Page 5
In the evening, Minh received his wages and went to buy some food.
He opened his wallet and counted the money again and again.
He only had enough for one portion of plain rice.
Just as he was about to turn away, he noticed a little girl standing in front of the counter, staring at a pot of braised pork.
She tugged on her mother’s hand and whispered, “I’m not hungry, Mom.”
Minh looked at the mother and daughter.
His hand tightened around the money.
He turned to the woman selling the food.
“Ma’am, give me two portions.”
The owner of the rice shop was named Hanh.
She was thirty-eight years old, small in stature, but her voice was as loud as a neighborhood loudspeaker.
When she saw Minh ordering two portions, she put her hands on her hips.
“Two portions?
Look at you, Mr.
Rich Man!”
Minh smiled and pointed toward the mother and daughter.
“I’m buying one for them.”
Hanh looked at him, then at his nearly empty wallet.
She sighed.
“You can’t even take care of yourself, yet you still insist on being a good person.”
Hanh brought the food over, placed it in front of Minh, and sat down across from him.
Resting her chin on her hand, she said, “To be honest, you remind me of my husband.”
Minh was startled.
“Was your husband poor too?”
Hanh shook her head.
“No.
He liked being a good person too.”
Minh smiled.
Hanh continued, “The only difference was…
he was being a good person with my money.”
Minh burst out laughing and nearly choked on his rice.
Hanh slapped the table.
“What are you laughing at?
I was married to that man for ten years.
In the end, I discovered that his greatest asset was…
his mouth.”
Minh wiped away his tears.
“Then you still married him?”
Hanh shrugged.
“I was blinded by love back then.
Now I’ve finally opened my eyes.”
After saying that, she looked toward the door, and her expression suddenly softened.
“He’s been gone for three years now.”
Hanh’s voice became much quieter.
“We were terribly poor back then.
One day, there was only one egg left in the house.
He gave it to me and said he’d already eaten outside.”
She gave a faint smile.
“Only later did I find out that he had actually gone hungry.”
Minh lowered his eyes toward his bowl of rice.
The chopsticks in his hand suddenly stopped.
For once, he didn’t have the strength to make another joke.
“If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a like, a comment, and a nomination to support the story.
Thank you!”