Chapter 3 — Three Hundred Twenty Eight Yuan Card

The flat screen TV has been used for seven or eight years on the shelf. The corner of the wall is filled with cardboard boxes that I'm using to pack things to prepare for college. She sat down on the sofa, her back straight.

"Nien An really has a future. Thanh Hoa... I never dared to think about it before."

“It's just that she tries on her own.”

"It's thanks to you working hard for so many years. Raising your child this far alone."

Tien Le Binh patted my mother's hand, her tone was extremely friendly.

"Actually, what happened tonight... on the way home, my eldest brother was not so angry."

My mother said nothing.

"You know his personality. Face is more important than anything. Right in front of so many people demanding to go to the bank to check the balance, he feels that you are deliberately exposing yourself in front of your relatives."

“Sister-in-law, I really didn't mean that.”

“I know, I know.”

Tien Le Binh continuously waved his hands.

"I'm just being careful. But Mr. Kien Hoa's fiery temper... he doesn't think like that."

She leaned her back deeper into the sofa, changing her sitting position.

"Tu Van, listen to my advice. Don't go to the bank again tomorrow."

"The card is already in the hands of me and my mother. I can't check it anytime I want? There's no need to make such a big deal right in front of everyone. Let the relatives look at it and then spread the word to the station."

“Rumor of what?”

"You two don't know what to do."

Tien Le Binh's smile was still on her lips, but her tone was a bit stiffer.

"Has Kien Hoa helped you and your mother less these years? It's not an easy thing to say, a widowed woman with a small child, if it weren't for him standing behind her to support her, do you think the lives of mother and child could be peaceful until today?"

My mother held a cup of hot water in her hand, the steam on top gradually dissipated.

“Sister-in-law, every time my eldest brother helped me, I remember it very clearly.”

"Because I remember clearly, I can't be confused."

“3,280,000 yuan is not 328 yuan.”

“You must clarify this amount of money.”

The smile on Tien Le Binh's face finally couldn't be held anymore. She stood up and grabbed her bag.

"Tu Van, that's all I said. Think about it for yourself."

Walking to the door, she turned around again.

“There's one more thing.”

"If you and your mother insist on going to the bank, that's fine. But it won't be easy for you to hear about this."

"What are the consequences... I'll bear it myself."

The door closes. I walked out of the room. Mom still stood in place, holding a half-full glass of water in her hand.

“Are you here to scare me?”

Mom put the cup of water on the tea table.

“She came to inquire.”

“If she really had 3,280,000 yuan, she wouldn't rush here in the middle of the night.”

I lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Under the pillow is that bank card. A small, square piece but stiff, so tight that the back of my neck went numb. I took out the card, held it up under the moonlight outside the window and looked at it again and again. Card surface is metallic gold. The four words "Industrial and Commercial Bank" are printed neatly and clearly. Flip it over, the signature box is still blank. What exactly is this card? 3,280,000 yuan? When my father was alive, his monthly salary was only 3,500 yuan. He had to not eat or drink for eighty years to earn that amount of money. As soon as I thought about my father, my mind immediately flashed back to what happened three years ago. That year, after finishing my high school exams, I entered the best high school in the city. At the dinner table, the eldest son patted his chest in front of the whole family Atmosphere:

"Nien An is a child with a future! In the summer of 10th grade, you paid for her to go to Beijing to attend a summer camp at a famous school!"

“Let it feel the Tsinghua atmosphere first!”

“It's only 3,500 yuan, it's a small matter!”

At that time, I was so happy that I almost jumped out of my chair. When I got home, I lay in bed looking at summer camp brochures all night, using a highlighter pen to mark each day's schedule. One week before registration deadline. Mom called to ask the eldest son, he said:

"Oh well, lately all the money has been spent on renovating the new branch, I haven't had time to turn it around yet. Wait until next month, I'll make up for it."

Next month there is no news. The next month… there was none either. And exactly in the month when the eldest son said "I can't make money"... It was Duong Thien Tuong's cousin's birthday. Duong Kien Hoa bought him a scooter. After that, Duong Thien Tuong rode that brand new motorbike and sped through my school gate. The sound of the engine roaring was deafening. Later, my mother collected enough money from the supermarket for two months to register for a one-week study abroad experience course right in the city. Every day I take a bus to go and come back. Out of 600 yuan. Just to visit a museum.

“Did you forget, big boy?”

That year I asked my mother that.

“He didn't forget.”

“So why don't you give it anymore?”

“Because the promise he made to me… was just a sentence at the dinner table.”

“Having said that, he will think he has done it.”

I was fifteen years old that year. Until now, I still clearly remember the feeling of the roaring sound of that motorbike passing through my ears. Moonlight fell on the bank card, the shiny gold layer gradually turned cold white. I put the card back in my backpack and zipped it closed. If you can't sleep, then you won't sleep anymore. I lay looking at the ceiling for a long time, then heard my mother's room still making noise. She also hasn't slept yet. About ten minutes later, I heard the door open. The sound of footsteps was very quiet. Then there was a “click” sound — the living room light turned on. I quietly got up, lightly walked out. Mom sat on the sofa, with a cold glass of filtered water in front of her. On the living room wall hangs a picture of my father. Black and white photo, taken when he was thirty years old. He smiled very gently, as if there was nothing in the world to worry about.

“Can't sleep?”

Seeing me walk out, my mother asked softly. I sat down next to her.

“What if tomorrow there really is 3,280,000 yuan in the card?”

“If it really exists, just accept it.”

Mom picked up the glass of water and took a sip.

“But you must remember.”

“That's not money.”

“It's a rope.”

“You take it, which means he can take you from there.”

“He told me to go east, I wouldn't dare go west.”

“Because I owe him.”

“The more you owe… in front of him, the lower you will be.”

Mother's voice from beginning to end was still very calm. These are all simple, easy to understand words. But every sentence and every word was like a nail hammered into my head.