Chapter 1 — Behind Mother's Tears

My mother was famous for being so weak that she couldn't take care of herself in the military family compound. Every time the wives in the area sat around gossiping, everyone would say: "Lin Nghi is really lucky, after leaving Department Head Tong, I'm afraid I won't even know how to pay the electricity and water bills." Until my father brought home a comrade's widow. Her belly had grown six months, and as soon as she entered the door, she knelt down in front of my mother and cried. "Sister-in-law, I didn't come to rob anyone, I just want to give the child a way to live." My mother held her hand, heartbroken. Turning around, she made a phone call, speaking clearly: "Help me investigate a person. Name, household registration, marriage history, hospital records, when her husband died... Is three days enough?" I was stunned. My mother calmly painted her eyebrows and painted her eyes, there were no tears left on her face. "Girl, crying is for outsiders to see. As for the books, we have to calculate them ourselves clearly." "Women in the military housing complex, no one is simple." My mother was famous for being so weak that she couldn't take care of herself in the military housing complex. Every time the wives in the area sat around gossiping, everyone would say: "Lin Nghi is really lucky, after leaving Department Head Tong, I'm afraid I won't even know how to pay the electricity and water bills." Until my father brought home a comrade's widow. Her belly had grown six months, and as soon as she entered the door, she knelt down in front of my mother and cried. "Sister-in-law, I didn't come to rob anyone, I just want to give the child a way to live." My mother held her hand, heartbroken. Turning around, she made a phone call, speaking clearly: "Help me investigate a person. Name, household registration, marriage history, hospital records, when her husband died... Is three days enough?" I was stunned. My mother calmly painted her eyebrows and painted her eyes, there were no tears left on her face. "Girl, crying is for outsiders to see. As for the books, we have to calculate them ourselves clearly." "Women in military housing, no one is simple." The day my father brought people home, I had just returned from school. The hallway is noisy and bustling. There was a woman wearing a thick coat, holding her stomach with both hands. As soon as she saw my mother, she made a "thud" sound and knelt down, crying so much that her tears flowed like pear flowers in the rain. "Sister-in-law, I know it's not appropriate for me to come here." "But I really have no choice. Han Phong passed away so suddenly, the baby in my womb is already a month old, I really can't stand it alone." My father stood next to her, looking at my mother. His voice was low, but loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear clearly. "This is Hua Nhu. Before sacrificing, Han Phong asked me to take care of her." "She is pregnant, she has nowhere to go now, just stay at our house for now." Han Phong. I know this uncle Han. At the beginning of the year, he went on duty and did not return, and was later awarded posthumous honors. As soon as they heard that it was a martyr's widow, everyone's faces changed. Aunt Tran became serious. "Lanh Nghi, Han Phong died for the mission, this matter cannot be ignored." Aunt Vuong also nodded. "Hoai Son values love and loyalty, as his wife, you must also support." I was so angry that my head was pounding. Support what? A woman who was having surgery was brought home by my father. As soon as he arrived, he knelt down in front of everyone and demanded to be accepted. Shedding a few tears, saying a few vague words, I wanted to push my mother to the grill. Furthermore, my mother doesn't know how to take care of others! Just as I was about to open my mouth, my mother coughed softly. She wore a long white dress and stood in front of the door. Looking even weaker than Hua Nhu, who was three times pregnant. "Hoai Son, you are wrong about this." My father was stunned. I was just about to rush in to help, the next moment

Following that, my mother's eye sockets turned red. "Such a big thing, why are you telling me now?" "Families of martyrs, of course we can't delay." My heart sank. Done. My mother is still my mother. With a few words from the people around her, she would probably be hesitant to agree. My father clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "It happened so suddenly, I just realized it." Hua Nhu took my mother's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, you are very kind. I know you are an honest person." My mother patted the back of her hand. "Families of martyrs must definitely be given preferential treatment." "It's just that I never heard that Tieu Han had a wife?" "It's also my fault, Hoai Son knows you, but I don't know." Her expression flashed. change. My father stood next to him and frowned: "Leng Nghi, Hua Nhu's mood is not good right now. What she needs most is to be stabilized." "Let's talk about these things later." My mother raised her head to look at him, her eyes still filled with tears. "Because she is Han Phong's family, she can't be ambiguous." "Moving into an officer's family residence is not a small matter. Your reputation is important, Han Phong's honor is also important." "Missing the side." What if someone outside says your care isn't pure?" The people in the hallway were stunned. Aunt Vuong was the first to react. "This is also true. Families of martyrs are not normal relatives, only by following the process will things be okay." "Hoai Son, don't complain. The better it is, the clearer it must be." My father choked up a bit: "Later I will go write an explanation." Hua Nhu lowered her head to touch her stomach and said in a low voice: "Are you bothering Mr. Tong too much?" My mother held her hand and smiled. "Don't bother." "Let old Tong do it himself to show the solemnity." Having finished speaking, she looked back at my father. "Is that right, Hoai Son?" All the neighbors looked at him. My father could only nod. That night, my father went into the study room to write a report. Hua Nhu is arranged in the living room. My mother's face was very calm, but inside my heart, I was in turmoil. "Mom, do you really have a way?" She laughed. "A family of martyrs is pregnant, if it was really on the same path, she would beg the organization, beg the women's association." "But she kept looking for my father, and in front of the whole house knelt down in front of her door." "Do you really think I'm a vegetarian?" The second day Hua Nhu moved in, she stopped my mother in the living room. His hand was on his stomach, his voice was soft. "Sister-in-law, it's not that I'm picky, it's just that the living room is a bit cold." "The doctor said that pregnant women should not catch a cold. Every night the baby kicks me." My father had just returned from submitting the documents, his shoes had not yet been changed, his eyebrows were furrowed. "The main bedroom has sunlight shining in. Hua Nhu is pregnant, let her live first." "Order." Doubtful, I'll move to the living room first." I immediately exploded. "On what basis?" My father glared at me. "Does a little girl like you know how heavy it is?" "Your aunt Hua is pregnant, your mother is not pregnant." "Our family can't be that selfish." Selfish. Those two words were like a slap straight to my face. Hua Nhu's eyes immediately turned red. "Mr. Tong, don't hurt the peace in the house because of me and the baby." "I'm fine anywhere, really. If the baby is naughty, just hold back a little..." My mother gently smiled. "Okay, everyone listens to Mr. Tong." "It's okay, you can rest assured." My father's face calmed down a bit. "That's right." I was so angry that my eyes turned red. Obviously this is what the elephant wants from the fairy! Hua Nhu supported her stomach and walked into the main bedroom, her eyes glued to the wedding photo hanging at the head of the bed. In the photo, my father was wearing a military uniform in his youth, the background was fake mountains and waterfalls, my mother was wearing a floral cheongsam, leaning on my father's shoulder. She hesitantly looked at my mother. "Sister-in-law, there's something wrong."

