Chapter 27 — Old Book Repairer In A Small Alley

Three weeks after the press conference announcing the official conclusion, while the alley was gradually returning to its daily routine, a familiar car appeared again at the beginning of Do Paper Alley, but this time it did not carry the tension and fear like the previous times. Ung The Khang stepped out of the car alone, without an assistant, dressed more simply than before, holding a thin leather briefcase.

He went straight to Vong Chu shop, where Lam was working with his father, his hand still carefully applying glue to the spine of a new book sent by a regular customer. When he saw him, Mr. Vinh no longer looked as cautious as the first time they met. He just nodded and greeted him, signaling him to come in and sit.

"I came to announce a decision," Ung The Khang said, after sitting down, his voice was unusually solemn, his hand neatly placing his leather briefcase on his lap. "After many weeks of consideration and working with the company's board of directors, I have decided to officially cancel the entire project to renovate the Do Paper Alley area."

Lam stood still, not daring to believe what he had just heard. "Are you telling the truth?"

"I'm telling the truth," he replied, opening his leather briefcase and taking out a set of documents complete with signatures and official seals. "This is an official decision, announced to the Ward People's Committee and all households in the previous planning area. Not only stopped, but completely canceled."

He showed the document to Lam, and when she scanned each line, confirming that this was indeed an official, legal document, she felt an uncontrollable surge of emotion and had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from bursting into tears on the spot.

Mr. Vinh, sitting nearby, also picked up the document and read it again even though his eyes were starting to blur with age and emotion. He nodded many times, then reached out and held Ung The Khang's hand in a gesture that he did not expect to do with the person who once represented his family's lifelong fear. "Thank you," he said, his voice broken but sincere. "Thank you for doing the right thing."

Ung The Khang tightly held Mr. Vinh's trembling hand and bowed his head, a gesture of deep respect for the man who courageously stood up to speak the truth on behalf of his deceased father. "It's you and Miss Lam who deserve to be thanked," he replied. "I'm just doing what my grandfather should have done sixty years ago."

"But I didn't stop there," Ung The Khang continued, his voice now carrying an enthusiasm that Lam had never seen in him before. "I want to propose something else - turning a part of the land that my company bought before, right at the beginning of Do Paper Alley, into a small memorial space, a community library named after Doan Thuc Hien, displaying documents about her life and works, and serving as a cultural activity place for the whole neighborhood. My company will sponsor all initial construction and operating costs."

Lam looked at him, unable to hide her surprise and emotion, almost unable to believe that this was the same person who had stood in this very factory a few months ago to offer to bribe her. "Are you doing this because you feel guilty, or because..."

"Both," Ung The Khang replied frankly. "I feel guilty, yes. But I also think, this is the best way to turn a heartbreaking story into something of lasting significance, not just an empty apology. I want this alley, instead of being erased to make way for a real estate project, to become a place to preserve the very story that changed the way I view my family, about the responsibilities of an heir to a legacy."

The news spread quickly throughout the alley within just a few hours, spreading by word of mouth from house to house faster than any news bulletin. Mrs. Nu was the first to run over, with tears in her eyes, hugging Lam. "I did it! I saved my whole neighborhood!"

The old man selling Do paper, when he heard the news, quietly sat down on the steps of his house, his hands clasped, his eyes closed, as if silently giving thanks to something invisible. When Lam came to visit, he held her hand, his voice trembling with emotion. "I thought in my life I would have to see this stall being flattened, but I never expected that at this age I would see it still there and live for many more years."

He took a new stack of do paper from the stall and pressed it into Lam's hand. "I gave you a little more paper to use as the cover for Mrs. Thuc Hien's new edition. This do paper is very durable, let future generations still be able to hold it and read it."

Lam received the stack of papers, so touched that he couldn't speak. He could only hug him tightly, feeling the warmth of a neighborly bond that had been attached for generations, now even stronger after everything they had been through together.

That evening, the whole alley spontaneously held a small party right in the middle of Mrs. Nu's yard. Each family brought a dish and gathered together to celebrate the good news. Lantern lights spread throughout the alley, bustling laughter echoed everywhere, a scene that just a few months ago, none of them dared to imagine, when the ghost of the clearance notice was still hanging over each family's head.

The youngest son of the watch repair shop owner brought a small speaker and played some old music that the old people in the alley loved, making the atmosphere even more bustling. A few children ran around the yard, their crisp laughter mixed with the sounds of adults chatting and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks, creating a simple but warm harmony of a community that had just escaped the anxiety that had weighed heavily for many months.

The owner of the watch repair shop, who had loudly questioned Lam at a previous tense public meeting, came to her side, his voice somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry for speaking harshly to you back then. I didn't expect that you would be the one to save our whole neighborhood."

"You don't need to apologize," Lam replied, smiling. "At that time, everyone was worried about their home, you understand."

Lam sat among familiar neighbors, looking at the warm surroundings, her heart filled with a feeling of complete happiness that she had never experienced in her life. She looked over at her father and saw him chatting happily with the owner of the watch repair shop. His face was brighter than at any time since the stroke. She looked at Duy Khoi, who was helping Mrs. Nu carry the food tray, naturally as if he had been a part of this alley for a long time.

"You know," Duy Khoi said as he sat down next to her, still holding a plate of cake, "I think this is the most beautiful thing in this whole story. Not only is the truth recognized, not only is honor returned, but also an entire community is saved, continues to live, continues to breathe, continues to retain what makes up its identity. Who would have thought that an old book spine liner could save an entire alley?"

Lam nodded, leaning her head lightly on his shoulder, looking up at the night sky sparkling with stars above the low roofs of Do Paper Alley. "I think, this is what my grandfather wanted most - not only was the truth told, but the cradle that nurtured that truth was also preserved, so that future generations would have a place to return to, and roots to cling to."

That night, when the party gradually ended and everyone left one by one, Lam stood alone in the middle of a quiet alley, looking at each roof, each familiar window, and felt a deep gratitude rising in his heart - grateful that in the end, both truth and home, both past and future, had found a solid footing, no longer threatened by any force.

She looked up at the sign "Vong Chu Shop" hanging in front of her house. The moonlight tonight was full, illuminating the handwriting that had faded over the years but was still clearly readable. She thought to herself, maybe it's time to consider repainting that sign, not to erase the traces of time, but so that it can continue to stand for many more decades, welcoming more generations of customers to bring old books that need to be saved, to tell their own stories.

The night wind blew gently through the alley, carrying the faint scent of the leftover dishes from the party, mixed with the familiar smell of old paper from the bookstore, creating a unique scent that Lam knew she would always carry in her memories, no matter where life took her or what she did in the future.