Chapter 8 — The Price of Contempt

“Vien San, I am no longer your cash machine.”

After speaking, I hung up the phone. Soon after, Tieu Nien's studies were also revealed. Previously, Phuong Vien Chau spent 30,000 yuan to enter the experimental area, but when the other party checked his household registration, he discovered that he had moved away.

"Mr. Phuong, my household registration is no longer in this area, we cannot keep the school spot."

He immediately panicked.

“Can you be a little flexible? I have already paid 30,000 yuan.”

The other party responded very politely.

"Sorry, if the household registration is not in the area, no amount of money can fix it. This is a mandatory regulation."

He called to question me.

"I transferred Tieu Nien's household registration, all the tuition here is gone, do you know how much it cost me?"

I calmly replied.

“Vien Chau, Tieu Nien's school district is now an experimental school.”

“Top in the whole city.”

“Ten times better than what you spent 30,000 yuan on.”

“It's still free.”

The other end of the line was silent for a long time. In the end he only said one sentence. I don't deny it.

“Yes, I did it on purpose.”

He couldn't buy what he spent 30,000 yuan on, my mother only needed a house, and the person he despised gave his child a starting point that he couldn't reach even if he tried his whole life. But what did he do before that, forcing her to sleep in the storage room, not allowing her to talk, calling her a nanny, thinking back, I see how bitter it was. Phuong Vien Chau still did not give up, and began to appear under my mother's house, sometimes holding flowers, sometimes carrying fruit, standing in the sun for an hour or two straight. My mother saw it a few times and her heart softened.

“An Ninh, he's standing down there, it's so sunny, call him up for a drink.”

I looked down at the man with his head bowed down there, and something appeared in my mind. Last summer, the hottest time. My mother suffered heat stroke, dizziness, nausea, and almost fainted in the kitchen. I called Phuong Vien Chau.

"Can you help me buy medicine to reduce fever? My mother has heat stroke."

he said.

“I have a meeting this afternoon.”

I said again.

“My mother is seriously ill.”

He replied very calmly.

“Tell her to drink lots of water, don't overdo it.”

That day I had to take a day off and run home to buy medicine for my mother. After she took it, she lay in the storage room all day, no one asked. When he came home that night, the first sentence was.

“Why isn't there any rice today?”

I told that story to my mother. She was silent for a moment then closed the curtain.

“You're right, standing down there for two hours is not as good as the two years I spent there.”

Finally, Phuong Vien Chau also left. Before leaving, he sent a very long text message, saying he wanted to change, asking me for a chance, promising not to say a harsh word to my mother in the future. The promise sounds very complete. But it came too late. Those words should have been said two years ago, not after learning that my mother had three houses. I don't answer. Turn around and go to the kitchen to help your mother wash vegetables. A month later, he sent a short message.

"I can't afford the house anymore. I'm planning to sell it. My mother is sick and Vien San can't pay the card. Can you lend me some money?"

I looked for a moment, then answered.

"Impossible."

Then delete the chat. His difficulties were of his own making. Their whole family spent two years without saving a penny, because from the beginning they planned to live on me. I have to pay my salary, I pay most of the rent, and my children let my mother feed me for free, now the cash machine no longer exists, the maid also no longer exists, their so-called "decent" life... naturally also disappeared. Finally, Phuong Vien Chau sent a very short divorce agreement, only stating that Tieu Nien's custody belongs to me, every month he gives 1,500 yuan in child support, and he doesn't ask for anything else. I read it twice and then signed. The day I signed, I posted a photo of Tieu Nien running on the grass downstairs, along with the line "new beginning", the first person to drop a heart was my mother, nicknamed "Mrs. Tu Chi", and also left a sentence with a countryside accent, which translates to "try hard girl". That night, I took my mother and Tieu Nien out to eat a nice meal at the largest restaurant in the East. My mother held the menu but kept hesitating, saying every dish was expensive. I pushed the menu towards her, telling her to order whatever she wanted today, and my daughter would pay. My mother flipped for a long time and then only ordered four dishes, all of which she used to cook for me when I was little, such as braised meat, sweet and sour ribs, fried eggs with tomatoes, and a bowl of egg noodles. She smiled shyly and said that restaurant food probably wasn't the same as her cooking. The dishes on the table were certainly not the same, but I still finished three bowls of rice, feeling satisfied with each bite. Tieu Nien sat in the child's chair while tapping the spoon and calling out "grandmother, meat", her clear country voice made my mother laugh, picking up the meat and coaxing "eat slowly, it's hot". The person at the next table looked over and didn't have any strange looks, because this place was an old eastern neighborhood, and it was normal to speak with a country accent.