Chapter 10 — I'm No Longer A Reasonable Daughter-in-law

Ha Man did not move out on time. To be precise, my father-in-law stopped her. The house Ha Tuan found for Ha Man is located in the south of the city, two bedrooms and a living room, the monthly rent is three and a half thousand yuan, Ha Tuan paid three months in advance. Moving day is set for Saturday. Friday night, Ha Tuan called me, his voice clearly showing relief as if he had just been relieved of a burden: "Tomorrow morning the moving truck will come to move things, I will take half a day off work to help. After cleaning, I will pick you and me up." At ten o'clock on Saturday morning, I was diligently sketching on the balcony. Ha Tuan's phone call came.

“Can't clean it up.” His voice was flat, lacking any emotion.

"Early in the morning, my father called a worker to replace the main door lock core. He used all kinds of reasons to force Ha Man to stay, such as the moving company being a scam, the fact that the new house had a smell of paint that hadn't gone away yet, and the fact that Ha Man had just lost his job and was in poor health and couldn't stand the torment. When he got there, he had a heated argument with him, and he threw the key on the ground and shouted straight at me - 'If you're good then kick your father out of this house'."

My hand holding the phone tightened.

"My mother pulled Ha Man into the bedroom sobbing, saying what a terrible thing it was for the family to be separated like this. Trieu Loi, standing next to him, said sarcastically, 'Eldest brother, you don't have to make things difficult for me, my husband and I will find a way to handle it'. Saying that, the moving car arrived, and he firmly refused to open the door."

“Ha Tuan.” I interrupted him.

“Where are you?”

“Downstairs.”

"Go to the hotel you're staying at and wait. Let me handle it."

"You? How do you solve it?"

"Don't worry. I'll be there in two hours."

Hanging up the phone, I stood up and changed my clothes. Mom heard a noise in the kitchen and quickly ran out: "What's going on?"

"Something happened to the Ha family, I have to go there. Please help me look after Doa Doa."

“Are you going alone?”

Mom looked intently at my face, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end she only said one sentence: "Drive carefully." An hour and a half later, I was at that apartment complex. Without looking for Ha Tuan, I went straight upstairs. Using the spare key that Ha Tuan secretly gave me before - even though my father-in-law had replaced the lock core, last week Ha Tuan secretly made a new key and smuggled it out for me. In the living room, Ha Man sat cross-legged on the sofa, eyes glued to the phone. Three children gathered around the tea table, eating snacks and making noise. Trieu Loi stood on the balcony smoking, the smoke flying thickly. Mother-in-law is busy in the kitchen preparing lunch. Father-in-law leisurely sat at the dining table reading the newspaper. The moment I walked in, the whole room felt like it was pressed to a halt.

“Sister-in-law?” Ha Man was the first to react, "Why did you come here?"

“To Uyen?” Mother-in-law peeked her head out from the kitchen, "Are you home yet? Where is Doa Doa?"

“Doa Doa is at her grandmother's house.” I changed my slippers and walked straight into the middle of the living room, "Today I came to clarify a few things."

My father-in-law lowered the newspaper and looked at me coldly, as if looking at a stranger.

"The first." I opened the phone, my voice was not loud but each word was clear, "This house is in my name and Ha Tuan's name. The deposit is sixty thousand, of which my grandmother's family contributed thirty thousand, the remaining thirty thousand is the couple's money. The monthly installment is eight thousand." and a half, I carried it for four years, a total of forty-eight thousand. I have half ownership of this house.”

"Monday. I have the right to decide who stays in the house. If everyone disagrees, we can resolve it by law.”

The father-in-law's face immediately darkened.

“Tuesday. Ha Tuan has rented a house for Ha Man and paid three months in advance. Just call and we can move right away. I give everyone one last chance—if we move out today, we will still be one family. If not, I will work with a lawyer next Monday.”

The whole room was silent. Then, the father-in-law slammed the table and stood up.

“You dare threaten me?”

“It's not a threat. It's an announcement.”

“This is my son's house! I can let whoever I want live in, so what right do you have to interfere?"

"Outsider?" I repeated, “Dad, you call me an outsider?”

He glared and said nothing.