How did I survive October 20th?

(Baonghean.vn) - Although Typhoon Sarika has turned into a tropical depression, the storm numbered 20/10 is still sweeping across the country mercilessly, and I - a model man - naturally happily welcome the storm without a word of complaint.

Tonight's dinner was prepared by me (who also served as waiter and washed dishes). My wife picked up a sprig of water spinach, frowned:

- Why are you serving my mother and me boiled water spinach with fish sauce on October 20th?

- Well, after all the rain and flooding, eating water spinach is the best thing to do, isn't it? Try some; I chose some that are fresh and tender.

My colleague told me that in the West, water spinach stems are as thick as a finger, tough and fibrous to eat, but incredibly expensive. Asians crave it so much that they occasionally buy some to eat for a meal. When picking the spinach, they only dare to cut off the root end, not daring to throw away any more. Some Vietnamese people even go there to grow water spinach to sell…

Normally, I would have immediately scolded my wife for talking nonsense, but today is October 20th, so a model husband should give way to the women. However, after thinking about it for a while, I couldn't resist and blurted out a question:

- Who told you that? Was it that gossipy, fat Mrs. Le again? I know her well; she gets so sick with seasickness and motion sickness that she's never even left her own province, so what does she know about things in the West?

(Illustrative image - Source: Internet)

My wife glared at me so intensely it felt like my face was burning. Knowing my place, I sat silently, distracting her by offering little Tí a piece of fried egg. Before he could even eat it, my wife spoke again: "Eat it all up before you get tired of it. Our neighbor, Mrs. La, said that chicken eggs are very expensive abroad, costing tens of thousands of dong each. You won't have enough to eat when you go to study overseas later!"

It's gone too far, I slammed my bowl down on the table with a loud crash: "Do you want to just eat your meal in peace or not? All you hear is people talking nonsense. Listening to those old women who've only just gone outside telling stories about the West and China is like listening to a mute person teaching someone to speak or a deaf person teaching them to sing! I studied abroad for ten years, and I didn't even bother to say anything, so just leave me alone!"

My wife sat so still you could hear a fly buzzing by. I got to talk at length, feeling incredibly satisfied, and I felt I had to "teach her a lesson" for constantly snooping around online in that Eva Secrets group or whatever it was, and then threaten her husband about it:

- And also, from now on, don't go online and listen to those idle women's incitements anymore, understand? All day long they write cheesy lines on Facebook like "If I don't love myself, who will?" or "There are no good men, only men who haven't revealed their bad habits yet,"... Do you know that most of those women are hopelessly single? If you listen to them and ruin your family, don't go online writing complaints about your husband. I have a fake account in that group; I know everything you do, so don't get your hopes up!

After saying that, I got up and went straight into the house, grabbed my iPad, and escaped the dishwashing chore. Thanks to the self-righteous, preachy nature of those idle women, I survived the October 20th storm in the most honorable way possible!

H. T