Ho Thang Chi, 43, has an intellectual disability. He runs his family’s noodle stall in the Cho Lon Ward of Ho Chi Minh City.

Phung Ling and Ngoc Lien are ethnic Chinese women who started working at the stall in 1977. They never married, have no children, and now live with relatives in other parts of the city.

Chi’s mother died in 2021. After the funeral, Ling saw Chi trying to sell lottery tickets on the street and looking confused. She decided she had to help him. Ling says, "His parents and siblings are all gone. If I left too, who would he have to turn to?"

Ling asked Lien to join her. Together they used their savings and part of the inheritance Chi received from his parents to fix the noodle cart. They taught Chi how to tie rubber bands around take‑out bags, prepare the bags, and serve customers.

The stall now sells about 40 to 50 bowls of noodle soup each night. The sales pay for the ingredients and Chi’s living costs. Any profit left is divided equally among Chi, Ling and Lien.

Ling is now older and suffers from back pain. She worries about what will happen when she and Lien can no longer work.

Both women say they feel a strong duty to Chi. Their former employers were kind to them, and Chi has no other family. Because of this personal connection, they keep working even though it is hard.