Chapter 4 — You Waited For Me Two Lives

He sits on the horse, sees me from afar, pulls the reins, slows down, stands halfway across the field and looks over. I lowered my eyes and walked past, pretending not to see. The day I gave birth, I curled up weakly in Ly Tan Bach's arms. He hugged my waist, repeating over and over:
"A Chau, don't be afraid, I'm here."
The midwife firmly chased him out. The pain spread throughout the limbs and bones. I remember the first time I gave birth, my birth position was not favorable. I was in pain for two days and one night, blood soaked the mattress. The child still cannot be born. The old lady immediately decided:
“Leave mom and baby.”
I heard it, closed my eyes and thought. Well, I can go see my mother. The lady walked into the delivery room and held my hand tightly.
“Do A Chau, your life belongs to you, do you know?”
Not knowing where the strength came from, I gritted my teeth to give birth to the child.
“Mother is round and child is square.”
The midwife wrapped the child up and brought him to him.
"A Chau! You've worked hard!"
Ly Tan Bach's eyes turned red and tears fell. He hugged that small red lump, trembling so much that he almost couldn't hold it.
"A Chau, we only need this one child. Nurture it carefully and send it to school in the future."
My face turned pale, I smiled and nodded.
"Okay."
The child was named A Bao. A Bao was smart from a young age, neither crying nor fussing. When he was six months old, he lay face down on the bed, suddenly raised his face, opened his small mouth, and blurted out a voice:
“Ma…”
My tears fall. In two lifetimes, this is the first time I heard my child call mom. A Bao reached out his chubby hands to touch my face. Feeling his wet hand, he panicked and called out again:
“Ma… no…”
It was not pronounced clearly and was filled with impatience. I picked it up and buried my face in its soft shoulder.
“Bao Bao is good.”
I carried A Bao to town to buy cloth. Just exiting the alley, a crazy horse suddenly jumped out from the corner of the street. Horse hooves raised high, rushing straight towards me. I couldn't avoid it in time, so I instinctively hugged A Bao tightly and turned my back. The sound of horse hooves suddenly stopped. A hand grabbed the reins and pulled hard. The crazy horse neighed long, its front legs jumped up, narrowly grazing the person's side. I fell to the ground and A Bao cried in fear. Ta Tuy Ngoc held the horse three steps away. The left sleeve was torn in a long way, and blood dripped from the tip of the finger.
“Thank you… thank you.”
I hugged A Bao and stood up, my legs still shaking.
“I'll take someone to see the doctor.”
He looked at the panic on my face, his eyes were complicated. After a while, he nodded.
"Okay."
In the hospital, the doctor treated his wound. I held A Bao standing next to me, my palms full of sweat. The money is two taels of silver. I took out my money bag and counted it. I only had three coins on me. I was so embarrassed that my ears burned. Ta Tuy Ngoc looked at me once, took out a silver bar from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
“I pay.”
I was somewhat surprised, I rarely see him so generous. He paused for a moment, his voice a bit difficult:
“He… didn't give you money?”
I shook my head.
“No one carries that much money on them.”
A Bao calmed down in my arms, opened his eyes as black as grapes, and looked curiously at Ta Tuy Ngoc. The contours of his face were slightly softened by the sunlight. The corners of his lips moved slightly and he said in a low voice:
“The children… miss you very much.”
10
“Master Xie, don't lie to me.”
I frowned and calmly said:
“The family's children and grandchildren The Ta family is extremely noble, it's not something an ignorant village woman like me can recognize."
Ta Tuy Ngoc's face froze. In the past, when Ta Giac was less than two years old, he started learning to read. I love you, please don't force me too much. His face immediately darkened:
"The head of the Ta family was born noble, it's not something an ignorant woman like you can understand."
“Is Master Ta not busy with official duties today?”
He shook his head.
“Then wait for me here for a moment, I'll go home and get the money to pay you back.”
After I finished speaking, I was about to leave, but he followed. When he reached the mud wall of our house, he stopped. In the yard there was a trellis of luffa, several hens were digging at the ground under the wall, and a thin wisp of smoke rose from the roof of the kitchen. He frowned.
“Do you live here?”
“It's good to have a safe place to live.”
I pushed the door open and went in, taking two taels of silver. When I gave him the silver, his fingers accidentally brushed my palm. I immediately withdrew my hand, and the silver bar fell to the ground. Ly Tan Bach carried the hoe back from the field, saw Ta Tuy Ngoc in front of the yard, and his whole body stopped. I picked up the silver and calmly explained:
“Husband, this is Master Ta, the person who bought me before. Today, A Bao and I were almost kicked by a horse, he was the one who saved my mother and I."
Ly Tan Bach's eyes flashed with hostility, then he stepped forward and clasped his hands.
“Thank you, Master Ta, for saving my wife and children. My lady, today we should treat our benefactors thoughtfully."
"Master Xie has a noble status, I'm afraid I can't eat the meager rice and soup."
I instinctively refuse. But Ta Tuy Ngoc agreed.
“It's okay.”
Lunch is brown rice, a plate of stir-fried green vegetables, a plate of stir-fried string beans and meat, and a bowl of fish soup. Ta Tuy Ngoc frowned, picked up a piece with his chopsticks. He ate very reluctantly, his eyebrows did not relax from beginning to end.