Chapter 2 — For 5 Pounds of Shrimp

As I was about to go to the warehouse to see if it was still available, I saw Luu Bang already up and setting the table. I was a bit surprised, but felt a little relieved. At least there are still people in the house who understand. Who would have thought, after setting up the dining table... I looked closely - there were seven people, but he only placed six chairs! The mother-in-law quickly called her two sisters-in-law and the children to sit in first. Then he pretended to feel guilty and turned to me:

"Oh my gosh, Chau Tinh, it seems like there's a shortage of chairs... Maybe you should stand up to eat, or just don't eat at all to lose weight. Anyway, you can always eat crayfish, and you two have never eaten in your whole life!"

I was so angry that I was shaking all over and speechless. The mother-in-law continued to add:

"In our hometown, a daughter-in-law who marries into someone's house is not allowed to sit at the dinner table. It's just that my son spoils her."

After speaking, she calmly sat down at the table and waved for my husband to come sit with her. I looked at Luu Bang, hoping he would help me. But he was shameless and chimed in:

"Mom is right, please be patient this time. Is the food ready yet? Bring it up quickly!"

I'm completely speechless and completely disappointed with this family. I went back to the kitchen, gathered all the washed and unwashed crayfish, and put them in a large black plastic bag. After that, when the whole group of people were happily gathering at the dining table, I took the bag of shrimp and left. No one wants to get involved in anything, right? Then don't eat it!

4

Going downstairs, I took a taxi back to my mother's house, the cold wind blowing on my face made me tremble with anger. My parents are local people, both retired from government units. My family only has me and my younger brother. Since childhood, we have lived in adequate conditions and have never suffered such frustration. Why did I have to become a buffalo and a horse for that house, and in the end there wasn't even a place to sit and eat? What do I endure all this for? Some people sit and watch TV shows, some people lie down and watch videos, some people fall asleep — and what am I? Is it a maid they hired? Since the maid was still paid, I was eager to serve, but in return I only received cold eyes. Finally arriving at my mother's house, I carried a black plastic bag and walked into the yard. As soon as I walked in, I saw my mother and sister-in-law washing vegetables in the yard. When my mother saw me coming home, she was first surprised, then happily ran to greet me.

"Good girl, why are you back at this hour? What is that bag? Is it heavy? Hey, man, quickly go and help her carry it!"

"So it's a girl coming home? Wait a minute, I'll be right out." – my father's voice rang out from inside the house.

My sister-in-law was happy to see me coming, wiped her hands on her apron, and happily said:

“Sister, I'm happy to be home, why bring anything else!”

Looking at the warm eyes of my family, looking at the cozy yellow light in the yard, my nose stung and I almost burst into tears. I tried to swallow my tears and smiled along with everyone.

“Mom, sister-in-law, today is International Women's Day, we all have worked hard, I bought 15 pounds of crayfish to celebrate!”

“15 pounds!? That's a lot!” – My mother looked at me surprised.

But she didn't say anything more, just went with her father to carry the shrimp into the kitchen to prepare. My sister-in-law also quickly followed. I changed my slippers and went into the kitchen. Just as I was about to wash the shrimp with everyone, my sister-in-law quickly discovered the wound on my hand.

“Sister! Your hands do it Why is this? While you're bleeding, why bother washing the shrimp? Go to the living room and rest!"

Hearing my sister-in-law say that, I was moved beyond words. A while ago at my husband's house, the whole table of people didn't pay attention to my bleeding hand. My mother also heard it, immediately snatched the toothbrush from my hand, turned and stuffed it into my father's hand.

“Come on, daughter, I see that some of you have already washed it, the three of us have done enough. I'll eat it later. Go put a Band-Aid on.”

This is what a family feels like — there is always someone who loves, always someone who cares. I felt warm inside, sitting on the sofa applying a Band-Aid to my hand. Sure enough, not long after, the pot of spicy and fragrant crayfish was brought to the table. The passionate smell of pepper blends with the smell of beer, so fragrant that it seems to spread even outside the alley! Not long after I sat down, my younger brother also came home from work. Seeing me, its face beamed:

“You're back!”

“Wow, there are still many crayfish like this! Every time she comes home, our whole family has a feast. Mom and Dad really love you!”

