Washing his hands, Trinh Anh Tu helped his parents serve the meal. His stomach was rumbling as he looked at the familiar dishes he used to eat. Every time he returned to his hometown, his mother would make fried chicken with fish sauce, stewed meat soup, and steamed eggs with minced meat for him.
Anh Tu knew that only when he returned home at the end of the month would his parents be able to eat delicious dishes like this. Normally, they would only eat water spinach with braised fish sauce. Because they didn't have much money, his mother sold sugarcane juice next to his father's tire repair shop. The two of them worked together, but they didn't earn much money. They had to eat frugally so that when their son returned at the end of the month, they would have money to throw a small party to welcome him back.
He also had a younger brother in the eleventh grade who received a scholarship from a famous school and was studying there. He was an excellent student, very good at studying, so he had to take extra classes in many subjects. His parents didn't have money for him to study, so as an older brother, he had to help his younger brother. Anh Tu will definitely take care of his youngest brother to study properly, only the path of knowledge leads to success.
Mother gently put a large piece of lean meat into Anh Tu's bowl, worriedly saying: "It seems like you've lost weight recently, eat more meat to nourish yourself. Don't just worry about working, you have to eat and drink regularly to have the strength to do great things".
In prison, besides eating rice, he had to do a lot of physical work, sometimes being bullied by old ghosts so he had to fight back. There wasn't much food to eat, let alone the energy to plant rice, carry crops, and do all kinds of work in prison. Many times, when it was time to eat, he would just eat the leftovers, which didn't get any nutrition at all.
Looking at the fatty piece of meat in front of him made him want to cry, Anh Tu secretly wiped his tears and ate: "Yes, it's delicious".
During the family meal, the four of them chatted happily, Anh Tu and Hoai An naturally acted very well together. Answering fluently every time his parents asked him what they had been doing and what they were planning for the past two years. Most of the time, Tran Hoai An defended him, a flesh and blood target that Hoai An trusted enough for this timid confidant Trinh Anh Tu to hide behind.
In the afternoon, the rain stopped and the road was wet. Anh Tu and Hoai An saw their parents off at the bus station to return to their hometown. They told them to stay overnight and return tomorrow morning, but their parents told them not to bother them anymore so they returned to their hometown. Their father also told them to come up here to play for three days and then return to continue their business, otherwise the customers who had waited for a few days would lose patience and leave.
"The stew my aunt cooked is so delicious, I've eaten it a hundred times and it still tastes like the first time I enjoyed it. I really want to eat it again." Tran Hoai An rubbed his full stomach, but he still wanted to stuff more until his bulging stomach exploded.
Trinh Anh Tu patted his belly: "Are you pregnant? How many months? Are you about to give birth?".
"Humph, give birth to your head, go find a girlfriend or else you'll make someone have a belly like mine now".
"What nonsense are you talking about, I'll get married properly before consummating the marriage".
"Haha, how can you trust a man's words, we'll see. Okay, I'm going home to prepare to pick up my girlfriend tonight, go ahead, single dog".
"Who are you calling a single dog, you devil?!".
Since when did this confidant give him such a self-conscious nickname, Trinh Anh Tu took out his slippers and wanted to hit him. Tran Hoai An laughed heartily and ran away, even though the two of them were this old, they still liked to tease each other and joke around like kids.
Looking at his friend's back running away, Trinh Anh Tu sighed. The two of them played together to the point of bathing together and sleeping in the same bed, Anh Tu never expected that Hoai An would have a girlfriend first and then leave him to go out with someone else.
A single man like him felt so sorry for himself, he should find a girlfriend to avoid being lonely.
Tran Hoai An was small, skinny, and looked so weak, but he had a beautiful girlfriend, so how could a tall, handsome man like Anh Tu not have a girlfriend?
Without going home, Trinh Anh Tu stopped by the familiar coffee shop he had been at since he started working as a worker. Sometimes after work, he would come here to drink water and chat with Tran Hoai An for a while before going home.
A cup of milk coffee and a pack of cigarettes. This was the reason he liked this coffee shop so much, male customers would often get a free pack of cigarettes, while women would get candy.
It had been a long time since he had smoked, the white smoke was swirling, stirring the milk coffee to melt the ice and then drinking. In the ordinary coffee shop, lonely people often sat quietly looking into the distance, thinking about life, Anh Tu was the same. He didn't know where his future would lead when his job was unstable.
Just out of prison, he was unemployed, the money was also borrowed from Hoai An, he didn't have a single penny in his pocket. Sometimes he felt that God had no eyes, making poor people like him even more miserable.
While he was silently blaming God, somewhere in the sky, dark gray clouds struck and thunder rumbled, making him jump.
God is not blind but extremely sharp-eared, not seeing people suffering but hearing clearly the suffering people scolding him.
Trinh Anh Tu looked at the children playing in the coffee shop, reminding him of himself and Hoai An when they were young. In the optimistic, innocent time of a child, he and Hoai An dreamed of growing up to become this or that. The two of them even innocently told their parents that they would be successful in the future to make their parents happy.
What was the outcome? Both of them became workers, not big shots!
Sometimes thinking back to the past, I can't help but laugh because I was still naive and innocent.
