Chapter 3 — Mother's Last Painting

"Can't explain clearly? Do you people of the Tham family have any shame? Using someone else's house to get married?" Lam's mother threw the certificate on the table. "Tham Quoc Cuong, you guys are a marriage fraud!" The second uncle bowed his head. Tham Minh Trach's face was very ugly. I didn't interrupt. Lam's mother pointed at me. "If your family deceived us into this marriage, you owe us even more. What about the house being in her name? Can an orphan like her really keep a house this large? Tell her to transfer it to Minh Trach's name, and the Tham family will give my daughter an explanation." I laughed. "Aunt Lam said it so well." Lam's mother glanced at me. "Adults are talking, is it your turn to intervene?" I got my certificate back. "On the paper is my name. You're sitting in my yard, telling me to give my house to your son-in-law, and you won't let me speak up?" Lam Uyen pushed herself to her feet using the table. "Hua Thanh Thanh, don't forget who raised you these past few years." I looked at my second aunt. Second aunt avoided my eyes. Lam Uyen seemed to spot a weakness. "You see, mother doesn't even dare to deny it. You've been eating from the Tham family for so many years, what's wrong with asking you to give a little back?" I asked: "Does repaying a little mean giving you the whole house?" Lam Uyen said: "This house should have belonged to Minh Trach. Your mother is the daughter of the Tham family, her belongings must be left to the descendants of the Tham family. After you get married, will you also take the ancestral property of the Tham family?" The second uncle banged the table. "This is not ancestral property! This is the house bought by Thanh Thanh's parents!" Lam's mother smiled coldly. "What about buying? Isn't Thanh Thanh's father also dead? The Tham family manages it now." Tham Minh Trach still said nothing. I looked at him. "Cousin, do you think so too?" He was silent for a long time. Lam Uyen turned her head to glare at him. "You say it." Tham Minh Trach finally spoke up. "Thanh Thanh, it's not safe for a girl like you to keep a big house like this. Or temporarily transfer it to my name, I guarantee you can continue to stay here." The second uncle immediately stood up. "Are you still ashamed?" Tham Minh Trach's voice also rose. "Dad, I did this for this family! Uyen Uyen is pregnant, now the Lam family is making a fuss, what do you tell me to do? Divorce?" Lam's mother immediately responded. "It's okay to divorce, we'll take the Lam family's baby away. At that time, see if the Tham family still has the face to meet anyone." Second aunt panicked. "Mom, don't say things like that in anger." Lam Uyen cried. "Minh Trach, I've been married to you for three years, how many pains and resentments have I endured? Now I don't even have a stable place to live, and my parents still protect outsiders. I really don't know if I should give birth to this child or not." As soon as that sentence was said, the second aunt's legs became weak. "Uyen Uyen, you can't talk nonsense." Lam Uyen hugged her stomach. "I'm not talking nonsense. Hua Thanh Thanh hasn't moved yet, I won't sleep peacefully that day." All eyes were on me. I put the certificate back in my file bag. "If that's the case, you guys should move out." Lam Uyen was stunned. I said, "I give you three days to bring out all your belongings." Lam's mother shouted: "Are you chasing us?" "This is my yard." Lam's mother pointed at my nose. "You dare!" Just as I was about to speak, second aunt suddenly knelt down in front of me. "Thanh Thanh, second aunt is begging you. Uyen Uyen is pregnant and cannot be tormented. If you kick them out, if something happens to the baby, second aunt will not sleep peacefully for the rest of her life." I bent down to help her. She refused to stand up. "After your parents passed away, your aunt and uncle also took care of you for many years. Without merit, there is also hardship. Please show respect to these two old people and endure for a while longer." Lam Uyen stood next to her and stopped crying. Lam's mother also stopped speaking. They were all looking at me. I held my second aunt's arm and felt for the first time that this family was like a net. The net was not large, but its knots were tight enough to leave me gasping. "Second aunt, please stand up." She shook her head. "I'll agree if you stand up." The second uncle couldn't see anymore. "You stand up! Why are you kneeling in front of a child?" The second aunt cried: "If I don't kneel, what else can I do? Do you want to see your son divorced, do you want to see your grandson no longer exist?" Tham Minh Trach said in a low voice: "Thanh Thanh, It's only three months. Let me get settled, and then we'll talk." Lam Uyen immediately added: "During these three months, you will move to a small room in the backyard. You are not allowed to use the kitchen in the front yard. Every month you still have to pay ten thousand yuan for living expenses." I looked at her. She hides behind her pregnant belly, stating her greed so matter-of-factly as if it makes complete sense. I asked second aunt: "Is this also your idea?" The second aunt's crying stopped. "Thanh Thanh, second aunt didn't mean that." "So what do you mean?" She couldn't answer. Lam's mother lost patience. "Stop pretending to be pitiful. Either pay money to stay, or get out. Uyen Uyen is carrying a descendant of the Tham family. Isn't that worth ten thousand yuan?" I picked up the phone. Second aunt immediately held my hand.