Chapter 1 — Don't Touch My Limits

My mother sent me ten boxes of flowers, my mother-in-law secretly brought them to my brother-in-law, I just made a phone call, read out three place names... she immediately collapsed. I stood in the middle of the living room, clutching the phone that was still calling, looking at the woman in front of me with a pale face. I slowly, word by word, read out the three names of places. Before she could finish speaking, her legs went weak, she collapsed to the ground with a "thump" sound, burst into tears, her trembling voice begged:

"I was wrong! Don't call anymore! I beg you, please..."

My name is Trieu Lap Mai, thirty-two years old, working as an administrative manager at a local medium-sized company. Married for five years, living with her husband, Cao Trung Dan, in an apartment with an elevator in the west of the city. I'm not the type of person who is too strong, but I have principles in everything I do. If someone gives me one part, I will return ten parts. But if anyone dares to step over my limits... I will absolutely not be patient. After autumn, my body was always in a bad state. Two years ago, due to constant overtime, the fetus stopped growing and had to have surgery, causing serious loss of blood and vitality. His face is yellow all year round, his hands and feet are cold. In the fall, I feel dizzy when I walk a few steps, and my whole body feels like my energy is drained from me. I went to see many Oriental medicine doctors and took dozens of prescriptions, but the effect was not obvious. The doctor only told me one thing over and over again: to nourish for a long time, eat and drink in moderation, gradually restore, and absolutely not be in a hurry. My mother, Liu Shuzhen, saw it all and was heartbroken. She worked as an elementary school teacher all her life, was meticulous, quiet, and didn't know how to say sweet words of comfort. But all my worries were silently hidden in my heart, then I quietly asked around to see if there was anything that would nourish my blood and vitality. That Friday night, I had just gotten home from work when I received a phone call from my mother. Her voice could not hide her joy:

"La Mai, I'll tell you this. I asked Aunt Vuong's son to find a very good batch of goods for you."

Aunt Vuong is my mother's old colleague. Her son has been selling seafood in the coastal area for more than ten years, with a wide source of goods. He can get genuine deep-sea delivery flowers, directly from the source, without intermediaries. The quality is much better than at pharmacies or mom-and-pop stores, and the price is almost three times cheaper. Mom said she had been asking for half a month. My old friends all said that the flower is the best thing to nourish blood and energy, especially suitable for a body like mine after surgery. Eating it for a long time is more effective than taking medicine. She discussed with Aunt Vuong's son for half a month. Just when they had a new batch of goods, of top quality, she immediately ordered... ten boxes.

“Ten barrels?” I almost blurted out at that moment, "Mom, why did you buy so much? I'm eating it alone, how long will it take to finish it?"

“What do you know?” My mother laughed and scolded on the phone, "This has to be eaten for a long time to be effective. A little each day, ten boxes is enough for you to eat for more than a year. I asked carefully, individually vacuum sealed, refrigerated for two years and it won't spoil."

After listening, my heart felt both warm and bitter. I quickly asked her how much money she had, intending to transfer it back to her. But mother immediately snapped:

"What do you plan to do with me? I'm your mother, buying nutritious food for my daughter is natural. This is savings money." Mom saves for her retirement, I spend it for you, I'm happy, don't interfere."

I couldn't argue, I could only quietly put that heavy thought in my heart. I understand better than anyone... my mother has been thrifty all her life, a set of clothes can be worn for five or six years, and when going to the market, you have to compare every penny. Yet this time he dared to take out such a large amount of money just to buy flowers to deliver to me. That's not a supplement. That's the love... she has for me, not holding back at all. Three days later, the goods arrived. Mom even called my younger brother, Trieu Hieu Phong, to drive ten boxes of flowers to deliver to my house. Ten boxes of delivered flowers were neatly arranged in the living room, each box was printed with its own logo, heavy... it was all my mother's heart. When my younger brother was carrying things, he smiled and said:

“Sister, because of all this, I have to contact people every day, afraid that the quality is not good, afraid that there will be problems with shipping, and I haven't been able to sleep well for several days. Remember to eat regularly, don't disappoint your mother."

