Be a daughter-in-law of Quang Nam

Mrs. Sau frowned and turned to go upstairs. She muttered, “I don’t know how to cook sweet soup or sweet soup.” The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. There were plenty of girls in the countryside, but Toan had brought home a girl from the far away South.

Hearing Huong say the name of her hometown, she couldn't imagine the place. Toan didn't see his mother frown, he smiled happily and said that the river was vast, when the wedding came, the whole family would sit on a boat and have a great time!

She sighed deeply, thinking about the wedding by plane or bus was already scary, now Toan said to go by boat. Back then, sitting in the car to Da Nang to get a backache checked out already felt like a long way away. Huong was also pretty, tall, and looked good with Toan. But "one ate sea fish, the other river fish", how could they live together for the rest of their lives?

The meal was served, Huong gently scooped rice, and asked her to try the bamboo shoot soup she had just cooked. Huong said that in her hometown, sour soup was cooked very differently, with water lily, water mimosa, and drumstick flowers cooked with young linh fish at the beginning of the season. As for sour soup with young tamarind leaves, it was cooked with got fish, it was so delicious. Her ears were ringing. Her hometown did not have those things.

She took a spoonful of soup. The sweet soup stayed in her mouth for about ten seconds before she could swallow it. Glancing over, she saw Toan slurping it up and praising how delicious it was, and she sighed again. Since Toan brought his girlfriend home to introduce her to the family, she couldn't count how many times she sighed every day.

The next day there was a death anniversary at home, and Huong was busy helping out. Mrs. Sau sat on the bed with the old ladies making betel leaves. They whispered, the girl was cute, had a quick tongue, and Toan was a good choice. Mrs. Sau nodded, but she didn't like what the girl did.

Earlier, she went to grill some rice paper but burned them all, so she had to sit down and grill something else. The spring roll was too loose, so when she put it in the pan of oil, the filling went the way the filling went, and the cake went the way the cake went. Not to mention, she asked everyone about anything over and over again, sometimes just standing there, smiling awkwardly.

In the afternoon, the guests had all gone home, and Huong sat sadly washing dishes by the well. Mrs. Sau stood inside the house and looked out, seeing Huong wiping her tears. At noon, when the offerings were finished and the food was served, someone asked, "Who made the fish sauce that's so sweet?" Mrs. Sau accidentally said, "That girl Huong, how can she be a daughter-in-law then?"

The funeral was crowded with people, but Huong heard the whole sentence while she was carrying a plate of raw vegetables for everyone to wrap rice paper with pork. Mrs. Sau turned around and met Huong's eyes. She was confused, Huong's eyes filled with tears as she placed the plate of vegetables on the table and then went back to the kitchen to clean up. From that moment on, the talkative and smiling child stopped smiling...

Toan sat down sadly next to Mrs. Sau. She guessed that Huong must have told him the story from noon. Toan said that he and Huong had met when they were in college, and it had been 5 years. At that time, Huong asked where his hometown was? Toan said it was in Quang Nam . If you took the bus, it would take a day and a night to get there. His village was called Dui Chieng, surrounded by mountains, and when you opened your eyes, you could see mountains lined up in front of you.

In his hometown, there are two seasons: the sunny season is scorching hot, the rainy season is flooded and stormy. During the rainy season, it is difficult for children to go to school, wearing raincoats in the freezing cold. Toan asked, do you mind being so far away? Huong shook her head, the most fearful thing is the distance in one's heart, but the geographical distance is nothing, if not by bus, then by plane.

Every time he came home, Toan often brought home some local food. Huong picked up the jar of fish sauce and asked what kind of fish sauce was so strange. Toan said it was a specialty of his hometown. Fish sauce with boiled squash shoots or boiled sweet potato leaves would finish the pot of rice. Toan joked that as a daughter-in-law from Quang Nam, she must be able to eat fish sauce. Mothers-in-law were very pleased when their daughters-in-law could pound a bowl of delicious fish sauce.

Huong innocently asked if he was serious, Toan nodded and smiled. Toan was just joking, but that day Huong peeled garlic, crushed chili, squeezed lemon juice to make a really delicious bowl of fish sauce. Huong nervously watched Toan pick up vegetables and dip them in the fish sauce, then gently asked, "Can I be a daughter-in-law from Quang?"

Toan also went back to his hometown, Huong. Behind Huong's house is a branch of the river leading to the immense Hau River. In this land, people go to school and go to the market by boat. They add sugar to everything they eat, and it's natural to cook sweet food, Mom! But I think eating is a small matter, temperament is the big thing.

Mom, you know, Huong is a good student, pretty, speaks softly and cutely, many boys in Saigon are crazy about her. But she doesn't like it, so she takes a plane and a long bus ride back to her hometown. Huong is not familiar with the Cantonese language, so she often asks. Sometimes she smiles absentmindedly because she doesn't understand. At noon, when she heard you say that, she was very sad. Tomorrow morning, Huong will go to the airport to return to the city, Mom!

Mrs. Sau stood hesitantly at the kitchen door looking out at the well. Huong was neatly arranging each clean bowl and cup into the basket. After washing the bowls, Huong did not forget to scoop water to thoroughly clean the well floor. Her heart was filled with emotion, remembering herself several decades ago when Toan's father brought her home to introduce her to his family.

It wasn't that far away, people from the village above, people from the neighborhood below. Her mother-in-law had known her since she was a little girl, but she was nervous, hesitant, and afraid of everything. Not to mention Huong who came from so far away... Just now, after listening to Toan's story, she realized how unreasonable and difficult she was.

She walked out to the well, the afternoon was already dark. Huong looked up with sad eyes. Mrs. Sau reached out to take the basket of dishes: "Let me bring them to you, you go reheat the pot of noodles, tomorrow morning tell Toan to come visit grandma. I heard he brought his girlfriend home to meet his family, grandma is keeping an eye on him..." In a very short moment, she saw a smile appear on her beautiful lips.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/lam-dau-xu-quang-3156708.html