Meet the oldest newspaper vendor in Vinh City

(Baonghean.vn) – After nearly 30 years of selling newspapers on the streets of Vinh city, Mr. Dinh Van Thuan (73 years old) is still diligently doing his job regardless of the scorching summer sun or the freezing winter rain.In the era of the Internet boom, electronic newspapers are "on the rise" but he is still comfortable with his job.

Born in Hai Hau (Nam Dinh), Mr. Dinh Van Thuan (born in 1943) used to be a traffic worker at Transport Enterprise IV. In 1989, Mr. Thuan retired and decided to choose Vinh City as his "anchoring" place.

With a meager pension, he had to do many extra jobs to make ends meet. Before becoming a newspaper vendor, Mr. Thuan had worked as a barber, ice cream seller, and bread seller, but these jobs seemed to have little charm...

Despite his old age, every day Mr. Dinh Van Thuan and his bicycle still roam around the streets of Vinh City to sell newspapers.

Since then, Mr. Thuan has stuck to his job as a street newspaper vendor, regardless of the weather, his steps and his bike still roam the streets. In the era of the Internet boom, electronic newspapers are "on the rise", the number of people reading printed newspapers is decreasing, most street newspaper vendors have changed jobs. But for him, that "heavenly exiled" job has become a source of life, the flesh and blood of life.

Since entering the profession, every day from 4-5 am, Mr. Thuan wakes up, rides his bike to the post office to get the newspaper and sells it until late afternoon. Holding the newspapers still smelling of ink, he quickly reads the news and then goes to advertise on the streets of Vinh city. At first, he mainly advertises by word of mouth, but later he records with a small phone, copies it to a USB and plays it through a small speaker.

To Mr. Thuan, newspaper buyers are friends with whom he can chat and share issues that are covered in the newspapers every day.

Mr. Thuan revealed that when he first started his career, his secret to attracting customers was not only enthusiasm and accurate advertising, but also his "secret weapon" of reciting poetry. He could recite poems by Ho Xuan Huong and poems fluently, making customers excited. Perhaps partly because of his sales talent and partly because of his humorous personality, he sold quite well.

There were days when he sold hundreds of newspapers. As online newspapers grew, he sold only about 40 newspapers a day.

In the era of information explosion, the Internet "reigns", the number of people reading newspapers is decreasing, but Mr. Dinh Van Thuan is still "loyal" to the job of selling newspapers.

His area has also gradually narrowed, now only around the area from Vinh station to Vinh market.

When asked when he would “retire” from selling newspapers, Mr. Thuan replied, “I will still sell newspapers, and have no intention of “retiring,” because for me this job is not only a way to make a living, but also a hobby that has become ingrained in my blood.”

Chu Thanh - Thuy Ngan