Chapter 6 — From Today I Only Speak the Truth

The other person's voice became serious. "The bottom of the document has your signature and fingerprints." Dad looked towards me. I immediately asked the other party to send a scanned copy. A few minutes later, the image was sent. The signature is crooked, like someone deliberately imitated my father's handwriting. The red fingerprint is printed very clearly. But my father's left thumb was partially cut off by a sickle when he was young, and a piece of his fingerprint was also missing. The fingerprints on that paper were again complete. Dad stared at the screen for a long time. He didn't say a word. That evening, Luong Uyen Ninh was called back to the village for verification. Hua Nghien also came. This time he didn't wear glasses, his expression was extremely panicked. Khau village chief, the inspection team and the police station were all present in the village committee office. My father sat on the couch, clutching the fake explanation that had just been printed out. Luong Uyen Ninh just walked in and saw it. Her face immediately turned white. The female officer of the investigation team asked: "Who wrote this document?" Luong Uyen Ninh's lips moved slightly. "I..." Hua Nghien immediately interrupted: "I helped her edit, but the content was written based on her personal knowledge." Police officer Tong looked at him. "Are signatures and fingerprints also created based on knowledge?" Hua Nghien choked. Luong Uyen Ninh bowed her head. "I just want this to not affect my recruitment." My mother stood up angrily. "You want this not to affect you, so you continue to throw a pot of dirty water on us?" Luong Uyen Ninh burst into tears. "Auntie, I've already apologized!" My mother's fingers were crooked, she couldn't make a fist, she could only use her wrist to hit the table. "I'm sorry to pass the judgement." "It's not because you know you're wrong." The female officer of the inspection team took back the documents. "Comrade Luong Uyen Ninh, the examination of the candidate who is expected to be recruited is not only about the exam results. Honesty, quality, and whether to report the truth to the organization or not are equally important." Luong Uyen Ninh immediately panicked. "I have no malice!" Officer Tong put the recorder on the table. "Whether there is malice or not is not a matter of concern." You can decide with just one word." "You demand a hundred thousand, threaten to go to Luong Tue's school to denounce, lead people into the house to search other people's property, distribute incomplete videos, and now submit documents with forged signatures." "All of these things must be recorded." Hua Nghien panicked. "She is young, she doesn't understand. People can't ruin her future." My father finally spoke up. His voice was very light. "He's twenty-two years old." "I've worked in the fields all my life, I don't understand documents." "But I know other people's names are not written in casually." Luong Uyen Ninh raised her head to look at him. Tears were still on my face. "Eldest uncle, please help me say something." My father pushed the fake explanation back. "You have helped me say good things for seven years." "From today onwards, I will only tell the truth." Luong Uyen Ninh's eligibility for recruitment happened half a month later. News in the village spread very quickly. Some people say the district is too strict. Some people also say she deserves it. My father did not participate in the discussion. He is redoing the procedures for his agricultural vehicle, driving to town three times, paying the fine and then taking the vehicle for inspection. When he returned, his whole body was covered in dirt, but he had a new certificate in his hand. He put the certificate in a drawer, along with the forestry station's fine. "Correct it if it's wrong." "In the future, don't let people take the real mistake and throw fake dirty water on you." The day Luong Uyen Ninh returned to the village, it was raining lightly. She was dragging a suitcase, the wheels sinking into the mud. When going to the front

At my door, she suddenly stopped. My father was standing in the yard braiding bunches of garlic. My mother sat under the porch, warming her hands. Luong Uyen Ninh rushed in, her eyes red and scary. "Luong Hau Son, are you satisfied now?" "You can obviously speak in private! Why do you have to hand over those receipts and intelligence documents to the investigation team?" "Now everyone knows that that year my father transported illegal wood and drove without a license." Her voice became increasingly shrill. "Didn't you two say you did that to protect me? Now What now? You two have stripped my parents of their last bit of dignity!” My father was silent for a few seconds and then sighed. “We were wrong.” Luong Uyen Ninh was stunned. Dad said: "The mistake is in thinking that by hiding your parents' ungodly things, you can grow up well." "The mistake is in thinking that it's okay to suffer losses, as long as the child understands what's going on." "The mistake is in considering you as a family member so you don't calculate everything clearly." The resentment on Luong Uyen Ninh's face stiffened. My father went into the house and took out a notebook. That is the notebook that Khau village chief helped organize. Inside clearly stated the land, old house, allowance and insurance in her name, along with the money my family had advanced over the years. "Your belongings are all clearly marked."