I don't know if I should say it or not." "Seeing you and Mr. Tong making love like that, I remember Han Phong, I feel very uncomfortable." She raised her hand and pointed to the wedding photo on the head of the bed. "Can I temporarily take this photo down?" "I don't have any other intentions, I'm just afraid I won't be able to sleep at night." My father waved his hand. "Nothing." "It's just photos, just put them all in the closet first." "You can rest assured." Hua Nhu felt I nodded. My heart was filled with anger, then I heard her suddenly exclaim: "Wait!" She pointed to a photo on the bedside. "Leave this one behind." It's a photo my father took during a logistics award a few years ago, in the photo he was alone. Hua Nhu touched the photo frame, her voice soft: "Brother Tong, I've been having nightmares lately." "Han Phong is no more, now the person I trust the most is you." Can I put this photo of you at the head of my bed? Seeing it will be more reassuring." My mother's smile stopped a bit. My stomach churned. In my mother's room, sleeping on my mother's bed, I also wanted to put a picture of my father. However, my father did not immediately refuse. He just looked at my mother a little awkwardly. "Lanh Nghi, she is having sex so her mind is sensitive, don't compare." In the end, my mother did not say anything, just gave a sign with her eyes. I followed her into the study room, so angry that I was about to burst into flames. “Mom! Mom is too easy to talk to, just let her bully you like that! "The gentle smile on my mother's face disappeared. "Tieu Tuyet, the room is not free." "Interest must be calculated." She took out a parchment bag from the drawer. Inside was a stack of documents. Two dates were circled with a red pen. The day Han Phong sacrificed was more than eight months ago. And when Hua Nhu registered for a pregnancy check-up, she was twenty-four years old. week. "Tieu Tuyet, you're studying medicine, let's try it out." It took me two seconds to react, my spine suddenly felt cold. "It doesn't match." "So whose baby is it?" My mother looked towards the study room, her eyes were cold and strange. "Your father must know better than us." The third day after moving in, Hua Nhu vomited very badly. After she vomited, she patted her breasts and said to my mother: "Sister-in-law, you bastard I'm tired of eating at the cafeteria, I just want to eat some home cooked rice." "Today the doctor said to drink some stewed soup, it's good for the baby." As soon as my father heard it, he immediately said: "Lanh Nghi, anyway, you're free at home, take care of it a little." My mother was sitting on the sofa reading a book, and when she heard that, her fingertips stopped. I laughed coldly. Before, my father always told others that he loved his wife, and couldn't bear to let her go into the kitchen. Now I remember that she knows how to stew chicken. then. Hua Nhu immediately bit her lip. "Is your sister-in-law blaming you for bothering you?" "Since knowing what happened to Han Phong, I have never had a peaceful meal." My mother immediately said: "Don't bother." She patted my shoulder, signaling me to calm down. Then she hummed and went into the kitchen to stew soup. An hour later, she brought out the clay pot. The pot was completely black, with half-cooked and half-cooked chicken, a piece of ginger as big as a rock, and burnt goji berries sticking to the side of the pot. I looked from afar and felt that this chicken had really died unjustly. Hua Nhu smiled and opened the lid of the soup bowl, the smile immediately stiffened on her face. Then she ran into the toilet and vomited until the world was spinning. My mother was very confused. "Oh my god, my cooking skills are really a bit poor." "But I really followed the steps." "I just don't know why it turned out like this." My father frowned so tightly that it was about to turn into a lump. Just as he was about to say something, the neighbor upstairs came in to buy vegetables. Aunt Trieu saw my mother wearing an apron and immediately frowned. "Oh Mr. Tong, how does Linh Nghi know how to cook and take care of people?"