Chapter 10 — Mother's Last Painting

The second aunt quickly helped her. Lam's mother rushed towards me but was stopped by Uncle Trieu. Tham Minh Trach stood still in place. For the first time, his eyes looked at me with hatred. "Hua Thanh Thanh, you are so cruel." I said: "It's you who taught me." That night, The police found Lam Hao. The painting was also recovered. But one corner of the scroll was crushed and two more folds appeared on the paper. The old furniture collector said that when Lam Hao brought it, he conveniently stuck the scroll of paintings on the back of a delivery tricycle, letting the wind whip it the whole way. Aunt Chu looked at those two folds and didn't say anything for a long time. I stood beside Aunt Chu and said nothing. When Lam Hao was brought back, he was still cursing. "Isn't it just a torn painting? Can't I compensate twenty thousand yuan?" The police told him to shut up. Lam's mother cried like her son had died. "Lam Hao, why are you so stupid?" Seeing me, Lam Hao immediately shouted: "Hua Thanh Thanh, just wait for me to come out!" Aunt Chu walked in front of him. "Whether you can get out or not is not up to you to decide." Lam Hao is still speechless. "Who are you threatening? My sister is carrying the Tham family's child. The Tham family will protect me." He looked at Tham Minh Trach. "Brother-in-law, say something!" Tham Minh Trach's face was ugly. "Thanh Thanh, Can I withdraw the police report first?" I asked: "If what was lost today was Lam Uyen's golden bracelet, would you tell me to withdraw my application?" Lam Uyen cried next to her. "How can they be the same? That's my younger brother." I said: "This is my mother's painting." Lam Uyen shouted: "Your mother is dead!" The second aunt covered her face. The second uncle raised his hand to hit Tham Minh Trach, but halfway up he lowered it. Tham Minh Trach suddenly knelt in front of me. "Thanh Thanh, I beg you." Everyone looked over. He bowed his head. "If Lam Hao really goes to prison, Uyen Uyen will not forgive me. She still has a baby in her belly. Please consider it as accumulating virtue for the baby." I looked at the person kneeling on the ground. This cousin used to fight for me when he was young and also stole candy from me. I always thought we were relatives. Until he knelt down for his brother-in-law and begged me to forgive the person who stole my mother's relics. Lam's mother also stood next to her, adding fuel to the fire. "Minh Trach is already kneeling, what else do you want? Do you have to force us to die to be satisfied?" Aunt Chu said in my ear: "Thanh Thanh, don't be soft-hearted." I spoke up: "I won't withdraw my application." Tham Minh Trach raised his head, his face completely changed. "Okay." He stood up. "From today, I don't have a sister like you." I said: "I also don't have a brother like you." Lam Uyen wiped her tears and suddenly stopped crying. She looked at me and said every word: "Hua Thanh Thanh, don't regret it." I thought all she could do was continue to cause trouble. On the morning of the third day, as soon as I arrived at the unit, I saw my colleagues looking at me strangely. I work as an assistant at a cultural restoration center. The salary is not high, it's close to home and you can work with the things you love. As soon as I sat down, the manager put the phone in front of me. "Hua Thanh Thanh, is this you?" On the screen is a short video. The title reads: Orphan took over his uncle's property, forced his sister-in-law to miscarry, and put his younger brother in jail. In the video, Lam Uyen sits on the hospital bed, her face pale. She cried and said, "I just want a safe place to raise my pregnancy. She said the house was hers and wanted to evict our whole family. My brother couldn't bear to look at it, so he picked up a painting to demand justice for me, so she immediately called the police to arrest someone." Lam's mother also appeared in the video. "Our Lam family is poor but has spirit. Her parents are dead, the Tham family has raised her for many years, yet she turns around and bites the hand that fed her." The comments were painful to read. Some people say I'm an ungrateful person. Some people say people like me deserve to be kicked out. There was also someone who found the address where I work and said they would come and demand justice for pregnant women. The manager looked at me. "Hua Thanh Thanh, today the center has a distinguished guest, please go home and rest for now." I asked:

"Do you believe the things in the video?" The manager sighed. "It doesn't matter whether I believe it or not. Now this is so noisy, affecting the center." The colleague Tieu Duong next to him whispered: "Thanh Thanh, how about you explain a little?" Another colleague immediately pulled her over. "Don't interfere." The manager pushed the leave application in front of me. "Go ahead." I packed my things. Just as she walked to the door, Lam Uyen's phone rang. I answered the phone. Her voice sounded completely unlike a sick person. "See?" I said nothing. She laughed. "Hua Thanh Thanh, don't you like reporting to the police? Don't you have a certificate of ownership? I want to see if an assistant who just secured a permanent position like you can handle being criticized by the entire social network or not." I asked: "What do you want?" "Withdraw the police report, hand over the key to the backyard, then write a commitment that the house will be managed by Minh Trach. I will delete the video."