Chapter 2 — From now on, mountains and rivers do not match each other

I laughed: "Assistant Chau, would you mind conveying a message to Mr. Luc - The decision that Khuong Vu Vi will never regret the most in this life is leaving him." Hanging up, I conveniently took out the SIM card, broke it in half and threw it in the trash. From now on, there is no Miss Khuong, no Mrs. Luc. Only Khuong Vu Vi.

—

Early in the morning of the third day, the train arrived at Van Chau. Pulling my suitcase out of the station, the warm, humid air rushed into my face. Taste of homeland. I called a taxi: "Go to Thanh Thach alley." The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror: "Thanh Thach Lane? All the old houses over there are about to be demolished, which house are you going to?"

“The Khuong family.”

“Oh, Doctor Khuong's house.” The driver's voice sounded familiar, "Are you a relative of his family? Doctor Khuong passed away several years ago, the house is still empty."

“I am his daughter.”

The driver looked at me again, this time his eyes were a bit more complicated, but didn't ask anything else. Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at the beginning of Thanh Thach alley. The alley is indeed old, the green stone pavement is uneven, the vines on the wall wither and then grow again. My old house is located at the end of the alley, the white walls are mottled, the copper locks on the wooden doors are rusted. I searched for the key in my pocket - for the past five years I've always carried it with me, even in the most luxurious master bedroom of the Luc family, this key was always hidden under the pillow. The rotating lock core makes a dry "click" sound. Push the door open, dust falls everywhere. The courtyard is deserted, but the structure remains unchanged. The east room is my father's reading room and clinic, the west room is our bedroom, and the main room holds the eight-element table and armchairs. I put down my suitcase, rolled up my sleeves and started cleaning. Busy for three days straight. Cleaning furniture, repairing doors, pulling weeds in the yard, and watering the orchid pots that Dad liked the most when he was alive. On the evening of the fourth day, the old house finally had some life. I was so tired that my back and knees hurt, but I felt extremely refreshed — this was the first time in five years that I worked for myself. After showering and sitting in the yard, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Vu Vi? Is Vu Vi back?"

It's an old female voice. I stood up and opened the door, outside the door was my neighbor Mrs. Tran, holding a rough porcelain bowl.

“It's you!” The old lady's eyes were red, "Just now I heard Mr. Vuong at the alley saying he saw you, I thought he was dizzy..."

“Mrs. Tran.” My nose was stinging, I took the bowl in her hand.

It's sticky rice cake with wine, my favorite food when I was a child.

“Please go inside and sit down.”

The old lady grabbed my hand and looked from top to bottom: "She's skinny, she's also white... Isn't it good to live over there?" I shook my head, then nodded again: "It's all over, ma'am." That night, Mrs. Tran and I sat outside in the yard and talked about many things. She told me who in the alley had a child who had passed the university entrance exam, whose elderly person had just passed away, whose family had just opened a grocery store.

“My father went on a sudden trip, but everyone in the alley remembers his good deeds.” The old lady wiped her tears, "In that epidemic year, if it wasn't for Dr. Khuong taking medicine day and night to save people, I don't know how many people in this area would have died."

I bowed my head to eat the floating cake, the warm sweet sugar water spreading in my heart. My father lived a poor life all his life, but he always kept this small clinic and kept it all for himself people of this alley. Before leaving, he held my hand and told me: "Vi Vi, the doctor treats the disease, but saves the heart. No matter where you go in the future, don't forget your heart." Over the past five years, I almost forgot.

—

After settling into the old house, I started thinking about the days to come. The savings my father left behind are not much, plus the amount of money I brought with me when I divorced. If I spend it sparingly, I can last a year. But eating from one mouth to another is not a good way.