The story of a woman who married a wife for her husband

(Baonghean) - After many years of living together, knowing that she could not give birth to children for her husband and thinking about his sacrifices and losses on the battlefield, she filed for divorce and also asked for a second wife for her husband. They lived separately in the garden to help take care of the children of the second wife and her husband.

The small house of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyet is hidden deep in the small hamlet of Tan Hong in the poor midland commune of Nghia Phuc, Tan Ky district, Nghe An. When we arrived, we saw Mrs. Tuyet sick in bed. The person who was supporting and taking care of her was none other than her husband's second wife - the person she personally brought betel and areca nuts to ask for, after filing for divorce from her husband, even though she still loved him very much.

Mrs. Tuyet and Mrs. Hoi now live together, supporting each other in their old age.

Ms. Tuyet (born in 1942) is originally from Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district and is from the same village as Mr. Duong Dinh Thang. They fell in love when they were young, growing up together behind the bamboo fence of the village. In 1957, Mr. Thang joined the army to fight the Americans in the Southern Laos battlefield and was then transferred to the Southern battlefield. In 1960, during a short 15-day leave back home, as promised, the two held a simple wedding and Mr. Thang immediately returned to the battlefield.

In 1963, Mr. Thang was discharged from the army and just arrived in his hometown, heeding the call of the government to work as a farm worker to build a new economic zone in Nghia Phuc commune, Tan Ky district. So she followed him there to build a house and then live in the new economic zone. For many years, they waited for a child but they still did not have one. The longer they waited, the more disappointed they were. In the remote mountains at that time, many families who went to work in the new economic zone could hear the cries of children, but in the small house of the couple, there was still silence.

By 1976, after many times of silently asking doctors, she knew that the reason for not having children was because of her. She felt sorry for her husband who had sacrificed his youth on the battlefield and now wanted to hear the cry of a child in the house but could not. Thinking that her duty as a wife had not been fulfilled, she secretly went to find a woman to marry and be her husband's wife and to be able to give birth to children for him.

From an acquaintance, she found Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoi (born in 1949), also from Nam Dan, who had come there to do new economic work but was not married. Mrs. Tuyet hid Mr. Thang and secretly proposed to Mrs. Hoi so that this woman would agree to marry her. Mrs. Hoi already had a lover in her hometown, and they would get married after returning from the army.

But after a few years in the battlefield without a single leave, Mrs. Hoi's lover died. Missing her lover and vowing to keep their promise when they broke up, Mrs. Hoi was saddened by the news of her lover's death. To try to erase that pain, she volunteered to go to this new economic zone to work to forget the painful past.

“At first, Tuyet came to propose, my family and I did not agree. Partly, I had never been married before, and partly, I still missed my lover who had sacrificed his life. But gradually, Tuyet encouraged me and sympathized with her because we were both soldiers' wives and lovers, so I agreed. At that time, my family strongly opposed it, but I encouraged my family that even though they had shed blood and bones on the battlefield, I had not yet married them, but I considered them a husband because of the promise before we parted. Finally, my family agreed to let me marry Thang,” Ms. Hoi confided.

Commemorative photo of Mr. Thang and Mrs. Hoi at the wedding of a child.

Mr. Thang did not know about this, so when he heard Mrs. Tuyet say she wanted to marry him, he firmly refused. Only after a while, after hearing Mrs. Tuyet's persuasion and pleading, did he finally give in. Before marrying her husband, Mrs. Tuyet also went through divorce procedures so that she would not be entangled with her husband and his second wife. Mrs. Tuyet also carefully prepared the wedding ceremony so that her husband's second wife, who had suffered, would not have to worry anymore.

After getting married, Mrs. Tuyet built another hut in the garden and left the house for Mrs. Hoi and her husband to live in. Then joy came when Mrs. Hoi gave birth to 7 children for Mr. Thang. Mrs. Tuyet rolled up her sleeves to help Mrs. Hoi raise those children to adulthood.

“When I see my husband’s children grow up, I am satisfied with what I have not been able to do for him for a long time. After all, as women, having children is a duty and responsibility. I could not do it, but Mrs. Hoi suffered to marry my husband and give birth to my husband’s children instead of me, so I have the responsibility to take care of her. This is a favor I owe her that I cannot repay no matter what I do,” said Mrs. Tuyet.

Then Mr. Thang and Mrs. Hoi's children grew up, but in the barren land, they tried hard but were still poor, so they went to the South to work as factory workers. Mrs. Hoi and Mrs. Tuyet stayed in their hometown to take care of each other and their husbands. In 2013, Mr. Thang passed away due to a stroke, and their love grew stronger. Mrs. Hoi's children always took care of Mrs. Tuyet like their own mother.

Seeing his two elderly mothers getting weaker and weaker, in 2014, the fifth son returned to his hometown with his wife and children to both work and take care of both mothers. Life is still difficult, the level 4 house built more than 40 years ago is still the family's main residence, but inside there are people, hearts of sacrifice, kindness, caring for each other to help reduce the loss after the war./.

Xuan Hoa