Chapter 1 — Three Hundred Twenty Eight Yuan Card

My uncle gave me a black card of 3.28 million yuan at the university admission party, but when checking the balance... The whole family was silent. That day, Do Thanh Hoa, in front of more than thirty people, pulled out a bank card and put it on the table. He laughed loudly:

"Nien An, take it! I've already sent you 3,280,000 yuan (about 11.8 billion VND), as a gift to congratulate you on passing Thanh Hoa!"

My mother did not refuse. She just calmly said one sentence:

“Go to the bank tomorrow, check your balance right in front of you.”

The next day, the teller brought out the balance slip. My mother looked at the number on it three times in a row, her fingers clenched until they turned white. Not 3,280,000 yuan. 328 yuan (about 1.1 million).

"Nian An! Take this card! Big uncle sent you 3,280,000 yuan as a gift to celebrate passing Thanh Hoa!"

The eldest boy, Duong Kien Hoa, "shoutly" put his bank card down on the turntable in the middle of Cam Tu's private room at Phuc Man Lau restaurant, causing the chopsticks and glass to jingle. The private room was crowded with nearly thirty people, all of whom were relatives from my mother's side of the family - the Duong family. In that moment, everyone unconsciously leaned forward, their eyes simultaneously fixed on that shiny yellow card. Duong Kien Hoa sat in the chair position opposite the door. The large gold necklace on her neck swayed back and forth under the light. He had drunk more than half a bottle of Ngu Luong Dich, his face was so red that it was oily, and even his breath smelled of alcohol. On the left is eldest aunt Tien Le Binh. Her curly blonde hair is carefully curled, and she wears three gold bracelets on her wrist. Every time she laughed, she deliberately raised her hand so that the three bracelets could jingle together, showing off. On the right is his cousin Duong Thien Tuong. At the age of twenty-three, after graduating from college, he stuck with his father's car dealership for nothing. At this moment, he was tilting his neck to scroll through short videos, the phone volume turned up to deafening levels, occasionally giggling twice, from beginning to end not even bothering to glance at the card once. As for me and my mother, we sat in the two positions closest to the door of the room. The advantage of this place is that when the waiter brings the food in, we conveniently stand up to make way. The downside... Is that everyone sees us, but no one really cares.

"It's Thanh Hoa! Do you need me to say more?"

Duong Kien Hoa staggered to his feet, raising his wine glass high above his head. A few drops of Ngu Luong Dich splashed onto his gold chain.

"Our Duong family has only had one child pass Thanh Hoa for many generations!"

"I'm the big boy, I can't help but show some sincerity. Or else I'll go out and let people poke my spine?"

He walked around halfway around the banquet table and walked in front of me, without saying a word he thrust the card straight into my hand. The card is cold. On it were printed the words: "Industry and Trade Bank".

"3,280,000 yuan, you can spend your tuition and living expenses freely. If you don't have enough, find me."

Having finished speaking, he gave me a strong pat on the shoulder. The force was so strong that I almost tilted both my body and my chair straight under the table.

“Eldest brother, it's too much.”

My mother immediately stood up. Today she wore that dark blue shirt — a shirt that had been ironed and re-ironed three times before leaving the house. But because of too much washing, some places on the fabric have started to fray. The shirt is buttoned all the way to the neck.

“Nien An's tuition fees I've saved enough, I don't need that much."

“What do you mean no need? Criticize me a little or criticize me a lot?

Duong Kien Hoa's face immediately darkened. He made a "click" sound and put the glass of wine down on the table, the wine splashed and soaked into the white tablecloth.

"Chi Vien passed away early, who else can you and your mother rely on besides me?"

“3,280,000 yuan, I Duong Kien Hoa said give it away!”

The entire private room immediately fell silent. The strip of fabric under the air conditioning vents moved quietly.

“Eldest brother is truly generous.”

Aunt Duong Tu Phuong was the first person to break the awkward atmosphere. She sat next to her eldest aunt, smiling so pleasingly that the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes shrunk.

“It's truly generous for a grandchild.”

“3,280,000 yuan! My husband and I have worked all our lives and probably can't save enough money."

“Of course, we also have to see what school Niem An takes the exam for.”

Tien Le Binh immediately continued, speaking while using chopsticks to pick up a red braised shrimp and put it in my bowl.

“Nien An is too skinny, eat more.”

The bright red shrimp lay in my bowl like a small mountain. I don't move my chopsticks.

“Thank you, aunt.”

The card was still held tightly in my palm, so tight that my knuckles ached.

“Let me see!”

Second aunt immediately snatched the card from my hand, held it up under the light and flipped it over several times.

“Golden card from Industry and Trade Bank!”

“Eldest brother really plays big!”

The card began to pass around the banquet table. Each person who picked it up had to let out an exaggerated exclamation, accompanied by a few flattering sentences of all kinds.

“Kien Hoa is truly impeccable.”

“Nien An must have accumulated a lot of virtue in her past life.”

“Tu Van, having a brother like that, are you still not satisfied?”

My mother was still standing there without sitting down, a stiff smile on her face, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of her shirt.

"Your heart is yours, my mother and I accept it."

Finally she spoke up.

“But such a large amount of money, if you accept it, you must accept it clearly.”

She paused, her eyes slowly scanning the entire table.

“Let's do this, big brother. Tomorrow morning let's go to the bank to check the balance in front of us. I also conveniently wrote down an amount for Niem An, so that she can remember in the future that her big brother's kindness must not be forgotten."

The atmosphere in the private room felt like someone had quietly dropped a few degrees. The smile on Duong Kien Hoa's face stopped.

“What does this mean? Are you afraid that I will cheat you with a fake card?

“I absolutely did not mean that.”

My mother's voice was very calm.

“It's just that the amount of money is too large, even if you receive a favor, you must accept it transparently.”

“Transparency in what!”

Duong Kien Hoa slammed his hand on the table, causing the entire plate to vibrate.

"I've already thrown the card to you, can I still use magic to withdraw the money?"

“Jianhua, reduce the heat.”

The fourth aunt quickly intervened to mediate, her eyes constantly shifting back and forth between the two sides.

"Tu Van certainly doesn't not trust you, people are just careful."

"Careful? I think it's okay to not know what to do!”

The blue veins on Duong Kien Hoa's neck were clearly visible. Tien Le Binh immediately patted her husband's arm and smiled appeasingly:

“Tu Van, do you still not understand how your eldest brother is? He truly loves Niem An, wouldn't it make him lose face if I did that?"

“Sister-in-law, this matter has nothing to do with face.”

“3,280,000 yuan is not a small number. Remember clearly, later, mother and child I'm grateful and feel more secure."

Cousin Duong Thien Tuong - who had been watching the video until now - suddenly raised his head.

“That year I passed the college entrance exam, my father only gave me ten thousand yuan.”

He pulled the straw from his mouth, the corners of his lips were still sticky with soda.

“It's your turn to pay 3,280,000 yuan.”

“Duong Thien Tuong, shut up!”

Tien Le Binh immediately glared at his son. Her voice had lowered, but the whole table could still hear it clearly.

"My college degree, if I give it to ten thousand, it's still more than enough."