The road from Mr. Dam’s house was straight… because it divided the field into two halves, the plowed fields were silent and silver-gray… the wind blew down from behind, pushing the wheels…
Wind,..the wind in the middle of winter is so cold, my hands are numb.., it blows across my cheeks, my face is pale….
Fuck..mother..
Who the fuck…
Hehe…should I curse Mr. Dam…he’s old, cursing him…can’t be done..
mumble again…
Suddenly remember the curse..
His name in the book…is the same as mine…with the pronoun…
He cursed as he walked…
The guy in the writer’s book cursed because he didn’t have enough alcohol, cursed because he ran out of money to drink alcohol…he wanted to be a human being, so he cursed as he walked.
And me…for what..
Annoying..but funny..
Angry because today I went to his house to wait for the box of things for her to shut up…
Funny because of the cold cry of my niece..
annoyed because of the bowl of Chinese medicine..funny because of the way he wagged his dick like a buffalo’s tail..
I’m annoyed because at this hour I should be sitting by the fire, munching on grilled corn…but Mr. Dam is lying in a warm blanket…making me feel like I’m being chased away.
I kept cycling, until I reached the intersection with a green banyan tree.
Who is that…
The youngest uncle’s wife was walking, holding a bag in her hand with some incense sticks.
Hello grandma…
is that you?
Where are you going?
She went to the cemetery to pay respect to the local god…to exhume the grave tonight…today is the winter solstice, today is the day of exhumation in the village. Will you go far to see tonight…it’s very crowded out there today
I’m so scared, I don’t dare watch..
Ah, so it’s a custom…don’t know when it was passed down.
how
.it is still the exchange between the deceased and the living..the grave is dug up..the bones are taken and put in a ceramic coffin..taken to build a new grave.
Where are you going in the cold like that?
I went to Mr. Dam’s house to get clothes for the mute girl.
She is mute again.
your father,
she is always mute, that drifting girl…
You don’t care about your aunt..you’re just mute all day..
I have it
What is it…
You don’t know, since the day the mute girl came to my house…talking with the mute girl. All day long, my aunt and I just kept whispering…I saw my aunt was happy…on cold days, every night she came to sleep with the mute girl.
Well… I see that he eats better these days… laughs and talks more… but he doesn’t say anything to her.
you told me…you and the mute girl get along very well…
what did you say.. mute can not speak
Oh..you don’t know that..the mute girl spoke by writing words..for her aunt to read.
really..why don’t i know?
because of you..
your father, what is it because of me..
She forced her aunt to abandon the baby to marry a man from the next village…so her aunt hated her.
it said so
I don’t know..I guess so..
Okay, grandma, get in the car, I’ll take you to the grave. When will you get there by foot?
I cycled with her, the brick and stone road… bumpy..
she said…tu, she also sees that your aunt is happier these days, eats more, is fatter…remember to pay attention and talk to your aunt..
yes..but don’t hate the mute girl anymore..
Yes …
Every night my aunt comes over and rubs that mute girl’s belly.
hiiii
Women suffer so much, my child..the seed grows in the womb, it becomes blood, I also hope for your aunt to be well..who would have thought it would be like this
aunt is stressed
what is a novel
is frustrated in that person..
The road back to the village at this hour is crowded with people going to the grave, they carry firewood, straw, and rice husks to light the fire tonight.
I cycled quickly to the edge of the village…there was Miss Hong’s house. I could only vaguely see the roof nestled among the bushes of chit leaves used to wrap banh chung for Tet.
Her house was located on the corner of the yard, one half was used as a kitchen. The other half, next to the gate, she used to store firewood…and there were two big stoves where she brewed wine…
I walked onto the field..
a..brother mom..
The little girl shouted, running out from the kitchen, her face sitting by the fire was red, it was cold today..
She wrapped a towel around her head, bustling around, next to two boiling wine stoves, smoke billowing… the fragrant aroma of sticky rice wine… she looked at me, smiling, her cheeks flushed as if… she was expecting something…
boy…where are you going…
I took my aunt to the field to make offerings so that tonight we can exhume the grave.
yeah.. today is winter solstice.. these past few days I’ve been so tired, cooking two or three pots of wine a day.. everyone in the village has work.. I’ve been running so hard my legs are sore..
I didn’t see you pass by here..I want to ask…
what do you need
no i dare
hiiiih
just say it
I watch the wine cellar for you.. bring wine to Mr. Dam.. he asked for it yesterday..
