Vu Quang Hien (born 2003, from Ha Nam), a Marketing student at the National Economics University, shared: "Although the school gave me a Tet holiday from January 29 (December 20 of the lunar calendar), instead of going back to my hometown, I chose to stay and work extra to earn some money to give to my parents for Tet."

Hien is working part-time as a waiter at a restaurant in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi. Before Tet, the young man received a salary of 23,000 VND/hour. This figure increased to 50,000 VND/hour during Tet.

Because the restaurant had few employees, Hien decided to work both shifts to increase his income. Each day, with more than 9 hours of work, the male student received about 400,000 - 500,000 VND.

"This is quite a large amount of money. If I work hard until Tet, I will bring home nearly 8 million VND. I will spend a little on new clothes and give the rest to my parents," Hien said. To make the decision to stay in Hanoi, the student had to think a lot because it was almost Tet, and his parents were having a hard time cleaning and decorating the house.

Hoang Hai Tu, a fourth-year student at Hanoi University of Business and Technology, also had Tet holiday from December 20 but chose to stay and work part-time, returning home on the 5th day of Tet. She is working as a waitress at a coffee shop in Hai Ba Trung district.

"I'm a bit sad not being able to go home for Tet, but because I receive 400% of my salary, I'm trying to help my parents financially," Tu said, adding that he will compensate by spending a week with his family after Tet.

Her family is not very well off, so for the past three years, Hai Tu has been working extra during Tet to send money home. Her parents are over 60 years old, and her two younger sisters are studying in the countryside, which also costs a lot of money. She is the eldest child in the family, and she feels sorry for her parents' hardships, so she doesn't want to miss the opportunity to earn extra money to support them.

"Young people choose to stay in the city to work during Tet because the salary is higher than usual; some stores also give Tet bonuses, depending on sales revenue. In addition, some young people decide to stay because they don't have many close relatives left," said a female student from the University of Business and Technology.

Nguyen Giang Hung (from Dien Bien), a third-year student at Hanoi University of Transport, also stayed to work as a waiter at a hot pot restaurant in Cau Giay with a salary of 50,000 VND/hour.

Hung's house is more than 350 km from Hanoi, each round trip costs more than 1 million VND for transportation, and during Tet, the cost of travel is even more expensive. Due to difficult economic conditions, Hung only dares to return home 1-2 times a year, but this is the first year he celebrates Tet away from home.

Seeing his dorm mates eagerly packing their things to go home, Hung felt a little sad. He planned to return home to celebrate Tet with his family on the 5th or 6th of Tet and send his parents some money he earned from his part-time job in Hanoi.

Khanh Son