tet food sales are quite popular, especially at pho and seafood restaurants. Normally, food prices at this time will increase by 30-50% compared to normal days.

On the morning of the third day of Tet, Mr. Tuan's family (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) went to a familiar snail noodle and crab soup shop in Khuong Trung for breakfast. Instead of the usual price of 25,000 to 30,000 VND, the shop owner charged 50,000 to 60,000 VND. The shop opened on the second day of Tet and sells all day, not just in the morning as usual.

According to the owner of this crab and snail noodle shop, he prepared some of the main ingredients before Tet, and the rest he got up early to go to the market to buy. Because the supply at the markets is not much, he has to buy at a higher price than usual. The vegetables that go with the crab and snail noodle dishes such as perilla, lettuce... are also one and a half times more expensive at the markets.

Ms. Hanh, owner of a beef noodle shop in Tu Nghia (Quang Ngai) said that on normal days she sells only about 20 bowls of noodles, but on the third day of Tet, there was still a long line of customers, but there was still not enough supply. Many customers lined up for 20 minutes and then had to leave because there was no more noodles to eat.