Chapter 14 — Heir to the Little Station

Tung was suspended after the inspection team discovered that three shipments had received goods exceeding the quota recorded in the schedule. Those trips are for the operating group, have enough weight slips but have not been updated into the system.

Mai did not immediately defend him. She opened the book and compared each basket. If Tung is wrong, the trial line must take responsibility.

Tung said he received the goods because people brought them to the station according to the old schedule. If they refuse, they lose the entire crop. He admitted that he did not report properly because he was afraid the test flight would be stopped.

Ms. Ly asked the company to consider the situation. The company responded that load safety could not be based on good faith.

Mai agrees. She suggests using a separate freight car and limiting the number of baskets per trip. Tung had to return only after completing the training course.

Khoa said she just lost the most understanding person. Mai replied they need a system that doesn't depend on one person.

Vy set up a registration table two days in advance. Mr. Sau Van re-measured the weight of the carriage. Ms. Ly receives fees according to each household's code, and does not collect money in one envelope.

Tung left the station platform with the suspension decision in hand. Mai called him back and said she did not promise to ask for a reduced sentence. She only promised that the truth would be fully recorded, both the part he did right and the part he hid.

He nodded. “If I come back, will you still let me drive the same way?”

“No. But I will let you participate in writing the new way.”

The next train runs slower, but does not exceed the load. The Thirty Days Line lost a right-hander, in return there was a process that started to stand on its own.

Tung's suspension caused the throttle to slow down completely. No one knows where the car key is located, how to read the auxiliary signal or the name of the person who receives the weight ticket in the district. Mai called each person up and asked them not to tell by memory but to write instructions. Tung used to know everything but kept it in his head; Now he himself must turn his experience into documents for others to read.

On the first day, the shift changer named Phuc used the wrong symbol on the load board. Mr. Sau found out before the train left, but Phuc blushed because he thought he would be kicked out. Mai told me to edit it, clearly stating who discovered it and why. Phuc asked if I needed to write my name. Mai replied yes, because the name of the person who corrected it was as important as the name of the person who made the mistake.

The company sent a letter requesting an explanation for three trips exceeding the system's quota. Mai submitted the weight slip, but one slip was missing the loading person's signature. She did not cover the missing part. She suggested that the company accept additional votes from village representatives and adjust the electronic process so that the trip cannot be closed without a signature.

The coordinator objected because the old system did not fix it quickly. Mai asks if the system doesn't fix it, who bears the risk. They answer the station. Mai records the answer in the minutes. Ms. Ly said that in the past, people often said "just do it and then figure it out". Mai replied that from now on, they must calculate in advance the part they will ask others to shoulder.

Tung arrived at the station on the second day after the suspension, not wearing a train captain's shirt. He stood outside the waiting room and asked if he could see the new sign. Mai gave him the instructions, which had many red notes. He was not happy to see the things he had done recorded as "without evidence".

“I ran this line for twelve years,” he said.

"I know. But someone else can't inherit the twelve years in your head."

Tung looked at her, then asked if he could write an exception. He said there were days when villagers arrived late because of floods, sometimes having to wait for emergency services. Mai said the exception requires conditions: anyone called, what safety level, who records and who has the right to refuse. Tung sat down to write. The two did not agree on every sentence, but for the first time they argued on the same piece of paper.

Khoa sent a notice that the project will not use the suspended image of Tung in media materials. Mai thanked him, then said there was no need to mention his name in any promotional articles. Khoa asked if this should be included in the social responsibility profile. Mai said only if Tung agrees and if it helps anyone understand the process, not so the project looks nice.

On Tuesday, the train ran under load. An item was returned because the code was not included in the new form. The sender was upset, saying the group had made the procedures so complicated that people couldn't use the gas. Mai did not immediately defend the process. She asked them how long it took them to fill out the form, what parts were difficult, and if paper could be used instead. Vy discovered that the product code needed a phone network, and the station area often lost signal. They create backup paper copies, number them consecutively and re-enter them after the trip.

