Chapter 2 Past - Her small world

Nam Thanh in March, the breeze is gentle.

Every time I read a book describing a village scene, To Bach Luc couldn't help but think why the scene described in the book and what I saw were so different. She stepped on the small muddy road, slowly dragging each step. All the way, she kicked broken stones and looked at her peeling shoes. In the morning, To Chi Quan gave her two dimes as lunch money. Now that the price of rice noodles has increased, her capital increased from two dong to two and a half dong. She took the money, struggled between her hungry stomach and her shoes, still choosing to go to the shoe repair shop and ask the tailor to sew her shoes with hemp rope.

At noon, my stomach protested a lot. After a while, I didn't seem to be very hungry anymore.

I don't remember that I haven't had lunch yet so I'm not too hungry, but thinking about it makes me feel even hungrier.

But she went slower and slower.

This is a mandatory class every day after class.

The shadow on the path followed her, recording her steps and her pace becoming slower and slower, the gentle sunlight falling on her hair, as if reflecting brilliant light.

Entering a small shabby area, she raised her head to look at the fifth floor. The window is rotten, the glass pane is half tilted down, very desolate. If it weren't for a few clothes hanging on the window, no one would think that there were still people living here. Previously, there were many people in the area, including children of the same age as her, and everyone went to school together. It's just that it's so remote here, people who come back from working outside continue to buy houses in the city and don't want to stay here anymore. Now there are only a few households living here, most of them are old people, normally even the sound of talking is difficult to hear.

She raised her head, the sunlight shone directly on her, and as she lowered her head, tears flowed out.

The edge of that window is also broken, cannot be closed, when it rains and the wind blows hard, it will always knock loudly, every time, in the middle of the night, a creepy reminder that it is a rainy night.

To Bach Luc stood dumbfounded in the middle of the area gate for a few seconds, then went upstairs. When she reached the fourth floor staircase, she sat down, put down her bag, took out her book, and read the lesson the teacher would teach tomorrow.

The house on the upper floor had a scene that happened every day, a man and a woman insulting each other without any hesitation.

The sentence women like to say the most is: I want to leave here, go far away.

The sentence men like to say the most is: You dare to go, I dare to kill your whole family, your daughter, your father and mother.

To Bach Linh finished reading an article, the sound upstairs was still continuing, she held her small schoolbag, sitting there huddled together. The school bag was made from scraps of fabric that belonged to an aunt who had moved away before. She opened a tailor shop. Seeing how pitiful she was, she used the leftover fabric to make some clothes or a school bag for her, and also made a pair of calico shoes for her. It's just that the shoes are very absorbent and she's afraid of getting them dirty so she rarely wears them.

The sound from the upper floor rumbled like heaven and earth were destroyed, then silence was restored.

She raised her head to look upstairs. After making sure there would be no more noise, she put her school bag on her back and slowly walked upstairs.

Pushing the door open, the wooden door made a creaking sound, the living room was a mess, broken pieces of bowls and broken tea pots mixed together. She paused briefly, carried her school bag and put it in her room, took out a broom to sweep away the debris.

After finishing work, she took the trash out and borrowed some bowls from a neighbor's house.

This time was better than last time, at least they didn't break the whole pot.

She quietly cooked rice, washed it, and sauteed vegetables.

After finishing everything, she pushed open the door of another room, "Dad, mom, eat."

Bach Tu turned around on the bed, his arms and legs had bruises from being beaten, but his eyes were arrogant, "Damn girl, coming back this late."

To Chi Quan solemnly stood up from the mat on the floor, put on a pair of tattered slippers fixed with a few lines, and shouted: "Eat rice, eat rice."

"Why don't you eat me to death?" Bach Tu fiercely glared at To Chi Quan.

To Bach Luc looked at them and quietly went out.

Bach Tu was very dissatisfied with her reaction, "Are you dumb?"

At the dining table, To Bach Luc also bowed his head and slowly ate.

Bach Tu is a beauty, a real beauty. To Bach Luc once heard her grandmother say that that year the suitors who wanted to marry Bach Tu were about to cross the threshold, but they had to let Bach Tu marry a bastard like To Chi Quan. The reason why the bastard is called a bastard is because To Chi Quan has no education or talent. Since he was young, he has been drinking with girls. When he married Bach Tu, he threatened that if he could not marry Bach Tu, To Chi Quan would will kill their whole family. A bastard is someone who doesn't do anything evil, no one doubts its authenticity.

When Grandma said that, she would often pull Bach Luc and cry, saying her daughter's whole life had been ruined.

To Bach Luc finished eating the small bowl of rice before saying: "The bowl belongs to Mr. Ngo's family, you have to pay it back tomorrow, so...".

"I know, I know, I have to buy a new bowl tomorrow." To Chi Quan interrupted angrily.

Bach Tu smiled sarcastically, "Buy a new bowl," after eating a bite of rice, she smiled even brighter, Can you buy that?

"If you can't afford it, what does it have to do with you?" After To Chi Quan finished speaking, he threw the bowl in his hand on the ground.

Bach Tu is still smiling, his beautiful face is like the most beautiful flower, a frown and a smile can make people crazy.

To Bach Luc was not afraid of To Chi Quan's anger, but she was afraid of Bach Tu's rebuttal. Every time it happened, it would be so chaotic that it would be impossible to clean up.

After eating, To Bach Luc quietly tidied up the table, washed the dishes, and the day ended.

It's good, even if tomorrow is no different from today.

This year, she was in the fifth grade of elementary school. She always thought, when will this life end?

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, repeating over and over again, is life the same?

The harder she studied, the more efforts she made, becoming the most obedient student in the hearts of her teachers.

She will actively stay to help you on duty, will also proactively help teachers correct homework, and will also be willing to teach you lessons.

Teachers and classmates all like her very much.

She is also the class president, fulfilling her responsibility to complete everything well.

She really liked a sentence her teacher said, going to school can change your destiny. She hopes that one day she can also rely on herself to change her destiny. It's not about happiness, it's not about pursuit, it's not even about dreams, she has her own goals.

She will often run to the library to read different types of books.

In the book there will be many answers to the problems, the answers are not too accurate, they will just give people more hope.

She really likes it, just like in the book - everyone is equal, even though their backgrounds are different, but God gives them equal lives, so they can rely on their own hands to draw the trajectory of their lives. The blank sheet of life, their fate is theirs to grasp.