Chapter 10 — My Children Suffer, You All Pay the Price

Trieu Loi is no longer as generous as before. He himself is still struggling to preserve himself. Where will we get the money to fill this bottomless pit?

"I have no money!"

"From now on, don't come to me asking for money anymore!"

That was the first time Trieu Loi got angry with his beloved sister. Trieu Thien also exploded. She didn't expect that her brother who always pampered her would dare to refuse.

"What are you yelling at me for?"

"You don't have money?"

"Isn't your wife's annual salary millions of yuan?"

"Even my wife can't keep it."

"Do you have the face to be angry with me?"

"Refuse!"

The two brothers broke out in the most violent argument ever. Vuong Que Phuong naturally sided with his biological daughter. She pointed straight at Trieu Loi's face and scolded him. Say it's all his fault. It was he who put the family in the situation they are in today. Families used to be called harmonious and united. After losing a common host to suck blood. They finally started biting each other. Trieu Loi was scolded to the point that he could not lift his head. Finally he rushed out of the house. I heard. That evening someone saw him sitting on a bench under the apartment complex all night. Feeling empty-handed. The pain of being blamed by relatives. Despair when everyone leaves you one by one. Things I've experienced before. It's his turn to taste it. The divorce lawsuit is still in the process of being resolved. The Trieu family also temporarily calmed down. I took Noan Noan out of the hotel and moved to another small apartment under my name. As for that large three-room apartment filled with too many unpleasant memories, I gave it to a broker. I want to sell it as soon as possible. While cleaning things up, prepare to completely clean out the house. I accidentally discovered an old leather suitcase covered in dust in the corner of the storage room. That's Trieu Loi's stuff. It's something he brought from his hometown many years ago. It has never been opened in all this time. Don't understand why. A strange premonition made me bend down to open that suitcase. Inside are mostly Trieu Loi's childhood items. Old toys. The photos have turned yellow over the years. At the bottom of the suitcase. I discovered a stack of letters tied with a rubber band. The envelopes were yellow and brittle. The postmark above shows they were sent more than twenty years ago. I conveniently pulled out a letter. It was a letter from Vuong Que Phuong to a distant cousin. The content is mainly lamenting about difficult life and talking about future plans. But there is one passage. Just one paragraph. It was like a thunderbolt hitting my head again. The letter clearly states:

"...Sister, my family is so poor. Thien Thien is still young, I'm really afraid that in the future she will also suffer like me."

"A few days ago I heard that in the neighboring village there was a family that had a son but did not want to raise him."

"Are you thinking or should I take it home and raise it?"

"Think of it as finding a friend for Thien Thien."

"When it grows up, it's also a laborer."

"Can you earn money to help me prepare a dowry for Thien Thien, so that she can live happily."

"I haven't told Mr. Trieu about this, so I wanted to ask your opinion first..."

I was dumbfounded. The hand holding the letter was shaking so tightly. Heart beats violently. I immediately opened the remaining letters. The broken lines record the entire story after. Vuong Que Phuong actually "carried" that boy home and raised him. In every letter. I saw her cold and terrifying calculation. Send the child to school. Raise it to become talented. Make a lot of money. Then buy a house. Providing for her biological daughter Trieu Thien. From start to finish. That boy is just a tool. A tool raised to serve her daughter's future. My hands trembled violently. I could barely hold the stack of letters. I was so scared that I couldn't speak. Trieu Loi is not Vuong Que Phuong's biological son. He was just a child brought in to be raised. A chess piece is prepared since childhood. A money-making tool for Trieu Thien. Everything suddenly became clear. No wonder... No wonder Vuong Que Phuong always says that he respects men and despises women. But the best things are always for Trieu Thien. No wonder her love for Trieu Loi is always mixed with calculation. No wonder she sees me as a bottomless ATM. Try to exploit. Has the power to suck blood. Because from start to finish. Both Trieu Loi and I are just tools to make money for her biological daughter. The so-called motherly love. Just a drama staged for thirty years.