Old Man's Noodle Shop

- One noodle and one slice!

- Two bowls of noodles and two sandwiches please!

Mrs. Tu was alone handling the bowl of noodles in front of her, the pot of broth and the steaming pot of sausage on her right hand, her hands quickly cutting meat to sell to customers in time, absolutely not leaving the kitchen area. No one was allowed to approach this area because Mr. Tu was in charge of all other tasks, from collecting money to asking customers how their noodles were.

If he had to go inside, the guests would have to wait a bit, or if they were regulars, they could leave the money on the table and put the bowl on top. She never collected the money for him. If a guest came, she would say, "Wait, I'll give it to him."

People say that the old man's noodle shop is just a nameless, unsigned shop, but it is more professional than all the branded shops because all the steps from collecting money to the ingredients are "programmed" in a certain order. Customers call it "the old man's shop" because the owner is skinny, short, with high-cut hair dotted with gray.

The restaurant is simple but special. The special thing is the sweet broth with dried shrimp and dried squid simmered with bones. The bones are selected by him at the slaughterhouse, chopped into pieces and simmered until soft. Customers can eat noodles while slowly nibbling on the soft bones.

The restaurant had several stacks of small bowls placed on the large table, a large bowl containing evenly sliced chili, a slightly smaller bowl containing golden pickled mustard greens, two small bowls containing pepper, MSG, and several bottles of fish sauce and soy sauce. Customers could conveniently mix their own dipping sauces; the old man did not serve them on their behalf. When the customers finished eating, they walked past the old man to deposit the money, but he did not go to each table to collect the money.

When the restaurant was crowded, he was still cheerful with the guests but was grumpy with his wife. His wife never frowned or was upset with him. She just quietly did her work. She never left the kitchen. She was like a person from another world , regardless of the hustle and bustle outside, focusing on her work with the utmost precision, doing every little step correctly to make a satisfactory bowl of noodles.

* * *

Morning. The old man sat at the table under the plum tree drinking tea. Today the shop was closed. The small white chalkboard read: Closed until the 16th of the lunar month. That was when the shop owner got sick. When she was off, he was off too. No one could please him but her. The waiters in the shop changed every few days. It wasn't that they couldn't stand the hardship or that he didn't pay them enough for the effort they put in.

He was very fair-minded. Before coming to work, he had made a careful agreement with the waitress that he would only carry the bowls of noodles from the kitchen counter to the tables when the restaurant was busy, and occasionally clean up the bones and paper towels that customers accidentally dropped on the floor. His daily wages were also fixed in advance. But he was stubborn and irritable, and it seemed that besides her, he had a grudge against other women.

* * *

Mrs. Tu always smiled when someone complained about Mr. Tu's strange personality. She did not defend him, nor did she complain about him. She knew what was hot and cold inside, so there was no need to show it off. The small, old house, surrounded by newly built, majestic houses, was lonely because it was only the two of them who kept each other company every day.

The neighbors never heard them talking loudly, as if when they sold noodles, they were burning themselves out on the stage of life, showing off every aspect of themselves to each other and to life. But when the shop was closed, they withdrew into their own quiet corner, their lives were as quiet as a slow-motion film reel... And that was also what the people around them thought about them. As for what they thought and how they lived, only they knew.

* * *

Mrs. Tu carried a basket to the front of the house to pick plums. The wind was rustling. She carefully picked each fruit. This variety of tree was brought from her hometown of Go Cong, the fruit was abundant, pure white, and sweet. The words of the customer this morning while eating noodles still echoed in my mind:

- She is old but still beautiful, when she was young many people must have loved her.

Mr. Tu was upset:

- Don't compliment her, she thought it was real and forgot to add too much salt.

She couldn't remember if she was pretty back then. Her family was so poor that they didn't even have a mirror to look at themselves. She was a farmer's daughter who worked hard all day, every day. She woke up at three or four in the morning to cook rice and then hurried to the fields. She worked as a farmer for her family, a laborer, or a hired laborer.

