Chapter 5 — Mother's Last Painting

Lam Uyen's face stiffened. Lam's mother immediately said: "Where will they get their own house? When they got married, the Tham family promised to have a house!" I asked: "Promising to have a house, does that mean promising to give you my house?" Lam's mother raised her hand to hit me. Before she could bring her hand down, someone else grabbed it. The person holding her was the nurse just now. The nurse was young but sharp-tongued. "If you beat someone in the hospital, do you want to go to the police station?" Lam's mother struggled twice but couldn't escape, her mouth still kept cursing. "She bullies pregnant women; what if I hit her?" The nurse said: "If she really bullied a pregnant woman, report it to the police. If you beat someone, I will report it to the police for her." In the hallway, someone laughed. Lam's mother lost face and pushed the nurse's hand away. "You all bully us widows and orphans." The nurse rolled her eyes. "Your son-in-law is standing tall over there. Where is the mother who is a widow and an orphan?" I almost burst out laughing. Lam Uyen bit her lip and pulled Tham Minh Trach's hand. "Minh Trach, I don't want to lose face here anymore." Tham Minh Trach looked at me. "Thanh Thanh, go home first. Let's talk later." I corrected him. "Go back to the house." His expression darkened. Lam's mother said: "Let's go home. Today, no one should think about kicking my daughter out." I don't argue with her. Outside the hospital door, Uncle Trieu was still waiting for me. He gave me an old phone. "Aunt Chu told someone to bring it, you can use it first." I take it. Tham Minh Trach frowned when he saw it. "Who is he? Since when have you known these indecent people?" Uncle Trieu looked at him. "I am an old acquaintance of Mrs. Hua." Tham Minh Trach looked disdainful. "It's been so many years since my aunt passed away and she's still an old acquaintance. Who knows what you guys are planning?" Uncle Trieu's face darkened. "Mr. Tham, when Mrs. Hua was still alive, you still went to her store to ask for candy." Tham Minh Trach immediately became speechless. Lam's mother muttered: "I'm just a doorkeeper, but I dare to teach others how to live." Uncle Trieu didn't pay attention to her, just said to me: "Miss Hua, I suggest you take an inventory of the backyard warehouse today. There are so many people, it's very troublesome to be missing even one item." Lam Uyen immediately perked up his ears. "Inventory what?" I said: "It has nothing to do with you." Her face became unsightly again. Returning to the house, the locksmith was waiting outside the door. The second aunt panicked. "Thanh Thanh, do you really want to change?" I said: "Change the lock on the large front yard door and also the lock on the backyard shed." Lam's mother put her hands on her hips. "If you dare change, I will sit at the door and not leave." The locksmith carried a toolbox and looked at me. "Still changed?" I nodded. Lam's mother sat down on the doorstep. "Come here, let's see who dares to touch me today!" Uncle Trieu went next door and knocked on the door. Neighbor Mrs. Truong poked her head out. "What's up?" Uncle Trieu said: "Aunt Truong, lend us the camera in front of your house for a bit. Someone is blocking Ms. Hua's door." As soon as Ms. Truong heard it, she immediately walked out. "Blocking Thanh Thanh's door? Who is it?" She recognized her second uncle and second aunt, then saw Lam's mother sitting on the doorstep, her face immediately darkened. "Tham Quoc Cuong, what's going on? A few years ago, when Thanh Thanh's parents passed away, he said he would help her take care of the house. Now even her in-laws are blocking the door?" The second uncle lost face. "Aunt Truong, there is a bit of a misunderstanding at home." Ms. Truong was not polite. "Is it a misunderstanding that they will not let the homeowner change the lock? Thanh Thanh owns this house. Does she need your approval to change its locks?" Lam's mother stood up. "Who are you to be so in charge?" Ms. Truong's voice was even louder than hers. "I've lived next door to this house for forty years. When Thanh Thanh's mother died, I even cooked chicken soup to bring it over. And who are you? Running to someone else's house to cause trouble." The crowd around the house grew. Lam's mother's face was sometimes blue, sometimes white. Lam Uyen pulled her. "Mom, stop arguing." The locksmith took the opportunity to start working. As soon as the sound of the drill rang out, Lam Uyen felt like her tail had been stepped on. "Hua Thanh Thanh, do you really not care about the baby in my belly?" I stood on the steps. "Your child's parents are here, it's not my turn to care." Tham Minh Trach pointed at me. "I will make you regret it."

I said: "I already regret it." He was stunned. I put the new key in my pocket. "I regret that yesterday I thought I would give your child a big envelope." After that day, Lam Uyen did not move. She used the excuse of being pregnant and moved directly into the master bedroom in the front yard. It was the room my parents used to live in. When I returned, a string of red jade peace pendants had been hung outside the door, the bed had been replaced with a new blanket, and the old clothes in the closet were stuffed into black plastic bags and piled in the hallway. I looked at those bags. Inside was my mother's cheongsam and an old sweater my father used to wear. My second aunt came out of the room, holding a bottle of fragrant essential oil in her hand. "Thanh Thanh, Uyen Uyen can't stand the smell of old things, so I brought them out first. Haven't thrown it away, haven't thrown it away yet." Lam Uyen leaned against the head of the bed. "I'm pregnant, so my sense of smell is very sensitive. The room smells like death. How am I supposed to sleep here?" I picked up the black plastic bag.