Before the 2023 Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncake line outside Bao Phuong in Hanoi began around midnight. A proxy buyer interviewed by VnExpress said he queued from midnight and charged according to the number of boxes obtained. On high-demand days he recruited relatives, taking on the long wait in place of customers.
The pleasure of securing a gift and the burden of standing awake can be assigned to different people. Once a position in line has a price, waiting becomes not only patience but labor supplied for someone else.