VietNamNet Bridge – Many people in Ha Noi have earned additional income by doing seasonal jobs, which are only available in the days near the Lunar New Year holiday.

Illustrative image -- File photo

On Le Duan Street, many labourers have been seen shining copper incense pots, a common set of worshipping items on Vietnamese families' altars.

Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, a copper craft shop in Le Duan Street, said that shining copper incense pots used to be a worshipping job that should be done by the house owner. However, in recent years, busy life has led many people to hire others to do the job.

Cuong said he was a copper craft artisan from Dai Bai bronze casting craft village in northern Bac Ninh Province, and had a copper craft shop on the street. In the days near Tet, Cuong offers the service due to increasing demand of shining copper incense pots.

He said there were hundreds of types of copper incense pots. The more complicated pattern of the pot, the more time would be spent to clean it up, he said.

"It costs between several hundred thousands and a million of dong for a set of copper incense pots. Each day I can complete five sets. It takes me about two to four hours to finish each," he said.

Cuong said the career could bring profit for labourers, but had a lot of health risks due to toxic chemicals they inhaled.

Most did not wear protective masks when doing the job, he added.

Pet care services are also a hot job during the holiday, bringing good earnings.

On Hoang Hoa Tham, De La Thanh and Tran Dai Nghia streets, many customers come to book their pets at the price of between VND50,000 (US$2.2) to VND300,000 ($13.3).

Thanh Van, a staffer of a pet shop at De La Thanh Street, said that most people wanted their pets to be taken care of when they are away for holiday. Apart from feeding and washing these pets, the staff take them on walks and give them beauty services.

Another hot seasonal job, which has attracted many students to earn money prior to returning to their hometown for Tet, is house cleaning.

Nguyen Thi Ninh, a second-year student at the Ha Noi University of Agriculture, said that she had received orders from five customers to clean their houses.

She would not come back to her hometown in Nam Dinh until the last day of the year.

Luong Thi Ngoc Lan, director of a house cleaning company, said that the price of the service was double than the usual days.

The price for usual days is about VND60,000 ($2.6) per hour, and it has increased to VND100,000 ($4.4) since last week.

Lan said her staff had to work overtime to complete all the orders. Each day, they cleaned dozens of houses, earning millions of dong per day.

VNS