Chapter 14 — Three hours before the wedding, I locked the house as a dowry

On the other end of the line. Mother's voice became smaller and smaller. For her. That bag of rags was just a tailor's habit. The customer wants to take the excess fabric. She immediately gave it. Perhaps she even trimmed the edges of the fabric neatly. Then put it in a clean bag. Think about that. My chest hurts. Being robbed by others is disgusting enough. But using the kindness of others to falsify evidence... is much more disgusting. The signboard "Tu Can Tailor Shop" has long faded. When my mother pulled up the rolling door, dust fell from the crack to the ground. The store is very small. A sewing table took up more than half of the space. The old wooden ruler still hangs on the wall. In the drawers are rolls of thread, boxes of tracing chalk, fabric scissors and bags of sewing needles. My mother opened the old iron box. From inside, take out the customer notebook. The page dated July 27 clearly states: Ton Thu Binh. Correct the waist of a wine red cheongsam. Fix sleeves. Shorten the hem of the dress. Pick up time: 10:15 am. The note also added: Bring extra fabric. I opened the tool drawer. The box of red line chalk was almost half empty. After reading all the notes, Tham Le said:

“Currently we cannot turn speculation into conclusion.”

“What can be noted is:”

“On the date of signing the Capital Contribution Statement, Ton Thu Binh appeared at the tailor shop.”

“She left with rags.”

“There was an opportunity to come into contact with red line chalk.”

“Aunt Chu Tu Can's right thumb is injured.”

“While the fingerprints on the Joint Capital Contribution Statement are completely flawless.”

“These three points are enough to form serious suspicions.”

We print screenshots of page P1 and signature page P4 separately. The title on page P1 is: Electricity and Water Location Comparison Form Apartment 402 Nam Que Ly Area Meanwhile. Page P4 has no independent title at all. Follow normal procedure. It can only be the last page belonging to the same set of documents as P1, P2 and P3. Until then. My mother finally burst into tears. She is not stupid. She was just tricked by someone into opening it straight to the last page to sign. In the community mediation room. I asked Ton Thu Binh to provide a full scanned copy of the 3M file. Ton Thu Binh replied:

“I couldn't find it.”

I looked at her.

“So where did the autograph photo you posted before come from?”

“A relative sent it to me.”

“Don't remember.”

The answer just ended. My mother suddenly stood up. She placed one hand on the edge of the table. The voice is not loud. But it's very clear.

“Thu Binh.”

“That day when she asked me to sign my name, she said it was just a paper confirming the location of electricity and water.”

“I said Nghien Chu has already seen it.”

“As long as I sign one, the workers don't have to fix it over and over again.”

“I believe you.”

“Because the two families are about to become in-laws.”

"I didn't sign my name so you could use that signature to trick Van Hoa."

The whole room immediately fell silent. Phan Nghien Chu stood at the door. There was almost no blood left on his face. When the elevator door closes. Mother said softly:

“From now on…”

“I won't hold back for you anymore.”

After reopening the shop. Mom still stood outside the door for a long time. Don't go in right away. This small tailor shop raised me. At the same time, it also took away more than half of her strength. Take away the eyes. Take away the waistline. The day the store was sold. She thought she had given her daughter a door that was safe enough. Unexpectedly... That door was almost robbed by another family. After taking a photo of the entire customer book. I didn't immediately close it. In those pages. I see a lot of familiar names. The neighbor used to come and fix the hem of my pants when I was a kid. Every Tet holiday, women order cheongsam to be sewn. Old customers used to buy fabric when my father was alive. Each order is very small. But it was those small sums of money that supported my mother and my children's lives for many years. I looked at my mother.

“Mom, it's not like you don't understand.”

“I'm just too confident that other people won't be that bad.”

Mom gently stroked the edge of the notebook. After a moment, he replied:

“Later…”

“I will believe you first.”

That saying. Heavier than any apology. In the mediation room. When her mother stood up, she pointed straight at Ton Thu Binh. I won't help you. Because I know. This time she had to stand on her own. Before leaving the tailor shop. Mom put the box of red chalk in a drawer.

“In the future, I won't use red anymore.”

I shook my head.

“The color is not defective.”

Mom thought for a long time. Then put the chalk box back in its original place. Because she understood one thing. It can't be because someone used it to falsify evidence... That's denying the tool I've used for half my life. Wrong is not the powder box. Wrong is the hand holding it.