Chapter 13 — Eating a piece of sea cucumber, I sent my husband's family out the door

The person on the other end of the line was an old, hoarse voice. My hands suddenly trembled. That voice... I haven't heard it in ten years. But maybe I can't forget it for the rest of my life.

“Where did you get my number?”

“My aunt gave it to dad.”

I closed my eyes.

“Say whatever you want to say.”

“After I finished speaking, I hung up.”

The other end of the line was silent for a long time.

“Nhuoc Van.”

“Dad, I'm sorry for you.”

My knuckles clenched until they turned white.

“Do you know where you wronged me?”

“Do you know how many times I called 'daddy' when my stepfather beat me?”

“What about you?”

“Sit in the living room and watch TV.”

“From start to finish, there was no movement.”

From the other side came a low sobbing sound.

“Do you know when my stepmother used my tuition money to buy a dress for her daughter…”

“How did I pay my tuition?”

“At fifteen years old.”

“I went to the construction site to carry bricks.”

“Earn 30 yuan a day.”

“I know…”

“Dad knows everything…”

“I know.”

“But he still stood and watched.”

I hung up. The cigarette in his hand was burned down to the filter. Cigarette ash fell onto the balcony railing. Don't know since when. My aunt was standing behind.

“Nhuoc Van…”

“Don't give him your phone number in the future.”

She said nothing. Just quietly walked forward. Hug me into your arms. I don't cry. But the whole person trembled intermittently. The first week after divorce. I put all my attention back to work. Recently the company is pursuing a very large project. Smart city system project in cooperation with city government. If you win this project. The company's annual revenue could double. But there are also many competitors. The biggest competitor is Dinh Thinh Technology Company. The owner's name is Trieu Minh Vien. Forty-five years old. Working in the industry for more than twenty years. In the first round of evaluation. Tinh Than and Dinh Thinh tied for first place. Round two is the presentation of the plan. Set for next Wednesday. My technical team and I worked overtime for a week. The plan was revised and revised seven or eight times. Every detail is carefully considered. Tuesday night. We conducted the final rehearsal in the conference room. Technical Director Luu summarizes the entire plan. I asked a few questions. He answered each question in turn.

"Alright."

I nodded.

“Tomorrow, just continue as normal.”

Old Liu nodded. Then looked at me.

“General Manager Lam.”

“Are... are you okay?”

“I mean… what happened recently…”

I laughed.

“You've been following me for five years.”

“Have you ever seen me screw up?”

He laughed loudly.

“That's right.”

After the meeting ends. I sat alone in the office. On the table is a cup of cold coffee. Outside the glass door. The city has fallen into darkness. I picked up the phone. Open your friend circle. Surf a few lines. Suddenly saw a post. It's from Tran Hao.

“There are people, you think they come to spend the rest of your life with you.”

“But actually, they just come to ruin your life.”

Below are some likes. One of them is Vuong Thuy Phan. I looked at that post for two seconds. Then he immediately deleted Tran Hao from his friends list. The final link. Also completely interrupted. City government building. The presentation was held at same solemnity. The jury consists of seven people. All are experts in the industry and leaders of related agencies. Dinh Thinh Company presented to us. Trieu Minh Vien went directly on stage. The forty-five year old man had neatly combed hair. The suit is neatly tailored. The voice is calm and rhythmic. His plan is excellent. Full of practicality. I sat in the auditorium. Listen attentively to the entire presentation. Then it was our turn. I stood up. Step forward. Open the presentation file.

“Hello teachers on the evaluation committee.”

“I am Lam Nhuoc Van, representative of Tinh Than Technology Company.”

“Today I will present our plan.”

I presented for forty minutes. From technical architecture. Go to the implementation plan. From data security. Coming to the operational work later. All content is clearly explained. Come to the end. I open another slide. That is an item that Dinh Thinh's plan does not have.

“Our system is supplemented with a new module.”

“Community safety warning system.”

“Through AI analyzing data from surveillance cameras.”

“The system can early detect situations such as domestic violence, missing children, elderly people falling or other emergency incidents.”

“Then automatically issue a warning and notify the authorities.”

I looked towards the evaluation committee.

“The idea of this module.”

“It comes from my own personal experience.”

The auditorium suddenly fell silent for a moment. Several council members looked at each other. Obviously they all knew what happened to me recently. A female judge nodded slightly. The presentation ended. The council conducts scoring. Two hours later. The results are announced. Tinh Than Technology Company ranked first. Old Liu in the hallway was so excited that he almost jumped up.

“General Manager Lam!”

“We won!”

I smiled.

“Don't rush to be happy.”

“There's still a lot of work to be done.”

When walking out of the building. Trieu Minh Vien was already waiting at the door. He looked at me. Actively extend your hand.

“General Manager Lam.”

“Congratulations.”

“Very excellent plan.”

“Especially the community safety module at the end.”

“It has great social value.”

I reached out to shake his hand.