Chapter 22 — Help You Earn 7,300,000 Yuan, You Only Give Me 70,000 Yuan?

Co Thua Trach bowed his head.

“Thanh Hoa, I'm sorry.”

"Before, I always thought your mother was a rich and poor woman. She accepted benefits from the Co family and then turned around and refused to accept them."

“My mother always said that.”

“And I believed.”

He opened the wooden box. Take from inside a discolored piece of paper.

“It was written very clearly in the letter.”

“My mother once asked the driver to stop Aunt Khuong's car on a mountain road.”

“As long as she signs the Thu Vi sign transfer paper, she will be released.”

“The Tham family is in charge of getting the recipes.”

“The Co family is in charge of keeping people.”

Lady Co immediately screamed shrilly:

“Are you crazy?”

“I am your mother!”

Co Thua Trach looked at her.

“Aunt Khuong is also Thanh Hoa's mother.”

The whole shop was silent. Only the hum of the old tape recorder remained. Tham Ngoc Dung suddenly retreated towards the door. Lady Hua immediately discovered it.

“She wants to run!”

La Tay quickly pulled the bamboo rag in the kitchen to block the exit.

“General Shen.”

“Just now, scolding the neighbors was still very aggressive.”

“Why do you want to leave now?”

Tham Ngoc Dung crashed into the fork. Feet stumble hard. Almost fell to the ground. Had to hold on to the door frame to stand steady. Right at that moment. The sound of police sirens rang out from the alley. Tieu Man rushed in holding the phone.

“I called the police!”

“The recording, the repair slip, the station deposit slip, and the letter that Co Thua Trach brought.”

“I took all the pictures!”

Tham Ngoc Dung looked at me. Hoarse voice.

“Tham Thanh Hoa.”

“Do you really want to put the Tham family in jail?”

I calmly replied:

“It wasn't me that pushed them in.”

“It was you who walked in there yourself.”

Tham Ngoc Dung also wanted to say something more. But people in uniform entered the shop.

“Tham Ngoc Dung.”

“Co Lan Chi.”

“Please come with us for a trip.”

Lady Co's legs were soft. She rushed forward and grabbed Co Thua Trach.

“Thua Trach!”

“I did all this for you, too!”

Co Thua Trach looked at her. Then one finger at a time. Slowly removed her hand from his body.

“Mom did it for the Co family.”

“But not because of you.”

When being taken away. Tham Ngoc Dung turned to look at me one last time. There is no longer arrogance in her eyes. Only resentment remains.

“What if you win?”

“Thu Vi can't come back either.”

“Your mother can't come back to life either.”

I picked up the knife on the table. Gently tap the back of the knife on the cutting board. A very quiet sound.

“There were never two words hanging on your sign.”

I turned on the stove. Blue flames flared up.

“Thu Vi are the hands my mother passed down to me.”

“These are the rules that Master Manh has kept for half his life.”

“It's a hot meal that neighbors are still willing to wait for.”

Mrs. Hua gave me a handful of green onions.

“Thanh Hoa.”

“Cook something.”

“Let your mother hear.”

I wash my hands. The clay pot gurgled. When the Cinnamon Wine-Marinated Chicken is added to the pot again. The sweet scent of wine wafted through the door. Radiates all over Nam Hang alley. The people standing outside the door were silent. Manh Hoai An sat at the round table. The back is still straight.

“When Van Thu accepted me as a student.”

“I once scolded her for being soft-hearted.”

“It said Thanh Hoa held the knife very firmly.”

“The heart is also very strong.”

Chu Ngan stood next to the kitchen. While giving the plate, he asked:

“What about now?”

Manh Hoai An looked at the boiling pot of soup.

“Now…”

“I am satisfied.”

The dish is okay bring it to the table. Golden chicken skin. Absorbed with the scent of cinnamon wine. A thin layer of oil floats on the surface of the broth. Lady Hua was the first to taste it. After one bite. Her chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

“I once ate at the Tham family's banquet.”

“Not on the same level.”

La Tay immediately said:

“I recorded this sentence.”

“Tomorrow it will be hung right in front of the shop door.”

Everyone laughed. Laughing and then someone quietly wiped their eyes. That night. Nam Hang Tieu Tao is not closed. Someone brought the old table. Someone carried it to the bench. Someone brought all the canceled banquet orders at the Tham family's restaurant to me.

“Thanh Hoa.”

“Can my birthday party be held here tomorrow?”