My younger brother, like me, has loved crayfish since childhood. Seeing him teasing and laughing, I could only shyly laugh along. His sister-in-law immediately pulled him to sit on the chair: "This is the shrimp I bought, please stop talking so much!" Watching the couple play happily, my mood also felt lighter. The whole family gathered around the dinner table, warm and happy. Seeing that I injured my hand and had difficulty peeling the shrimp, my mother - who has always pampered me since I was a child - even prepared a bowl full of shrimp, poured it with red sauce, and placed it right in front of me. Shrimp is both fresh and crispy, rich and spicy, eating it is the taste of happiness.

5

Being busy all day, I finally get to eat the crayfish dish I've been looking forward to for so long, and in the arms of my family. While I was enjoying that wonderful taste, the phone rang again as if asking for a debt. I looked at the screen — sure enough, it was my mother-in-law. I took a deep breath, mentally prepared myself, then picked up the phone. As soon as she put the phone to her ear, her loud voice rang out:

“Chau Tinh, where have you gone? Where's the lobster? You got halfway through cooking and then ran away, right?”

“The whole table is waiting for you!”

"That's right, sister-in-law, your son Dat is so hungry that he can't stand it anymore!" — the older sister-in-law's voice also echoed through the phone.

There were also high-pitched children's screams:

“I want to eat crayfish! I want to eat! The bad aunt won't let me eat, so I'll beat the bad aunt to death!”

I'm really at a loss - the whole house is just full of... "extra people". Six adults and no one can cook a meal? Are you planning on leaving it there and waiting to starve to death? I deliberately answered loudly and clearly:

“Oh my god, I'm back at my mom's house. Didn't I say there's no chair for me in my house? With my sister-in-law being afraid of crayfish, how dare I let her see it?"

“When I was washing shrimp, everyone was so busy! I see you guys don't have time to eat. My mother's house has a lot of people, so it's more convenient, I'll take it home to eat together."

“Also, didn't mom say that dish is not good, shrimp only eat corpses? Then we can't let everyone eat!”

“Don't you dare! You insolent woman!” — the mother-in-law immediately screamed and started cursing.

I immediately hung up the phone. Thinking about the scene where the whole family was angry and unable to do anything, I felt unbearably funny. I looked up and saw my parents there looked at me with a difficult expression.

“Good girl, you can bear the pain…”

It turned out that I accidentally turned on the speakerphone, the entire phone call, from my mother-in-law's voice to the curses, echoed clearly in front of the whole family. My younger brother was angry and almost wanted to rush out to "deal with" Luu Bang. I quickly stopped it. Are you kidding, with that type of person, if you hit him once, you won't be able to rest in peace for the rest of your life. Now that I think back, I don't understand why I was so blind in the past that I chose to marry Luu Bang. When you're not married, you're really good at hiding it. And after that, always pretend to be dignified, neutral, and fair. When it comes to real interests, in the end they are still not on my side! Not long after eating,... Luu Bang appeared again at my mother's door. As soon as I entered, my eyes were glued to the crayfish plates on the table. I thought he came to apologize. Who would have thought that the first sentence he opened was:

"Are the crayfish done? My mother told me to bring some home."

My younger brother was already angry. After hearing that sentence, he couldn't bear it anymore, immediately stood up and grabbed him by the collar. My sister-in-law and I had to rush in to intervene. My younger brother tried to hold back and gradually calmed down. I also slowly spoke up: "All day long I say 'your mother, my mother'. Before, I really didn't expect you to be the type of man who clings to your mother's skirt like that!" Luu Bang was adjusting his collar, which was wrinkled by my younger brother, and looked angry.

"Chau Tinh, this time you're really too much! My mother is so old, she was so angry that she almost had a heart attack. As for my two sisters and nephew, do you dare to let them go hungry like that?"

I was so angry that I was shaking: "Are you all crazy? Don't you feel embarrassed when you say those words? Tomorrow is International Women's Day, not Daughter-in-law Day!"

"Do you still dare to mention International Women's Day? My mother single-handedly raised me, and when she gets old, she wants to enjoy a little happiness, but can't she?"

"As for my two sisters, they work hard at their husband's house to take care of the children, so what if I give in a little?"

I'm really speechless.

"So what about me? Isn't it hard for me to work all day?"

“I don't have to take care of the child!”

My throat was choked, now I understand why their whole family always looked down on me and ordered me around like an employee.

6

After getting married, my mother-in-law kept urging me and Luu Bang to have a baby. But I am in the stage of career development and am a workaholic. So before that, I had a clear discussion with Luu Bang: save money to buy another house for my child in the future before thinking about having children. On the surface, Liu Bang did not object, but looking back now - he must have been dissatisfied for a long time.