In the late afternoon, in a small house deep in an alley in Hanoi, Mr. Thanh sat for a long time by the water table.
On the table were a few sheets of paper recording the amounts of money he had sent home for many years to support his elderly mother. Outside the porch, the late afternoon sunlight shone through the window frame, silently like the heavy atmosphere in the room.
Sitting opposite her father, Minh Anh - his eldest daughter - quietly listened to the story that had been mentioned many times in the family recently.
Mr. Thanh is the eldest son in a family of 5 siblings, growing up in Lao Cai province.
In his youth, he was the only one determined to study to escape the scene of rice fields, going to Hanoi alone to start a career and then working for the state.
Working his whole life, not a high position, not a lot of salary, he lived frugally to support his wife and children, and then saved for his old age when he was only a few years away from retirement.
In the countryside, 3 younger sisters have married. The youngest brother stays near his parents. But according to Mr. Thanh, this younger brother once made his parents suffer the most.
There was a time when business was losing money and in debt, and the grandparents had to sell the whole field to help carry it. Later, the youngest uncle still lived with his parents, so that the grandparents could continue to take care of their wife and children.
Three years ago, Mr. Thanh's father suddenly passed away, leaving no will. Since then, everything about property in the house has become vague.
The elderly mother lives heavily dependent on her youngest son. Mr. Thanh, who lives far away, only knows to regularly send money home to show filial piety. Every time he celebrates longevity or death anniversaries, relatives send envelopes to her, she almost does not keep them but gives them all to her youngest son.
What makes him even more concerned is that at this old age, his mother still has to take care of 4 grandchildren who are the children of her younger brother. While at that age, she should have rest and recuperation.
Dad doesn't want to argue. But thinking about my whole life as the eldest son, taking care of my parents, helping my siblings, when the property is divided unclearly, I cannot avoid resentment," Mr. Thanh said to his daughter.
Once, when the conversation became tense, he turned to blame Minh Anh: "Dad is worried about you too. Our family is full of girls, later if we have nothing in hand, we will be even weaker.
That sentence made Minh Anh feel sad. She understood that it was the worry of a father about to retire, but also saw in it the persistent shadow of family prejudice.
During death anniversaries and clan meetings, the story "this house has no sons" has many times become a hint.
Mr. Thanh's sadness is therefore not only about fearing property damage. What makes him even more painful is the feeling that his efforts are not recognized. After many years of living decently, sending money back to support his mother, avoiding conflicts to maintain harmony, but in the end he still worried that he would be marginalized because he only had his daughter.
According to Lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom, Hanoi Bar Association, if the deceased does not leave a will, the inheritance will be divided according to the law.
The first line of inheritance includes the wife, husband, parents, biological children, adopted children of the deceased and those in the same line who receive equal shares.
With land use rights, inheritance is only carried out when the land is not disputed or the dispute has been resolved, is not distrained, is still within the term of use and is not subject to temporary emergency measures.
It was completely dark, Mr. Thanh quietly put back a few pieces of paper on the table. The story of property is still unsolved. But Minh Anh understands that what his father is concerned about is not only which piece of land belongs to whom. It is also the desire to be treated fairly in his own family.
