Chapter 6 — One Dollar a Day, I Uncover a Conspiracy

I looked at it and suddenly felt tired, not because of the argument, but because of the gap between the two generations.

“So you have to wait until I'm actually deceived before you see the problem with this?”

“I didn't mean that.”

“So what do you mean?”

He was silent, did not answer, and I did not say another word. Mother and daughter stood in the living room, as if separated by an invisible river, everyone standing on their own bank. After a long time, it spoke up, its voice lowered, as if it was confessing something to itself.

“I'm just… afraid something will happen to mom.”

"I know."

“You know, but you still do that?”

Tears fell from his eyes and his voice began to tremble.

“What if I go out and argue with people, what if they push me, what if they take revenge, I go to work during the day, and at night I have to take care of the children, I really can't handle so many things.”

I looked at it, this time no longer angry. I suddenly realized that it wasn't that it didn't care about me, but that it was afraid in its own way. Afraid that I will grow old, afraid that I will get sick, afraid that I will fall, afraid that one day I will become a responsibility that he cannot bear. That's why he chose to believe in the so-called "smart nursing service", because then he can comfort himself that there is someone to look after me on his behalf. Even if that person... could be a scammer. I lowered my voice, no longer sharp, but slowed down like a warning.

“Hieu Van, I didn't let you worry.”

He looked up at me, his eyes still filled with tears.

“I just want you to understand, it's okay to spend money to buy peace of mind, but you can't give your whole mind to someone else.”

It stood still, as if stopped in its tracks by that sentence. I took out a photo of the 1-yuan deduction and placed it in front of him.

"Today they only deducted 1 yuan from mom, I think it's okay."

"Mrs. Trieu paid 30,000 yuan, but I saw that it was someone else's family matter."

"When tomorrow they bring the contract, saying that I signed to pay in installments, deducting 2,000 yuan from my pension every month, will you still think it's okay?"

Chu Hieu Van's face turned pale, as if he had just seen a possibility that he had never thought of before.

“Do they dare to do that?”

“Why don't they dare?”

I looked straight at it, each question seemed to be placed in front of me one by one.

“Who took the ID for them?”

“Who is the bank account that helps me connect?”

“When recognizing faces, who stands next to help mom do it?”

His lips moved, but no words came out. I don't press anymore, just let the silence do the rest.

"Tomorrow they will go to Mrs. Trieu's house to install the equipment. Mom will go there."

It immediately objected, almost without thinking.

"Impossible."

I looked at it, my voice was not high but firm.

“You can come with me.”

Chu Hieu Van paused, as if being pulled into a choice for which he had no time to prepare.

"You don't have to worry about something happening to Mom, so go see for yourself, how they talk to old people."

It hesitated for a long time, its eyes wavered, and finally nodded. The next morning, at 9:30 a.m., An Tam Gia Vien's people arrived on time as scheduled. The person who arrived was Lam Thien, with a young man carrying an equipment backpack behind him. Zhou Xiaoyun sat next to me in Mrs. Trieu's living room, and she was so nervous that her palms were sweaty. I gently patted the back of her hand, as if giving her a little courage. The doorbell rang, and Mrs. Trieu almost couldn't stand. I went to open the door. Lam Thien saw me, the smile on her face suddenly stopped.

“Are you… are you here too?”

I smiled, my voice very natural, as if I were just a concerned neighbor.

"Miss Trieu is not familiar with these things, I'll come over and help."

Lam Thien's eyes briefly wavered, then immediately regained calm.

“This is a service between us and the customer, it's best for outsiders not to interfere.”

Chu Hieu Van stood up, took a step forward, his voice was not loud but clear enough.

“I am a neighbor's family member, am I not considered an outsider?”

Lam Thien glanced at it, her attitude immediately softened, her tone changed as quickly as turning a page in a book.

"That's better, young people here also help advise you, because older people often don't take health risks seriously."