Chapter 20 — Thirty Million And One Man's Worth

Chu Minh Vien brought back from the restaurant a pot of minced meat noodles and divided them into four bowls.

“Eat first, then talk after you finish eating.”

Mother-in-law and Chu Minh Le sat on one side, each with a different face. One person was worried as if something big was about to happen, the other was on guard as if preparing for a counterattack. After eating four bowls of noodles, he packed up his bowl and chopsticks and came back to sit down.

“Sister, mother, there is something I want to tell you.”

“What?”

“Hieu Hieu won the lottery, 3,840,000 yuan, after taxes there was 3,072,000 yuan, plus the current investment is about more than 36,000,000 yuan.”

The room was as quiet as paper. The chopsticks in her mother-in-law's hand fell onto the table, even though she had finished eating long ago. Chu Minh Le opened her mouth, but could not close it.

"I know you two had doubts before, I'll make it clear today."

The mother-in-law was the first to recover, her voice shaking so much that it almost broke.

“Thirty… thirty what millions?”

“Since when?”

“Three months ago, the day Hieu Hieu was laid off.”

“She hid it for three months?!”

"It's not that she wants to hide it, but she doesn't dare to say it, because she clearly understands that the consequences of speaking out will not be as simple as everyone thinks."

“Don't dare say anything, we are family!”

Chu Minh Vien looked straight at his mother, his eyes calm but heavy as if something was pressing down.

“Mom, if three months ago everyone knew that Hieu Hieu won more than thirty million, how do you think things would turn out? Please answer me honestly once.”

The mother-in-law opened her mouth, but in the end she couldn't say anything, because the answer was so clear that everyone understood without saying anything. Thai Quoc Cuong will immediately come to her, Chu Minh Le will start asking for money, and her mother will stand in the middle as a mediator, and that money will definitely be dragged away layer by layer, leaving it intact.

"What did Hieu Hieu use that money for? Open two bakeries, sign a partnership with Hoa Ngoc, buy a school district house, make financial investments, in just three months her assets increased from thirty million to thirty-six million."

Chu Minh Le finally opened his mouth, his voice trembling slightly.

“That bakery… belongs to her?”

“It's her and To Dinh's working together, not just anyone's.”

“Isn't her salary five thousand?”

“That's us lying.”

“You guys lied to me?”

“If you hadn't lied to me, what would you have done? You've already come to ask for fifty thousand. If you knew she had thirty million, would you stop there or would you ask for more?”

Chu Minh Le's face turned white, then red, then white again as if all the blood had been drained in an instant.

“Chu Minh Vien, I…”

His voice was very light, but so decisive that it was impossible to intervene.

"I'm not saying this today to divide the money, but to let you and mom know that we live very well, you don't need to worry about me, and mom doesn't need to worry about you anymore."

The mother-in-law couldn't help but interject, her voice still shaking.

“So… so much money…”

"Mom, this money belongs to Hieu Hieu, legally and ethically, it's the same, she won, she invested, she managed, I have no right to divide it for her."

“I'm her husband!”

"I'm her husband, but I'm not her cash machine, and she's not my cash machine either. Everyone earns and takes care of their own parts, the noodle shop is mine, I do it myself, the bakery and investments are hers, she manages it herself."

Chu Minh Le stood up, his eyes red.

“Okay, you two have money, you two good, so what about me, my husband is blacklisted, I don't have a job, I'm full of debt, you two have thirty-six million and you won't even help me with even a penny!

“Don't call me sister anymore, do you think you're worthy of me? When I was little, I saved money to buy things for you. When you were in college, I gave you fifty thousand. Now that you have money, you turn away and refuse to accept people!”

Chu Minh Vien looked at her for a long time, his eyes no longer avoiding her.

"Sister, I've already paid fifty thousand tuition fees, twenty thousand I paid the first year of work, thirty thousand left..."

He took out an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"In here is thirty thousand in cash. From today onwards I don't owe you anything anymore."

Chu Minh Le stared at the envelope, her hand trembled slightly but did not immediately reach out to receive it.

“What about the fifteen thousand previously given to Quoc Cuong?”

"That fifteen thousand is considered a gift, I won't take it back."

"But from now on, it won't be anymore. You are my sister. I will never cut off the relationship, but I will not continue to pay the price for your husband anymore."

The mother-in-law burst into tears, this time not because of anger, but because she was touched by something deep inside.

“Minh Vien… when did you…”

“Since when do you look like your father?”