Chapter 7 — Mother's Boundaries

At nine thirty the next morning, the doorbell rang. My mother is cooking porridge in the kitchen. Luc Minh Vien had just learned how to remove and sterilize the milk bottle and stood frantically at the sink. I hugged An An and sat on the sofa. When the doorbell rang a second time, Luc Minh Vien clearly stiffened a bit. He looked at me. I said: “Open the door.” He wiped his hands and walked over. As soon as the door opened, Ma Phuong Lan's voice came in. "Do you still know how to open the door?" She was carrying a large luggage bag, behind stood Luc Giai Giai. Luc Giai Giai held Doa Doa in his arms, with his other hand pulling a small suitcase. Three people stopped at the door, as if they had already decided to move in. Ma Phuong Lan saw me, her eyes immediately reddened. "I'm a grandmother, but when I came to visit my granddaughter, I was blocked outside the door." "When I said that, people laughed." I didn't stand up. "No one stopped me." "Mom came to visit me, okay." "Stay, no." Ma Phuong Lan's face sank. "What do you mean?" I looked at the luggage bag at her feet. "My meaning is very clear." "Yesterday on the phone, mom said she wanted to come. I also said that, if you come as a guest, you are welcome." "At the hotel." Luc Giai Giai immediately burst into laughter. "Sister-in-law, are you being too affectionate?" "My mother came from such a long way to come here, you told her to stay at the hotel?" I looked at her. "When she returned home, didn't she also go this far?" Luc Giai Giai choked a bit. Ma Phuong Lan hugged his chest. "Minh Vien, listen." "This is the wife you brought home." Luc Minh Vien stood by the door, his face very unsightly. He said in a low voice: "Mom, just go inside and talk." I raised my eyes to look at him. "You can come in." "The luggage is left outside the door." Luc Minh Vien frowned. "Thanh Hoa." I said: "What did you promise last night?" He doesn't speak anymore. When Ma Phuong Lan heard this sentence, he immediately exploded. "Does he still set rules for you?" "A man like you, being controlled by his wife like this?" Luc Minh Vien's face couldn't be maintained. But he still pushed the luggage bag towards the door. "Mom, don't argue first." Ma Phuong Lan stared at him, her eyes like a knife. "You worked hard to raise your child, now when you enter the house you have to see his face." My mother came out of the kitchen, still holding the ladle in her hand. She looked at the door, her voice calm. "Grandma, have you had breakfast yet?" Ma Phuong Lan laughed coldly. "Am I still in the mood to eat?" "My niece's full month party, a grandmother like me can't even come in." My mother said: "Yesterday the party is over." "I'm coming to visit you today, don't scare her." Ma Phuong Lan immediately turned the point to my mother. "Dieu Ngoc Cam, stop pretending to be a good person." "Now, child." Your daughter is so terrible, isn't it because you have her back?" My mother put the ladle on the dining table. "I support her, because her waist is not strong yet." "If no one supports her, she will have to carry it alone." The living room was quiet for a moment. Luc Giai Giai pouted. "You talk as if our Luc family doesn't care." I raised my head to look at her. "What do you care about?" She opened her mouth. I continued: "You didn't see the invoice I sent to the group yesterday?" "Or did you see it but pretend you didn't see it?" Luc Giai Giai's face changed. Doa Doa's heart moved. Ma Phuong Lan quickly said: "Money money money, you only know money all day." "I didn't come today to settle accounts with you." I said: "Then why did you come, mother?" Ma Phuong Lan looked at An An in my arms. Her voice suddenly softened. "I came to visit the baby." "The baby is blood of the Luc family, a grandmother like me has to carry one anyway." I bowed my head and looked at An An. The baby had just eaten her fill and her eyes were half closed. I hugged my baby tighter. "You can see." "Wash your hands, wear a mask, don't kiss." Ma Phuong Lan's face changed again. "I'm holding my biological niece, do I still need you to teach me?" I said: "Yes." "An An is still too young." "Whoever carries it is the same." Luc Giai Giai said sarcastically: "Sister-in-law, you're doing a great job." I looked at Doa Doa in her arms. "When your daughter was little,

Someone else didn't wash their hands and picked them up, are you willing?" Luc Giai Giai kept her mouth shut. Ma Phuong Lan stood in place, her chest heaving. She wanted to make a scene. But the door was still open, and in the hallway, a neighbor had poked his head to look a few times. She could only suppress her anger, turned around to go to the bathroom to wash her hands. Luc Minh Vien breathed a sigh of relief. I looked at him. "Don't breathe a sigh of relief too soon." He froze. At this moment, Ma Phuong Lan's voice was gentle. came out from the bathroom. "Minh Vien, where are the towels?" Luc Minh Vien was about to pass. I said: "The disposable towels are on the shelf." Ma Phuong Lan said nothing. A few seconds later, she came out. She washed her hands, but did not wear a mask. I passed the mask on the tea table over. She glared at me. "I'm not sick." I said: "Wear it." Luc Minh Vien quickly picked up the mask. "Mom, put it on." Ma Phuong Lan stared at him for two seconds, then finally put it on. She sat down on the sofa, reaching out to hold An An. I didn't immediately hand it over. "Sit firmly." "Don't shake it." "She's asleep, hold her for five minutes then put her back on the small bed." Ma Phuong Lan's hand stopped in mid-air. Luc Giai Giai from the side laughed coldly. "Sister-in-law, why don't you take out a notebook to write down the time?" I picked up the phone and turned on the timer. "Okay." Luc Giai Giai's smile stiffened.