Chapter 26 — My Nameless Occupation

What Jian Chu Technology is doing is ensuring that the efforts of people like that are finally recognized. We are using our tools to bring transparency to every process, ensuring that every contribution can be tracked to its source, so that individuals like Van To are no longer invisible figures within a company.

As my speech concluded, the applause from the audience swelled and continued, wave after wave. When I stepped down from the podium, a woman in her forties approached me. She was dressed simply, and the screen of her phone was cracked. She spoke softly, saying, "Director To, I have worked in administration for a logistics company for nine years. No one has ever asked me what I actually do. Today, after hearing you speak—" She paused for a heartbeat, her eyes searching mine.

"I want to quit my job."

I looked at her steadily.

"Whether you quit or not is not the point. What matters is that you must recognize where your true value lies."

She nodded, turned, and walked away. Beside me, Tieu Man whispered, "Ms. To, during your speech, I saw five people in the front row wiping away tears."

"Don't exaggerate."

"I am serious. I counted them myself."

That evening, back at the office, I sat in my room and gazed out at the city through the window. Forty-five years old. Once a mere administrative assistant, now the founder of a company valued at three hundred million. Two years—some might call it a long time, others short. It was enough to transform a middle-aged woman who had been laid off into a confident professional standing on a stage, addressing three hundred people. But I knew better. It was not those two years that had changed me; it was the twelve years before them. The long, grueling nights at Hang Vien, the unseen overtime, the moments when I was treated like air, the processes I had quietly overhauled, the logic I had reorganized, and the chaotic messes I had cleaned up with my own hands—not a single one of those moments was wasted. They had all converged to pave the road beneath my feet. A message arrived from Niem To.

"Mom, I watched the video of your speech. The number of shares is incredible."

I replied, "How incredible?"

"You are trending."

"What?"

"The keyword 'Middle-aged woman laid off builds a three hundred million valuation company' is currently seventh on the charts."

I set my phone down. Very well. What will come will come.

Five years later. Jian Chu Technology has completed its Series C funding round, reaching a valuation of 1.8 billion. Our client base has surpassed thirteen thousand, and our team has grown to three hundred people. Duc Tham says he is preparing the paperwork for our initial public offering. I told him there is no need to rush. Niem To has been accepted into a prestigious university in the North, majoring in business administration. She says that one day she will return to help me run the company, but I tell her to focus on her studies first. Quoc Kien Ha has retired. Under the leadership of Loi Tran, the Hang Vien Group continues to grow steadily, doubling its annual revenue. They remain one of the first and most loyal clients of Jian Chu Technology. Every year on my birthday, Vien Chu Co sends the same message:

"Ms. To, that investment in Hang Vien years ago remains my highest return."

And every year, I respond with the same three words:

"You are too kind."

Ha Duy’s Thien Vu Media has officially gone public. During the listing celebration, in his speech, he remarked that the most brilliant investment decision of his life was not Thien Vu Media, but the angel round he poured into Jian Chu Technology. Man Tieu Vu has now become the Chief Operating Officer of Jian Chu, and Ly has stepped up as the Deputy General Manager of Sales. Occasionally, Loi Tran still drops by the office to visit, always carrying a container of braised pork belly handmade by his wife. After retiring from Hang Vien, Ms. Luu moved to Shenzhen to look after her grandchildren, and whenever she is in the neighborhood, she pops her head in just to see how the company is doing.