Mother in law

There were three children in the family, he was the youngest. Besides him, there was another brother and sister. His father passed away when he was only 5 years old. Raising three children was very difficult, but his mother stayed single. Not afraid of hardship, with two loads on her shoulders, going to the market every day to trade, she tried her best to raise her brothers and sisters. Because she was the youngest child, he was the most pampered by his mother. When he went to university, he had to leave home, everything was very expensive, but his mother still worked hard to make sure he studied well.

After graduating, he worked in the city, then got married and had two children. Because he lived far away and could not visit often, when he had money, he discussed with his wife to send some to his mother. Each time, he told her over the phone: "You are old, you should not work anymore, do not be frugal, you must eat well to stay healthy." On those occasions, his mother immediately refused, showing that she did not want to accept it. She said, in the countryside, there are plenty of vegetables, there is no shortage of food, and you can raise chickens and ducks; you should save up to take care of your life, because everything in the city is expensive.

Seeing that her mother-in-law always refused but still accepted the money her son sent, his wife became annoyed. She hinted and said all sorts of things. Once she even said: “She said she didn’t need it, so why do you keep sending it? There are also your brother and sister’s families in the countryside, while our family needs so many things…”

He was sad but did not know how to explain. This year, during the summer, he convinced his wife to take the children to visit the old lady. She was very old, who would know about the scene of ripe bananas on the tree. She hesitated but finally agreed.

Seeing her youngest son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren return to the countryside, the old lady was very happy. She had knee pain, but she went from house to house in the neighborhood to show off. This afternoon, when her husband took the children to the river to bathe, at home, she pulled her sister to sit on the bed and said: Mom wants to talk to you!

She was a little suspicious, thinking that the old woman wanted to ask for money while her son was away. But she was surprised when she saw her take a small bag from the bedside table and take out a string of gold rings and a shiny necklace. She gently held her hand and said, “I have something for you. For the past few years, you and your husband have sent money back to me, but I didn’t know what to spend it on. I saved it and added it to buy you these things. For a long time, I have felt guilty about the fact that when my youngest son married you, I was so poor that I didn’t have any gifts for my daughter-in-law…”

Holding the gold ring and necklace in her hand, she didn't know what to say. Her voice was full of confusion: Mom…!

HOANG PHU LOC

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/sang-tac/202506/me-chong-6e37c81/