Chapter 1 — From Today I Only Speak the Truth

My father went up the hill behind the house and cut two trees. People accused him of illegally exploiting the forest and had to pay a fine of five thousand yuan. The real person who denounced him was my cousin Luong Uyen Ninh, who was raised by my family for seven years. She just passed the exam to enter a public service unit in the district, and is currently awaiting verification. The next day, after the fine was paid, she called home: "Uncle, the person in charge of background checks is about to return to the village to find out about relatives. Please help me say a few words. Let's just say that since I was young, I have been influenced by you, always value principles the most, that's why I denounced you." My father held the phone for a long time before saying: "You are the one I denounced, so I won't come to embellish my achievements anymore."1. My father, Luong Hau Son, was squatting in front of the kitchen door. In his hand was a ticket, the corner of the paper had been squeezed until it was wrinkled. Five thousand yuan. That's the amount of money my mother spent more than twenty days saving. My mother has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for many years, and her fingers are bent like old tree roots damaged by frost. Other people pluck garlic stalks and can pull out a handful at a time, but she can only pick out one stalk at a time. Every day she bent over and worked until nightfall, earning seventy yuan. When I got home, my hands were so swollen that I couldn't lift a pot of hot water. That money was used to pay for my dormitory next semester, and at the same time help Luong Uyen Ninh rent a house when she went to the district to work. Not anymore. My mother sat on a small stool, the back of her hand glued to a rubber band, tears falling down her knees. "When her parents passed away, was there any family willing to adopt her?" "My family had two children so I refused, but my aunt said that her older daughter was very troublesome. It was my father who carried her back from the funeral home." "In the past seven years, from food, clothing, tuition to extra tuition, is there anything missing from her?" I didn't say anything. what. The pot of corn porridge in the kitchen boiled and lowered, but no one stirred. Under the old tree next to the neighbor's house, there was the sound of people talking. Luong Uyen Ninh's voice was very clear. "It's not that you're heartless, but in the future you have to work in a government unit, you can't tolerate relatives destroying the ecological environment. Creating forests is a policy, everyone must comply." My mother suddenly raised her head to look at my father, as if she didn't know what to do. Dad folded up the ticket, stuffed it into the drawer, his voice was deep and heavy as if the ground was pressing down on him. "I cut down a tree, the fine was right." My mother's lips moved slightly, but tears fell first. "I didn't say the fine was wrong." "But the person accusing you, how could it be him?" Footsteps were heard outside. Luong Uyen Ninh entered the field. She was wearing a light blue shirt, her hair tied neatly, and in her hand was a newly purchased document bag. Behind her is a man wearing glasses. I've seen his picture before. That was her boyfriend, Hua Nghien, a teaching assistant at a civil service exam preparation center in the district. As soon as she entered the house, Luong Uyen Ninh looked at the ticket. Seeing that the drawer was closed, she smiled. "Eldest uncle, it's good to be fined. Remember in the future, the mountains and forests are the state's resources, it's not up to you to chop them however you want." My mother stood up, placing her hands on the edge of the table. "Uyen Ninh, those three thousand yuan is the amount of money you saved up." Luong Uyen Ninh frowned. "Auntie, don't talk like that. "I know our family's situation is difficult, but difficulties are not a reason to violate the rules." Hua Nghien stood next to him and continued: "Auntie, actually Uyen Ninh did this for the good of uncle. It's better to correct the mistake early than to let something more serious happen later." I looked at them, my stomach was cold. "So today you two came here to

