Chapter 5 — I Give My Mother a Fever Reducing Drink During Pregnancy

That day, when I came home from school, I saw a commotion in front of my house from afar. As soon as she saw me, Aunt Vuong in the village pulled me inside.

"Thu De, quickly advise your father! It's normal for a husband and wife to quarrel, but if you really beat your mother to the point of disability, you and your younger brother will become orphans!"

I was bewildered. Is it such a cool story? As soon as I entered the house, I saw my grandmother's face black as coal, holding Kim Bao, scared and shaking, constantly cursing: "You spoiled woman, you rotten bitch!" The door to the parents' room was closed, but the mother's pitiful screams, father's angry screams and the sound of smashing still echoed clearly.

“You motherfucker! I work hard to support this house, you dare cheat on me?! Today I will beat you to death—!”

"You bastard! You rotten whore! When you give birth, you have cerebral palsy, do you have the face to go out and make fun of other people?!"

“I will kill you!”

My mother must have been beaten to the end by my father, so she pushed him away and screamed shrilly:

"Vuong Kien Quoc! You're planning to divorce me anyway, what does it have to do with me if I go out and find someone?! As for Kim Bao, it's my fault that he has cerebral palsy? Why don't you blame his mother, that stupid old woman?! Huh—!"

After hearing this, my grandmother's face was distorted and she screamed like crazy:

"You spoiled woman! You rotten whore! How dare you go out and blame her?! Beat her! Beat her to death for me!"

In my previous life, my father also had a lover. That girl even came to my house. At that time, my younger brother was still healthy, so my father could not bear to divorce. Out of love for her grandchild, grandmother did not allow riots. My mother and grandmother kept a close watch, and it eventually went downhill. But in this life, my brother has cerebral palsy and has recently shown signs of epilepsy. The house costs countless amounts of money because of it. The feeling of unwillingness at first gradually faded away. My father and grandmother discussed it and decided to let go. Out of frustration, my mother also found a man in the factory, and the two of them secretly went back and forth behind her back.

9

That man was married, his wife heard what happened and immediately came to my house. Arriving at the factory during lunch break, I immediately saw my mother and that guy messing around in the security room. The scene at that time can be imagined. My mother was beaten and dragged home by my father, while the other man's head was covered in blood and his face was bruised. I stood in the middle of the yard, bewildered, not knowing what to do, when my grandmother shouted orders:

"What are you still standing there for? Stay away from that slut! Don't be infected with his stink! He's about to follow his boyfriend and leave home. If you dare to defend him, I'll break your legs and sell you to the old man outside the village!"

I shrank my neck and quickly moved aside. This farce lasted until the afternoon. When the village chief returned to the village, the villagers helped stop the grandmother and then rushed in and broke the door. My mother at that time was beaten until she was barely alive, just like when I was bedridden for more than half a month in my previous life. Humans are inherently biased, especially people like my father and grandmother. There are things they can do, but my mother is not allowed. If my father wants to divorce and bring another woman home, he must take the initiative. My mother had to cry and beg, and he had to witness her humiliation with his own eyes to feel satisfied. Preferably after being kicked out of the house, my mother They have to live in poverty and need, unable to survive, while they eat well, clothe themselves happily, and live in honor all their lives. From that day on, my father started leaving home and not coming home at night. My mother lay in bed for more than a week. Grandma didn't even bother to pay attention, and I - her daughter - took care of everything. Anyway, my brother is an idiot.

"Are you happy? You cruel bastard! Why did I give birth to something like you? Back then I should have strangled you at birth! Comet, I tell you, even if I divorced your father, I would still take you with me. Don't dream of escaping me for the rest of your life!"

I held a bowl of porridge, looked at her with cold eyes, the eyes of someone who wanted to tear me to pieces, then burst out laughing.

“Mom, why do you blame me? What does this have to do with me?”

My mother saw the sarcastic smile in my eyes, immediately screamed, rushed forward and tried to scratch me.

"It's because of you! It's all because of a slut like you! Why don't you just die?!"

I forcefully pushed her hand away, taking advantage of the situation and smashing the bowl on the ground. When she was stunned, I immediately changed my expression and burst into tears:

"Mom! Didn't you go cheat on dad yourself? Why do you blame me? This has spread to school! Do you know what my friends say? They say you're a street girl, and dad is useless!"

“You… you bastard! I have to tear your mouth out—”

I turned and ran away. My mother jumped out of bed, not knowing what to grab, so she threw it at me. I stepped aside, just in time for a sandal to fly past and "pop" right in my grandmother's face, causing her entire face to distort.

“Grandma, are you okay?”

Grandma shook my hand away, grabbed the slipper from the ground and rushed into the room.

"You flirtatious woman! You dirty slut! Do you still have the face to blame Thu De?! You're looking for a guy and still blame her? Let me see how reasonable you are—"

Behind me, I heard my mother's screams mixed with my grandmother's high-pitched curses. I stood in the middle of the yard, wiped my tears, then turned around and grinned at my younger brother standing at the kitchen door. My sister took a few steps back and fell to the ground, but didn't dare cry.

10

That's right, I accidentally revealed it to my mother about my father's affair. My original intention was just to want her to make a fuss with him, but I didn't expect her to play so loudly. I didn't tell you to go find another man, did I? How can you blame me? The atmosphere in the house became more and more stuffy, making it difficult to breathe, but just hearing my mother scream and cry made my whole body feel relieved. I thought I must have a real problem, like an insect growing in a sewer pipe - both smelly and twisted and distorted. As for my father, he is not satisfied. I remember very clearly, although in his previous life his ex-girlfriend was divorced and had children of his own, but his ex-husband was still alive - he was a gambling addict, relying on his ex-wife to cheat to make money. But my father thought he was dark, short, and windy all his life, so what could make people fall in love with him? In his previous life, he had Kim Bao, so with that girlfriend he was just playing around. But this life is different, he poured his whole heart into love. One month's salary left my grandmother only five or six hundred for household expenses, and the rest was given to the other woman. Sometimes he comes home just in time for my mother to receive her salary and come pick it up money, by the way, beat my mother before leaving. A few more months passed, while my mother was at work, my father finally brought that woman home. My grandmother made a large table of food and happily invited her daughter to call her "daughter" sweetly. The first time I met her, she was just under thirty, her skin was white, her eyes were constantly wandering. That's when I found out she was pregnant, more than three months old, and I heard that my dad even paid for someone to do an ultrasound to confirm it was a boy. My grandmother, needless to say, was crazy happy. If you are lucky, you should share it. I obediently called out "Auntie", then before going to school, I stopped by my mother's factory to bring the good news and share a little.

"Aunt Tan is pregnant, it's my brother. Dad will definitely divorce mom!

Grandma said, after the divorce, I won't go with you, but Kim Bao is still young, so I have to take it with me! Mom, I really feel sorry for you so much! When I'm old and divorced, I still have to raise children, how will I live in the future?" My mother was furious.

"You are a bitch, are you talking to me like that? Do you think that woman will be nice to you once she comes into the house?"

She slapped me fiercely. But when she kicked me, I dodged, hugged my face, and looked at her with eyes full of hatred.

"Mom? You don't deserve to be my mother! In my heart, there is only my brother!

Grandma is right, you deserve it! Who said my mother gave birth to my stupid brother? Even so, you still dare to look for men on the street! Your father is called good at finding things, but your mother is thick-skinned when looking for them! Why don't you just go and die? Learn from Mrs. Ngo in that village, drink pesticides and die! I don't need you anymore! I want Aunt Qin to be my mother!” After saying that, I turned around and ran away.