Chapter 14 — My Neighbor Sold My Car For 2,500 Yuan, I Sue Them To The End

The meeting was arranged for the following Monday, on the thirty-second floor of Vien Canh headquarters, right in the general director's office with a view of the entire city. Co Minh Than personally stood waiting for me in the lobby, his expression calm but his eyes clearly showing respect.

“Are you tense?” he asked, his voice soft but direct.

“Fine,” I replied, not in many words but clearly enough.

"Mr. Pham doesn't like beating around the bush, as long as your plan is good enough, you don't need to think about anything else," he said, then walked with me into the elevator.

The office door opened, the space inside was surprisingly simple, with only a large desk, two rows of bookshelves and a glass window overlooking the city skyline. Mr. Pham was over fifty, his hair was silver, wearing a simple dark blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, without the ostentatious look of a head of a hundred-billion corporation. He stood up and shook my hand, his hand strong and decisive.

“Lam design, I've heard about it for a long time,” he said, his eyes appraising but without any pressure.

“Hello,” I replied, keeping my voice calm.

“Sit,” he pointed to the sofa opposite, then sat down himself.

“I saw your plan, it was very clean, without any unnecessary movements, but what made me stop was not the technique, but the feeling,” he said slowly, each word clear. “In recent years I have seen many proposals, but there are not many things that make me not want to skim through them.”

“Thank you,” I replied, without being overly polite.

“Not a courtesy,” he looked straight at me, then asked, “Let me ask you a question, how big is your studio planning to get?”

I thought for a second, not avoiding it.

“Wherever you go, you will do it, depending on your ability.”

Mr. Pham laughed, his eyes lit up.

“I like this answer, it's not pompous, it's not self-deprecating,” he said, then flipped a few pages of the document in front of him.

“The prospect in the next three years has a series of new projects, offices, commercial, hotels, the entire visual field. I want to find a long-term partner,” he paused for a moment and looked at me. “Co Minh Than nominated you, are you interested?”

“I need to know the details of the cooperation model,” I replied, still keeping my composure.

“Okay, let Minh Than discuss it with you, but first I'll give you a number to consider,” he said, then wrote it down on paper and pushed it towards me.

Three years, six million. My hands tightened slightly on my knees, but my voice remained the same.

“So it's decided,” he said, standing up and walking towards the glass door, looking down at the construction site on the opposite side.

"I went to that construction site and heard that the area on the other side is an old area and the residents are quite complicated," he said casually.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Are you over there?” he turned around and asked.

He looked at me for a second, smiled slightly, and said nothing more. Leaving Vien Canh, Phuong Vien was waiting in the lobby, his eyes full of curiosity. When I told him the results, he stood still for a full ten seconds.

"Six million? Three years six million?" he repeated, as if he didn't believe it.

"Do you know what this means? Our company's price has increased several times," he said, his voice unable to hide his excitement.

“Calm down, the job isn't done yet,” I said, my voice soft but firm.

"Can't I get excited? I have to get excited!" he laughed, spinning around me as if he didn't know where to put his hands.

“You know, if the people in your neighborhood knew who you are now, they'd have to look at their expressions,” he said half jokingly. Real.

“They don't need to know,” I replied.

“Are you going to hide it forever?”

“It's not a secret, it's just that I don't need their attitude to prove my worth,” I said, looking straight at the Vien Canh building behind me.

Phuong Vien looked at me for a moment, her smile gradually shrinking.

“You've changed,” he said.

“At what point?” I asked.

“Before, when the taxi driver charged you an extra fifty yuan, you didn't even dare to say anything,” he repeated, like a distant memory.

I looked towards the building under construction, my voice calm.

"In the past, I thought patience would bring peace, but now I know that peace must be earned for oneself."

When I got home, it was dark. As soon as I entered the lobby, I met Chu Que Phuong. She sat alone on the bench, holding a bag, inside was something carefully wrapped. Seeing me, she stood up.

"What is up?"

She held out her bag.

“This is forty-two thousand, Chu Cuong gathered enough today,” her voice was hoarse.

I took it, opened it and glanced at the envelope inside.

“The papers are signed?”

“It's signed, Luu Mai brought it to your lawyer,” she replied, not looking directly at me.

I nodded. She stood there for a moment, as if she wanted to say something more, but didn't.

“Is there anything else?” I asked.

She moved her lips, then shook her head. She turned away and walked into the elevator. The moment the door closed, I saw her shoulders slump, as if all her strength had been drained from her. Money received, agreement signed, but the story is not really over. After the mediation, Chu Que Phuong's life in the area changed completely. Before, people greeted me everywhere I went, now people avoid me everywhere I go. In the past, in the management board, she said one is one, and now at meetings there is no one to help. Aunt Trieu no longer sat and peeled sunflower seeds with her, nor did Mr. Ton stand up to defend her. Even the manager Han, when he saw her, just smiled at her and walked away. Twenty-three years of building up so-called "face", in just a few days more than half has collapsed. I didn't push further, nor did I repeat. Even once we met in the elevator, I still nodded and said hello. But she didn't look at me. One evening, I heard the sound of dishes breaking at 702. Luu Mai's voice penetrated the wall, sharp and harsh.

"Forty-two thousand! Do you know how long it took us to save that money? Duong Duong's tuition hasn't been paid yet!"

Chu Cuong's voice was low and heavy.

“Just keep your voice down…”