Chapter 8 — The Evil One Wants to Replace Me as the Chief Master's Wife

I carried the washing basin and ran in, one slipper fell off my foot. When I ran to the door, I saw Luc Tranh was faster than me. Before that, he was repairing his bicycle in the yard. The chain was half removed, and both hands were covered in black engine oil. As soon as he heard the cry, he threw the wrench on the ground and rushed into the room in three steps. A twenty-six or twenty-seven year old monk squatted next to the cradle, his hands covered in motor oil floating in mid-air, not daring to touch his child for fear of dirtying the small diaper. He turned and ran into the kitchen, washed his hands thoroughly, dried them before picking up his son. The boy lay on his shoulder, crying until he hiccuped. One hand held the baby's butt, the other hand gently patted the back, walking back and forth in the room. He was mumbling something. When I got closer, I heard clearly: "Don't cry, don't cry anymore, dad is here." The son cried another hour, then another hour, then gradually quieted down. Small hands grabbed the fabric on his shoulders, snot smeared all over his collar. The boy had been sleeping soundly in his arms for a long time, his small mouth slightly open, his breath blowing on his neck. Ms. Trieu poked her head out of the small room, took a look and then burst out laughing. Luc Tranh's ears turned red again. He gently put his son back in the crib, covered him with a blanket, turned around, and seriously said to me as if discussing business: "The bike hasn't been repaired yet." After saying that, he quickly walked out, squatted in front of the bike, and picked up the wrench. He held the wrench upside down. A few days later, the sunshine in the yard was beautiful, I was drying clothes. Ms. Trieu went out to buy food. The two children lay next to each other in the crib, napping in the room. I stood on tiptoes and reached for the clothesline above my head. I don't know when an enamel basin appeared under my feet, inside there was still half a basin of soapy water after washing clothes. I stepped on it with one foot. My perineum slid on the cement floor, my whole body fell backwards. Before I even touched the ground, my waist was hugged from behind by a strong arm. The force was so strong that I let out a groan. My back hit a hard chest, the button of my military uniform stuck to my spine. I raised my head, just facing Luc Tranh's face, which was bowed down. One of his arms hugged my waist, five fingers clasped at my side. Even though it was a layer of clothing away, I could still feel the heat of his palm. "I..." Before I could finish speaking, the clothesline above my head made a groaning sound. The iron rope was stretched too long, could not bear the weight of two adults, and bounced off the iron hook on the other side of the wall. Trieu's white shirt, blue-gray duvet cover, Ms. Trieu's apron, and her son's diaper all fell on our heads. A shirt covered my head, the sleeves hanging down to cover my eyes. The brim of Luc Tranh's military hat was swept by a wet sheet and fell to the ground, rolling two meters away. Outside the kitchen door came a soft noise. Through the gap between my sleeves, I saw Ms. Trieu carrying a basket of food and standing at the kitchen door. Before I could speak, Ms. Trieu immediately sneaked into the house. The curtain fell down again, completely covering it. Luc Tranh helped me stand firmly, let go of his hand holding my waist and took a step back. He coughed softly, bent down to pick up the military hat from the ground, and brushed it off again and again. But the more I brushed the dust off the brim of my hat, the more patchy it became. Then, he squatted down and started picking up clothes. Shirts, duvet covers, diapers, each item was shaken out and hung on the arm, not folded at all. "This clothesline should have been changed a long time ago." He said. "My face is red." "Because of the sunlight." I raised my head to look at the sky. The sun was indeed very strong, but the sycamore tree above the yard covered it completely, the shadow of the tree just barely covered the position where he was standing. He picked up the last diaper, carried the basin and walked quickly towards the faucet, moving more than a little faster than usual. A few days later, it emerged in the afternoon

up a cold wind. I carried my daughter down for a walk. She grabbed my collar, her eyes followed the sparrows on the tree, and her mouth made squealing sounds. When passing by the bench in front of the housing area for military families, regimental leader Chu's wife was sitting there knitting clothes. Two bamboo needles are woven together. As soon as she saw me, she immediately stood up. "Tham Mach! Come sit here!" She pulled my sleeve, pulled me to the bench, looked up and down a few times and then said, "Why is your face getting better and better? When you first left the hospital, you looked as thin as a piece of paper, how long has it been since your face had skin and flesh?" Ms. Tiet next to her was chopping melon seeds and immediately continued: "Isn't it still under Master Luc's care?" He used the tip of his toe to gently touch the hem of my shirt: "Everyone, look at the dacron shirt on her body, it's the newest style from the department store. The light blue background has small flowers, only she has it in this whole area. Last time I saw it at the department store, it was eight dong a piece, so I regretted the money so I didn't buy it." Group leader Chu's wife stopped to look at the seam and smacked her lips: "Luc Tranh bought it for you?" "Master Luc asked someone to bring it back from Guangzhou last month." "I saw him open the package with my own eyes right in front of the communication room. I asked Master Luc what good thing he bought, his face darkened and he said it was a newspaper."