Chapter 13 — Breakfast Changes Destiny

I put down the bamboo clip: "He dresses with my salary, with my money from selling cakes. If you want to settle the account, first make up for the money you paid to buy a silk scarf for Ly Thu Lien." Treasurer Do walked in from the front room: "Comrade Chu, the back is the workplace, no quarrels are welcome." Chu Kien Thanh gritted his teeth: "This is my family's business." Shopkeeper Do called Mr. Tan: "Sending guests off." Old Tan, tall and muscular, stretched out his hand: "Please." Chu Kien Thanh was kicked out, standing in front of the door and saying cruel words: "Lin Xuan Duong, don't beg to come back!" I continued to spread oil on the lotus cake: "Don't worry, it won't be me who begs." At dusk, Chu Vien and Chu Tieu Tue arrived. The two children's faces were covered in mud, Chu Tieu Tue's hair was as messy as a crow's nest. As soon as they entered the door, they burst into tears: "Mom, grandma lost my hairpin, and made me cook breakfast myself. I burned it, brother scolded me." Chu Vien spoke strongly: "Dad said if mom doesn't come back, don't accept us in the future." I looked at it: "So what are you doing here?" His face turned red: "I'm hungry." Minh Nguyet raised her head from the pile of books: "Before, everyone never waited for me when eating." Chu Tieu Tue was not convinced: "Don't you have your mother to protect you now?" I took two cold tacos and placed them on the table: "Eat. Once you're done, go home." Chu Vien stared at the pastries on the table of the guests in the front room: "I want to eat that." "That's to sell for money." "I'm your son!" "A son can still live by eating mantono." He angrily threw down the mantonu: "Mom favors the eldest sister!" I bent down and picked up the mantou, brushed away the dust, and put it back on the plate: "If you don't eat it, leave." Chu Tieu Tue pulled his sleeve and said in a low voice: "Brother, I'm hungry." Chu Vien gritted his teeth, picked up the bamboo shoot and gnawed on it. Minh Nguyet gave her cup of hot water to Tieu Tue: "Slowly, so you don't choke." Tieu Tue received it, but did not say thank you. I saw everything, but said nothing. At the end of work in the evening, shopkeeper Do calculated the books and gave me a wad of money: "Today's sales were very good. Ms. Lam, this skill of yours, it would be a waste to be locked up at home." I took the money: "I didn't know the outside world was this big before." Treasurer Do smiled: "It's not too late to know now." Suddenly there was a loud cry outside the door. Ly Thu Lien knelt in the front room, clutching Chu Kien Thanh's sleeve, her hair falling down, her voice sad: "Mr. Chu, I really didn't mean it. The factory said I was degrading my behavior and wanted to send me down to the warehouse, please help me." Chu Kien Thanh frantically rubbed his head and scratched his ears: "I'll stand up first." She refused to stand up: "Sister-in-law, I'm also here. Please explain to everyone, Mr. Chu and I are completely innocent. If you don't explain, I won't be able to live anymore." The guests in the front room all turned to look. I walked over carrying the tray: "You guys are innocent, why do you have to ask me to explain?" Ly Thu Lien cried even louder: "It's all because of you talking about silk scarves, about me running errands, people are spreading false rumors." I asked: "Who buys silk scarves?" She was speechless. I asked again: "Did you come to my house to eat meat and make my daughter starve?" Her face was pale. Chu Kien Thanh whispered: "Xuan Duong, it's just right. It's not easy for Thu Lien as a woman to live." "It's not easy for me either." I looked at him: "Have you ever felt sorry for yourself?" In the corner of the front room, a female worker wearing a blue cloth jacket stood up: "I've seen it in the factory before. Ly Thu Lien brings a lunch box to Chu Kien Thanh every day, opening her mouth and calling "Mr. Chu" sweetly. Before, I thought they were relatives." Another guest chimed in:

“So they're not relatives.” Ly Thu Lien suddenly raised her head: "Everyone, don't talk nonsense!" I put down the tray: "Ly Thu Lien, it's okay if you want me to explain. Tomorrow we'll go to the factory together, bring the matter of the silk scarf, the lunch box, the story of you passing the message on behalf of Chu Kien Thanh, the story of your coming to my house to make Minh Nguyet starve, explain each thing clearly. Do you dare?" Her cries fell silent. Chu Kien Thanh's face was forced: "Lin Xuan Duong, don't do everything so cruelly." I smiled faintly: "When you guys work, why aren't you afraid of falling out of love?" Ly Thu Lien slowly let go of his sleeve. The wind outside blew in, she knelt there, and in the end there was no one to support her. Chu Kien Thanh raised his hand to block, but saw the eyes of the whole house staring, so he stopped midway. Treasurer Do spoke up: "If you want to cry, go outside and cry. Don't hinder my business." Ly Thu Lien got up and ran away. Before leaving, Chu Kien Thanh glanced at me: "Are you satisfied?" I shook my head: "It's still very early." The next day, the factory announced Zhou Kien Thanh's suspension from work for review. Not because of me, but because Ly Thu Lien's husband's family made a fuss all the way to the factory gate, saying that Chu Kien Thanh colluded with the widow and wanted to force her to be the stepmother of his family's children.