Teamwork makes dream work 

What is the secret of the strong collaboration?  A difficult question that has left many pondering for an age to work out the answer. But if you ask a group of burglars in Thái Bình Province, they may just give you the correct answer.

Earlier this month police in the province successfully nailed a criminal gang. Those who found themselves in cuffs were Thái Bình-based Vũ Đức Quốc and Vũ Đức Ngọc and Lê Bá Khánh from Hà Nội.

The trio was responsible for a number of break-ins of local state offices and businesses. Case report reads the gang fled with a stash worth somewhere in the region of VNĐ3 billion (US$131,000) last month along. Their haul included not just cash but also 2.4 ounces of 9999 gold of AIDI Company in Gia Lễ Industrial Zone along with some 400 lighters of Hoa Việt Company, both in Đông Hưng District.

But in what was perhaps their most daring heist, they clearly wanted to be sure just exactly how much they were taken. So they took along with them a money counting machine to calculate their ill gotten gains. And the total? VNĐ2.6 billion ($114,000) stolen and divided equally among all.

Lesson learnt? Even criminals have moral values to uphold. Unfortunately, these principals cannot secure them from being punished by the justice system. Proof if ever needed, that crime really doesn’t pay.

In the mood for rain 

Rain, someone once said, makes everything better. Washes away the dirt and cleans the soul. But for what I’m about to tell you, scrap that. And remember rain, I assume, can be a gentle reminder that the time has come to focus on the tasks at hand. Especially when it pours.

After an investment of VNĐ118 billion (US$5.1 million), Điện Biên Phủ-Nguyễn Tri Phương Intersecting Tunnel in Đà Nẵng City opened in November last year.

Despite the heavy capital poured into the project, the tunnel was severely flooded last week following a fresh midnight rain. The main cause, however, cannot be more surprised: a technician who was in charge of the pump… wait for it….  overslept.

And if you, dearest readers, are still wondering why the high-end tunnel was so dependent on the manual operation then, Hứa  Thiện Vỹ, head of the instruction company, had the answer.

He told Người lao động (The Labourer) newspaper that from April 24, the new pump was set up. Therefore, other automatic systems including the water level indicator were removed. One technician was assigned to manually handle the system in case water-logging happened. However, as he was so deep in the sleep, a midnight rain took a change to cause a flood of up to one metre, right inside the tunnel.

Although the incident was dealt with, the sleepy technician, I think, must have acquired his own lesson that a midnight rain is not always followed by a bright sunrise.

Who moved my meal? 

A real man cooks, say a lot of women these days.

Embracing a chance to shine in girls’ eyes, a man nicknamed BNT last week posted on a Facebook closed group a picture of delicious-looking Vietnamese meal captioned that “On my second time visiting my girlfriend’s family, I cooked them this meal. Qualified enough to be a husband?”

T’s post received more than 6.8 thousand likes from group members along with countless praises on his perfect performance.

A meal including Việt authentic summer dishes, from crab soup to fried tofu and stewed pork, attracted a lot of complements. People assumed that he must have successfully won the hearts of both his girlfriend and her family.

“But wait,” someone said, “doesn’t it look like a meal posted several months ago by another Facebook user?”

Comparing every detail, group members then surprisingly found out that the picture of the tempting meal was simply reposted. The authentic owner, however, is Thu Anh, a U40 mother living in Hà Nội who has a great passion for food and share her family’s daily meals online.

“Sorry. I don’t want to make you down but these dishes look so familiar,” hilariously commented Huy Cường who posted Thu Anh’s album of meals for a proper comparison.

Still, netizens sent T best wishes of having a wife even though it should have turned to be a challenge then as he revealed he was a poor attention seeker.

Too many pictures… spoil the broth. Or in this case, spoil the post.