Chapter 23 — Cartographer of Lost Roads

The large hall of the Kim Xuyen City Convention Center was filled with people half an hour before the opening of the public consultation session. Van Khue stood at the entrance, watching the stream of people flocking in - there were old men with canes being helped in by their children and grandchildren, there were middle-aged people wearing business shirts taking advantage of their lunch break to be present, there were also groups of young students carrying cameras and phones, eager to record an event whose importance they felt even though they did not understand all the details.

In front of the hall, on the podium, the representative of the City People's Committee sits in the center, on both sides are members of the appraisal council including planning experts, representatives of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Department of Construction. A row of microphones is carefully arranged along the chairman's table, along with two large screens hanging on both sides of the stage to display documents and illustrations for each side's presentation. On the right side of the auditorium is the area for representatives of Hai Nguyen Group - a long row of tables with more than a dozen people, including neatly suited lawyers, and Mr. Diep Nhat Binh himself sitting in the center, his face calm and confident, not revealing the slightest worry in front of the crowd.

On the left, the area for "former community representatives" is much smaller — there are only a few chairs for Van Khue, Duy Khanh, lawyer Hoa, Kha Duy Thinh, and Mr. Tuyen. Mrs. Nhai, although she really wanted to attend, ended up having to watch via online screen from a small break room next to the hall on the advice of her doctor, because her health did not allow her to sit for a long time in such a crowded, noisy space.

At the opening hour, the representative of the City People's Committee, a middle-aged man with a deep but authoritative voice, announced the reason and content of the consultation session, emphasizing the spirit of "listening to multiple dimensions, deciding on an objective basis, in accordance with the law". After that, he invited representatives of Hai Nguyen Group to present first.

Mr. Diep Nhat Binh stood up and walked up to the podium to speak with the confident demeanor of someone familiar with public events. His speech was carefully prepared, presented with sparkling perspective images of the Kim Xuyen Riverside project - modern high-rise towers, green riverside parks, bustling commercial areas, promising to create thousands of jobs and contribute significantly to the city budget.

"We understand and respect the historical values and touching stories that have been shared in the past," Mr. Binh said, his voice filled with carefully calculated sincerity. "But ladies and gentlemen, all legal procedures related to this land have been completed fully and in accordance with regulations, over many generations of legal ownership. Events that occurred thirty years ago, if any, are the responsibility of individuals and agencies at that time. They cannot and should not become a barrier to a development project that brings practical benefits to thousands of people today."

His speech lasted nearly forty-five minutes, with many impressive economic data, presented in a professional and convincing manner. Van Khue sat and listened, clearly feeling the weight of the professional media and legal apparatus that the opponent side possessed, a power that her small group could hardly match in terms of formality.

Near the end of the speech, Mr. Binh also cleverly included a statement that seemed to be aimed directly at Van Khue's group, although he did not mention anyone by name. "We also learned that recently some individuals, for private and personal reasons, are trying to inflate a complex historical story into an offensive campaign. We respect the right to freedom of speech, but we also hope that you will carefully consider the motives behind the information being spread, to avoid letting emotions overwhelm reason, affecting a project that brings common benefits to the entire city."

That sentence, although skillfully expressed, still caused a few people in the audience to turn their heads to look at Van Khue and her group, with questioning eyes. She felt her cheeks burning, but tried to keep her expression calm, not revealing the anger welling up in her heart. Duy Khanh, sitting next to her, gently held her hand under the table, a quiet but powerful gesture of reassurance.

When it was his turn, lawyer Hoa stepped up to the podium and opened in a calm but firm voice. "Dear council, we do not deny the economic value of the project. But we are here today not to oppose the development, but to demand something much simpler — the truth about the origin of this land must be made clear, before any decisions are made."

She presented systematically, logically, step by step - the maps of 1987 and 1995 were projected in parallel on the large screen, allowing the whole hall to clearly see the sudden disappearance of Van Dang Hamlet; The document delivery record with Mr. Diep Khac Bon's signature is enlarged; The recording of an interview with Ms. Huynh Thi Net, her voice trembling but clear, recounting the coercion scene in 1994, was broadcast through the hall's speaker system.

The atmosphere in the hall gradually became heavy and silent to the point where the steady sound of the ceiling fan spinning on the ceiling could be clearly heard. Many people in the audience, especially the elderly, could not hide their emotions. Some people quietly wiped away their tears when listening to Ms. Net's recording.

A few reporters sitting in the last row took quick notes, occasionally raising their cameras to capture moments on the big screen. Van Khue recognized that among them was journalist Quan Nha Thanh, who was attentively following every detail. Her eyes could not hide her deep sympathy, even though she still maintained the necessary objective attitude of a journalist.

On the Hai Nguyen Group's side of the table, the lawyers took notes continuously, occasionally exchanging small talk with each other, but Mr. Diep Nhat Binh still maintained his composure. There was only one thing Van Khue noticed - his two hands, placed on the table, had been clenched into fists for some unknown time.

At the thirty-minute session reserved for community representatives, Duy Khanh presented an argument about the value of urban heritage, about the meaning of restoring collective memory for a city. Then, it was Kha Duy Thinh's turn, representing Van Dang's descendants, to tell the touching story about his grandmother's small wooden chest and a handful of cloth-wrapped soil, causing the whole hall to fall into an emotional silence.

And then, it was the turn of the last person invited to speak — the person who, through what had just been presented, the whole hall had somewhat guessed his special role in the whole story.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the host announced, his voice much more formal, "the next person to speak is Mr. Quach Van Tuyen, who directly surveyed and drew a map of the Van Dang Hamlet area in 1994."

The whole hall was buzzing, hundreds of eyes focused on Mr. Tuyen as he slowly stood up from the row of seats, held the plastic tube containing the original map with trembling hands, and walked step by step towards the podium, under the spotlight shining directly on the small, hunched figure of a seventy-eight year old man, who was about to, for the first time in his life, publicly face the secret that had weighed heavily on his shoulders for nearly thirty years.

Van Khue looked at his shadow, her heart clenched with both worry and pride. She remembered the image of him sitting huddled on the porch the first night she asked about Van Dang, his trembling fingers drawing invisible lines on his thigh, and now, that same person, was taking slow but steady steps onto a big stage, in front of hundreds of strange eyes, to tell the truth that he had hidden all his life.

In the family area, Mr. Lam and Ms. Bich Nguyen sat holding hands tightly, both of their eyes never leaving the figure of their father walking towards the podium. Through the online screen in the next room, Mrs. Nhai was also glued to the screen, her hands clasped tightly on the chair armrests, her lips moving as if silently praying for her brother to have enough courage to complete what he had been cherishing for the past weeks.

Mr. Tuyen stopped in front of the podium, put the plastic tube on the table, looked around the hall, then stopped at the table area of Hai Nguyen Group, where Mr. Diep Nhat Binh was sitting, his face for the first time during the consultation revealed a moment of confusion that could not be hidden.