Chapter 10 — Don't Use The Two Words 'Filial Obedience' To Tie Me Down

“Ever said?” I looked at him, my eyes cold.

“When did you say it? Why don't I know?”

“It was when she wasn't around, my mother told my brother.” Chu Manh immediately responded.

"Mom has only one wish, in the future to live with her son, help take care of him, cook, enjoy some family fun. If you push her out, she will be very sad."

I looked straight at her and asked again:

"So why don't you follow that wish and welcome her into your home so she can enjoy family joy?"

Chu Manh paused, then said:

"My house is small, two rooms, not enough room for the child. It's not like my brother and sister's house, which has three rooms, two halls, and its own bathroom."

I turned to Chu Ngon:

“What you just said… is a decision you have thought through carefully?”

He nodded, his voice hoarse:

"Mom is like this now, I really don't feel safe leaving her alone, I can't bear it in a nursing home, but our house... is truly the most suitable."

I was silent for a long time. The sound of the nurse's cart rolling through the hallway was deafeningly clear. I exhaled slowly, as if forcing down my emotions.

“Do you really think the most suitable option… is for me to take on all the care?”

“You are her son, but your so-called ‘unwillingness’… why is it so gentle?”

My voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make him stiffen. Chu Ngon quickly explained:

"I'm not saying that I'll let you take care of everything, I'll help too, I can come home and take care of you at night, I can be on duty at night, during the day..."

“I go to work during the day.” I interrupted.

“Or are you planning on letting me quit my job and come home to take care of your mother?”

He paused:

“No… I mean you can talk to the company, ask for a lighter transfer, or work from home, many companies are flexible now…”

That sentence was like a blow straight to my chest. I looked at the man who had lived with me for many years... but felt so strange that I couldn't recognize him. How many days have I been busy, how many nights have I spent studying, calculating the future... How much has he seen? Or in his eyes... I'm still just "easy to talk to", "not heavy work", "adjustable"?

“Chu Ngon, do you know what I am doing at this time?” I lowered my voice, each word falling clearly.

“Do you know how many courses I have registered for, how many certifications I have taken, and which companies I am preparing to apply to?”

He was stunned:

“Don't you want a promotion and a raise in salary? You said the pressure on rent is high so you want to earn more…”

“Yes, but not only that.” I looked straight at him.

"I also need to have enough capacity... so that at any time, I can raise my children on my own, without anyone strangling me with a decision."

“Including your mother.”

“And you too.”

Chu Ngon stood dumbfounded. Chu Manh seemed to have just heard something extremely "rebellious and immoral" and couldn't help but interject.

"Sister-in-law, what you say is too much. Where are you strangling me? Or are you criticizing me for making less money, or are you criticizing my whole family?"

“What I hate is that people always take my sacrifice for granted.” I replied, my voice cold.

I turned to Chu Ngon.

“You once asked me if I wanted to adjust my job, if I wanted to give up my career and come home and be a full-time nurse for my mother?”

"You've asked me if I'm capable, if I'm afraid. What should I do if we don't go together in the future and I lose my job?"

Chu Ngon opened his mouth, his voice hoarse:

“I… I think We are one family, we can bear these things together..."

"Your so-called 'carrying together' means I take a step back, you stand still, and your sister and her husband take another step back?" I asked back.

The air froze again. Chu Manh's husband couldn't keep his face, his voice was upset:

"Sister-in-law, what you say is so harsh. Where should we retreat? Mom has worked so hard all her life. Can't you have some sympathy?"

“I have sympathy.” I looked towards the hospital room.

"So since she fell, I, unlike many other brides, ran away, but ran to the hospital every day, used my card to pay the deposit, and my sympathy turned into action."

“I ask again, what about everyone, where does everyone's sympathy lie, is it only in the mouth?”

He was speechless when I asked him, his face turned red with anger.

“You are really stubborn.” He said, his voice filled with anger.

"Can't we sacrifice a little for this family? If Mom knew that I think like that, there would be no meaning to living anymore."

Clearly a type of emotional coercion. But inside I was extremely calm.

“I said it from the beginning.” I slowly spoke up.

"I don't hide from taking care of my mother. I also don't push it to anyone else."

“But what I need is fairness, respect, and everyone taking their share.”

"It's not like everyone finished discussing, threw all the hard work on me, then stood outside and said 'sister-in-law has worked hard' and that was it."

“If you insist on taking your mother into my home, by default I will be the full-time caregiver…”

“I'll say it straight.”

“I don't agree.”

"Whoever wants it, they can pick it up themselves."