Chapter 14 — Her Road Is Still Long

Then raise your head. Look at me with eyes full of meaning.

“Ha Cam Thu.”

She slapped the leftovers on the table.

“This Tham Quy Bach has feelings for you.”

“He's just convenient.”

"Is it convenient to come up with a map?"

She pointed to the small line of text on the corner of the map.

“Have you ever seen someone along the way who even marked each drug market along the way for you?”

I don't answer. Tiet To Van rolled his eyes. Fold the leftover sheet and put it back in my hand.

“Okay okay.”

“Stop pretending to be stupid.”

“I have met many women who pretend to be stupid.”

“No one has a good ending.”

She poked my chest with her finger.

“Ask him.”

What does it say? It's saying: Just keep moving forward. Your road is still very long. The day we left Trang Thanh Tuyen was a morning with the first frost of the season. Mother Tong cooked a pot of millet porridge. Bake some cakes again. I also stuffed twenty boiled eggs into my luggage. Old Ha led a mule. It's an old gray mule that doesn't stand out much. Extremely gentle temperament. If there is grass, eat it. There is no grass and no disturbance.

“Miss.”

“Remember to be careful on the road.”

Mother Song's eyes were red. I hugged her.

“I will return at Tet.”

Tiet To Man rides on a low-legged horse. Both sides of the saddle are filled with medicine baskets and cloth bags. She waited impatiently. Standing in front of the hospital gate, he blew three whistles. Startled the sparrows on the persimmon tree. Flap your wings and fly away.

“Hurry, hurry.”

“If you wait any longer, the sun will shine on your butt.”

I rode on the back of a mule. This animal's spine is extremely wide. Sit up firmly and firmly. After walking a short distance, I suddenly pulled the reins. Turned his head to look at Trang Thanh Tuyen again. The persimmon tree has lost all its leaves. Bare tree branches reach up into the gray sky. The yellow dog sits in front of the hospital gate. Tilt your head and look at me. Mother Tong and old Ha stood by the fence. So far away that there were only two shadows cutting across the sky. I have lived in this place for more than three months. Those three months were worth living more than the decades of my previous life combined. I turned my head back. Gently kick the mule in the stomach. Go two more miles. Up to the mandarin. The vision immediately became wider. On both sides of the road are rice fields that have been harvested. The stubble stood in a straight line on the frost-covered ground. White erases an area. In the distance, the villages were emitting wisps of kitchen smoke. Different highs and lows. Winding and winding, then disappearing into the sky. Tiet To Van walked ahead. Humming and singing as I walked. It's a folk song from her hometown.

"My sister picked persimmon beans in the south garden,

The wind blew the silk dress, revealing half of the peach blossom..." Her singing voice was not good. Off-key to the point of being full of righteousness. I don't correct her either. Just listen quietly. The singing was blown back by the wind. Interrupt each section. Mixed with the jingle of bells on the mule's neck. Went all morning. Through two small towns. The two stopped to rest at a roadside tea shop. Tiet To Van ordered two large bowls of tea. He reached into his luggage again, took out a handful of roasted rice and put it in the tea. Chew until it makes crunchy cracking sounds.

“Follow this map.”

“If we take the right route, we can reach the Grand Palace tonight.”

She spread the leftovers out on the table. The finger follows the mandarin path to the south.

“Dai Vuong Trang has an epidemic station."

“Continue on your journey tomorrow morning.”

“The day after tomorrow, Hoai Am will arrive.”

“There is a medicine market in Hoai Am.”

“I want to buy a lot of Nam Cam.”

After speaking, she raised her head to look at me.

“What about you?”

“Come with me too.”

“Or…”

“Come with you.”

I raised the tea bowl and took a sip.

“I have only been studying medicine for three months.”

“Still far away.”

“You go ahead and lead the way.”

"I'll go behind and learn."

She tilted her head to look at me.

“Are you really not going back to find your cousin Quy Bach?”

“He's just convenient.”

“Okay okay.”

She laughed. Raise the tea bowl and clink it into mine.

"A woman's hard mouth is a disease."

“But it's not incurable.”

I do not refute her. Not because I don't want to. It's because I don't know how to refute it. Every word she said stabbed straight into my heart. Those words are all true. But I think.