Chapter 91 — Shrimp Street Without Name

In the days after the verdict for Tran Quoc Vinh was announced, Hai Yen's life entered a new phase — no longer the constant stress of trials, threats, and sleepless nights worrying about her family's safety, but instead a series of administrative and legal work that needed to be completed to fully close all aspects of the case.

Provincial authorities officially issued a decision requiring Coastal Sea Group and Ocean's satellite companies to comprehensively restructure under strict supervision, with the goal of ensuring future business activities fully comply with legal regulations, while at the same time partially overcoming the consequences caused to shrimp farming households and affected workers over the years.

“This is a landmark decision,” lawyer Hoang explained to Hai Yen during a meeting at her office, where they reviewed the next steps together. “It not only punishes the individuals who directly committed the crime, but also forces the entire business system to change the way it operates, preventing the possibility that similar violations may recur in a different form in the future.”

At the same time, Nguyen Dang Hoai, through his lawyer, officially applied for a reduced sentence based on his significant level of cooperation throughout the investigation and trial of both cases. The representative of the Procuracy, when consulted, admitted that Hoai's contributions, especially the recording of the decision that directly contributed to Vinh's sentence, deserve to be considered fairly, although it cannot completely erase responsibility for the crimes he directly committed.

Hai Yen, when asked for her opinion as the main victim in the case, considered carefully before giving her opinion. “I am not seeking personal revenge,” she told a representative of the Procuracy in a private meeting. "I believe in a fair justice system that recognizes true cooperation and repentance, as long as it does not become a way for criminals to easily avoid responsibility. I respect the court's decision to consider Mr. Hoai's application for a reduced sentence, based on what he has actually contributed."

This balanced and mature perspective of Hai Yen, when reported by the media, once again received widespread admiration from the public, further solidifying her image not only as someone who sought justice for her family, but also as someone with a profound insight into the complex nature of justice and redemption.

While the legal procedures related to the defendants continued to be processed, Hai Yen began to focus on another important goal that she had long cherished but did not have enough time and mind to pursue during the stressful period of the two trials: officially filing a request to reconsider her father's sentence.

“This will be a complicated process,” lawyer Hoang warned when Hai Yen shared this intention. "Revisiting a verdict that was legally effective ten years ago requires sufficient new evidence, convincing enough to prove errors in the original trial process. But with everything we have collected throughout the past journey, I believe We have enough basis to proceed.”

Hai Yen nodded, feeling a new determination rising in her heart. This is the core goal that has motivated her throughout her long journey — not only to punish the guilty, but also to exonerate her father, restoring the honor that he has been unfairly deprived of for the past ten years.

“I want to do this the right way,” she told lawyer Hoang, her voice firm but also full of necessary caution. “Not just to completely absolve my father of all responsibility, but to present the full truth—both the small mistake he made in conceding a shipment under pressure, and the much larger wrong he suffered because of the machinations of others.”

Lawyer Hoang smiled, her eyes filled with respect for Hai Yen's mature and honest approach. “That is exactly the approach that will yield the most convincing results in a court of law,” she said. “The full truth, however imperfect, is always more powerful than a completely favorable embellished story.”

The two people started working immediately, synthesizing all the documents, evidence, and testimonies collected throughout the past journey, preparing a petition to reconsider the verdict as fully and convincingly as possible, marking the beginning of the final chapter in Hai Yen's journey to find complete justice.

That evening, when Hai Yen returned home after a long day of working with lawyer Hoang, she found her mother sitting in the living room, her hand holding an old wooden box that Hai Yen had never seen before. “I found this while cleaning out an old closet,” Mrs. Sau said, her voice somewhat emotional. “These are the things your father left behind before... before everything happened.”

Hai Yen sat down next to her mother and opened the box with almost sacred care. Inside are small but meaningful memorabilia - an old fountain pen that Mr. Tien often used to record the cooperative's books, a few black and white photos taken at the inauguration ceremony of Canal Ba in the early days of its establishment, and an envelope that has yellowed over time, with the words "To my daughter, when you are old enough to understand" on the outside.

Hai Yen's hand trembled slightly as she opened the envelope. Inside was a short letter in her father's familiar handwriting, written long before the tragedy happened - perhaps since the days when Channel Ba was still in its most brilliant development stage. The letter talked about his ambitions for the cooperative, about his desire to build a fair and sustainable aquaculture model where every household can benefit adequately from their labor, and about his hope that, one day, his daughter will continue and further develop what he has built.

Tears rolled down Hai Yen's cheeks as she read each line, realizing that, without knowing in advance what would happen, her father seemed to have placed a part of his faith and hope in her, long before she even understood the full meaning of what he had built.

“You have done more than I ever expected,” Mrs. Sau said, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Not only will I find justice, but I'm also preparing to rebuild exactly what my father dreamed of — a fairer, more transparent system for everyone. People."

Hai Yen nodded, hugged the letter tightly, feeling a deeper connection with her father than ever. She decided that this letter, along with the notebook that had accompanied her throughout her journey, would become an important part of her petition for reconsideration — not as legal evidence, but as a testament to the true heart and character of the man for whom the court was about to review justice.

That night, before going to sleep, she placed the newly found letter next to the familiar notebook on the table, the two mementos now together telling a more complete story of her lost father — not a perfect, unblemished saint, nor a sinner worthy of total condemnation, but a real man, with great ambitions, small mistakes, and an endless love for the family and community to which he devoted his life.

She opened the notebook, flipped to the last blank page, and began to write the first words for a new chapter of her own life, continuing what her father had left unfinished. “I found the letter you wrote to me, even though it was very late,” she wrote. “I promise not to stop at just reclaiming justice for the past, but to continue building what you have dreamed of for the future — a fairer, more transparent Channel Three, worthy of everything you have sacrificed.”

She closed the notebook, turned off the light, and fell asleep with a rare sense of completeness, knowing that, although there was still much work to do on the road ahead, she was no longer alone carrying the burden of her past — she was carrying both her father's legacy and her hopes, looking forward to a future that the two of them together, though separated by time and fate, always believed could become a reality.