Chapter 3 — Fascinated by the Rooster Farmer Raising His Children

Three days after the fateful signing ceremony, Dinh Vinh Khang received a call from the Chu family lawyer's office, inviting him to "complete some procedures related to the meeting the previous day". He arrived on time, wearing simple work clothes because he had just come from the farm to the city, and his hands were still covered in dirt that had not yet been washed off.

When lawyer Dam clearly stated that he had been "chosen" to be the future husband of Chu Khanh Vy — the eldest daughter of Group Chairman Chu Thi — Vinh Khang had such a long silence that the lawyer had to repeat the sentence again.

"I'm sorry, but I think there was a mistake." He said, his voice still calm but with a hint of confusion evident. "I went to the meeting that day because I thought it was a discussion about land planning in the Tan Hoa area. I did not register to participate in any matchmaking program."

"I understand your surprise." Lawyer Dam replied, his professional voice cold. "But the document was duly signed by both families. This is the decision of Mrs. Chu Le Phuong, who has the highest authority in the Chu family on marriage matters of her descendants."

Vinh Khang was silent for a long time. He thought about Tieu Yen, his six-year-old daughter waiting for him at home, thought about the small debts he borrowed to invest in a drip irrigation system for the farm, thought about the financial pressure weighing on the shoulders of a single father. A marriage into a tycoon family might bring him the resources he needed, but his instincts tell him that nothing was free in this world, especially when it came from powerful people like the Zhou family.

"I need to meet Ms. Khanh Vy in person before deciding anything." he said. "I cannot agree to a marriage without the people involved having even talked to each other for more than five minutes."

Lawyer Dam was a bit surprised by this request. During his twenty years of serving the Chu family, he had never seen a single candidate — rich or poor — dare to set conditions before accepting a marriage that had been decided by Mrs. Le Phuong. Most of them just bowed their heads and obeyed, because everyone understood the value of being affiliated with such a powerful family.

"I will arrange a meeting for you." He replied, his voice a bit reserved. "But I advise you to consider carefully. Mrs. Le Phuong is not someone who easily changes a decision once she has made it."

"I have no intention of challenging her decision." Vinh Khang replied, his voice still remaining calm. "I just want to make sure that, if I enter into this marriage, it's a decision where both partners understand what they're getting into, not a blind arrangement."

On the way back to the farm that afternoon, Vinh Khang sat quietly on the bus, watching the cityscape gradually give way to familiar green fields. He thought about Tieu Yen, about the nights when she cried because she missed her mother, about the burden of juggling farm work and child care alone for the past three years. Perhaps, a companionship, even though it started from a strange arrangement, was not necessarily the worst thing that could happen to the lives of father and son.

*

The meeting took place at a quiet cafe near the group's headquarters, proactively proposed by Khanh Vy herself. She arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the appointment time, sat in the back corner, clutching a cup of hot tea to keep calm.

When Vinh Khang walked in, he immediately recognized the girl who had proactively started a conversation with him at the meeting the day before - the only person in the room full of judgmental eyes who treated him like a normal person instead of an underpriced commodity.

"I think we need to talk frankly." Khanh Vy opened her mouth as soon as he sat down, without beating around the bush. "Mr. Khang, I believe you already know about it. This was not my choice. The file was swapped right before I signed, I only found out after everything was completed."

Vinh Khang nodded slowly. "I also just learned about this through your family's lawyer's office. Honestly, I don't understand why such a large family would need to use tricks to marry a girl like you to a farmer like me."

"For the land." Khanh Vy spoke frankly, without concealment. "My grandmother wanted someone in her family to hold land in Tan Hoa, to facilitate the group's expansion plans. This marriage with you, for her, is just a business move."

She waited for an angry or hurt reaction from the other person, but Vinh Khang just looked at her for a moment, then laughed softly, a laugh that was neither happy nor bitter.

