Chapter 5 — The Tofu Seller Who Wouldn't Wait for Him

I lowered my head to look at that bracelet. So beautiful. But we don't need it. I don't need this person either.

“Moc Bac Than,” I raised my head, my voice calm, “not anymore.”

His face stiffened.

"In this life, I can't be with you anymore."

“Mong Vi—”

Without waiting for him to finish, I pushed him hard and pushed him out of the store. He staggered back and stood on the side of the road, his face filled with disbelief. The sunlight shined on his face, illuminating the pain deep in his eyes. I looked at him once, then slammed the door. The moment the door closed, I heard him calling my name outside. Once, then again. I leaned my back against the door and slowly slid to the ground. The sounds outside gradually fade away. In the end, only the noise of the streets remained. I buried my face in my knees and didn't cry.

7

The door is closed, life must continue. But I didn't expect that Moc Bac Than would be such a person. On the third day, the government officials arrived. Two translators stood in front of the store, their faces expressionless, handing me a piece of paper. I took it and looked at it. There was a bright red seal on it, writing that the shop's procedures were not complete, and immediately sealed it.

“Miss, don't make things difficult for us.” The lead translator glanced inside, "Let's pack up, let's leave."

I stood in front of the door, watching them put a seal on the door panel. Passersby stopped to look and whispered. I heard someone say: "This store has only been open for how many days?"

"I must have offended someone. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to taste that tofu yet."

I do not turn back, nor make excuses. In this capital city, I think I understand. Ordinary people's lives are like trash. What's more, it's me. After packing up our things, we went to the abandoned temple. Nhi Cau and the others were huddled in the corner of the wall basking in the sun. When they saw me coming, they rushed up.

"Miss! Did you bring tofu?"

I shook my head, took out all the silver on my body, and stuffed it into Nhi Cau's hand. It froze.

“Auntie, this is…”

"The shop is closed," I squatted down, looking into its eyes, "I probably have to go. You keep this money, save it and use it."

Nhi Cau lowered his head and looked at the silver scraps in his hand, not accepting it.

“Auntie, we have something to eat.” He pushed the silver back, "The little prince will take care of us."

Little prince. I remember that person who was always joking, and my heart suddenly felt a bit heavy.

“Auntie,” a child next to me pulled my sleeve, “is that guy named Moc bullying you?”

I said nothing. But the way they looked at us, they understood everything. Nhi Cau jumped up, his face red: "What right does he have? Let's go find him!"

"Yes! Go find him!"

The children also stood up, rolled up their sleeves and wanted to rush out. I pulled Nhi Cau back.

“Don't go.”

“Auntie!”

“Listen to me.” I squeezed its wrist, my voice was very soft, "live well."

Ordinary people's lives are like trash. What's more, you guys. Moc Bac Than used to be a butler, how could he be an honest person? Nhi Cau gritted his teeth and his eyes turned red.

“But…”

“No buts.” I let go, stood up, looked at them, "You guys live well, you helped me."

When I stepped out of the abandoned temple, it was already dark. I turned around and looked back, those small figures were still standing at the door, not moving. Now there's nothing left. The shop is gone, the money is gone, even the children have someone to take care of them. I took a deep breath and walked towards the city gate. Get out of the city and continue thinking. But before we even left the city gate, we were stopped. From the beginning of the alley, two people walked out, wearing blue shirts and expressionless faces, standing in front of me.

“Miss Kieu, Lord Moc please stop walking.”

I took a step back, tightening my luggage.

“He is waiting for you at Moc Palace.”

Waiting for me to admit my mistake? I stared at those two people, word by word: "Go back and tell him—people like him, living is just a waste of food." The two of them froze, looked at each other, and didn't stop me anymore. I turned around and went out of the city. The footsteps became faster and faster, finally almost running. Outside the city gate, the official path stretches straight into the distance. The sun tilted to the west, the shadows of the trees along the road stretched long. I ran out of breath and suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind me.

“Miss Kieu——!”

Someone called me. I don't stop. The sound of horse hooves grew closer and closer, accompanied by urgent calls. I gritted my teeth and continued running. Suddenly there was a deep sound from behind, as if something had fallen hard to the ground. The sound of horses neighing, the sound of chaotic footsteps, and some people shouting. I stopped, turned around and looked. On the official path, a figure lies on the ground. The horse ran a few steps and then turned around, spinning in place. I recognized that old blue shirt. It's him. I ran over, sat down, and helped him up. Do Than Chi's face was pale white, his forehead was broken, blood spread across half of his face. He opened his eyes and saw that it was me, but he still grinned.

“Chase… catch up.”

Having finished speaking, he closed his eyes and fainted.

8

Old horses know the way. The horse did not walk fast, it started and stopped, occasionally turning its head to look. I helped Do Than Chi lie on the horse's back, one hand holding the reins, followed it through the city gate, through a few streets, finally stopping in front of a palace. The big door is painted red, has a stone lion, and on the sign are the four words "Trung Dung Hau Phu". I was stunned. Is it really the Marquis Palace? The doorman ran in to tell the news. Not long after, a group of people came out to welcome them, led by a pair of middle-aged women. The man had a serious face, with some similarities between his eyebrows and Do Than Chi. The woman had a gentle appearance and wore a simple dress. As soon as she saw the unconscious person on horseback, her expression immediately changed.

“Khen Chi!”

They helped the person down and carried him inside. I followed behind, not knowing whether to go or stay. The woman looked at me for a long time, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Hungry."

I thought I heard wrong.

“What did the lady say?”

“Fainted from hunger.” She sighed, looked at me, "Miss is..."

I opened my mouth, not knowing how to explain. But she continued.

"This child, Than Chi, has suffered since childhood. He was kidnapped at the age of seven or eight, locked up for more than half a year. Those people locked him in a pig pen, competing with pigs for food." Her eyes turned red. "After finding it, he couldn't eat anymore. Whenever he saw food, he vomited. If he tried to swallow it, he would vomit again. During these years, it was all thanks to ginseng soup to keep him going."

When I heard it, my heart was choked up, but thinking about it—it wasn't right. He once stole half of my bowl of tofu. At my restaurant, he ate three dishes in a row. Then we went to the deserted temple and fought for food with the beggars.

“Madam,” I couldn't help but speak up, “did you recognize the wrong person?”

She raised her head to look at me.

"This guy at my place can eat three plates of tofu in one meal. In the deserted temple, he even took food from children, but I didn't see him vomit."

She was stunned.