Chapter 2 — Three Houses for My Cousin, I Took My Mother Abroad to Live a Worthy Life

Mom sat quietly on the chair for a long time.

“So what about my grandmother's three houses…”

"It has nothing to do with you. It has never had anything to do with anything."

Suddenly mother burst into tears. Not for money. She cried because all these years she always thought I lived a miserable life in Shenzhen. Thinking she was at fault with me. Thinking that her failed marriage dragged me down with it.

"Mom, you have never hurt me. You are my motivation."

Mom wiped her tears.

“So before, I transferred the money to my grandmother every month…”

"Stopped. From the day you decided to give the whole house to your cousin, I stopped."

"Can you stop? After all, she is my grandmother."

I brought the plate of dumplings to the table.

"Mom, no one can trample on your daughter and spend your daughter's money at the same time. The logic is so simple, even grandmothers should learn it."

Mom didn't say anything more. After eating the floating cake, I went to the balcony to collect clothes. Phone screen lights up. Hangzhou area code. I picked up the phone.

“Hello, is this Ms. Tham Dao?”

A man's voice.

“Yes, I am.”

"I'm Trieu Bang, Chu Man's husband. Sister-in-law, can I say a few words?"

Trieu Bang. Cousin's husband. Trading in construction materials. Previously opened a small company in Hangzhou. Every Tet holiday, I like to brag in front of my grandmother about how big my business is.

“Brother Trieu, is something wrong?”

"It's like this, I heard that you used to work for a technology company in Shenzhen? We recently had a construction project, wondering if we could... cooperate a bit?"

I leaned against the balcony railing.

“The company is sold.”

“So... where are you now?”

“Abroad.”

The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

“Okay, then let's talk later when we have a chance.”

Having finished speaking, he hung up the phone. I hung up and looked back at the call history. One minute twenty-three seconds. Until now, Trieu Bang has never proactively called me. Chu Man will not ask him to contact me for no reason. What is the project? His construction materials company started losing money last year. Before Tet, he also joined forces with others to build a real estate project, pouring a lot of money into it. I know all of these things. Although Dao Quang Technology Company has been sold, the relationships in Shenzhen are still there. This phone call from Trieu Bang was not for cooperation. It's to borrow money. It's not time to speak yet. Sooner or later they will have to open their mouths. At the end of February, Luc Dien flew to Auckland. He is my college friend and also the lawyer who helped me handle the sale of the company. Thirty years old, slim figure, wears gold-rimmed glasses, speaks decisively. I drove to the airport to pick him up. As soon as he pulled his suitcase out, he burst out laughing when he saw me.

“The general retired really quickly.”

“Don't call me Mr. Tham anymore, it sounds like you're collecting debt.”

On the way home, he gave me a bag of documents.

"Just sign the post-transfer papers. There are also a few headhunting companies looking for you, with an annual salary of up to 5,000,000 yuan."

“Don't go.”

“Are you planning to stay here and fish for the rest of your life?”

“Stay with your mother for a few years for peace.”

Luc Dien pushed up his glasses.

"Okay. If you have money, you can do whatever you want."

When I got home, my mother had prepared a whole table of food. Luc Dien is one of my mother's few friends. Previously, when his mother was still in Shenzhen, he was a regular Come to the restaurant to eat. During dinner, his mother asked him:

"Tieu Luc, is Dao Dao's company really worth that much money? You're not cheating, are you?"

The chopsticks in Luc Dien's hand stopped.

"Auntie, Dao Dao's company specializes in AI image recognition, a technology that is in the top five nationwide. If she tries another two years and then lists it, the value may not be just that. 120,000,000 yuan, actually sold quite cheap."

Mom looked at me. I bowed my head to drink soup.

“So why did it sell so quickly?”

Luc Dien looked at me.

“This... I have to ask Dao Dao herself.”

After eating, mother went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Luc Dien stood on the balcony smoking.

“In the end, why did you sell so quickly?”

I leaned against the door frame.

"There are a few things I've thought through, I don't want to drag them out any longer."

“About your grandmother?”

“You know?”

"My assistant said. The day I returned from Hangzhou, I started the process of selling the company the same day."

I didn't speak up.

"Tham Dao, the company is worth more than 100,000,000 yuan. If you say sell, sell. Just because three houses are cleared?"

“It's not about three houses.”

I took the cigarette out of his hand and extinguished it.

"It's because of my mother. She has lived in that house for more than fifty years, being invisible for more than fifty years. I don't want her to stay there for even a second longer."

Luc Dien looked at me for a long time.

“So what are you going to do next?”

“Think about it, then calculate.”

“There's something you should probably know.”

I looked at him.

"My brother-in-law, Trieu Bang, something happened. The real estate project he contributed to was abandoned halfway, and currently owes the supplier about 4,000,000 yuan."

I had no reaction.

"Now he is borrowing money from everywhere, and banks are no longer lending. It is said that he is planning to mortgage those cleared houses."

“That's his problem.”

“Does your grandmother know?”

"I don't know. I just know that I gave the house to the best grandchild."

Luc Dien shook his head.

“You are cruel enough.”

“It's not that I'm cruel.”

I looked out at the sea in the distance.

“It's their own choice.”

Mid-March. The posts on Zhou Man's circle of friends began to change. Before, it was all about traveling, getting nails done, and checking in to restaurants. Suddenly switched to sharing financial investment ads, recruiting agents, introducing side jobs to earn extra income. I scrolled through. Don't drop a single like. One evening at the end of March, my mother suddenly called me.

“Dao Dao, your cousin texted me.”

I went to see. Chu Man sent a recording. Mom turned on the speakerphone.

"Youngest aunt, it's Man Man. Something happened to our family recently, Trieu Bang's company is short of capital. I want to ask... do you have any extra money? Lend us a little, we'll pay it back this month."

Mom looked at me.

“How much do you want to borrow?”

I picked up the phone and answered for my mother:

"Man Man, I've just settled down and don't have much money on hand. I'm sorry."