Chapter 14 — My Wife Is Not An Outsider

Grandma finished watching. She placed the phone on the table, her fingers pressed against the table. She did not immediately speak up. No one at the table dared to breathe loudly.

“Tu Chi.” She called my mother's name.

My mother's body trembled: "Mom..."

“When I married into this house, your mother didn't even leave food for me.”

That statement stunned everyone. Even me. Grandma's voice was not high, but each word carried weight, like bricks stacked on top of each other.

"In the winter, it was minus ten degrees. When I came home from the fields, the bottom of the pot was frozen. Her grandmother sat on the counter and said, 'If you come back late, you'll run out of rice'. I squatted in front of the kitchen counter, munching on a cold corn dumpling. It went on like that for three years."

She stopped for a moment.

"I swore I would never let my children and grandchildren suffer like that again."

Her eyes fell on my mother's face.

“I never taught you how to do that.”

Tears welled up in my mother's eyes. Not crying in self-pity, nor angry. It's the kind of crying that feels like you've just been slapped awake, unable to refute, extremely embarrassed and humiliated. She opened her mouth to say something, her lips trembled for half a day, but no words came out.

“Wen Duong.” Grandma called Wen Duong.

On Duong quickly stood up: "Yes, grandmother."

“Sit down.” Grandma waved at her: “Come sit next to me.”

On Duong walked around the table and sat down next to his grandmother. Grandma took her hand and turned it over to look. The palm of the hand is rough, the fingertips have some cracks.

“Good kid.” The old lady's voice softened: "You're upset."

On Duong's eye sockets were red. She shook her head, her lips pursed, trying to hold back. But when her grandmother patted the back of her hand, she couldn't hold back anymore. Tears fell onto the tablecloth without a sound, her shoulders trembled. It's been half a year. The humiliation of half a year, faced with the sentence "I've suffered resentment", all poured out. No one in the room dared to make a sound. The eldest uncle turned around and wiped the corners of his eyes. The third uncle bowed his head to drink. The second woman's husband stared at the ceiling. Grandma waited for Wen Duong's emotions to calm down a bit before turning to look at my mother.

"Tu Chi, I'm not forcing you to apologize right here. But in your heart you know clearly that you did this wrong."

My mother hiccuped and nodded.

“More.” Grandma's eyes swept over each person at the table: "Those of you sitting here, if this happens to everyone in your family, go back and look in the mirror. Don't be like one thing in front of you, another behind your back."

No one dared to answer. In the last half of the celebration of life party, the atmosphere became quieter. But the relatives at the dinner table who were planning to come to me to "talk" didn't say a word. At the end of the party, the eldest uncle pulled On Duong back.

"If you have anything later, just tell me, don't keep it to yourself."

Third uncle patted my shoulder without saying anything, but that pat on the shoulder was quite heavy. Is the meaning of approval. On the way home, On Duong sat in the passenger seat, clutching the lucky money envelope that his grandmother insisted on giving him.

“Your grandmother is really nice.” she said.

“Yes.”

"Are what you said true? Before, you also..."

“It's true.” I said: "Grandma suffered a lot when she was young. When she first got married, her grandfather didn't like her and was tormented for several years. Only after she spoke up did she help."

On Duong was silent for a while.

“So your mother... hasn't been like that since childhood?”

“People will change.” I turned the steering wheel: “But Whether it's good or bad, it's your own choice."

In the rearview mirror, Wen Duong's profile flickered under the intermittent light of the street lights. Her fingers loosened the red envelope and placed it on her knee.

“Tu Chu.”
\place?"

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

She thought for a moment: “Thank you for believing in me.” I reached out my right hand, covering the back of her hand that was resting on her knee. Her hands are no longer cold. * 【Chapter 8】 The third day after the birthday party. My mother made a decision.