Vinh City: Hairdresser, sales staff openly practice fortune telling

(Baonghean)- Used to be a hairdresser and supermarket saleswoman but quit her job to openly practice superstition in Vinh City.

For nearly ten years, Ms. P, in Block 1, Ha Huy Tap (Vinh City) has been considered a famous fortuneteller. Just go to the entrance of alley number 19, Nguyen Sy Sach street, ask for Ms. P's house, and everyone will know. The three-story house is spacious, but the "office" is located at the highest place; visitors must park their vehicles at the house next door. To get to Ms. P's "office", visitors must go up a separate spiral staircase. In front of Ms. P's house and practice place, there is a piece of paper with the words: "Working from 8am to 5pm".

That’s the “rule,” but experienced people who have gone to fortune-telling here know that if you want to see a fortune quickly, you have to make an appointment in advance, or go early in the morning. When the reporter, posing as a person, came to have his fortune told, even though it was almost 2 p.m., there were still about 9 or 10 people sitting in line in the waiting room outside. Inside, there were 5 or 6 people waiting their turn.

Customers line up to see fortune tellers at Ms. P's house (Block 10, Ha Huy Tap Ward, Vinh City)

Through observation, Ms. P’s “workplace” is only a small room of about 15 square meters. This is also the family’s altar room. In this room, the “master’s” desk is neatly arranged in the corner, on the desk is a small stack of papers and a wooden box. Each time a customer comes, they will sit in a chair opposite the “master”. Those waiting will be in the outer room, separated by a glass door. Ms. P has only been reading cards for many years. When she needs to verify more information, the “master” will use her phone to access the internet.

After sitting for about an hour, we saw 3 people being read by the master. Depending on each person's request, the "master" would give different predictions, but they only revolved around the main topics of business, love, and children.

Talking to Mrs. H, who watches over cars for customers who come to have their fortunes told, we learned that Ms. P used to work as a hair washer and nail artist. For the past 8 years, she suddenly switched to fortune telling. There are a lot of customers. From having nothing, she has now bought a luxury car and built a high-rise building.

Coming to block 11, Quang Trung ward (Vinh city), we also encountered the scene of dozens of people sitting in line at Ms. H's house waiting to have their fortunes told. All those who came here, if they were quick, had to wait 2 weeks, if they were slow, it would take 30-40 days for her to schedule an appointment. New visitors did not have to worry much, because right in the house there was a piece of paper with her phone number and detailed instructions: "If you want to have your fortune told, please register by phone/When you send a message, she will not send a reply message/When a specific schedule is set, she will officially call to inform you...".

Talking to Mr. L, who lives near Ms. H, we learned that Ms. H used to sell goods at a supermarket. Two years ago, she suddenly quit her job and switched to fortune telling because she "had the blessing of Mr. Hoang Muoi". She is new to the profession, but thanks to her reputation for being able to "go into a trance" and tell fortunes about the dead, Ms. H has quite a lot of customers. Every day, she will "go into a trance" twice at 8am and 2pm, and each day she only sees 26 people. For customers who see family matters, the average price is 100,000 VND/person. For young people, the price is a "friendly" 50,000 VND/person. Mr. L also added that Ms. H is quite famous for her fortune telling, but most of her customers come from other places. In the neighborhood, her relatives see her once for the sake of knowledge, then not many people see her again, probably because "the Buddha in the house is not sacred".

Customers line up to see fortune tellers at Ms. H's house (Block 11, Quang Trung Ward, Vinh City)

Penal Code 2015There are regulations on “Crime of practicing superstition”. Accordingly, anyone who uses fortune telling, mediumship or other forms of superstition and has been administratively punished for this act or has been convicted of this crime, has not had his/her criminal record cleared and still commits the violation, shall be fined from 10 million to 100 million VND, sentenced to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisoned from 6 months to 3 years.

PV Group