Leaving the city

Tien and Lan are the couple who have stayed in my area the longest. They rented a place when they had only been married for a few months, and went to work for the same company. When my mother came to America to live with Hai and his sister, leaving the boarding house for me to manage, this couple had two children. The two children were born in the city, raised for 6 months, then sent back to their hometown to be cared for by their grandmother. They only visit home every Lunar New Year, and during the summer, grandmother takes the children to visit their parents.

For ten long years, that lifestyle has not changed.

That day, when I knocked on the door and gave the rent notice, Lan sadly greeted her:

"You're welcome to stay. This time, I'll go home."

"Did you two lose your jobs or something?"

"Yes, I'll go home and take care of the kids, leave him behind to see if there's anything to do..."

Tien mused:

"I can still make money here, but going back to my hometown is very difficult!".

That day, I saw Lan counted twenty-three million, but Tien cut off three and a half million and gave it to me:

"I'll send you money this month. Maybe next month I'll only dare to turn on the lights, turn off the fans to save money."

I gave them back five hundred thousand. Holding twenty million in hand, Lan cried. Tien rubbed his wife's shoulder, but her eyes were already bloodshot.

"Are you going back to your hometown now?"

"Yes, go take care of Bi and Lan Anh. Let me worry about finding a job..."

That was the first time they did not return on the same bus, after more than ten years of going to the city to work as workers.

2.

April.

The streets of Saigon are on fire. Tien registered as a technology vehicle driver for three weeks, then lost his vehicle.

"What bad luck? I feel so sad!".

I looked at Tien's tired face, when not overwhelmed by the sadness of the boarding house.

That afternoon, when I brought over a bowl of sour soup, from afar, I heard Tien's bright laughter. Just as she was about to join in the fun, the girl in the middle room poked her head out and whispered:

"He just laughed, but he was really sad! The car was gone and he told his wife that it cost several hundred a day to run... So tiring!"

I stood outside the door and heard Tien say to Lan on the phone:

"Don't worry, I met a big customer today, you earn quite a bit."

"Remember to make sure that Bi and Lan Anh eat and drink well. Now we have the opportunity to stay with the children for a long time."

Tien laughed with his two children through the phone screen. But the kids don't seem to be very happy. The voice of little Lan Anh crying:

"Dad, come back here with us. I miss you so much!".

Tien looked up and saw me, then hung up, causing Lan's sobbing to be interrupted.

Every room in the boarding house I manage is only twelve square meters, but neat and clean. Seeing that many people lost their jobs, I decided to reduce each room by five hundred thousand. Tien told me he would leave the piggy bank and not touch it, but he said the day before, the next day he lost his car. After emptying his pockets, there was exactly three million left. Tien planned to buy it in installments, so he asked me to go with him to the motorbike shop near his house. Arriving there, looking at the row of old cars lined up in front of the yard, Tien timidly asked:

"Do you have a car to contribute? How much is the first installment of two million?"

"Yes, this Wave, it's fuel-efficient and has a good engine."

After hesitating for a moment, Tien chose the Future.

"This car is new, it only runs fourteen thousand miles. You made the right choice, but the price is a bit high."

So the pig was crushed for the three and a half million down payment. Tien must contribute twelve months.

From then on, Tien stuck to the car without moving, eating and sleeping in the car, only leaving when returning to the motel room, after locking the two large locks on each wheel.

3.

July.

Lan called to say that Bi had dengue fever and was in the district hospital. She told Tien to send money to buy medicine.

"The kid has insurance, so he has to buy some medicine from outside, because the hospital is out of medicine."

So it took five million to get the car company to transfer it, but Tien told me he didn't regret the money to take care of his son. I don't know how Bi is doing now. Tien misses his skinny, black body.

That night, after calling several times but Lan didn't pick up, Tien impatiently rang my doorbell:

"Let's see if I can go back to my hometown. My wife keeps calling and doesn't pick up. I'm so impatient!"

"Can you take me with you? I'll help you with anything."

Tien nodded, probably because he couldn't think of anything else.

The two sisters continued like that through the night. Approaching Bung Tau town, Tien asked for a rest. As soon as he left the car and sat down on the side of the road, Tien suddenly burst into tears.

"I... I'm so helpless! If my son goes to the hospital, he will have many more diseases... What should I do?!"

"Calm down, we'll take it slowly."

At three o'clock in the morning, it was still quite dark, suddenly behind me I heard a voice asking:

"Who is like Mr. Nam Me's son Tien?"

"God, where are you going at this hour, Mrs. Tu?"

"I'm going to your house. I have to take care of little Lan Anh so your mother can go to the hospital and help your wife take care of Bi."

