Chapter 2 — Fur Coat Factory In The Countryside

They only heard that, then joined together to claim benefits, but no one really knew any evidence. My eyes swept over each person one by one. They looked at each other and then awkwardly bowed their heads, no one dared to answer. Niu Cuong was speechless for a moment, looked around the crowd, saw Uncle Truong hiding in the crowd, his eyes lit up.

"Uncle Truong! Over there! Come out quickly!"

Uncle Truong was about to escape when Nguu Cuong pulled him out and stood in front of everyone, silently cursing the boy for pulling him into the water. Nguu Cuong aggressively pointed at Uncle Truong:

"I have a witness! That day, Uncle Truong himself saw their family's books, on which it was clearly written that a down jacket sold for twelve hundred yuan!"

“If you have the courage, take out the book and compare it!”

I looked at Uncle Truong's unnatural expression and suddenly remembered the incident where he secretly took the notebook the other day. I snorted coldly:

"You're an idiot to believe in the books and let outsiders see them. You guys just talk and want me to pull out the books and give them to you, are you dreaming?"

Before I could continue speaking, my father gently pulled my sleeve, his eyes full of helplessness.

“Please Xin, we are all from the same village, don't make such a big deal out of it.”

“Everyone's house is not easy to live in, maybe... let's give them a little more money.”

Looking at my father's weak appearance, my blood seemed to boil. It's always like that, whenever I have an argument with the villagers, my father bows his head and admits his mistake, whether right or wrong doesn't matter anymore.

“Dad! How could you be like that!” I was so angry that I cried, my voice choked up, "They have bullied you to this point, and you still want to humble yourself? I didn't do anything wrong, why do I have to increase the money for them?"

Dad looked at me, his eyes full of fatigue and resignation. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he just sighed, speechless. I understand, in fact, in his heart, he is also angry and feels unfair. But he always kept the thought of "peace and harmony" and did not want to conflict with the villagers. I choked up:

"Every time something happens, my dad apologizes and humbles himself, even though it's not my fault! Doing so only gives them more momentum to bully me, thinking that I'm easy to bully!"

I felt both anger and pity when I looked at my father's face full of wrinkles. Nguu Cuong smirked, looking proud:

"Oh, you still know how to pick up a fire and leave someone's hand? Who is bullying you guys?"

"Tham Tam, ask everyone here, who doesn't know that your family sells fur coats at sky-high prices? Uncle Truong saw the books with his own eyes, are you still going to deny it?"

I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger.

“Nuu Cuong, don't be too much!” I gritted my teeth, my voice trembling, "We know what kind of person my father is. For the sake of the villagers, he accepted to lose money to collect duck feathers. On what basis do you people slander him?"

"Haha, doesn't that sound good? To put it bluntly, you still want to make money from us!" Nguu Cuong pouted in disdain. "And you're still lying about losing money, I think you're lying!"

I was so angry that I couldn't breathe. I pulled my father's hand and said decisively:

"Dad, let's go! I don't want to argue with them anymore!"

3

Suddenly, Aunt Ly in the crowd screamed, pointing at my father with hatred in her eyes:

"I said, why don't you let my son work at your factory? It's because you're afraid he'll know you're making money unfairly!"

“If you let him work, he wouldn't have to go to Ao Thanh to work as a hired laborer, no I'm full of debt, and I still haven't been able to get married!”

“Tham Trung Thanh, God will punish you! Even if you die, you won't have a son to see you off. You deserve your life!"

The Ly family's son was a famous scoundrel in the village. When he saw that my father only had one daughter, me, he immediately came up with the idea of ending his life. Taking advantage of my father's absence, he brought a matchmaker to bring gifts, intending to lure me into doing something. At that time, I was still young, but not a fool. I immediately grabbed a broom and swept the house and chased them all out. Hearing Aunt Ly scolding my father, he remembered the past, his face slightly slackened, and he said harshly:

“Auntie, what your daughter did that year was so unethical, I couldn't help but take action, let alone let her get close to my daughter.”

"You... you..." Aunt Ly pointed at my father, unable to speak, finally stamped her feet, cried and shouted:

“You bully people! Tham Trung Thanh, you bully us widows and orphans!”

“I work hard to raise ducks, I also have to work hard to pluck feathers, and I have to pick up all the dirty trash before I dare to sell them to you.”

“I only rely on that penny to get by! Oh my god, how unfair is this!”

Some people who didn't know what was going on saw Aunt Ly making a fuss and felt pity, turning to blame my family for being narrow-minded and not knowing how to sympathize. I was so angry that I burst out laughing, then loudly refuted:

“Auntie, that year your husband passed away, it was my father who spent ten thousand to take care of the funeral, and even helped you deliver the coffin.”

"Now just because of a small matter, you are here gossiping and smearing my father's reputation. Are you worthy of the gratitude you received that year?"

Uncle Thao stood next to advise:

"Loyal Thanh, it's not easy for Aunt Ly to live, if people can endure it then they can endure it, what's the point of accepting it?"

I immediately counterattacked:

"Uncle Thao, that year your wife was hospitalized and borrowed thirty thousand from my father, and she still hasn't paid it back."