Chapter 11 — I Bring My Grandparents to Celebrate Tet

Dad suddenly stood up.

"What do you want in the end? When you come back from a trip, you want to face your father?"

"Your mother's house, your mother's grave... how much have you cared about until now?"

“Now let's talk about the law with dad?”

“What about dad?”

I looked at him.

"I asked dad something. Same question I asked on the phone that day."

“Mom died eight years.”

“How many times have you been to Mom's grave?”

His lips moved. But no sound came out.

“Not even once.”

I said slowly.

“Every year I clear my name on the anniversary of my death.”

“And dad… never.”

He stood there, one hand leaning on the sofa. Trieu My Phan, who was next to him, quickly interjected:

"Tieu Niem, it's still Tet today, don't say such unlucky things..."

“Aunt Trieu.”

I turned to look at her.

"For me, your mother passed away so it's bad luck."

“But with you…”

“In death, she will still be your mother.”

Trieu My Phan did not speak anymore. I stood up.

"About that house, I've already hired a lawyer."

“The name transfer paper, I will not sign.”

“Everyone doesn't need to waste any more effort.”

I picked up my coat and walked out the door. Behind me, I heard my father calling: I turned around. He stood in the middle of the living room, his expression extremely complicated.

“Do you really have to go to this extent?”

“The one who makes big things first…”

I looked at him.

“Not you.”

Having finished speaking, I opened the door and left. Leaving my father's house, I sat in the car for nearly ten minutes before starting it. The phone vibrates. It's Trieu Uyen Tinh's WeChat message.

"Tieu Niem, stop arguing with me. I have high blood pressure and can't stand it."

"If there's something wrong, can we talk privately?"

I don't answer. Right after that, there was another news.

"Actually, I don't know much about the house you told me about, it's all my mother takes care of herself."

"Don't worry, I will advise her and won't let you suffer any loss."

I stared at those two text messages. Trieu Uyen Tinh is always like that. Every sentence seemed to give others a way out, making her look both gentle and generous. But in every word there is a hook hidden. If you don't listen carefully, you won't notice.

“It's all my mother's responsibility to take care of.”

It's brushing off your own involvement.

“I will advise her.”

It's implicitly saying she can control her mother. That also means... I have to pray for her. I turned off WeChat directly and started the car. On the way back to Hangzhou, Lam Kha called.

"To Niem, have you seen that hotel chain project? The brand director has already sent two emails."

I took the car keys and walked up the stairs.

“How big is the scale?”

"Renovating space for twelve branches nationwide. Extremely stable budget."

“He said he saw your portfolio and especially liked the style of that old factory renovation project.”

“Let's meet in person.”

I opened the apartment door.

“The first week after Tet.”

Lam Kha paused for a moment then continued:

“There's one more thing.”

"The last time Trieu Uyen Tinh called that company, Mr. Tran then asked him who she was."

“I just said I'm your relative, not much more.”

Lam Kha's voice lowered.

“This stepsister of yours… isn't it a bit strange?”

I smiled faintly.

“What do you think?”

Lam Kha was silent for two seconds.

“No matter what, normal people will not call someone else's company, asking to transfer their project to someone else.”

“I know.”

After hanging up, I opened my laptop. Pay email from the other brand director, asking to meet on the first Wednesday afternoon after Tet. After sending the email, I opened another folder. Inside are some things related to my mother. Scanned photo of ID, household registration book, and also a scanned copy of the certificate of ownership of the old house. Those are the papers I found when I was in college. At that time, my grandmother wanted to clear out the old documents, so I conveniently kept them. Now that I think about it… Luckily I kept it. The documents clearly state:

“Tran Cam Ho, South Street No. 74. Construction area: 120 square meters. Owner: Co Tu Chi.”

One hundred and twenty square meters. Compensation for release is three million two. I closed my laptop. The most important thing... has never been money. The important thing is that the house belongs to mother. It's the place my grandfather left for my grandmother. It was the house she lived in until the day she got married. In the yard there is a pomegranate tree. Every autumn is fruitful. My grandmother once told me that when I was a child, my mother loved climbing trees to pick pomegranates. But now... Someone wants to turn that place into a savings book and put it in their pocket. And take advantage of doing it when I'm not home. This debt... Can't just ignore it.