Chapter 12 — Du An's Store

"Your mother-in-law came to find me today, saying that she also had a part in that year's lease contract and wanted me to change my words." I asked: “What do you say?” Uncle Ho smiled. “I said I'm old, but not blind.” I also laughed. She clapped my hand. "Girl, kindness must be given to the right person. If given to the wrong person, you will become a wolf." I opened a pomegranate, the red seeds were transparent. In the past, I always thought that family members would eventually remember the good things. Now I understand, people who remember good things don't need you to remind them again and again, people who don't remember just criticizing you is not enough. On the last day of the divorce calm period, Chu Nghien Bach did not appear. At the gate of the Civil Affairs Department, A Tran was even more impatient than me. “He's not dragging it out again, is he?” I look at the time. “Ten minutes left.” In the ninth minute, Chu Nghien Bach got out of a taxi on the side of the road. He has lost a lot of weight and has blue circles under his eyes. There are no flowers in hand, nor albums. He walked up to me, his voice very light. "Du An, I'll ask one last time. Is it really no longer possible?" I said: “No.” He nodded, as if he already knew the answer. When checking in, the staff asked according to regulations if we were voluntary. Chu Nghien Bach looked at the table and said for a long time: "Voluntary." The moment the red book changed to a divorce certificate, he tightened the paperwork very tightly. Leaving the lobby, he suddenly called me back. “My mother wants to see you.” “No see.” “She is sick.” I looked at him. He smiled bitterly. "This time it's real. High blood pressure due to anger, lying at home." “Find a doctor.” He was stabbed by these three words. “I would have visited her before.” “Before, I was the daughter-in-law of the Chu family.” He bowed his head and looked at the divorce certificate. “Not anymore.” I won't say more. He stood at the bottom of the steps and suddenly bowed. "Sorry." These three words come too late. It's so late that I no longer have a place to put it in my heart. I said: “Received.” He raised his head, a look of deep fatigue in his eyes. “Just accepted it?” “What if it doesn't?” He smiled, there was a bit of moisture in the corner of his eyes, but he quickly wiped it away. “You go.” A Tran opened the car door. Before I sat down, I heard Chu Nghien Bach say again: "Du An, the day the first store opened, I really wanted to live well with you." I stopped for a moment. “I was also honest.” The car door closed. Old Pham started the car. In the rearview mirror, Chu Nghien Bach stood in front of the door of the civil affairs department, the divorce certificate in his hand was blown open by the wind. I didn't turn my head to look a second time. When sincerity degenerates, there may not be a loud noise. Just each time of silence, each time of bias, each time of pushing me out in front of outsiders. Waiting until I finally left, he discovered that it turned out that the first person to leave was not me. It's him. After leaving the Southern distribution area, Chu Nghien Bach rented a small warehouse himself. He wants to start over. But the customer did not follow him, nor did the driver follow him. On the contrary, Chu Tu left. The two brothers hung a sign for Chu Gia Accel Dat. In the first week, they mistakenly received three applications. Tan Hoa's divorce case has not yet gone to court, she has posted a warning online. She didn't mention me, only wrote about how the Chu family tricked her into being the hostess, calculated her bride price, and forced her to pretend to be her daughter. The post was not so explosive, but went viral in local circles. As soon as Chu Gia Accel Dat's sign was hung up, people took pictures and made fun of him. Her mother-in-law was so angry that she rushed to Tan Hoa's mother's house to cause chaos. This time Tan Hoa didn't cry, he directly took out the receipt to report to the police. “If you continue to cause trouble, I will apply for a protection order.” Chu Tu stood next to her and scolded her for not having a conscience. Tan Hoa replied: "Your conscience has been taken away by your family." A Tran watched the video and laughed so much that she hit the table. “She learned.” I said: "People who have been pitted learn the fastest." At the end of October, the fourth Du An Tien Dan store opened. I don't do any rituals, just invite the staff to eat a meal. Old Liu raised his glass. "Miss Tran, will we have to open even bigger in the future?" I said: "Let's do these four stores well first." Tieu Manh asked: "So what about feces?"

What about the southern district?" Old Pham continued: "Next month add two more cars." Everyone laughed. Halfway through eating, an acquaintance came to the door. Chu Nghien Bach. He was wearing an old coat and carrying a paper bag in his hand. A Tran immediately stood up. I signaled her to sit down. Chu Nghien Bach walked in front of me and put down the paper bag. “These are some of the documents left over by previous customers, so please return them to me.” I don't accept. Old Pham came forward to check, confirmed that it was just a document, and then gave it to me. Chu Nghien Bach looked at this scene and smiled bitterly. “Seeing you now, it's like being on guard against thieves.” I said: "The process is familiar." He nodded. “Chu Gia Accel Dat is closed. Tieu Tu went looking for a job again, and her parents moved back to their old house." He looked like he was reporting, but like he was waiting for me to say something. I just said: “I know.” He looked at the bustling people in the store. “This place also used to hang the Chu Ky sign.”