Chapter 12 — Old Street Corner Gold Shop

On Saturday morning, the video recording the confrontation between Mr. Uong Chi Thanh and Vy spread much more widely than initially predicted. From a few dozen shares the night before, by the next morning the number had jumped to thousands, accompanied by hundreds of comments of all kinds - some people defended Vy's family, saying that the past story needed to be carefully verified before drawing conclusions, but there were also many people who were quick to judge, even calling for a boycott of the gold shop that "appropriated other people's property".

When Vy just opened the shop, a young girl dressed neatly, with a camera on her shoulder, walked in and introduced herself as Cam Thuy Duong, a reporter for a local newspaper specializing in social life.

"Hello, I read information about the incident that is causing a stir online, and wanted to ask you for a few minutes to get an objective perspective from the gold shop," Thuy Duong said, her voice warm but her eyes sharp, carefully observing every detail in the shop space as if looking for something to use as material for the article.

Vy hesitated for a moment, remembering Khoi's advice the night before to be cautious with the media, but she also understood that complete silence could cause the public to only hear one side of the story. "Can you tell me in what direction you plan to write your article?" Vy asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I want to find out the truth and report as objectively as possible," Thuy Duong replied, but Vy realized that in that answer there was still a hint of professional caution rather than a firm commitment. "Readers are very interested in this story, my editorial office wants to have an article as soon as possible."

Vy immediately understood that "as soon as possible" often means there is not enough time to thoroughly verify every aspect. She decided to carefully recount what her family knew so far — about the diary, about the clues related to the receipt, about what Mr. Doan told her, but did not go intoo much detail for fear that information that had not been fully verified would be misinterpreted.

"So you confirm that your grandfather is completely innocent in this case?" Thuy Duong asked, quickly taking notes in her notebook.

"I don't dare to absolutely confirm anything without enough evidence," Vy answered honestly. "But what I have learned so far shows that the story is much more complicated than a simple property appropriation. I hope everyone, including Mr. Chi Thanh's family, will give us more time to find the full truth, instead of jumping to conclusions."

Before leaving, Thuy Duong lingered for a moment, her eyes glanced over the jewelry in the glass case, stopping at the silver bracelet carved with lotus flowers that Vy was half-finishing on the workbench. "Do you make all of these by hand?" she asked, sounding more genuinely curious than just extracting information for the article.

"Yes, everything is done by hand, from sketching to finishing," Vy replied, taking the opportunity to introduce a little more about the profession, hoping this young reporter would see another side of the story, not simply a property dispute. "Each item has its own story behind it, not just its simple gold and silver value."

Thuy Duong nodded and wrote a few more lines in her notebook. It seemed like those words had planted a new perspective on this small gold shop in her, completely different from the initial image of a simple scandal that needed to be exploited to meet article quotas. "Thank you for sharing. I will try to fully express all perspectives in the article, although sometimes the editorial office has its own requirements on how to place titles to attract readers."

That last sentence made Vy feel a little guilty, realizing that even a well-intentioned reporter does not have complete control over how her story will be presented to the public. After the interview, Thuy Duong thanked her and left, promising to report fairly, but Vy still couldn't help but worry about how the final article would be edited, whether the editorial would prioritize objective truth or just focus on sensational elements to attract views.

In the afternoon, the article was published with the title: "The three-generation gold shop and the forty-five-year mystery: Truth or a trick to attract views?" Although the content of the article was more balanced than Vy feared, citing both her story and Mr. Chi Thanh's, the sensational title and illustrations cut from the confrontation video still made the story continue to spread more negatively than positively.

More worryingly, that same evening, the official social network page of Hao Kim Jewelry posted a new promotional article, with content cleverly targeting the hot situation: "Hao Kim Jewelry - clear origin, transparent certification of each product, no worries about ambiguous stories of the past." Although Tan Phat gold shop was not mentioned by name, the time of posting and the implicit expression made many people immediately think of the incident that is causing a stir.

Thanh Tra, when she saw this post, angrily showed it to Vy as soon as she finished cleaning the stall at the end of the day. "Miss Vy, they're being too mean! They're taking advantage of a time when we're having a hard time to advertise like this."

Vy skimmed through the post, a feeling of both anger and helplessness rising in her heart. She remembered the meeting with Pho Anh Dung a few weeks ago, the words seemed polite but were full of hidden competitive implications. She didn't think he would choose to exploit a family tragedy for commercial gain in such a blatant way, without naming him directly.

"I didn't expect them to do that," Vy said, her voice heavy. "But I don't think I should react harshly right now. If I criticize them publicly, it will make the story even more confusing. Outsiders looking in will think the two sides are deliberately starting a war to get views, but no one cares about the real truth anymore."

That night, Khoi called to ask about the situation. His voice still maintained the familiar calmness even though you could feel the anxiety hidden behind it. "I read the article, overall it's not as bad as I feared, but the headline is definitely a bit too sensational," he said. "As for the Hao Kim case, I think you're right, we shouldn't react now. Time and concrete evidence are the things that can change the situation, not gossip on the internet."

"Did you find anything new?" Vy asked, her voice full of hope.

"I am contacting some contacts at the city police archives, but the procedure is quite complicated because records related to security of that period are often kept confidential for a long time," Khoi replied. "I'm also trying to contact people who lived during that period in the Ngan Lu neighborhood. Besides my grandmother, maybe someone else remembers more details."

After hanging up the phone, Vy sat alone in the shop with the lights turned off, leaving only the faint light coming in from the street lamp outside. She looked out towards Hao Kim, where the LED lights were still shining brightly even though it was late, the sparkling advertising words on the electronic board seemed to be mocking the quiet and modesty of her small gold shop.

She took out her phone, scrolled through the comments under the article again, trying to read them all even though she knew that doing so would only make her heart feel heavier. Amidst the hasty criticism, she also encountered a few comments from regular customers - Mrs. Sau selling tea, Mr. and Mrs. Van Thinh - Ngoc Hoa, and even a few names she couldn't remember clearly but recognized that they had visited the shop - wholeheartedly defending and recounting good memories with her family over the years. Those simple, sincere words warmed her heart somewhat amid the cold storm of public opinion.

"Maybe I'm not as alone as I thought," she whispered to herself, closing her phone, trying to get rid of some of the anxiety that was weighing her down.

She stood up, walked to the glass cabinet, looked at the jewelry displayed under the clean glass - Mr. and Mrs. Van Thinh's wedding rings had been given to them last week, the silver bracelet carved with lotus flowers was about to be completed, and the heart-shaped necklace of Mrs. Hoa, the vegetable seller, was waiting to be repaired. Each item carries a story, a belief that the customer has placed in her hands. She told herself, no matter how noisy outside public opinion is, as long as those small but true beliefs remain, her family's gold shop still has a reason to exist.

She wondered if she had the strength to weather both storms at the same time - one was the pressure of brutal commercial competition, the other was the ghosts of the past that were threatening to destroy her family's honor - or would she eventually have to watch her three-generation gold shop collapse before both of those forces. But at least, tonight, she decided not to let that fear swallow her, but to continue to stand strong, day by day, the way her grandfather had stood strong through many life events.