After the planting season, it's time to sow beans and plant potatoes. In the blink of an eye, it's already harvest time. In the morning, I go to the fields before the sun rises. In the afternoon, I come home and the sun is already deep in sleep. There's no time to look at beauty or ugliness.

There were many people who truly loved her, but she didn't care. Daughters should try to take care of themselves. Her mother had told her that since she was thirteen, when she first felt something different in her body. Her mother had also told her over and over again that if she didn't respect herself, how could anyone else respect her?

* * *

Mr. Tu sat quietly drinking tea. He felt that he was different from everyone else. Every man was happy when people complimented his wife's beauty. They were happy and proud, not upset. Many men even wished to have a beautiful wife to go here and there with, to be proud of themselves.

- Have some tea - she gently poured more hot water into the teapot.

- Sit down here and have fun - his voice had a hint of resentment but she understood at first hearing.

- Don't pay attention to what people say. Does it matter if someone is ugly or beautiful?

- Ugly or beautiful, what's wrong? It's been decades, why bother?

* * *

Mrs. Tu was tired. The health of an elderly person fluctuated like the weather. She suffered from high blood pressure, and her health fluctuated with these measurements. Blood pressure was difficult to stabilize because it was affected by emotions. Sadness or anxiety also increased blood pressure, leading to dizziness.

Mr. Tu did not say anything, but he was regretting that he had made her sad and tired. They had lived together for fifty years, since he was twenty and she was eighteen in the countryside, so they understood each other very well. She knew that he was secretly jealous, even though they were both old now, with their teeth so crooked that they had to chew on plums for a long time.

She understood that he had the inferiority complex of a latecomer, even though he had noticed her since he was a young man who had just begun to have feelings for the opposite sex. Back then, people called him Ba Kien, not by her given name, but now.

* * *

When she was young, Mrs. Tu was called Tu Thoi. Tu Thoi had thick, shiny hair. Ba Kien loved her long hair since the day she took a nap with her friends under the candleberry tree. When she combed her hair to make it neat after her nap before the afternoon transplanting session. That hair mesmerized the young Ba Kien.

Ba Kien dreams a lot but knows he only has the right to dream because he is aware that he and Tu Thoi are like a mismatched pair of chopsticks. Tu Thoi is tall and slender, has a charming smile with dimples, is diligent, gentle, and speaks gently. Ba Kien is short, skinny, and blunt.

* * *

In the afternoons, Ba Kien would wander past Tu Thoi's house, choosing the time when Tu Thoi was cooking dinner to drop by and give him a piece of sugar cane, or a few plums. Tu Thoi's family did not forbid or pay any attention to anything because in this rural area, people would give each other a bunch of vegetables or a fish when they had a little extra. They only started to investigate when Ba Kien brought over a white plum tree. Tu Thoi's father said that people said Ba Kien was stupid, but that was not true.

He gave this house a plum tree, which means he wants to take root in this house. How can such a weak man support a wife and children?

Tu Thoi's mother worriedly told her daughter to be careful with Ba Kien.

* * *

Tu Thoi always kept in mind the words her mother told her when she was thirteen. She had to keep herself to be appreciated by others. With Ba Kien, she didn't think of anything else even though she knew that young man appreciated her. She always told herself to only nod when her parents agreed. Because to Tu Thoi, adults were always experienced, just by looking at them, she could tell if they were good or bad.

* * *

Early in the morning, Mrs. Tu sat combing her hair. She realized that she had become old and barren like a barren piece of land. Every time she combed her hair to make it neat, she saw the strand of hair in her hand gradually decreasing, decreasing... A few years ago, the hair bun was as big as a big orange, now it was only slightly smaller than a big garlic bulb.

She looked out into the yard at Mr. Tu, who was watering the plum trees. His back was hunched, and his figure was getting shorter. Perhaps, like her, he realized that he was getting shorter and shorter, and his inferiority complex about his body made him feel frustrated. He had mixed feelings, half hating Muoi Tot, and half wishing he had the strong, healthy body of the person he disliked.