Tien wiped his tears and ran ahead, leaving me to walk home with Mrs. Tu.

That afternoon, Bi cried soundlessly when he saw his father. Tien's mother couldn't bear to look at that scene, so she went out and stood behind the aluminum door, wiping her tears. I heard her say:

"Lan, maybe talk to Tien at some point. I think you two should come back here to do business, but my nephew has a father and mother, but he's like an orphan?!"

Hearing her mother-in-law say that, Lan burst into tears, becoming more and more angry. Tien was in the room when he heard it and had to run out and shout several times.

"Stop it, you two! Let me arrange it. Now take care of Bi."

4.

I stayed for two days and witnessed more than three meals filled with tears. The first time Lan cried because she knew about losing her car, then Tien's mother cried because she loved her grandson, and finally Mrs. Tu cried because she loved her neighbor.

Tien just turned red, silently watched everyone cry, then went to the yard to sit and look at the river.

"During the epidemic, we thought we were parting ways, but we weren't as stuck as we are now."

"After going through difficulties, the good times will come."

"It's been a long time, sister. The kids still have to pay school fees, still have food to eat, and clothes to wear. Unlucky people like Bi have been tired for a few days now..."

I am not an insider, so I can only observe and sympathize, but cannot absorb all the feelings. However, I still have to say what I think:

"Tien, Lan, can I help raise Lan Anh's two children?"

"Huh?"

Tien's mother cried out loudly, while Lan waved her hand:

"Sister, that's not possible!"

Tien patted his wife's shoulder to comfort him and slowly replied to me:

"I know you love me so I say that, but just let us try! After all, we are both their parents."

5.

The next day, Bi's illness improved seven or eight percent, the doctor sent his family home for observation. I looked at Bi who was so attached to his father, holding on and refusing to let go, my heart suddenly sank:

"Let me go out to get the car back. You stay with Bi for a few more days!"

Lan refused and insisted:

"Let Tien stay with Bi. I'll drive you home."

"That's it again, your steering is weak, you can't get on the highway!"

"Don't be cocky, unlucky! Let me go. You play with Bi to make his child happy and recover quickly."

Lan kissed the two children. Lan Anh, who did not know who expressed it, came to hold my hand and said:

"My parents don't want to leave me, but I also want to go and live with Huong's mother. Huong's mother, go well!"

I hadn't cried for a few days, but suddenly when I heard her speak, I burst into tears. Seeing that I was so emotional that I didn't want to get into the car, Tien's mother came forward and hugged my shoulder, whispering:

"No matter how difficult it is, giving birth to a child must be raised and taught properly, to be a human being. You walk strong and good. I also help with their matters, it's okay."

That day, Lan drove me home all the way, four hours on the motorbike. I kept Lan for one night, because traveling late at night was not safe.

Early in the morning, standing on the balcony with me watching the sunrise, Lan smiled:

"It's so beautiful! In the past, I went to work early and slept in on my days off, so I rarely watched the sunrise."

I took the car, asked Lan to sit in the back, and took me for a walk around the city. Only three or four kilometers away, I heard Lan exclaim:

"Oh my god, what a beautiful city! I've been famous here for more than ten years, but I don't know these places."

I felt sad, remembering Lan's appearance of climbing into the car every morning. Now I can't see that look anymore.

"But I'd rather be busy not knowing these beautiful sights than leisurely like this... Not having money is the worst thing for me."

When I stopped by the beef noodle shop for breakfast and heard the fifty thousand bowl of vermicelli, Lan paused for a few seconds.

"Sister, it's too expensive!"

I didn't say anything, quietly handed the chopsticks to Lan. Over the past year, fifty thousand has become a big deal for many people, I am no exception.

"Sometimes events change us for the better. I'm now a janitor, selling other people's goods at the market to earn money to support my children. Suddenly I see I can do many things."

"Yes, everyone adapts."

That afternoon, watching Lan blend into the traffic, I felt full of thoughts.

Lan and Tien, like other rural youth, always look at the city with a lot of light. After many years of selling their strength for money, they also had some capital and had time to nurture a few beautiful dreams, but no one could predict tomorrow.

When Lan and Tien were no longer welcomed by the city, they were forced to return to their hometown, facing unfinished dreams and many difficulties.

But I know they will get over it, the way Tien looked at me and said:

"Just let us try! After all, we are their parents!"

Yes, I hope that when Tien's two children grow up, they will have a more fulfilling dream, like the Western roads that are gradually connecting, becoming more beautiful every day after ten years of stagnation. A generation has passed, no more people should be wasted.