VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Trung, a 68-year-old man whose father is French and mother is Vietnamese, is often seen accompanying his Vietnamese wife Nguyen Thi Be around HCMC. They have been selling lottery tickets over the past 20 years to earn a living.

Nguyen Trung and Nguyen Thi Be receive 100 lottery tickets daily for retail to earn a living.

The couple live at a rented room on Alley 653 in Lo Gom Street in District 6, HCMC.

Be, who was born in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, came to Saigon at the age of 15 after her mother died. Trung’s father was a French soldier who left Trung and his mom in Vietnam after the war.

The two poor people met at Phu Lam Market while Trung was working as a cleaner at the market and Be was working as a helper for a vendor at the market. The couple fell in love and later moved to live together until now.

Trung is tall and has a gentle smile. He suffers a cardiac disease.       The couple move around streets in District 6, HCMC like Lo Gom and Hau Giang to vend lottery tickets.       They lead a tough life given unstable income from lottery ticket retail. The couple have a 25-year-old son. However, the mentally deficient son can't give any support to his parrents.         A small rented room is home to the family of three. Be said she is worried about her husband’s health and how her son can take care of himself without his parents - Photos: Thanh Hoa

SGT