Chapter 11 — Thirty Million And One Man's Worth

He was silent for a beat.

“This time it's real.”

I don't answer. Because there are words... that don't need to be answered. Just do it. But Chu Minh Le did not stop. This time, she did something even more evil than I thought. She went to the lady who owned the lottery counter under my house. Gave her 2,000 yuan and asked her to confirm— The woman who bought the ticket that afternoon was Zhou Xiaoxiao or not. The lady accepted the money, but hesitated. Because the person who bought the ticket that day paid in cash and did not leave any information. Chu Minh Le has not given up yet. She asked for a physical description.

"About thirty years old, tied hair, gray shirt, black backpack, skinny figure."

The owner said. Chu Minh Le took out my photo. The lady looked for a moment.

“Like… but not completely sure.”

Just being “similar” is enough. She took the "like" thing, starting the next step. Don't look for me. But look for your mother-in-law.

"Mom, I checked it out. Chu Hieu Hieu won 3,840 thousand. She hid it from the whole family.。"

The mother-in-law was stunned for nearly three minutes, her eyes looked like someone had just thrown a shock straight into her heart without having time to digest it.

"What did you say? Thirty-some million?"

“Yes, the lottery counter owner recognized it, it was him.”

Chu Minh Le spoke firmly, as if holding irrefutable evidence in her hands.

“This… how is this possible?”

The mother-in-law's voice trembled, half believing and half not.

"Nothing is impossible, the day he is fired is the day he wins, he is not fired, he doesn't want to work anymore, with thirty million, who would still want to work."

Chu Minh Le spoke at once, each sentence seemed to be nailed into her thoughts.

“So it hid Minh Vien?”

The mother-in-law asked, her voice starting to get urgent.

"Hide it, nothing else, hide it from the whole family, think about it, for the past two months he's been going out every day saying he's looking for a job. Who knows where he's going, maybe he's been spending money like water."

The more Chu Minh Le spoke, the more excited she became.

“It's not that bad…”

The mother-in-law is still a little hesitant.

"Why not, I met him the other day, wearing clothes that didn't look like an unemployed person at all, Mom, that's thirty million, he didn't say anything, don't you see there's a problem, is he preparing to leave?"

The two words "leave" were like a knife, piercing straight into her deepest fear. A daughter-in-law has thirty million, but hides her eight and a half thousand salary from her husband, not telling anyone— Is she preparing to leave? Mother-in-law is really scared. That afternoon, she appeared at my door. This time don't go alone. Which brought along Chu Minh Le. I opened the door, facing two faces. One is anger mixed with confusion, the other is so proud that it's hard to hide.

“Understanding.”

Mother-in-law opened her mouth immediately.

“Did you win the lottery?”

Her voice was urgent, as if she wanted to pull out the answer immediately. The living room was silent. Three people face each other. Chu Minh Le sat on the sofa armrest, crossed her legs, looking like she was watching a play. The mother-in-law sat in the middle, tightening her bag strap, her knuckles turning white. I stood there.

“Who told mom?”

"Don't care who says it, just answer yes or no."

Her voice was no longer soft.

“Yes or no what?”

“Did you win more than thirty million?”

She asked directly. I glanced at Chu Minh Le. She raised her eyebrows, her eyes provocative.

“You investigated for half a day and only came up with a ‘seems to be’?”

I spoke softly.

“The boss recognizes you.”

Chu Minh Le interjected.

“Recognize something, a thirty-year-old woman wearing a gray shirt and a black backpack, that description covers half the area. This."

I responded neither quickly nor slowly.

“You clearly went into the lottery counter that day!”

She growled.

“I went to the supermarket to buy soy sauce, the supermarket is next to the lottery counter, does passing by count as entering?”

I asked back. Chu Minh Le choked. The mother-in-law continued.

“So will you buy lottery tickets?”

"Mom, normally I buy tickets from time to time, two yuan a ticket, I'll know whether I win or not."

I said very calmly.

“So did you win?”

She still didn't let go. I looked straight at her.

"Do you think a person who wins thirty million will not change his phone for two months, not buy new things, not buy a car, and not move house?"

The mother-in-law stopped. She looked at me from head to toe. Clothes are still old. The phone is still the old one. Life remains the same.

“You see.”

She turned to Chu Minh Le. Chu Minh Le immediately became angry.

"He deliberately pretended, don't be fooled by him, the thirty million he kept hidden was so that no one would find out."

“Hide for what?”

“To leave!”

“What did I leave for, the house has my name on it, my husband treats me well, why did I leave?”

I looked straight at her.

“Do you have proof, bank statements, transactions, assets?”

I asked again.

"It's nothing, right? Just based on a 'seemingly' sentence from the ticket seller, I ran to tell my mother I won thirty million. Are you this short of money?"

I speak frankly. This sentence hits where it hurts the most. Chu Minh Le's face turned red.

“Chu Hieu Hieu, don't be too proud, I will find out sooner or later!”

"Just look up, if you win, it's mine. If you don't win, you'll make yourself miserable."

I shrugged. My mother-in-law sat there, looked at me and then looked at Chu Minh Le.