"At least you're honest." he said. "I thought I would have to listen to fake rhetoric before knowing the truth. So I'll tell you frankly — I don't need your family's money, I don't need any power. I only have a piece of land, a small farm, and a six-year-old daughter who needs a safe home. If you came to this marriage just because of force, just for the family's honor, I would rather refuse than let my daughter have to live with someone who sees his family as a burden."

His words made Khanh Vy stunned. She did not expect that a person considered "the least valuable" by the whole society could say such words full of dignity and toughness, bluntly refusing a marriage that should have been a life-changing opportunity in the eyes of many people.

"You're right." She replied after a moment of silence, her voice low. "I don't want this at all. But I'm also not someone who looks down on your family. I'm just trying to find a way to accept the reality that I have no other choice. If I leave the marriage right now, my father will lose face in front of the business world, the family's honor will be seriously damaged, and I..." She stopped, biting her lower lip lightly. "I've been used to sacrificing personal desires to keep family harmony since I was young."

Vinh Khang silently observed her for a long time. There was something in the tired but still respectful eyes of the woman in front of him that reminded him of himself years ago, when he had to give up a promising research career to return home to take care of his seriously ill wife. It was also a sacrifice that no one forces with words, but it was heavier than any command.

"I can't promise to give you a rich life like you have." Finally he spoke. "My farm still has many difficulties, I still owe money to the bank for investing in an irrigation system, and Tieu Yen — my daughter — is still sensitive after losing her mother, needing time to trust strangers. If you agree to enter into this marriage, I promise to treat you with respect, but I will not pretend to love if we don't really understand each other. Do you accept that?"

Khanh Vy looked straight into his eyes, looking for some sign of deception, some hidden intention like the ones she always saw in the upper class she grew up with. But she found nothing but naked sincerity, sometimes to the point of roughness.

"I accept." She said, her voice more certain than she expected. "At least, your honesty is more trustworthy than the sweet words I've heard in my own house."

*

On the way home, sitting in her private car, Khanh Vy looked out the window, the city passing by like a silent movie. She thought about her decision, about what lay ahead — a strange farm, a child she had never met, a man she had known for less than a week but was about to become her husband.

She didn't know whether this was a demise or a beginning. But she knew one thing for sure: from today, she would no longer be the Chu Khanh Vy of high-class parties and board meetings. She would have to learn to live a completely different life, in a world she had never entered.

Her phone vibrated, a text message from Nha Dinh: "Second sister, I heard you agreed? You are really kind, sacrificing for the family like that. I will be grateful to you."

Khanh Vy looked at the message, not feeling angry like she thought she would feel, only a deep fatigue spreading throughout her body. She turned off the phone screen, closed her eyes, trying to prepare herself for what was to come — a life in Binh Xuyen village, Tan Hoa commune, where she had never set foot before, next to a man and a child who were completely strangers.

That night, she called to tell Vuong Vu Dang, the only lawyer friend she trusted absolutely. He silently listened to the whole story, from the files being exchanged to the meeting that had just taken place, his voice lowered with worry when she finished.

"Are you sure this is the right decision, Vy?" he asked. "Legally, I can still find a way for you to cancel the signed document, although it will take time and inevitably cause trouble with your family."

"I was thinking about that." Khanh Vy replied, her voice unusually calm. "But I don't just think about myself anymore. If I annul the marriage right now, my father will suffer severe consequences before the board of directors, and the other man - even though he doesn't want this at all - will also be known to be divorced from the whole countryside where he lives. I think, at least, I should try before giving up completely."

"You're always the one who thinks about others more than you think about yourself." Vu Dang sighed. "Okay, if you've made that decision, I'll always be ready to support you whenever you need it, legally or anything else."

Hanging up the phone, Khanh Vy lay down on the bed, looking up at the familiar ceiling one last time before having to leave it in the next few days. She didn't know where the road ahead would lead her, but she decided, even though her heart was still filled with hundreds of worries, that she would face it with all the courage she had left.