A good process is not one that no one complains about. It is a process of knowing where complaints go. Mai opens a suggestion box with a code, so people can monitor the status. Ms. Ly suggested adding a phone number because many older people do not use the internet. Tung suggested recording the call time to avoid arguments. Each person contributes a part, the process becomes less dependent on one type of user.

Tung was invited to the province to explain. Mai did not ask for a reduction in suspension, but attached a record showing that he had warned many times about demand and goods. She clearly wrote that the part he was wrong was accepting the goods voluntarily; It's true that you don't let people be left alone. Tung read and said she was making him feel uncomfortable.

“The truth is often awkward,” Mai replied. “But you have the right to read before sending.”

He signed the declaration, then asked if he could still be captain of the ship if he came back. Mai said the decision rests with the company, but the executive team will ask him to return in a role with training and cross-checking. Tung smiled faintly and said that he had to learn how to work with people who didn't know how to use his memory.

The train that afternoon ran slower, but every basket had a code, every signature was complete, every stop was recorded. People complain it takes time. Mai agrees. She didn't want to preserve the line by making it so convenient that no one knew the risks.

At the end of the day, she hung a new piece of paper in the box office: "If there's an exception, call. If you can't make the call, stop and write it down." The text is not as beautiful as the resort advertising board. But it makes a shift changer know he has the right not to pretend to understand.

Tung read the paper, said the last sentence, so he added a backup phone number. Mai gave him a pen and told him to write it himself. He wrote down the numbers of the coordination office, Lam and the fund representative. Phuc asked what if the three didn't answer the phone. Tung responded to stop the train at a safe level and called the commune authorities. The process cannot know all situations, but must have direction when the situation is outside of it.

A household arrived at the station shortly after midnight, carrying three boxes of unlabeled plums. The shift changer refused to follow instructions. The household said Tung still accepted last time. Tung was present, but did not give the order to receive it. He asked Mai, Mai asked Lam about loading and asked if the household could label on site. They make paper labels, weigh them again and wait for the next trip. The sender lost a trip, but no one was forced to say "do the same" to save face.

The company sends minutes final suspension. Tung was warned but not terminated because he cooperated with the inspection. He read each line and suggested correcting one detail: the trip exceeded the limit not because of intentional hiding of goods, but because the system had not updated the weight slip. Mai passed on the proposal, but did not correct it for him. The company accepts additional notes.

Phuc said that doesn't make the decision much easier. Tung said that at least in the future readers won't think he intentionally disregarded safety. Mai looked at him, understanding that vindication does not always mean erasing the consequences; sometimes it's just a matter of giving the wrong part the right name.

The group trains people to replace the second shift. They rehearse a delayed flight, a torn package, and a passenger without change. The person acting as a passenger has the right to object, and the person on duty must explain without over-promising. Mrs. Ly graded the communication part, Tung graded the download portion, and Vy graded the recording portion.

Phuc did a good job in the safety section but forgot to ask the patient if he needed a transfer vehicle. A student did well in the questioning but entered the wrong product code. Both fix it together. Mai said the rehearsal was valuable because they felt sorry when no one was really hurt.

Faculty sent a letter asking if the project could sponsor a training course. Mai offers to pay according to actual costs, without logos. The Faculty agreed, but requested a report of the results. Mai said the report included the number of people who failed the first time. You say that so you know what training requires.

In the afternoon, Tung was allowed to lead the trip with the reference person. He did not stand at the carriage door for everyone to call his name like before; He checked the board, signed and waited for Phuc to confirm. One passenger said the station made too much paper. Tung replied that in the past he made less paper so others had to guess more.

Mai heard that sentence and did not laugh. She noted it in the duty book as an important change: the operator began explaining the procedure in his own words, without her standing next to him.

She sent the duty book to the next shift changer before leaving the station.