Mother-in-law

He was the youngest of three children. Besides him, there was an older brother and an older sister. His father passed away when he was only five years old. Raising three children was very difficult, but his mother remained single. Undeterred by hardship, with her carrying poles on her shoulders, she went to the market every day to sell goods, striving to raise the children. Because he was the youngest, he was the most spoiled by his mother. When he went to university, he had to leave home, and everything was very expensive, but his mother still managed to provide him with a proper education.

After graduating, he worked in the city, then got married and had two children. Because he lived far away and couldn't visit often, he would occasionally discuss with his wife sending some money to his mother. Each time, over the phone, he would remind her: "Mom, you're old now, you shouldn't work anymore, don't be stingy, you must eat well to stay healthy." On those occasions, his mother would flatly refuse, saying she wouldn't accept it. She said that there were plenty of vegetables and fruits in the countryside, and they could raise chickens and ducks; they should save the money for their own lives, because everything was expensive in the city.

Seeing that her mother-in-law always refused the money but still accepted it even though her son sent it, the wife became annoyed. She made all sorts of veiled remarks. Once, she even said, "She said she doesn't need it, so why do you keep sending it? There are your brother and sister's families back home, while our family needs so many things..."

He was sad but didn't know how to explain. This year, during the summer, he persuaded his wife to take the children with him to visit the old woman. She was very old, and who knew what it was like to see bananas ripen on the tree? She hesitated but finally agreed.

Seeing her youngest son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren return to their hometown, the old woman was overjoyed. Despite suffering from knee pain, she went from house to house in the neighborhood to show off. This afternoon, while her son took the children to the river to bathe, she pulled her daughter-in-law down on the bed and said, "I want 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 the old woman take a small bag from under the bed and empty out a string of gold rings and a glittering necklace. The old woman gently took her hand and said softly, "I have this for you. For the past few years, you and your husband have sent money home, but I didn't know what to spend it on. I saved it and added to it to buy you these things. I've always felt guilty about how poor I was when my youngest son got married, and I didn't have any gifts for my daughter-in-law..."

Holding the gold rings 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/