Chapter 13 — Pottery Kiln Fire Keeper

Ms. Tu's idea of turning the ancient sycamore garden into a tourist stop for craft villages, combined with selling sycamore ash to pottery kilns in the area, was gradually realized thanks to the perseverance of Khang and Van Khe. They spent a whole week drafting a detailed plan, calculating each income and expenditure, and even sketching a drawing of a small tea garden under the canopy of ancient trees, where tourists can sit and rest, listening to stories about pottery and the history of Doi Sanh village.

— If calculated correctly, this garden can bring in more stable income every year than selling land once, — Khang explained to Mrs. Tu one afternoon, pointing to the drawing spread on a bamboo table in the middle of her yard. — You only need to rent out a small corner for a tea shop, but most of the area remains the same, the sycamore tree is still preserved, and you still have a steady source of income.

After listening, Mrs. Tu's face gradually relaxed, no longer looking as worried as before.

— That sounds reasonable, — she said, nodding. — But she was afraid that her children would not accept it. They insisted on selling it and dividing the money between them.

— So can you allow us to talk directly to them? — Van Khe suggested. — We will clearly present long-term benefits, so everyone can consider carefully before deciding.

Mrs. Tu agreed, and the meeting with her children took place that weekend at the same garden. At first, the children — all of whom were older and working far away from home — were skeptical and even somewhat uncomfortable at the proposal of the two young people. But when Khang presented specific numbers, along with some real-life examples of successful craft village tourism models in other regions that he had researched, their attitudes gradually changed.

— If you calculate correctly, then keeping it is more profitable than selling it, — Mrs. Tu's eldest son said, nodding in agreement. — Besides, to be honest, after selling the land to the company, tomorrow when I return to my hometown and see the garden my grandparents left behind being flattened, I also feel uneasy.

In the end, Ms. Tu's family decided to keep the garden, only agreeing to sell a small part of the area without sycamore trees to Tan Tho company to build an access road, while the rest remained intact for development in the direction of tourism combined with conservation. This is a small but meaningful victory, which not only helps Van Khe preserve its valuable raw materials, but also proves that the path of sustainable development can completely compete with attractive offers from industrial companies.

*

However, that victory made the relationship between Khang and his father even more rift. One evening, Khang came to Van Khe's house, his face heavy, his hand carrying a bag of personal belongings.

- What's up? — Van Khe asked, unable to hide her worry when seeing him in such a state.

— My father kicked me out of the house, — Khang said, his voice trying to stay calm but unable to hide the pain in it. — He knew that I helped Mrs. Tu keep the garden, ruining the company's plan to expand the road to the new factory. He said that if I continued to "destroy" the family business, I would no longer be his son.

Van Khe stood still, her heart aching for Khang. She understood that although Khang always appeared strong and steadfast on the outside, on the inside, being rejected by his father certainly left a deep wound.

— Go to the motel for now, — she said, pulling his hand inside. — Don't worry, there's still space here.

Mr. Vong, when hearing the story, could not hide his sympathy, although in his heart he still had some reservations about the relationship between his daughter and the son of the man who was causing so many difficulties for the family.

— You just stay here temporarily, — he said to Khang, his voice was warmer than Khang expected. — Although my family is poor, there is room for a kind person like you.

Khang bowed his head in thanks, his eyes filled with tears because he was touched by the unexpected tolerance from the person who should have considered his family as enemies.

*

In the following days, Khang temporarily stayed at the pottery factory, helping Van Khe with her daily work while waiting for the situation with her father to calm down. He spent his free time continuing to research more deeply about the Nguyet Bach glaze formula, comparing the notes in Van Khe's grandfather's diary with the scientific knowledge about ceramic glaze that he learned in Japan.

— I think I've found the problem, — he said one evening, as they sat at the table, surrounded by notes filled with formulas. — My grandfather's recipe was missing an important ingredient — perhaps a mineral that stabilizes the turquoise color when the glaze flows at high temperatures. I saw a similar recipe in a Japanese enamel literature, using finely ground shell limestone.

Van Khe looked at him, her eyes sparkling with hope.

— If so, can I test it in the next firing batch?

— It takes time to prepare, — Khang replied, — but I believe it's possible. It's just that for the next batch, I need to do it on a smaller scale to test first, to avoid the risk of losing everything if the recipe is not completely correct.

The two worked hard together until late at night, the oil lamplight casting their shadows on the wall, creating a warm scene amid the stormy days. For Van Khe, Khang's presence not only brought a talented collaborator in the work of restoring Nguyet Bach enamel, but also brought a sense of comfort, a spiritual support that she had never dared to dream of since the day her grandfather passed away.

But both of them understand that this small joy is just a temporary calm in the midst of the storm that is gradually forming - because Mr. Nguyen, after being rejected in both business and family matters, will certainly not let go easily, and his next steps may be more drastic than anything they have faced before.

*

One morning, when Van Khe was helping his father rearrange the ceramics sold from the previous batch, Khac Ben hurriedly ran in, holding a hastily posted notice from the commune committee headquarters.

— Ms. Khe, Ms. Khe! There is a new announcement, Tan Tho company has just applied for a license to exploit clay mines in the upper river section, right in the section where our family has been taking land for many years!

Van Khe grabbed the notice, her eyes quickly scanning each line. Just as Khac Ben said, Tan Tho Company has submitted an application for a license to industrially exploit a stretch of riverbank nearly five hundred meters long, covering the entire high-quality clay area that her family has been mining manually for many generations. If approved, industrial excavators will excavate the entire area to serve the factory's large-scale raw material needs, causing the precious clay source for handmade ceramics to almost dry up in the next few years.

— This is clearly a retaliation, — Khang said, his voice angry as he finished reading the notice. — My father knew that clay was the source of life for Vong Nguyet kiln, so he wanted to cut it off completely, not giving me any chance to continue producing.

Van Khe felt a mixture of anger and despair rising in her heart. This is no longer simply a matter of land or money, but a direct attack on the very source of life of traditional pottery.

— We have to do something now, — she said, her voice determined. — I will find Mr. Toai to see if there is any way to object to this license application. This riverside land has been the common source of livelihood for the entire village for many generations, and cannot be monopolized by one company.

Khang nodded and stood up to follow her.

— I will go with you. And I will also try to contact some old classmates who are working in the field of environmental planning, to see if there is any legal basis to oppose industrial exploitation in this area, especially if it affects the natural flow of the river, possibly causing landslides in the entire downstream area.

The two hurriedly set out, carrying with them a notice and a new determination - determined not only to protect the raw material source for the Vong Nguyet furnace, but also to protect a common resource that generations of Doi Sanh people have preserved, at the risk of being swept away just because of the expansion ambitions of a company that is increasingly showing its uncompromising determination, even though there are still many complicated legal procedures ahead waiting for both of them to resolve.