VietNamNet Bridge – A lot bosses have become hired workers in the economic crisis, many businessmen have become penniless, and many millionaires have returned to their home villages to work on the rice fields.

Getting home after a hard working day, Nguyen Vinh Quang in Hai Ba Trung district in Hanoi, had dinner in a hurry, because he needed to take a short sleep before he got up early the next morning and went to work.

Quang, now a construction worker, was a director of a construction company 3 months ago. He was so proud of becoming a director of a company with 20 workers. However, his business collapsed in the economic recession, and the director has become a hired worker.

The business was set up by Quang and his wife 3 years ago, after a long period of working hard and saving money. At first, Quang needed 20 workers to handle the contracts he got.

However, the number of workers then was cut to 10 because of fewer orders. Finally, Quang had to declared the bankruptcy because his partners did not pay debts. He has no job and had no money to pay to workers, even though he had sold the assets of the company.

Bui Tien Minh was once the director of a law office on Tran Duy Hung Street. But he isn’t now. Minh has just closed down the family run firm and gone working for others.

“Fewer contracts have come since mid 2012, while partners have left us. Meanwhile, I had to pay VND10 million a month for the office rent and tens of millions of dong to workers,” Minh said, explaining why he had to close down the office.

“The clients now try to cut down expenses; therefore, they tend to cut down expenses on legal services. They would say goodbye to use cheaper services, even if they sign contracts with you already,” he complained.

Now Minh has to be satisfied with his new job at another private law firm, while his wife works for a printing company in Hanoi.

The local people in the northern province of Hung Yen all know the stories about a famous couple who now work as the gardeners in the locality.

In the morning, when the clock alarms at 5 am, Tran Van Dam wakes his wife up, then have breakfast and go working. Their “office” now is a 500 square meter orchard, where they grow oranges.

The couple of gardeners have been well known in the locality because they were never the gardeners before, and they had never done such as work until the day they moved there.

Previously, Dam was the director of a company which distributed building materials, His wife, Lan, after finishing the Finance University, became the assistant to him at the company.

However, since the business performed badly, the company got dissolved.

“I signed a contract with a company on supplying bricks to its ongoing project. I put all my capital into the affair. However, the company could not make payment for the products. In early 2012, the company declared bankruptcy, while I never can claim the money back,” he explained.

Since the relatives and banks refused to provide loans, Dam could not resume his business. They decided to return to the home village and become farmers.

“I have never done farming before. The work is really too hard for me,” Dam complained.

Vu Phong