Chapter 3 — After Taking Mother Away, We Changed Our Lives

After settling in on the second day, I started frantically looking for a job. We don't have much money left in our hands, we are wasting it every day. I don't dare relax even a little bit. I bought a map of the city, circling all the industrial zones and commercial streets that recruited the most people. Every day before dawn, I woke up, took the earliest bus, and went from place to place to ask questions.

“Hello, may I ask if we are recruiting people?”

I have to say this sentence more than a hundred times a day. In return, most were just cold shakes of the head and impatient waves of the hand. I don't have a degree. No skills. Also no experience. In this big city, I am as small as a speck of dust. The things I can do are just the bottom level. Serving the restaurant. Work as a line worker in a factory. Or stand on the street handing out leaflets. As long as I have money, I can do anything. Initially, I found a job washing dishes at a small restaurant. Every day from 10 am to 10 pm. My hands were soaked in greasy water all day without stopping. Every night after work, my back hurts so much I can't stand up straight, and my finger joints swell up. 1,500 yuan a month, including food and accommodation. My mother looked at my hands and was so heartbroken that she shed tears. She warmly rubbed her hands and then hugged mine, massaging me over and over again.

“Nguyet Nguyet, don't do it anymore, it's too extreme.”

“Mom picks up scraps and bottles to support both of us.”

The next day, she actually went out wearing a sack. When she returned that night, she brought more than a dozen coins and was covered in dust. I pulled her into the room, grabbed the sack and threw it aside.

“Mom, I didn't bring you here to pick up trash.”

My voice choked.

“I want my mother to live well.”

She hugged me, crying until she couldn't breathe.

“But mom loves you…”

I hugged her thin shoulder, my heart both bitter and choked. We have to get better faster. I can't fall down. During the day I wash dishes at the restaurant. In the evening, go to the night market to sell street goods. I imported some cheap phone cases and small jewelry from the wholesale market. Every time the urban manager comes to check, I have to grab the goods and run quickly. There were nights when I was busy until late and still couldn't earn a few dozen yuan. But I don't give up. Every penny earned is a brick to build our new life. Mom also didn't mention picking up scraps anymore. She cleaned our small room so clean that there was no dust. She went to the market to ask for discarded vegetables, brought them back, washed them and salted them with table salt, becoming a rare side dish for mother and daughter. Before I get home from work, she always boils a kettle of hot water for me to soak my feet in. She used her own way to quietly support me. We speak very little. But both understand that the other is the only motivation for them to continue living. Such days lasted for half a year. I lost ten kilograms, and my skin was rough and dark from the sun and wind. But my eyes became brighter and brighter. Because the number in the savings book is finally no longer decreasing. But it started slowly... Little by little it increased. From a few hundred yuan... To 1,000 yuan... Then 2,000 yuan... That day, I received my salary from the dishwasher shop, plus the money from street vendors, our savings finally surpassed 5,000 yuan. I'm excited run home. It's very rare that I dare go to the market to buy half a kilo of meat and also buy a bottle of the cheapest rice wine.

"Mom! Let's celebrate today!"

I held up the bag of meat and the bottle of wine like a general who had just returned from victory. Mom looked at me and laughed. That was the first time since coming to this city that she truly smiled from the bottom of her heart. The wrinkles at the corners of the eyes also relax. She took the meat, carefully sliced it into thin slices, and used our small electric pot to cook a pot of fragrant cabbage stew with meat. The smell of meat quickly spread throughout the cramped room. I poured my mother a glass of wine, then also poured a glass for myself.

“Mom, we have money.”

“From now on, life will definitely get better and better.”

Mom raised her glass, took a small sip, then choked until she coughed, tears welling up in her eyes. But she still smiled and said:

“Okay… okay… I believe you.”

That night, mother and daughter talked a lot. Talking about embarrassing things when I was young. Talk about your childhood dream. Talk about topics that you never dared to mention in your old hometown. We just discovered... It turns out there are so many things to talk about between mother and daughter. We are not just mother and daughter. But also each other's only comrades... They are each other's only friends. It was late at night. I helped the slightly tipsy mother lie down. Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, my heart was filled with unprecedented strength. The most difficult times are over. We survived. And later... Will definitely live better and better. Although life is still poor, it is finally gradually stabilizing. At the restaurant washing dishes, because I was agile and hard-working, the boss transferred me to a waitress position. The salary increased to 2,500 yuan, and there was no need to soak your hands in greasy water every day. As for my mother, she found a job as a seamstress for a small factory in the village in our town. The money I earn is not much, but at least it covers part of my living expenses. More importantly, she began to feel like she was no longer a burden to me, and her spirit also improved a lot. Mother began to learn how to communicate with neighbors. The women living at the bottom of society all have the same fate and the same resilience. They often gather in one place, working and chatting about family matters. Gradually, mother talked more. A smile often appears on the face. She even learned from her neighbor's aunt how to use our small electric pot to make all kinds of different dishes. Every day I drag my exhausted body home from work, and as soon as I open the door I can smell the fragrant aroma of food. Under the pale yellow light, my mother always sat at the small table waiting for me. That moment... All fatigue disappeared. I know, this place is truly home. A true home. The turning point happened on a rainy day. That day the restaurant was empty so I got off work early. As soon as I got home, I saw my mother carefully using a small glass jar containing something red. A strong spicy smell immediately entered the nose.

“What delicious food did Mom make?”

I curiously leaned closer. Mom seemed to be showing off a treasure, giving me the bottle.

“Try it, this is the chili sauce I just made today.”

“Using my hometown recipe, That Ly Huong type.”

I used the tip of my chopsticks to dab a little and put it in my mouth. The familiar spicy flavor immediately exploded on the tip of the tongue. Spicy enough. It also carries the smell of thick soy sauce extremely rich display. Better than all the chili sauces sold on the market. This is the flavor I ate growing up. It's the taste of mother.

"So delicious!"

“It's really delicious!”

I exclaimed in surprise. A thought flashed across my head like lightning.

“Mom… should we sell this?”

Mom was stunned for a moment then immediately waved her hand.

"What nonsense are you talking about? This is just food for our family to eat, how can we sell it?"

“Why not?”

I excitedly grabbed her hand.

“Mom, your craftsmanship is better than some famous brands out there.”

"People in Dung Thanh also like spicy food, there will definitely be buyers."

My heart was pounding. Washing dishes, working as a waitress... Ultimately, it's not a long-term plan. I'm always looking for an opportunity. An opportunity that can truly change the fate of mother and daughter. This is the moment.