* * *

“Hey! Mullet with ginger fish sauce. No one is holding my shirt, but I hesitate to go.”

Muoi Tot just sang dryly like that, but the sisters in Tu Thoi's planting group kept guessing that he was cleverly testing Tu Thoi's intentions.

Muoi Tot spoke again:

“Ho…ho…oh…oh! Looking up at the sky, white clouds, blue clouds/ I like everyone, but I like you”. The group of friends pushed Tu Thoi to sing back:

“Ho…ho…oh…oh! My marriage is fine, don’t run around like this/ I love you so I’m being careful or else people will gossip.”

Ba Kien felt broken. He knew he could not compare to Muoi Tot - the tall, muscular, and sweet farm boy.

In the afternoon, when passing Tu Thoi's house, Ba Kien gathered all his courage and sang a song, his voice broken with excitement:

“Ho ho…oh…oh! I reach out and pluck a coriander stalk/ I love you so much I pretend to ignore you”. The rough and awkward song was broken by the short and hoarse breath. Tu Thoi heard it, knew it but left it there, not knowing what to do. Everything depended on his parents’ will.

* * *

Mrs. Tu was pensive, she smiled to herself. She knew he was jealous. He was old and about to die, but he was still jealous. He loved her in his own way. He didn't want her to interact with any other man besides him. In society, she always gave him a step so that he could forget the feeling of not being worthy of her, and deep down in her heart, he was a benefactor.

He carried a resentment that was hard to erase. He would be angry and upset if any man approached her. He would not feel secure if he left her alone even though she was a virtuous person. Once when they were sitting together drinking tea, he said something that seemed like an outburst, but she knew that he was always thinking about it.

- I just hope you die first so I can take good care of you. We don't have any children.

She smiled sadly: - Honestly, you still haven't forgotten the old story even though it's been decades.

* * *

Ba Kien sat alone in a thatched hut in the middle of the field. It was afternoon but the sun was still shining brightly. Feelings of sadness welled up inside him like a flood. He loved Tu Thoi with all his heart, but why couldn't he be with the person he loved? After all, he was no worse than Muoi Tot.

Only her appearance was a bit inferior, but Muoi Tot was not inferior in carrying two bushels of rice at a time. As for Tu Thoi, he knew she was very obedient, she did not dare to show her feelings to anyone because she always listened to her parents. As long as her parents agreed, she did not dare to disobey.

Tomorrow is Tu Thoi's wedding, the people in the neighborhood are busy preparing for the wedding. Ba Kien has planned that after Tu Thoi's wedding, he will row a boat far away to Tay Ninh to work for hire. Everywhere is work for hire. If he stays, he will see Muoi Tot and Tu Thoi go everywhere together, or on the days Muoi Tot goes plowing, Tu Thoi brings rice to the field, sits down to eat rice together, a bowl of rice with grilled mullet and ginger fish sauce.

No one was holding his shirt, so he hesitated and didn't want to leave. That song must have been for Ba Kien. Tu Thoi had an appointment that he couldn't make up his mind to leave. Ba Kien felt embarrassed: Oh, what's the matter with Tu Thoi? Tu Thoi was very considerate, there was no appointment, why would you blame him? Tu Thoi was so cute and gentle, so how could Muoi Tot leave, even though Muoi Tot had been like a wandering bird, following the water to work for hire, and I heard that his hometown was in the countryside.

* * *

- You worry too much and get sick! Mrs. Tu blamed him, she blamed him but she knew that nothing she said could make him feel at ease.

- I'm glad you love me. We've lived together for decades and you still don't trust me? - she continued.

He was silent.

- If you die before me, I will know how to take care of myself. But now I am old and decrepit, who would care for me?

He smiled shyly because she hit the nail on the head.

* * *

Tu Thoi cried like rain, hiding in his room. Outside, it was like a market broke out. People never expected such a thing to happen. In this peaceful village, there had never been such a terrible thing as what had just happened at Tu Thoi's wedding ceremony.

