Mrs. Thinh, 65 years old, lives with her youngest son Hoang and her husband and daughter-in-law Lanh in a 3-story house in the town.
Lanh is from the province, married to Hoang for 3 years, sweet-talking but a bit arrogant and likes to show off.
Last week, Mrs. Thinh and her husband invited her to visit her hometown in Thai Binh to meet relatives.
Before leaving, she happily gave the couple 10 million:
– Take this and give it to your grandparents, aunts and uncles on your father’s side. To show off, so that people won’t say that your son-in-law is stingy in the city.
Lanh smiled sweetly:
– I know, mom. When I go back to my hometown, I have to maintain the family’s reputation!
Hearing that, she felt relieved. All week in the countryside, Lanh kept posting pictures, saying “everyone loves her husband’s hometown”, and “her mother-in-law loves her very much”.
Mrs. Thinh was also happy, thinking to herself: “This woman has a sweet mouth, her relatives will definitely praise her when she gets home.”
But just two days after the couple returned, something strange happened.
That morning, Mrs. Thinh was sweeping the yard when she saw three strange women wearing dirty clothes walking towards the gate.
– Ms. Thinh, please give me money to go to the market like Ms. Lanh said in the countryside!
She was stunned:
– What money for shopping? I didn’t promise anyone.
Another person shouted:
– Oh, the other day at Mr. Bao’s house, my daughter-in-law said: “My mother-in-law has a lot of money. If anyone comes to visit, I will send them 5 million to go to the market to see the city.”
– She also told us to get up early, otherwise my mother-in-law will come out!
Mrs. Thinh stood frozen, the broom falling from her hand.
Before she could speak, dozens of people from the neighborhood came one after another, some asking for money for the market, some asking for “the gift as Lanh promised”.
She was so weak that she immediately called her son:
– Hoang! Come back here right now, what is your wife doing in the countryside?
Hoang ran home and saw his mother blushing with anger when she arrived. He called his wife and calmly said on the phone:
– I said that jokingly so that people would respect me a little, but I didn’t think they would believe me. Besides, saying that is the only way to gain a reputation, because people in my town are very critical.
Mrs. Thinh slammed the table:
– What’s the use of lying, son? You lied to look good, but you almost branded me a liar!
That night, Hoang and Lanh had to spend 20 million to “redeem” their family, buying gifts to send to each person to apologize.
But the story didn’t stop there – the next day, a man from the countryside called the newspaper, a livestream video of Lanh was spreading across the internet:
“My father-in-law is very rich. This time when he returns to his hometown, he gives the whole family 10 million to spend. He loves her like his own mother!”
In the comments under the video, everyone praised the “son-in-law, the rich husband’s family”.
As for Mrs. Thinh, she turned off her phone, covered her face and smiled bitterly:
– No visible wealth, only loss of face in the village…