Chapter 19 — I Bring My Grandparents to Celebrate Tet

“Can my aunt come with me?”

“Even Uyen Tinh?”

“Anyone who wants to can come.”

My father was silent again for a long time.

“Dad will go.”

After hanging up, I opened the calendar to the fifteenth of next month. Write down one line.

“This is the end.”

Before the fifteenth day, Trieu Uyen Tinh made another new move. This time, she let Tran Dong call me. Tran Dong's tone was extremely polite.

“Miss To, I heard Uyen Tinh talk about your design company.”

“Very well done.”

“I have a friend who works in commercial real estate and just needed a design team.”

“I want to introduce you to him.”

“But there is one condition.”

“What conditions?”

“About that house…”

“You should put it aside first.”

“So that uncle and aunt don't have to worry.”

“After all, everyone is one family.”

“Because of an old house, making such noise... it doesn't look good.”

I held the phone away a bit and looked at the call duration on the screen.

“Tran Dong.”

“Are you finished?”

The other end of the line paused.

“…What do you mean?”

“That real estate friend of mine.”

“Ah… General Manager Truong.”

“Doing some big projects…”

“Which company?”

Tran Dong choked for two seconds.

“Um… I don't remember the specific company name at the moment…”

“That's okay then.”

“Miss To, don't rush…”

“Tran Dong.”

I interrupted.

“I tell you two things.”

“First, my project doesn't need your introduction.”

“Second, that house was left to me by my mother.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

"I'll pass the message on to Trieu Uyen Tinh."

“Don't let others come find me anymore.”

I hung up the phone directly. Two hours later, Trieu Uyen Tinh's message arrived.

“Tieu Niem, Mr. Dong only has good intentions.”

“Why did you talk to him like that?”

“When he returned, his face was very unsightly.”

“I didn't say him.”

“I just turned down a business deal that didn't exist.”

“What doesn't exist?”

“Mr. Dong really wants to help you…”

“General Manager Truong.”

“He can't even remember the name of the company.”

I replied leisurely.

“Ms. Uyen Tinh.”

“Next time you make up a story… remember to make it a little more complete.”

Trieu Uyen Tinh did not answer anymore. But that night, my eldest sister called me. His voice was more serious than usual.

“Tieu Niem.”

"My aunt's family has started talking bad about my mother."

I held the phone and stood on the balcony. The night wind in Hangzhou is very cold, carrying the fishy smell of river water.

“What did they say?”

“I don't know who brought it up first.”

“But now it has spread to many people.”

“Your wife and I, your cousin, and a few distant relatives.”

“What did they say to your mother?”

The eldest girl hesitated a bit before speaking:

“They said in the past my mother married my father because of money.”

“Say you two are the same.”

I stood still. The light from downstairs shines on the balcony, the shadow of the railing falls on the tile floor, cold streaks by streaks.

“What do you think?”

“Of course you don't believe it.”

The eldest girl's voice immediately rose.

“Do you still not know what kind of person my mother is?”

“When my father first started working at the factory, he didn't even have a bicycle.”

“It's my mother who uses her car to take him to work every day.”

“What does she want money for?”

“So it's okay.”

“Tieu Niem.”

“I give you some advice.”

“There are some words that cannot be passed on forever.”

"It's been passed around for a long time... the fake is also real."

“I know.”

I hung up the phone. Trieu Uyen Tinh no just aiming at me. She started targeting my mother. Because she knows… House, money, company. I am now brave enough to deal with these things. But my mother's reputation... is what I care about the most. A person has been gone for eight years... There is no way to explain himself anymore. So she chose the most painful place to stab. I turned on my phone and flipped through the old photos I had saved over the years. There is a photo of my mother and grandmother in a small hospital on an old street. Under the pomegranate tree. Mom was wearing a white dress, smiling brightly, holding a newly picked pomegranate in her hand. She didn't know she would get sick yet. I looked at that photo for a long time. Then turn off the album, open notes. Start listing all the things Trieu Uyen Tinh has done over the past few years. Call my company to rob the project. Posting a post implying I plagiarized it on the forum. Let Tran Dong use a non-existent business connection to exchange. Posting a circle of friends implying that they and their mother were "bullied" by me. Inciting relatives to spread rumors about me and my mother. One story at a time. If separated... It's really no big deal. But put together… It was an eight-year process. One person step by step forced another person out of this family. Day fifteen. I add a line to the end of the note.

“What needs to be said is said.”

“What needs to be overturned is overturned.”

Day fifteen. My studio is located on the ninth floor of an office building on the west side of the city. Sixty square meters. But it was renovated by me myself. The space is airy and clean. The walls are full of actual photos and perspectives of past projects. Ten o'clock in the morning. Everyone came. Grandparents. Trieu My Phan. Trieu Uyen Tinh. The eldest girl also came. Said to come "take a look". The studio is too small and doesn't have enough seating. I rented a meeting room next door. Eight chairs. The eldest boy arrived the earliest. He waited outside the door. Seeing me step out of the elevator, he came over and patted my arm.

“My grandmother kept muttering all the way.”

“I'm afraid I'll be bullied.”

"No."

I smiled softly. People should be afraid. It's not me anymore.