Chapter 14 — Debt Book at the End of the Alley

Screams rang out from the alley, causing Dieu to quickly drop the knife he was cutting meat and run out of the restaurant with a few customers who were in the middle of eating lunch. The scene before her eyes made her heart clench - two strange, tall men were carrying an old TV and a few electronic items out of Bo's family's small house, while Bo's mother stood in front of the door, screaming and begging, and Bo, only eight years old, stood behind her mother, crying out in fear.

“Please, give me a little more time, I will have enough money,” the mother pleaded, her voice broken by tears.

“You're two weeks late,” one of the men replied, his voice cold, without any sympathy. “This is the company's decision, we are just following our mission.”

Dieu ran forward, stood in the middle, trying to stop the escalating situation. “Can you guys please stop and let me talk to her for a moment?”

The man looked at her with annoyance, but still paused. Dieu turned to Bo's mother, trying to keep her voice calm even though inside she was equally panicked. “Sister, how much did you borrow and from which company?”

“Kim Phat Company,” the mother replied, her voice shaking. "Borrowed twenty million to take care of Bo's appendix surgery last year. Now they charge interest up to thirty million, I can't afford to pay it back."

Hearing the name "Kim Phat", Dieu felt like someone had slapped him in the face. This is no longer just her family's problem — the same company, the same trick, is targeting many other families in the alley, and now, its devastating consequences are unfolding right before her eyes, with an eight-year-old child crying out in fear.

Uncle Tu, hearing the noise, also ran over, along with Mrs. Sau Lien and a few other neighbors. The whole alley quickly gathered, forming a crowd around, some sympathizing with little Bo's family, some worrying about their own situation if a similar situation happened.

“Is it humane for you guys to do that?” Uncle Tu spoke up, his voice was rarely harsh. “The kid's scared out of his wits, can't you see?”

“We just do the job we were assigned,” the other man replied, still maintaining a cold attitude. “If you have comments, contact the company directly, do not prevent us from performing our duties.”

The crowd stirred, some people began to boo and protest, the situation threatened to become more tense. Dieu, realizing that the situation could get out of control, quickly called lawyer Khoa, her hands shaking with worry.

"Lawyer, there is an emergency situation, a family in the alley is being confiscated by Kim Phat's people, including scared children. What should I do?"

Lawyer Khoa, after hearing the summary of the situation, gave quick instructions. "She told them that seizing property without a court decision or lawful execution document is a violation of the law and can be considered property seizure. If they do not have valid papers, the family has the right to refuse, and can even call the police to intervene."

Dieu quickly remembered what the lawyer had told her, turned around to face the other two men, her voice was now much tougher. "Do you have a court decision or legal execution document? If not, this is an illegal act of property seizure, we will I will call the police right now.”

The two men looked at each other, a bit confused by this unexpected toughness. “We only have internal company documents,” one person replied, his tone less aggressive.

“So it's not legal,” Dieu said decisively, pulling out his phone. “I will call the local police right now, you should put your things down before things get more complicated for you.”

The surrounding crowd, seeing Dieu's toughness, also simultaneously voiced their support. A few young men in the alley began to approach, creating a mass pressure that made the two debt collectors even more shaken. Finally, after a moment of consideration, they put the TV and other items back down, mumbled a few threats to return with "full papers" before retreating.

The whole alley breathed a sigh of relief, Bo's mother hugged her son, sobbing because of broken emotions. She ran to hold Dieu's hand, her voice choked. “Thank you, thank you very much. If I don't have children, I don't know what to do."

"Don't thank me," Dieu replied, trying to stay calm even though her hands were still shaking from the stress she had just experienced. “This is a common matter of our whole alley, not a personal matter anymore.”

That evening, an unofficial meeting was quickly held right at the restaurant's yard, gathering almost all the households in the alley. The atmosphere of tension, mixed with confusion, pervaded everywhere when people began to share about their own situations.

“My family also borrowed from Kim Phat,” a middle-aged man spoke up, his voice worried. “I'm so scared hearing these stories, I don't know when it will be my turn.”

“So what should I do now?” another woman asked, her eyes filled with confusion.

The crowd began to divide into two distinct opinions. Some people believe that they should quickly agree to sell the land and receive compensation from the project to completely settle debts, avoid legal risks and stressful situations like what just happened. Others, including Uncle Tu and Mrs. Sau Lien, firmly objected, saying that this was clearly an organized plot to force prices, and if they surrendered from the beginning, the whole alley would lose its negotiating position and suffer a disadvantage much greater than the actual value of the property.

Dieu stood in the middle, listening to both sides, clearly feeling the weight of responsibility gradually placed on her shoulders. She understands that this is no longer a decision she can make on her own or impose on others, but requires a consensus, a common strategy that the whole community builds together, based on as much information and evidence as possible.

“Everyone,” she said, her voice loud enough to cut through the raging debate. “I think, before deciding anything, I need to know the truth behind all this. I'm researching, there is evidence that there may be a connection between the lending company and the company that wants to buy land in my area. If so, these are not coincidences, but a carefully calculated plan.”

The crowd was silent, listening attentively. Dieu continued, her voice becoming more and more steady. “I ask everyone to give me more time, up to two weeks, to collect all the evidence. After that, we will meet again and together decide the best direction, based on facts, not just based on fear.”

After a period of further discussion, the majority of households agreed with Dieu's proposal, although a few people were still skeptical and worried about the delay that could make the situation more complicated. The meeting ended in an atmosphere of both solidarity and anxiety, leaving Dieu with a greater burden of responsibility than ever - now, she is not only fighting for her family, but for an entire community that believes in her.

After everyone gradually dispersed, Uncle Tu stayed behind to help Dieu clean up the rows of plastic chairs that had just been set up for the meeting. “You did well,” he said, his voice filled with pride. "I didn't expect you to be so calm and tough in front of a crowd."

“I didn't expect it either,” Dieu replied, laughing tiredly. “At that time I just thought, if I don't stand up, I don't know what will happen next.”

Mrs. Sau Lien, still lingering, came forward to hold Dieu's hand. “Your mother would be very proud of you, if she knew what happened today.”

When talking about her mother, Dieu suddenly felt a feeling of longing mixed with worry. She hadn't had time to tell her mother about this afternoon's incident, and she wondered whether she should tell the details or keep it a secret so her mother wouldn't worry more during the recovery process.

“I think,” Dieu said, her voice thoughtful, “I won't tell you all the details right away, I'll just say that everything is being resolved smoothly. Mom needs some peaceful time to focus on recovery.”

“That's the right decision,” Uncle Tu nodded in agreement. "Let me and the neighbors take care of this part, you just focus on taking care of your mother and maintaining the shop's spirit."

That night, after seeing everyone off, Dieu sat alone in the restaurant, looking out at the yard where the meeting had just taken place, her heart filled with a feeling of both exhaustion and renewed strength. She realized that, although this alley contained so many secrets, so many unhealed wounds, it also contained a spirit of solidarity, a warm human love that she had never truly appreciated until now, when she herself was standing on the front lines to protect it.

She took out her phone and texted Nam, briefly telling him about the incident this afternoon, about how little Bo's family was almost evicted because of a loan from the company connected to his project. Nam replied almost immediately, the tone of the message was full of anger and guilt: "I'm sorry. I will speed up the search for evidence even more. This cannot continue to happen.”

Dieu read the message and felt somewhat comforted by that sincere response, but she also knew that promises alone were not enough — she needed concrete actions, and they needed them quickly, before another family in the alley had to experience the same fear as little Bo's family experienced this afternoon.