Chapter 5 — Picked up the Bridegroom on the Riverbank

“The shoes are made by the lady, of course they fit perfectly.”

“That's good!”

I laughed complacently. The next second, he grabbed my hand and looked at me with sad eyes.

“But my shoes are enough for you, you don't need to work any harder.”

I quickly shook my head:

"No! After Tet, you have to go to the capital to take the Spring exam, the journey is many miles away, you should still prepare enough clothes and shoes."

I firmly wanted to do it, but my husband had no choice but to give up.

“Okay, but only make this pair. If you do it again, I will hide all your needles!”

I nodded repeatedly, obediently on the outside, but secretly said in my heart: My husband can only think this much. This is my house, I even found my lady's own money, don't I know where you hid it? Seeing that I agreed, my husband was also satisfied, bowed his head and continued reading. He bowed his head, I couldn't see those eyes, but those long and black eyelashes kept blinking gently, scanning my mind, making my heart suddenly itch. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that such a handsome young man would actually become my husband. But now, my husband is about to leave. I thought for a moment and then asked:

“How long does it take for Spring Semester to take?”

The husband immediately raised his head, saw that I looked worried, immediately looked at me intently, his voice gently comforting:

“Don't worry, my lady, there are still two months left before I have to leave.

When I finish the exam, I will definitely come back immediately, I won't let you wait too long." My heart softened, a smile gradually appeared on my face.

"That's good, I'm still waiting for you to come home so we can have a baby together!"

The husband stopped, the fire in the furnace seemed to have burned all the way to his face, his face was so red it was so adorable. He glanced east and west, then his eyes immediately fell on the potato next to the stove.

"You must be hungry, let me peel some potatoes for you to eat."

He touched the potato next to the fire, saw it was cooked, immediately wrapped it in a towel, carefully peeled off the outer layer, a wave of hot steam rising... The peel was just peeled off, revealing the shiny yellow flesh inside. He gave it to me, I was about to reach out to take it, but he withdrew his hand.

"It's very hot, let me hold it, just bow your head and eat."

I smiled and nodded, bowing my head to eat the potatoes, while secretly looking at his handsome face under the firelight. Sweet potatoes are so sweet, our hearts are so sweet that they melt.

8

After my husband left, I waited with all my joy for his return. But... several months passed, still there was not a single bit of news. I have asked someone to send countless letters to the capital, but still have not received any response from you. There must have been some important thing that delayed it... I didn't think much, I continued living as usual: continuing to make wine, after cooking, I took it to Huong Man Lau. Just after delivering the wine, I was about to return when I heard someone talking in the restaurant.

“I heard that this year's Poinsettia has an extraordinary appearance, even more beautiful than Tham Hoa!”

“No wonder the princess was moved as soon as she met her, and even gave her an incense bag in front of so many people.

Maybe soon I will become a son-in-law!”

"I heard it's someone from our area! What's their last name? It seems like their last name is Truong... Truong something..."

“Truong Dan Hac!”

I listened quietly It's over, my heart feels heavy like a stone pressing down on me. Is my husband. The new winner this year... is my husband Truong Dan Hac. However, I don't feel happy at all. I immediately went to find Aunt Lieu. Auntie's eyes were red, she hugged me in pain, and angrily scolded:

“If I knew he was such an ungrateful and meaningless person, I wouldn't have let you marry him so easily!”

But in life, there are not so many things that "know it early, it will be different". Aunt Lieu said:

"Fortunately... you're not pregnant yet. Otherwise, wouldn't you be like your mother in the past, raising your child alone, living endless days of hardship?"

At this point we really understand. No wonder he insisted on waiting until after passing the exam. No wonder he refused to have children with me. It turns out that's why. It turns out that all those sweet days... were just temporary, a lie. I leaned on Aunt Lieu's arms, but in my mind I was only thinking about you. If she were still alive and knew about this, she probably wouldn't coax me like that. She would definitely scold me and make fun of my eyes for people. After that... he will cook me a bowl of sticky rice wine, make me eat it all, and tell me: Once you're done eating, forget it out of sight. Unfortunately... I won't have the chance to eat again.

“A man who is infatuated can still stop, but a woman who is infatuated cannot let go.”

I don't believe in that ridiculous way of life. After finishing the bowl of floating sticky rice wine that I cooked with my own hands, I immediately went to the East river and burned a large sum of gold coins for my mother.

“Dear lady, last time you sent something that wasn't very good... this time please help me find someone else!”

I held a fishing net, eyes full of anticipation watching the water in the middle of the river. But after waiting...no one came. I guess, perhaps she is still angry with me, or maybe... I haven't found the right person yet. So I had to quietly return with disappointment. As soon as I got home, I immediately saw the front door filled with vegetables and eggs. As soon as Aunt Vuong next door saw me coming back from the river, she immediately ran over in panic and grabbed my hand tightly:

"Tu Nhi! What are you doing by the river? You... absolutely don't think about it!"

“Huh?”

I raised the fish net in my hand, my face full of doubt. Aunt Vuong's face immediately became confused.

“It's good if it's not like that, if it's not like that then it's good... So it's... going to catch fish.”

I was silent for a while, could I tell them the truth, I went there to... pick up men? Well, I just nodded firmly:

“That's right, go get the fish.”

Aunt Vuong breathed a sigh of relief, then began to comfort me again.

"It's okay if you can't catch the fish. Everyone in the village has brought vegetables over, so you don't have to worry about food shortages."

It turns out... they all knew about my husband. They also want to advise us not to be too sad. In this world, there are many ungrateful people, and most ungrateful people are people who read books. I'm still young, the road ahead is still long, I will definitely meet someone who is sincere with me. I just felt my eyes sting and couldn't say a word. I took the vegetables home and cooked myself a table of delicious food. While eating, my eyes gradually became blurry. Tears flowed like a stream, I couldn't stop it... but my mouth still didn't stop, I stuffed another spoonful of rice into my mouth. No problem… I've said it before: tears will one day dry up.