When CHILD was in 5th grade in Ha Long City (at that time Hon Gai town), the first day I went to sell lottery tickets, i was very excited because i thought that if i had the strength, i would travel a lot, meet a lot, and invite a lot, then i would be able to sell. But after walking all morning, through almost every street, i only sold 6 tickets.
Coincidentally sitting at the same table for lunch with another lottery ticket seller, THE CHILD took the initiative to talk and was stunned when i learned that he sold more than 200 tickets a day while only operating in and around Hon Gai market.
In the afternoon, CHILD found another smaller market to sell in the hope of selling half of what the boy i met at noon. But when it was time to return the tickets, the i was down because he had worked hard on the first day and only sold 15 tickets…
The next morning, after getting the tickets, CHILD did not go to sell them right away, but went near the Hon Gai market area to observe the boy i had met at the restaurant yesterday: i did not see him holding the lottery ticket in his hand, he quickly walked into the market and then went around the market, his eyes were always very happy, after going around, he stopped by the motorbike taxi drivers or the women selling drinks, laughing and talking happily… I began to realize some interesting things and quickly went to Long Toong market to verify what I was thinking.
The first interesting thing that guided CHILD was that after going around the first time, no one bought the tickets on the second round, but on the third round, someone bought them. And the buyer was not a market goer but the owner of the clothing stall that the i had gone around the previous 2 rounds. So i was at ease staying at the market. I walked around inside and outside the market, found a place to rest for about 15 minutes, then walked again. At the end of the day, i was satisfied that i did not have to spend much effort but still sold 60 tickets.
In the following days, CHILD got to know most of the motorbike taxi drivers, cyclo drivers, women selling drinks, sweet soup, etc. Occasionally, i helped push the carts for the stall owners, helped move goods from one stall to another, bought some small things for someone, etc.
Less than a month later, CHILD was delighted to be able to sell lottery tickets without having to hold them in my hands. Anyone who saw me at first would think that i was a hired porter in the market. Although the amount of lottery tickets sold was not as much as the boy at Hon Gai market, i was satisfied because my income from helping others was sometimes higher than income from selling lottery tickets.
Gieo Quảng
