Chapter 4 — Three Thousand Yuan Every Month, In Return The Whole Family Is Ruined

That night, Chu Minh did not return. It was not until the next morning that I saw him curled up on the sofa, wearing a thin coat, his face ashen as if he had just gone through a long, restless night. Vuong Lan was no better, her eyes were swollen and red like almonds, blood threads were covering them, it was clear that both were exhausted from the argument the previous day. Breakfast took place in silence, two people sat opposite but no one looked at the other, the air was as stiff as if it could freeze into ice. I looked at that scene and only felt funny in my heart, because the first crack between mother and son finally appeared because of money and the two salary cards I handed over. It's only the first month, but everything is already starting to fall apart. Before going to work, Chu Minh rarely took the initiative to say a word to me, his voice was low and reserved, as if he was afraid of encountering something.

“Yeu Duyet, do you… still have money?”

I looked at him and asked again very directly.

"For what?"

He scratched his head, his eyes avoiding, finding it difficult to speak.

“I want to… go out for a nice meal this afternoon, instead of eating at home…”

I looked at the man who once said he would protect me for the rest of my life, now bowing to me for a few dozen yuan, with only cold sarcasm left in my heart.

"Do not have."

I spoke simply, my voice without any emotion.

“Isn't all my money in your mother's hands? You should ask her.”

His face immediately fell, as if someone had splashed cold water.

“She won't give it.”

“That is between you and your mother, it has nothing to do with me.”

After I finished speaking, I walked past him and went straight to the door.

“Tham Duyet!”

He called me from behind, his voice both angry and pleading. I stopped but didn't turn around, just leaving a cold sentence.

“Chu Minh, remember clearly, you were the one who let her take away our salary cards, and you were the one who chose to stand outside and watch everything happen.”

“So now, you have no right to complain, and no more right to reach out and ask me for money.”

"This is the path you choose, even if you kneel, you have to walk it all."

Having finished speaking, I opened the door and left, leaving him alone in the stuffy room that he himself had created. In the days that followed, mother and son entered into a cold battle, no longer arguing violently, but the silence made people even more suffocating. In order to save money, Vuong Lan lowered her spending to the lowest level, while Chu Minh used silent resistance, coming home late every day, apparently going to eat with friends outside. Sometimes when he smelled of alcohol, Vuong Lan just snorted coldly, not daring to say another word, because she didn't have money to feed her son properly. This family is rotting little by little, from the inside. At the end of the month, an electricity bill notice is posted on the front door of the house, with a blinding red seal like a warning. Vuong Lan tore it down, looked at the number on it, and her hands trembled. It wasn't worth anything before, but with the little money left in her hands right now, it was a burden that couldn't be ignored. She held the piece of paper and walked back and forth in the living room, muttering as if trying to convince herself.

“Why so much… what do you use to run out of electricity…”

Her eyes swept over Chu Minh and then stopped at me, as if she had found a target to vent her anger.

“Tham Duyet, it's definitely you!”

“I stay in my room every day, turning on the computer and turning on the lights, no electricity Who is your fault?

I put down the magazine and calmly looked at her.

"Mom, our electricity bill is still the same, it's just that you didn't manage it before so it doesn't hurt."

“Now every expense is paid by my mother, so I feel sorry, right?”

My words stabbed straight into her weakest point. Vuong Lan's face turned red, then white, and in the end she could only grit her teeth.

“I don't need to know! I'm out of money, you two have to figure out your own way to pay the electricity bill!

She threw the paper on the table, looking arrogant as if it had nothing to do with her. Chu Minh looked at her, his eyes full of disappointment.

"Isn't all the money with you, mom? What do you tell us to do now?"

“I don't care! I said there is no, there is no!”

Vuong Lan continued to act recklessly. I stood up and slowly said a sentence.

“If you don't have money... let me pay.”

Both of them froze, looking at me as if they couldn't believe their ears. In Vuong Lan's eyes, undisguised greed shone.

“Do you… still have money?”

“Just some miscellaneous savings for the month.”

I said softly, then slowly added.

"But I'll say it first, this money is not given away for free, but lent to my family."

"Mom has to write a debt note. Next month, after summarizing income and expenditure, priority will be given to returning it to you."

"What?" Vuong Lan glared, "If a family member still wants to write a debt note, are you driven crazy by money?"

I smiled, my eyes calm and cold.

“It's not that I want to calculate, but mom taught me to be clear about every penny.”

“Money in the house must be transparent, there must be books, right?”

“I'm just helping you follow the rules.”

"Money, mom, if you want it, take it. If not, don't. Once the power goes out, the whole family will have to bear it."

After I finished speaking, I sat down and continued flipping through the magazine as if nothing happened. The living room fell into dead silence, with only the sound of Vuong Lan's heavy breathing. Chu Minh bowed his head, not daring to interfere. A long while later, so long that the air seemed to freeze, Vuong Lan finally gritted her teeth and blurted out a word. I took paper and pen, placed them on the tea table in front of Vuong Lan, my movements were so leisurely that it seemed like I was preparing for a long-planned ritual.

“Write it down, Mom.”

My voice was calm as if talking about the weather. Vuong Lan's hands trembled. She stared at the blank piece of paper, her eyes heavy as if in front of her was not paper... but something that was suffocating her self-esteem little by little. Chu Minh stood next to him and hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Yeu Duyet… we are all family, there is no need…”

I coldly glanced at him.

“No need?”

“Then go talk to the electricity company, tell them we are one family, let them waive the electricity bill.”

“See if they agree.”

One sentence was enough to silence him. Chu Minh bowed his head, not daring to say more. His silence… is compromise. Or rather, he is still the same, just an outsider. Vuong Lan took a deep breath and finally picked up the pen. The tip of the pen trembled as it touched the paper, each crooked letter appeared.

“Today I owe my daughter-in-law Tham Duyet 360 yuan.”

She wrote very slowly, each stroke seemed to drain some of her strength. I looked, the corner of my lips curled up in a very light line.

“Mom, there's the date and the signature.”

I reminded, my voice monotone. Her body stiffened. He looked up at me, his eyes full of resentment, as if he wanted to tear me apart piece. I don't avoid it, nor do I avoid it. I want her to remember this moment clearly. Remember feeling broke. Remember the feeling of having to bow to someone she once looked down on. She gritted her teeth and wrote the date and her name at the bottom of the paper.

"Done!"

The pen was thrown onto the table, making a dry sound. I walked over, picked up the paper, and examined each word carefully. Then fold it up and put it in your wallet. The movements are leisurely, as if storing a precious item.

“Okay, I'll go pay the electricity bill.”

I took my phone, right in front of them, opened the payment app, entered the customer code, hit confirm.

“Payment successful.”

The alarm sounded in the quiet space, each beat could be heard clearly. Vuong Lan and Chu Minh's faces both changed. There is relief, there is discomfort, there is loss of face... and there is also something very vague. They begin to realize... This house is gradually going out of their control. As for me, the daughter-in-law who was once looked down upon by them... I am no longer someone they can hold in their hands.