A short video clip spread on social media showed a man eating vermicelli and shedding tears. Netizens later found that he was a motorbike taxi driver, and this was the first time he had rewarded himself with a delicious meal on his birthday.

The clip attracted more than 1 million views and comments within several days after it appeared on the internet. 

The man in the clip is Do Van Son, born in 2002 in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province. 

This was his 22nd birthday, but it was the first time Son dared to celebrate his birthday and enjoy a delicious bowl of bun rieu (vermicelli with sour crab soup). 

For the poor motorbike taxi driver, his birthday is just another day when he has many things to do. He gets up early in the morning, goes to school, then to work and returns home, a small rented room in HCM City, and goes to bed after having dinner he prepares.

If Son doesn’t have time to cook and has to eat out, he only orders simple dishes and does not dare spend more than VND20,000 for the meal, usually bread or vegetarian rice. 

However, when his 22nd birthday came, Son thought he wanted to have something special to remember. Son got up early on the day, prepared a cup of coffee and went to market to buy something to cook. He bought a small flan, lit candles and sang happy birthday to himself.

Finishing the simple birthday party, Son turned on his hailing app and left home to work as a motorbike taxi driver as usual. When the day ended, he stopped at a shop and ordered a bowl of vermicelli.

“I have to work hard, but my income is low, so I dare not eat out. I sometime crave delicious dishes, but I end up forgetting about this because the food is too expensive,” he said.

But Son decided to reward himself after many days of hard work. The meal cost nearly VND100,000, a high level compared with his income.

“When eating alone, I thought about the elapsed time and I could not help shedding tears. I had not had any delicious bun rieu before that day,” Son said.

“I understand that in order to be able to order good food and take care of myself and my beloved people better, I will have to do more,” Son said.

Poor man helps poorer people

Son said he left his hometown in Ba Ria – Vung Tau for HCM City to study and work when he was 18 years old. In his hometown, Son’s family is not listed among the poor in the locality. His mother is an ao dai (long dress) tailor, and his father is a civil engineering worker.

Son has an older sister who is married and a younger sister who still goes to school.

“When my sister goes to university, I will support her study, together with my parents,” Son said.

Though the family’s income is high enough, Son vows not to use his parents’ money. In HCM City, he has to work to get money for his basic needs and to study at school. He works from morning until evening.

Besides the motorbike taxi work, the 22-year-old man also delivers banh my (bread) and banh gio (pyramidal rice dumpling) and sells food on the pavement from 4-8pm. After selling bread, he carries passengers until dawn.

With his hard work, Son can earn VND300,000-350,000 a day. However, Son often gives bread as gifts to street children and needy people.

Son said he was happy to see sympathy from people after they saw his video. After the clip was posted on the internet, many people came to buy banh my and banh gio, and confide in him. Other people ordered banh my and banh gio and asked him to deliver the food to needy people.

Phan Dau