Chapter 3 — Behind Mother's Tears

“Hoai Son, the words above are so dense, I can't understand.” My father was stunned. My mother looked towards the door, her voice still soft. "So I invited the discipline inspectors and security guards to testify." "So everyone can feel at ease." The hall door was pushed open. Director Thieu led two staff members in. She is in her fifties, short hair, sharp eyes. When she was young, she worked with my mother in the military supply audit team, but in a house that not many people knew about. My father's expression immediately changed. Director Thieu walked to the front of the podium and glanced at the confirmation. She raised her eyes to look at my father. "Old Tong, did you prepare this document?" My father's throat rolled up and down. "It's just a voluntary confirmation between family members." Director Thieu's face was calm. "Regarding the status of a martyr's family, the distribution of benefits, the provision of care and the guarantor's family members, it is no longer a simple family matter." She looked towards Hua Nhu. "Comrade Hua Nhu, Miss used to use comrade Han Phong's family identity to apply for benefits, right?" Hua Nhu's lips turned white. "Yes..." She quickly became firm again. "I'm pregnant, shouldn't I receive this benefit?" My mother finally put down her pen. She wiped the corners of her eyes. It's like layer by layer peeling away the soft shell that has been worn for twenty years. She looked at my father, her voice was not high, but every word was clear. "Old Tong, didn't you say you wanted to give Han Phong's family an explanation?" "Today is just good." "Let's just calculate this account in front of everyone." The hall was eerily quiet. Director Thieu told someone to close the door. My mother placed the parchment bag she always held in her chest on the table. The first part is an excerpt of Han Phong's personal profile. Unmarried. There is no spouse registration. Immediate relatives are mother and younger sister. Hua Nhu suddenly cried. "Han Phong and I just haven't had time to register our marriage! Love can't be proven by a piece of paper!" My mother looked at her. "If you haven't registered your marriage, you won't lose face." "Using your unregistered marriage status to receive benefits for martyrs' families will lose face." Hua Nhu's crying stopped. The second part is the official response from the local people. The old mother of the Han family clearly stated that she had never heard her son mention Hua Nhu before, nor had she ever authorized anyone to handle the funeral arrangements on her behalf. The third part is Hua Nhu's medical examination file. Pregnancy week, filing date, due date, each item is complete. My mother pushed a handwritten time table in front of everyone. "The day Han Phong died here." "The first month that Hua Nhu claimed to be here." "The difference between the two is more than two months." Aunt Ton took a cold breath. Aunt Ma was a head nurse, her face immediately sank. "This baby can't be Han Phong's." Hua Nhu hugged her stomach, her voice shrill: "You guys bully pregnant women! I have a stomach ache, I have to go to the hospital!" Aunt Ma coldly looked at her. "Your face is good, your breathing is stable, your hand still knows how to hold the upper and lower abdomen." "If it's really an emergency, it wouldn't be this reaction." Hua Nhu stiffened. My father finally opened his mouth: "Where do these things come from? Linh Nghi, you kept me from investigating these things?" My mother smiled. Normally her smile is very soft. But this time it's different. "You brought a woman home, saying she was the family of a fallen comrade." "As an officer's family, let me verify my identity, is there any problem?" My father gritted his teeth. "You don't believe me." "Of course I don't believe." In the hall, someone raised their head to look at her. My mother continued to say: "From the moment you didn't follow the process and wanted to secretly arrange for her, I didn't believe it."

She was in our master bedroom, so I let her take down the wedding photo. I didn't believe it." "From the moment you took this certificate and asked me to sign it, I knew you weren't stupid." "You want me to accept this debt on your behalf." As soon as these words fell, my father's face turned completely gray. Director Thieu flipped through the document. "Comrade Hua Nhu, your martyr family certificate number is abnormal. The grant units also don't match." "Please explain." Hua Nhu looked towards my father. My father dodged again. Just this one dodge, everyone in the hall understood. My mother took out a document again. "This is a copy of the form when Hua Nhu applied for a hardship allowance." "The handler's opinion column is Tong Hoai Son's handwriting." My father suddenly stood up. "Hua Lenh Nghi!" Director Thieu said. eyes. "Chief Tong, please sit down." These five short words were more powerful than the sound of my father banging on the table. He stiffened for half a second, then sat down again. She stared at my father. I knew she couldn't stand it anymore. A person relying on "martyrs' families" and "pregnant women" was most afraid of being stripped of these two layers of skin The rot inside is still not visible at the bottom.