comfort my family or come to accept the results?" Luong Uyen Ninh's face changed. "Luong Tue, you are also a university student, don't think so narrowly." "Many people in the countryside consider feelings more important than the law. But you're not like them." My mother suddenly asked: "Then tomorrow they will come to interrogate you, and you will ask the eldest uncle to come and say that you are divided between public and private, so what does that mean?" The house was immediately silent. Luong Uyen Ninh pursed his lips. "The eldest uncle used to raise you, that's the truth." "He can understand you, which proves that our family style is very strict." My father raised his head. There was no anger on his face, just a tired look as if he had been tired. dried by the sunlight. "I understand that you obeyed the rules." "But I couldn't say the words you wanted to hear." Luong Uyen Ninh was stunned. Dad took the ticket out of his pocket and put it on the table. "This paper, I acknowledge." "But you want to use it to cover your face with gold, I don't acknowledge it." Early the next morning, Luong Uyen Ninh came again. This time she did not come alone. Behind her were Hua Nghien and Village chief Khau Duc Phat. As soon as he entered, village chief Khau sighed. "Hau Son, it was very difficult for her to pass the exam. The investigation is just following the procedure. You won't lose any meat if you say a few nice words. "My father was repairing the melon trellis in the yard. After being fined, the forestry station asked him to hand over the chopped tree branches to the village committee for disposal. The melon trellis was still falling down, he could only find a few old wooden bars, and used torn cloth to wrap them up as temporary supports. His fingers were rough, and between his fingernails were full of black mud. Listening to Khau village chief, he didn't know what to do. raised his head. "I can't say." Village chief Khau frowned. "I'm not telling you to lie. It denounced you, you accepted to pay the fine, isn't this a good thing? It proves that your whole family supports the policy." My father did not speak, just continued to tie the rope. He tied the knot twice but the knot still slipped. Luong Uyen Ninh stood in the middle of the yard. Her expression was colder than yesterday. "Eldest uncle, I didn't expect you to be so vindictive." "The story about you accusing me is true, the story about you receiving punishment is also true." "Tell me to say one sentence that I support you to uphold the principles, is it that difficult?" My mother came out of the house. Above Her hands were wrapped in a white cloth. "He's not vindictive, he's just heartbroken." Luong Uyen Ninh looked at my mother, trying to suppress the impatience in her voice. "Auntie, I've been staying with you two since I was little, I'm very grateful." "But because you raised me, you can't ask me to keep my mouth shut for the rest of my life." My mother was stunned, as if she didn't understand what she said. "Shut your mouth?" "Who made you shut your mouth?" She took two steps forward and then suddenly stopped deformed hanging next to me, not knowing where to put it. "When I was little, I cried at night, saying I missed my mother. I hugged you, my hand was so painful that I couldn't lift it and couldn't bear to let go." "I didn't force you to shut up." "I just want to ask you, before denouncing, why didn't you tell me a sentence?" Luong Uyen Ninh's eyes flashed with frustration. "Did you two hear that?" Hua Nghien said calmly: "Auntie, the society of acquaintances in the countryside is like that. If I say it in advance, it will turn into begging, blocking, and moral kidnapping." I laughed. "You caused the money my mother spent a whole season of pain to earn to be fined, and then you said my family was a moral kidnapper?" Hua Nghien pushed his glasses. "The fine is not what we punish, but the punishment regulations." My father suddenly spoke up: "Yes." Everyone looked at him. He slowly stood up, his back even more hunched than before. "The penalty regulations, I am. submit." "But Uyen Ninh, I don't owe you this verification review." Luong Uyen Ninh's face became unsightly. "I don't want to see it."

Do you live that well?" My father shook his head. "I used to hope you lived well." "When I was in twelfth grade, it snowed that night and the dormitory was drafty. I called and said it was cold, so he rode his bike and brought me a blanket. When I returned, my legs were so frozen that I lost feeling." "At that time, I hoped you would pass the exam and leave this place." "You signed up for a permanent exam preparation class, and didn't have enough money, so I had to sell a garlic crop at a cheap price that was like giving it away for free. I also hope you pass the exam." "But I never expected that after you passed the exam, the first thing you would do is push my family in front of everyone to be punished." Luong Uyen Ninh's eyes turned red. Not because of guilt, but because of self-pity. "So you two want me to admit that everything I have today is because of you two?" My mother waved her hand in panic. "No, Uyen Ninh, that's not what you mean..." She didn't mean it. I don't know how to explain it. The sacrifices of a poor family are so trivial. A meal, a set of old clothes, a bus ticket, a rainy night. Saying it out loud is like being stepped on, taking it all for granted. "Uncle, auntie, the way you say it is not appropriate." about morality." Village chief Khau quickly reconciled. "Okay, okay, don't say such harsh words." "Hau Son, think more. This afternoon the investigation team also came to verify the situation in the village." My father straightened the old wooden stick, his voice so low that it was almost inaudible. "No going." Luong Uyen Ninh laughed coldly. "Eldest uncle, aren't you afraid that in the future I will join the state unit and won't let you dictate?" My mother was so angry that she trembled. "What did we ever order you about?" Luong Uyen Ninh's eyes immediately turned cold. "Don't you two want me to remember you for the rest of my life? "The fact that my parents are dead doesn't mean I have to be your daughter." That sentence was like a rock falling straight into the middle of the yard. My father's face turned gray. He slowly put down the old wooden stick in his hand. Hua Nghien took out his phone to check the time. "If you don't cooperate, we won't force you." Luong Uyen Ninh stared at my father. "Originally, I want to keep quiet. represent the two of you." "Eldest uncle, don't regret it." Luong Uyen Ninh said it could be done. That same evening, she posted her first video. In the video, she stood at the entrance to the hill behind the village, her eyes red. "My parents died early, and since I was young, I had to stay with relatives." "Now I have just passed the recruitment exam, but I am forced to denounce the uncle who raised me in my real name." "A lot of people scold me for not being grateful, but I am I want to say that before the principle, love has no privileges." The video was quickly shared. Local accounts in the district also reposted it. The title was beautifully written. "Future base officer accuses his uncle of destroying the protected forest: I can't let a bowl of rice weigh down my spine." Comments below all praised her. "A person like this is only suitable for a state office." "Rural relatives are best at using their nurturing grace to oppress people." "The girl is very alert, don't let her blood be sucked." The second video was even more cruel. She sat in front of the old house, choking up and said: "I've always wanted to ask, that year my parents died in a traffic accident, is there really no compensation money?" "Why for seven years I lived in a relative's house, they never told me the truth?" When I saw that sentence, my hands turned cold.