I suddenly felt cold all over..I wonder if at Mr. Dam’s house…his niece’s butt is wearing pants yet..If Ms. Hong came over at this hour…it would be sticking out..
oh my…old man is dead…
smiling
what are you laughing at
no problem
I went into the place where Miss Hong cooked wine..two stoves she built with fireproof bricks. Above were two pots of wine, each pot had about 100 liters of water, with a lid, attached with a copper pipe leading down to two underground tanks made of two cold barrels to condense the wine..the water in the two barrels was steaming, the aroma of the wine wafted in..
Miss Hong said…young man…it’s cold these days…have you bathed or washed your hair yet…she changed the water in this underground tank…bathe comfortably…
I do not bring clothes
no need for books go to the bathroom…take it off…hihiihi
Come on, bring me some buckets of water from the well… I’ll turn on the hot water tap… the smell of sticky rice is intoxicating.
I ran quickly into the bathroom, soaked in the bath and washed my hair… to my heart’s content… the warm water… I felt so awake… the steam in the bathroom was so thick…
suddenly thought…my niece’s butt sticking out…the flower bud…uh huh…naturally holding it and stroking it…eh heh…ecstatic, eyes closed
oh…the feeling
moan softly…numb…
bathroom safe…
startled
The beautiful lady standing there…looking…silently dropped the bucket of hot water on the floor…
shy…shy…trembling all over..
i go out
her face blushed, smiling… sociable…
hee hee
this girl
nothing…to be fair…it’s big already…
I went into the kitchen, shivering from standing in the cold wind… the girl gave me grilled corn and some potatoes…
she smiled…
I wonder what’s going on..
Boy, watch the pot of wine for me, I’ll go.. I said, “No, let me take you. I’m at home and don’t know how to use firewood.. If the pot of wine burns, I’ll die.”
yeah..help me put on cold gloves..
I pedaled quickly…into the back garden, saw the house was quiet, my niece’s bike was still leaning against the side of the house…
damn it…if it weren’t for me today…
put two cans of wine down next to the stove and it went out
..I left…whistling loudly along the cold windy road
……….
Who has lived in the cold winter days…the peaceful days, after the rice harvest in the countryside…the bustling wedding season days…the days when the wife did not want to leave her husband…night after night holding each other tightly…
Cold night…
This afternoon my grandmother went to my aunt’s relatives’ house.. village work to dig graves, neighbors gathered.. meal with only 3 people.. my mother went to the room to grade papers… very quiet..
Around 8pm..my aunt brought over a thin bowl of wine..a sweet, rich, spicy fermented sticky rice wine..
My aunt told me to bring it over for Tam to eat..for beautiful baby skin..You eat it..it’s very sweet…
My aunt rushed into the house next to me. Her voice was sweet as if she was very happy.
I asked her if anything was funny.
Yeah…this afternoon I helped Mr. Tan with the vegetables. Tonight I’m digging graves…running back and forth until my legs are tired…now I’m going to hug my heart and sleep to stay warm…
hiii.. let’s sleep together tonight..
My aunt and I laughed when we heard that. All the aunts, nieces, and sisters competed to scoop the thin bowl of rice wine…
thin fermented wine, cold weather. spicy, strong, the wine rises
drunk, dizzy.. vast
Looking at the two village girls, their cheeks were red..
my mother died when she came..hihiih
not cool…who wants to go out at this hour…hiihi I might as well bring a potty into the house…
I went out to close the gate… behind the house across the street, my aunt’s laughter echoed like popcorn… in my mother’s room, the light was off…
say say..feet feel light on the cold ground
I closed the door…I don’t know if aunt Tham was joking or telling the truth…
Tú…bring the blanket in here…it’s so cold…quickly hiiihi
the bed the mute girl lies on…
Ah… no… it’s a really big bed… made from three smooth, shiny planks. Before, my grandpa put it in the middle of the house. The planks were heavy. Since the big flood, the fishermen carried them down here to prop up the rice sacking machine. No one has carried them up. Now she lets Tam lie on it. It’s really wide… cool in the summer. These past few days, she’s been lining it with a thin blanket and spreading a mat on it.
I brought the blanket in, the light from the lamp was dim..the smell of alcohol wafted in..
aunt’s voice… mixed with laughter…
the naughty boy… lying in the middle…