While the two families were sitting and exchanging betel and areca nuts, drinking wine and discussing how Muoi Tot would live with his wife after the wedding, suddenly a woman carrying a baby came crying.

She affirmed that she was Muoi Tot's official wife. She didn't need to affirm that people still believed her when her son had a face exactly like Muoi Tot's. When everyone calmed down, they went to find Muoi Tot and his parents to confront and clarify the situation, but Muoi Tot and his parents were no longer there. If there was nothing, why did he have to run away? The truth was revealed. Muoi Tot already had a wife in his hometown. The groom's parents were also impersonators. Muoi Tot had asked an acquaintance to act as his replacement.

* * *

A month after the failed wedding, Tu Thoi did not leave the house. No one could persuade her. Tu Thoi cried and blamed her fate. The day before, when they were dating, she told people not to rush into marriage, but her family was in a hurry and did not investigate carefully, leading to an embarrassing situation.

* * *

The last night of the month, it was pouring rain. Ba Kien lay in the rice hut, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Tu Thoi was so pitiful. She tried to be considerate but still could not overcome the calculations of the world. Such a gentle and virtuous person was to be loved and respected. He heard his friend say that Tu Thoi was sad and had an inferiority complex, not daring to meet anyone, although objectively she had done nothing wrong.

It was like a setback, a stumble that fate had forced upon her. Ba Kien thought and wondered again whether he truly loved Tu Thoi or was it just a moment of rashness. Tu Thoi was now a lover whose love had failed, would he accept such a person to be his wife and later the mother of his children?

* * *

Ba Kien picked a basket of plums from the canal behind the house and brought them to Tu Thoi's house. All the thoughtful thoughts he had planned to say suddenly evaporated as he stepped through the door. He said he would bring Tu Thoi the basket of plums. Seeing that the family was warmly inviting him to dinner, he also sat down to eat with them.

- I want to ask you two to let me marry Tu Thoi. If you two don't mind me, I will tell my parents - Ba Kien's voice was faltering.

The whole family was confused. The family members did not know how to respond to what Tu Kien had just said so suddenly. To be honest, Uncle Nam - Tu Thoi's father was afraid that Ba Kien's family would object. They would not easily accept someone with such a broken fate as a daughter-in-law.

* * *

Ba Kien sat in the front yard, he muttered that this plum tree was 50 years old. It had witnessed the ups and downs since his grandparents came here. At first, he only planned to leave for a few months so Tu Thoi could forget the past. But then he realized that perhaps this new land would be more suitable. No one knew about the old story.

They only knew that Tu Thoi was his wife. He would protect the girl he loved to the end. He had experienced many cruel situations in life. At first, when they loved each other, they thought they could not live apart, but in the end, when they were no longer together, everything was normal.

He didn't let Tu Thoi feel sad anymore. He knew that a person like him would rarely make anyone's heart flutter. He always deliberately spoke to the women around him in a sarcastic and sour manner. He was careful not to let them even think about him.

For his part, he was reassured.

* * *

Mrs. Tu went first as he had said the other day. Mr. Tu sat there, his body limp and unable to do anything. Then he reassured himself that it was not the wish he had once told her… While changing her into a traditional dress, he looked back at the woman he had loved from childhood until her hair turned white.

Holding the strand of hair that was as small as a chive, he held back his tears. Whether she was beautiful or ugly, old or young, it did not affect his love for her. That love, cherished and smoldering day by day, was as rich as the broth his grandparents had cooked for the noodles for so long.

* * *

The noodle shop was closed. There was no sign with a white chalk line indicating a reopening date. She was gone, and he didn't sell anymore. The plum tree in front of the house was falling one crop after another. Without her, he didn't bother picking them. One day he went to the market to buy food for the offering.

Absentmindedly bought mullet again. When he served the meal on her altar, he suddenly remembered that since they got together, she had never made a dish with mullet. Maybe she was afraid he would be sad because mullet reminded him of old folk songs. With no one around, he let his tears fall freely. He looked out at the closed noodle shop. The yard was white with plums.

TQT

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