“I also want to book my family's first month party.”

“Stop interrupting.”

“Let her rest for a while.”

I opened the party receipt book. On the first page. I wrote down a line of text. Gia Yen Khuong Van Thu. The next morning. In front of the Tham family's restaurant. A large seal was posted. And in front of Nam Hang Tieu Tao's door. The line of people lined up from the beginning of the alley to the end of the street. Mrs. Tham took the car to Nam Hang. The stick in his hand tapped the ground with a heavy sound.

“Thanh Hoa.”

“The Tham family can return the Thu Vi sign to you.”

"Please withdraw your lawsuit against Ngoc Dung."

I dumped the leftover soup into the water tank.

“Old lady.”

"She's old so she's really confused."

“This case is no longer just my family's business.”

“It's a human life.”

Her facial muscles twitched.

“In my body, the blood of the Tham family still flows.”

I looked straight into her eyes.

“My last name is Tham because my father's last name is Tham.”

“It's not because you Tham family ever recognized me.”

She pointed to the sign in front of the door.

“There is no Tham family.”

“I can't open a shop.”

Mrs. Hua took out a thick stack of red paper from behind the counter.

“Who said that?”

"More than three hundred households in Nam Hang are willing to stand as guarantees for Thanh Hoa."

“Not much money.”

“But people's hearts are real.”

Manh Hoai An put his cane on the ground.

"Me too."

“Thu Vi's former students all recognize her.”

Behind the crowd. Co Thua Trach spoke softly:

“What the Co family owes Aunt Khuong, I will pay.”

“Houses, premises, everything that can be sold, I sell them all.”

I don't look at him.

“Let's compensate the right people.”

“Deliver to the right place.”

“Don't use it to buy peace for yourself.”

He nodded slightly.

"I get it."

Finally, Mrs. Tham could no longer resist. Someone helped me into the car. Before the car door closes. She was still staring at Nam Hang Tieu Tao's sign. That sign is very old. The wooden edge is cracked. The writing is not at all luxurious. But that day. When the sun shines down. The whole Nam Hang alley could see it. Half a month later. The verdict was announced. Tham Ngoc Dung was sentenced to prison for masterminding the swapping of materials, slandering others, destroying evidence, and exposing old cases. Lady Co, because she participated in coercion and concealment of the old case, could not escape punishment. The Tham family's winery was sealed. The day the yellow sign was taken down. There were a lot of people watching. But no one clapped. Everyone just quietly moved aside. Look at the sign falling into the trunk of the car. Made a dull sound. Co Thua Trach brought their family's compensation documents Try to come. He did not enter the shop. Just stand at the beginning of the alley. Bow deeply before me.

“Thanh Hoa.”

“I don't expect your forgiveness.”

“Then don't expect it.”

He raised his head. Smile bitterly.

“You're still the same as before.”

“Talking never leaves room for others to retreat.”

I calmly said:

“My mother used to leave room for retreat.”

“As a result, she never returned.”

He was silent. Turn around and leave. Chu Ngan leaned next to the door.

“Can't bear it?”

I stuffed a basket of radishes into his lap.

“Cut the fibers.”

He laughed and took it.

“Boss.”

“How is my salary calculated?”

“See the craftsmanship.”

“What if I cut beautifully?”

“You can stay for dinner.”

He bowed his head and looked at the radish basket.

“This remuneration is much higher than before.”

I used the back of the knife to gently tap the cutting board.

“Less talkative.”

“Guests are waiting.”

The day Nam Hang Tieu Tao reopens. The line of people lined up all the way to the end of the alley. Manh Hoai An personally hung up a new sign. On it were written four words: Tieu Tao Van Thu. I stood in front of the fire. The first plate of Chicken Braised in Cinnamon Wine was brought to Mrs. Hua. The second disc is for Manh Hoai An. The third plate is placed on an empty seat. There was my mother's old apron there. And what year was the tape recorded? I poured a small cup of cinnamon wine.

“Thu Vi has returned home.”

The wind blew in from the alley. The fire in the kitchen burned brightly. La Tay called loudly:

“Thanh Hoa!”

"Customers asked if there is any trick from the Tham family today?"

I raised my head.

“There is nothing here from the Tham family.”

Chu Ngan brought the plate next to me. I take it. Step out the door. Looking at the alley filled with people waiting for a hot meal. Smiling softly.

“Only Khuong Van Thu's dishes.”

“And mine, Tham Thanh Hoa.”