The bakery sells more than 1,200 pieces an evening
HAI PHONG – Only sells pate bread, buttermilk, the bakery on Hai Ba Trung street still attracts customers
KON TUM – At the age of 10, Quy Hai went to a shop to buy a cake to celebrate his deaf friend’s birthday, but the boy was kicked out because of his ugly face and scars.
Since then, he has always struggled with the dream of having his own bakery, which is ready to receive all guests regardless of poverty or appearance.
But it took 17 years for Quy Hai’s dream to come true in his hometown, on Hung Vuong Street, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum.
Ngo Quy Hai, 27 years old, was born healthy, but after being severely burned when he was less than a year old, his face was deformed. During his childhood, he also suffered from this face, but no children in the neighborhood would play with Hai. His only friend at that time was a deaf and mute boy near his house. “We both share the same sadness that no one wants to be friends with us,” Hai said.
At the age of 6, Hai was brought to school by his parents. After four months, the boy refused to go to school anymore because he was often teased and discriminated against by his friends. Hai’s childhood revolved around his mother’s small grocery store, helping with a few errands.
At the age of 10, Hai and his only best friend had the opportunity to go to the city. Standing in front of a luxurious bakery with a variety of cakes for the first time, the two children longed to taste it. Back home, Hai tried to save money for many months. When he had enough money to buy a piece of cake, he and his friends happily took each other to the street to buy it.
“However, as soon as I entered the store, the staff did not listen to our explanation and called to tell us to go home. At that time, I felt very disappointed and sad. That day was also my friend’s birthday”, Quy said. Hai reminisced.
Having a dream in her heart, but Hai knows it’s extremely difficult to realize it. The older she gets, the more lonely Hai feels, unable to overcome her guilt with her scarred face.
At the age of 15, Hai began to think about the future. He strongly stepped out of the house, looking for a job training place, but nowhere did he accept it for reasons such as illiteracy, ugly appearance or lack of health. “There was a period of more than two years, I did not step foot out of the house. I drifted and let go, regardless of fate,” Hai said.
By the age of 22, Hai’s world was only encapsulated in a small house.
In 2016, Hai was sponsored by a charity organization to fly to Germany for surgery to separate the skin under his chin that was attached to the skin on his chest. The trip not only changed Hai’s appearance positively, it also changed the thoughts in his head.
After 21 days in a coma, Hai woke up. Seeing that he was sad because of homesickness, German doctors and nurses played for Hai to listen to his hometown songs. They also learned basic Vietnamese greetings to ask and encourage him. Knowing that Hai was hospitalized, the aunts and uncles in the Vietnamese community had traveled a long distance to visit Hai. For the first time, the young man welcomed the new age with strangers with a warm birthday party.
“I don’t think there are so many good people, not everyone discriminates and banishes me. In the hospital, I saw many people come to the surgery with more severe burns than they are still optimistic. Being outside, I see myself very lucky,” Hai confided.
Returning to his hometown after the trip, Hai enrolled in a kitchen apprenticeship in a center in Hanoi to be determined to fulfill his 10-year-old dream.
Nguyen Thi Huong, 24 years old, a friend in Hai’s kitchen class recalls: “Hai is not only the one with the most different appearance compared to his classmates, but also the one with the lowest starting point because he doesn’t know While learning a trade, Hai has to take advantage of the break and evening to practice writing. If others work hard, Hai has to do ten parts.”
In the first lesson at the vocational school, while his classmates could copy 2 pages of notebooks, Hai could only write 2 lines with single letters. After nearly two months, with 2 hours of sleepless nights practicing writing, Hai was able to write fluently.
“At the vocational school, for the first time in my life, I was exposed to many people and made many friends. They put their arms around me when taking souvenir photos, I felt not lost. Everyone here has a difficult situation of their own. , we consider each other like brothers and I no longer see the difference,” Hai said.
Nguyen Thanh Thuy, a life skills teacher at the Koto center at that time recalled, Hai always had a pen and paper on hand to take notes. At that time, the young man was very sick, but worked hard in the kitchen to practice and was always worried about his appearance whether he would get a job. “The day she graduated, I cried because Hai’s efforts were successful,” Thuy said.
Although he often confided in teachers and classmates about his dream of opening a bakery, after graduating from school, Hai did not immediately return to his hometown but chose to find a job in restaurants to gain experience. “My world is still very small, I think I should go out to collide,” Hai said.
Earlier this year, the 27-year-old returned to his hometown Ngoc Hoi. A coffee shop with cakes, his milk tea is a gift for the children of his hometown. Hai hopes that children like him in the past will not have to go very far to the street to see and buy lovely cakes.
The young man stood at the bar all day, happily communicating with customers without any self-doubt. Seeing children wandering, selling lottery tickets, he often called them in and offered a cake.
However, many times when a few customers walked into the shop and saw Hai, they quickly left, making him feel disappointed.
“I was sad for only a few seconds at that moment. The bakery is my whole childhood, my trying youth. When I fulfill my promise to myself, I feel relieved,” Hai shared. Follow vnexpress