In this world, people without money will have their dreams gone. Back then, Anh Tu really liked beautiful architectural buildings, fascinated by the luxurious villas on television and in newspapers. He also dreamed that he would become a talented architect, build his parents a really big house, so that they could live comfortably when they were old.
Well, let's bury that rosy dream in the back of our minds and worry about the real life ahead. Have enough money to support ourselves so we don't starve.
The milk coffee cup was empty, the ice melted. Trinh Anh Tu put the cigarette pack in his pocket and went to pay.
On the way back home, the street began to be filled with colorful lights, the signs of the colorful shops reflected on the wet road, the shop's lanterns were bright.
Walking alone among the crowd felt so lost, Anh Tu wanted to quickly go home so that he could go find a job tomorrow.
Nearing the alley, he suddenly heard a woman screaming, seemingly calling for help. The sound came from a dark, deserted alley, Trinh Anh Tu heard it and immediately rushed to save the person.
In front, there was a group of thugs harassing a girl, the girl was scared but her face was full of anger. She slapped the face of the bastard who wanted to touch her.
"Get out, don't touch me!".
The pervert got even more excited and said, "You hit me so hard, baby, but I'll forgive you if you come with us."
The girl slapped him again, the sound reverberating throughout the dark alley.
"Ah, this little girl! You don't drink when offered, but you want to drink when punished?! You guys hurry up and tie her up!"
Trinh Anh Tu appeared and immediately grabbed the boss's head and punched him in the place where he had just been slapped. He immediately fell into several stinking trash cans nearby. The dirty rainwater on the street and the stinking trash, oh this guy looked so disgusting. The boss scolded loudly.
The remaining guys saw that the nosy brat wanted to die and rushed forward to beat him up.
Anh Tu easily blocked the attacks of the hooligans, because of their different physical strength and appearance, they didn't have time to react and were beaten up.
The boss staggered up from the pile of trash, he wanted to retreat: "Damn it, what the hell is this day?! I went to collect debt and just wanted to spend the night with a pretty girl but I met that arrogant guy. Let's go, go back and report to the big brother".
"Remember your face, be careful, wherever my brother meets you, he will beat you up". He walked up to Anh Tu, and even nudged him hard on the shoulder before leaving.
Trinh Anh Tu brushed his shoulder, walked over to ask the girl: "Are you okay?".
The girl picked up her wallet, shyly looked at him: "Thank you for saving me, to thank you I'll treat you to dinner?".
Suddenly saving someone and being invited to dinner by a beautiful woman, it seemed that God had not treated him unfairly. He was about to agree but suddenly stopped, Anh Tu was most afraid of bothering others, and it was a beautiful girl. He couldn't let the girl pay for the meal, in the end he still refused.
"Thank you but I've already eaten, it's late, don't stay here anymore, let me take you home?".
The girl looked at him regretfully and reluctantly, she nodded: "If there's a chance, shall we meet?".
The headlights in front were bright and shone straight at the two of them, the car stopped in front. A man who looked like a bodyguard got out of the car: "Young Madam Hoang, Boss Hoang is calling for you."
Hearing the girl's title, Trinh Anh Tu was startled. This was not an ordinary woman, she was a young mistress! And she was also the young mistress of the Hoang Family!
Trinh Anh Tu used to be a worker in this family's workshop!
Was this a coincidence?!
The girl smiled gently at him: "Goodbye."
He was stunned until the car left and he was alone in the alley before he came to his senses. He almost offended Boss Hoang, if he went out to dinner with Boss Huang's wife and was misunderstood, what would he become? No! He didn't want to be a hybrid of a rabbit and a goose.
But why would a noble young mistress come to a commoner's residence? And it was also a workers' residence.
Trinh Anh Tu didn't think much of it, and went home to sleep. He really missed his warm and soft bed, when he was in the camp, he slept with those guys who snored loudly like tractors, making it difficult for him to sleep soundly, most of the time he suffered from insomnia.
The door was left ajar waiting for his friend to come back. Early the next morning, Tran Hoai An kicked his leg to wake him up.
"Get up and go to work, I found you a new job."
Anh Tu woke up in a daze, stretched a few times. Reached for his clothes to put on, he was like that, he was an expert at sleeping without clothes, only wearing underwear. His sharp body was clearly visible, his firm chest muscles had a vague elasticity, extremely attractive.
Hoai An was thinking that it would be a pity not to sell him when he broke ground. He secretly laughed out loud in his heart when he thought that if he was in debt tomorrow, he would have to sell his best friend to pay off his debt.
Anh Tu's back had a long scar from an object like a knife, and every time Hoai An saw it, he couldn't help but shiver.
His confidant wasn't a thug, but he had something that proved Anh Tu was a thug. If outsiders looked at him, they would think so. Sometimes, when asked if he remembered anything about this scar, he shook his head and said he didn't. What's the point of hiding the past?
After breakfast, Anh Tu asked: "What do I do?"
Hoai An handed him a job application: "Repairing cars, you just need to go to the shop to submit your application. I've already applied for one for you."
"Yeah." He had filled out the application completely, and the information was completely clean, not mentioning his imprisonment.
Trinh Anh Tu smiled faintly, in the end, he still inherited his father's profession. But it didn't matter, if he tried hard, maybe he would open a big car repair shop in the future?
Another shaky goal.