Chapter 46 — Shrimp Street Without Name

One week before Ms. Lan's scheduled questioning session at the People's Council, an unexpected development caused the group's entire plan to almost completely collapse. Lawyer Hoang called Hai Yen one morning, her voice was filled with rare concern.

"I just received news that Ms. Lan is under great pressure from within the Council," said lawyer Hoang. "Someone mobilized a number of other delegates to apply pressure, believing that questioning a large enterprise like Dai Duong right before an important investment promotion conference in the province would negatively affect the image of the local business environment."

"So does Ms. Lan still intend to question her?" Hai Yen asked, her voice tense.

"She still keeps it, but is considering postponing it, or lightening the content of the questioning to avoid direct conflict," lawyer Hoang replied. “I think we need to meet her in person again, provide more convincing evidence, to strengthen her determination.”

The meeting took place that afternoon, with the presence of Hai Yen, lawyer Hoang, and this time Kien, bringing with him all the latest documents, including information about Mr. Tu Hanh's family in Quang Ngai and the discovery of a common shell company between the two cases.

Ms. Lan listened to their presentation in silence, her face clearly revealing the tension between responsibility and the political pressure weighing on her shoulders. “I understand the pressure you are facing,” she said after listening. "But I also have to be honest, I am under no less pressure. Someone has hinted that, if I continue to pursue this question, my career path in the next term will face many difficulties."

The room fell into a heavy silence. Hai Yen understands that this is the decisive moment, when all efforts over the past several weeks can be at risk of collapse just because of one person's hesitation, even if that person has no malicious intentions.

“Mrs. Lan,” Hai Yen said, her voice sincere but firm. "I have no right to ask you to sacrifice your career for my family's story. But I want you to know, this is not just the story of one family. It is the story of hundreds of shrimp farmers who lost their land, of a young seafarer who lost his life, of a woman who almost lost her life due to illegal detention, and possibly, of many other families across this coast who have never had the opportunity to speak out like we have right now."

Ms. Lan was silent for a long time, her eyes looking down at the stack of documents in front of her. Finally, she looked up, a new determination written all over her face. “I entered politics because I believed I could do something meaningful for the people,” she said, her voice slow but steady. “If I backed down under pressure the first time I was faced with a really important case, then what was the point of me sitting in this position?”

“I will proceed with the questioning as originally planned,” she announced, her voice ringing with determination. “And I'm going to make it stronger, not lighter.”

That declaration made the whole room seem to light up amid days full of pressure and anxiety. Hai Yen couldn't help but hold Mrs. Lan's hand tightly, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you, ma'am. Thank you for not backing down."

“Don't thank me yet,” Ms. Lan said, her voice returning to its familiar, serious, matter-of-fact tone belong. "We still have a lot of work to do in this short week. I need you to prepare for me a very concise, easy-to-understand presentation that can be presented within fifteen minutes to the council, along with expected questions that the other side may use to refute."

Lawyer Hoang nodded immediately. "I will work with Ms. Yen to complete this presentation in the next two days. We also need to prepare a response plan if the Ocean side sends people to attend the meeting to directly refute."

“I have considered that possibility,” Ms. Lan said. "According to regulations, relevant parties have the right to be invited to attend and express their opinions when their issues are questioned. It is likely that Ocean side will send a lawyer or senior representative to defend their stance right at the meeting."

During the following days, the whole group worked tirelessly to prepare for this important questioning session. Hai Yen and lawyer Hoang drafted and re-drafted the presentation many times, trying to find an expression that was both emotionally convincing and solid in terms of evidence, so as not to create opportunities for any objections that could shake the authenticity of the entire story.

Kien, meanwhile, took the time to review the entire chain of technical evidence one last time, ensuring every number and every date was absolutely accurate, leaving no loopholes that could be exploited. He also contacted Mr. Tam Lanh and a few other witnesses, preparing for the possibility that they could be invited to attend the meeting if necessary.

The evening before the questioning session, the whole group gathered one last time to review everything that had been prepared. The atmosphere in the room was both tense and full of hope, as if everyone was standing on the threshold of an important turning point that they had been waiting for for many weeks.

"No matter what tomorrow brings," Hai Yen said, looking around at the familiar faces who had gone through this arduous journey with her, "I want to thank everyone. We have gone further than I ever dared to dream when we started this journey."

Mr. Duc, who was also present at that last meeting even though he did not directly participate in the questioning session, spoke up, his voice deep and warm. "I remember the first day I met you. You were just a quiet, careful inspector who didn't talk much about yourself. Now, looking at you standing here, preparing for a questioning session that could shake up a system of benefits that has existed for decades, I really admire your maturity throughout this journey."

“I didn't grow up alone,” Hai Yen replied, smiling and looking around at everyone. “It was all of you, along with so many others who dared to step out of the darkness, that helped me become the person I am today.”

Lawyer Hoang, as the most experienced person in the group, spent the last few minutes reiterating the key points to keep in mind in tomorrow's questioning session: how to respond when being cross-examined, how to stay calm in the face of possible personal attacks, and most importantly, how to keep the entire story focused on the evidence instead of letting it turn into an emotional battle.

“Tomorrow, we don't go in there to win with emotion,” she said, her voice serious. "We go in there to present the truth, clearly, coherently, irrefutably. Emotions can touch people's hearts, but only solid evidence can withstand all objections."

The meeting ended quite late, each person returned home carrying both nervousness and determination for the upcoming big day. Hai Yen, before leaving lawyer Hoang's house, looked back at the entire thick file of documents they had built together over the past two months, and in that moment, she felt more clearly than ever the weight and true meaning of what they were preparing to do tomorrow.

On the way back to her mother's house, she stopped by to visit Mrs. Sau even though it was quite late, just to sit next to her for a while, without saying much. Mrs. Sau, sensing the tension in her daughter's heart, just quietly held her hand, giving her the wordless peace that only motherly love can bring. “Go to bed early, my child,” she said softly. “Tomorrow there are many important things.” Hai Yen nodded, kissed her mother's forehead, then returned to her room, trying to take a nap even though she knew that sleep wouldn't come easily to her tonight. She lay looking up at the familiar ceiling, reviewing in her mind every word of the presentation, every number, every name, until fatigue finally prevailed, pulling her into a fitful but necessary sleep before the big day that awaited, a day that she knew, no matter the outcome, would mark an irreversible turning point in the entire journey she had been pursuing for nearly two months, since the first day she set foot in the Nam Can port container yard with a name. another and a secret she thought she could keep forever, until fate brought her back to the right place she needed to return to, to complete a mission that perhaps, deep inside her heart, she had carried for ten long years.