I looked at my mother's gray hair on her temples, the bridge of my nose suddenly stung, and I almost shed tears. Mom quickly patted my hand and said softly:

“What are you crying for? I just need you to get better, more than anything.”

She told me over and over again, forcing me to eat on time and not to regret things. Then he pulled me closer, lowered his voice and whispered:

“La Mai, this is not cheap, keep it carefully, lock it, don't let your mother-in-law know. You already know her. When you saw her, you gave it to her daughter as a gift. At that time, you got upset and caused trouble."

I then smiled reassuringly:

“Mom, don't worry, I know. The spare bedroom has a small storage room, lock it, keep the key, she can't get it."

My mother still did not feel reassured, and together with me, carried each box of flowers to the spare bedroom, neatly arranged them in the innermost corner of the storage room, and then told her again and again:

“Remember to lock the door carefully, don't leave the key lying around.”

I agreed on the outside, but in my heart I actually didn't care too much. It's not that I don't respect my mother's words, it's just that I think... no matter how much my mother-in-law favors my brother-in-law, she won't touch my health supplements. What's more, I locked the warehouse door, the key was in the dressing table drawer, and even if she wanted to get it, she couldn't get it. But I didn't expect... It was that small subjectivity that almost made my mother's heart... drift away. That evening, as soon as my mother finished delivering flowers, I received a phone call from my boss. There's an urgent project that needs me to go on a business trip for a week and have to leave the next morning. My head felt like it was about to explode. I explained a few words, said my health had not been good lately, and asked if I could change to someone else. The boss was also in a difficult situation, saying that this project had been in charge of me from the beginning, the client side only accepted me, there was really no other way, they could only ask me to take a trip. When you return, you will be given compensatory leave and will be charged double overtime pay. I had to agree. In the evening, while packing my luggage, I told my husband, Cao Trung Dan, about the business trip. I especially pointed to the spare bedroom and told him over and over again:

“Ten boxes of flowers were bought for me by my mother, in the spare bedroom, I locked it, the key was in the dressing table drawer. Remember, absolutely don't touch it, and don't let your mother come here and search. That's what my mother bought to nourish me, it didn't cost a lot of money."

Cao Trung Dan was lying on the bed scrolling on his phone at that time, without even raising his head up, casually replied:

"I know, I know, aren't they just a few boxes of food? I won't move, and my mother won't move either. You can rest assured and go on your business."

Looking at his superficial appearance, I felt a little uncomfortable in my heart, so I emphasized once more:

"Gao Zhong Dan, I'm serious. This is not an ordinary snack. It's the retirement money my mother saved up for a long time to buy for me. Eighty thousand yuan, it's not a small amount. You have to pay attention, don't take it lightly."

“Eighty thousand yuan?” Only then did he raise his head, with a surprised look on his face, "Is it that expensive? Your mother really has to pay for it."

“It's because my mother loves me and my health is not good.” I glanced at him, "So you have to be careful, don't let anything happen."

“Okay okay, I know, I'll definitely keep a close eye.” He quickly sat up, patted his chest and assured, "Don't worry, I'll be at home on a business trip. I'm sure that when you come back, one box won't be missing, it'll still be there."

Looking at his swearing appearance, my heart finally felt a little more at peace. Although normally he always likes to be in the middle to mediate between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but in big things like this... I think, he still has to know moderation. The next morning, I dragged my suitcase to the airport. Before leaving, I deliberately went into the spare bedroom to look back once more. The warehouse door was still securely locked, I checked the dressing table drawer again, the key was still in there, then I left with peace of mind. Little did I expect... As soon as my front foot stepped out of the house, the back foot, the thing I was so careful about... still happened.