Chapter 3 — My Wife Is Not An Outsider

Then take two cucumbers from the refrigerator, slice them, sprinkle some vinegar, and consider it as an extra dish. At six twenty, she finished washing the large dishes, wiped the table clean, and put the dishes and chopsticks in the cupboard. The living room returns to its "finished" state. At seven thirty-one, On Duong pushed the door open and walked in. In the screen, my mother sat on the sofa knitting a sweater, not even looking up: "Are you home? The food is on the stove, heat it yourself." On Duong changed his slippers and went into the kitchen. Through the camera screen, I saw her open the lids of those two small bowls. Her movements paused for a second. Then she took the bowl and put it in the microwave. Day two. Still the same process. Different dishes - Braised chicken wings, stir-fried chicken Cung Bao, shredded cabbage, tomato egg soup. The portion left for Wen Duong was cabbage and half a bowl of soup. Chicken wings and chicken meat were gone. Day three. Even more special. My mother called and chatted with her sister — that is, my aunt. The camera's recording isn't very clear, but I can hear the key words clearly.

“…He gets off work so late every day, who knows what he goes out to do…”

“…I don't know if I know how to cook, I've been here for half a year and I haven't seen her roast a bowl of rice yet…”

“…Your Tu Chu family is so gentle, I'm fascinated by it…”

I turned the volume up to the maximum, holding the phone close to my ear to listen.

“…I'm young but I don't know how to save, I don't know what to buy cherries, tens of yuan a box, ruining my family…”

That box of cherries. The box of cherries I bought the other day. My mother has eaten. Wen Duong never touched one. I turned off the app and placed the phone screen face down on the table. Sit quietly for five minutes. Then open the computer, log in to the banking app, and download the family's spending statement for the past half year. Every month I transfer my mother five thousand yuan (about more than 17 million VND) for living expenses. I looked carefully at each line. Supermarket consumption history shows that food purchases are mainly concentrated at the beginning and middle of the month, totaling less than one and a half thousand yuan. I checked each item — eggs, cabbage, potatoes, noodles, cooking oil mainly. Occasionally there is pork and chicken, but not often. So where do the ribs, seabass, and crayfish come from? I pulled over to another account — Wentang's Alipay. When we got married, she told me the password. This is the first time in my life I have used this password. Her statement is much longer than my mother's. Two to three times a week, when she swipes her card at the market, she buys pork, ribs, raw fish, fresh shrimp, beef shank — all of which she buys. Since three months ago, she has been trying to transfer money to "Diep Family Seafood", each time from one hundred to two hundred yuan. Fresh milk, yogurt, and fruit in the supermarket are also what she buys. The ingredients used to make delicious meals in the kitchen come from my wife's pocket. My mother used those ingredients to cook, put them on the table, and ate with my father and sister. After eating, leave some residue for Wen Duong. Using the exact ingredients that Wen Duong paid for. My temples twitched. Keep surfing. Luc An An's Wechat transfer history - my mother sometimes transfers living expenses to him, notes "buy clothes", "buy cosmetics", a month is eight hundred at least, a lot is two thousand. I flipped back to Wen Duong's statement. Found it. Three "request to borrow money" transactions from Luc An An. The first time, three months ago, three thousand yuan, note: "Sister-in-law saved me, I'll pay next month." The second time, two months ago, five thousand yuan, note: "Sister-in-law, please help me, I need it urgently." Third time, three weeks ago, four thousand yuan, no note. A total of twelve thousand yuan (more than 40 million VND). Haven't returned a single penny. I clicked on Wen Duong's salary card balance. Three thousand four hundred and twelve yuan seven cents. Her monthly salary is eight thousand, excluding insurance and a little more than six thousand.