Over the years, Tuyet had given her four jade bracelets as nest eggs, but Coi had sold three of them one by one the moment someone came to her with a tale of woe. Suffering had made Coi sensitive to the pain of others. When Tuyet scolded her, she shrugged, saying, “Pretty stones won’t earn me merit in the next life, but a kindness in this one will. Tell me, do you want to be reborn into another life like this one?” Tuyet could only throw up her hands crying, “Oh, Auntie, why is it that we are so good at poverty?”
