Chapter 39 — Summer After the Rain

The theater created a completely new pre-paid ticket sales program. Buyers do not have to come see it right away, they can donate tickets to poor students, lonely elderly people or anyone who is having difficulty in life. This model was unexpectedly successful beyond expectations. A nearby grocery store ordered two hundred tickets at a time, and a small transportation company even sent employees to volunteer to help clean up.

Linh remembers the number 13 tickets that her father carefully kept in the past. She suggested that each new ticket have a small blank line for the buyer to write in: "Who do I want to dedicate this ticket to?" Many people write their mother's name, their child's name, or the name of a deceased friend that they always remember.

Minh personally engraved a pretty little raindrop-shaped stamp to stamp on each ticket, but every time he stamped it, it was skewed to one side. Hau said it was the theater's exclusive mark of authenticity. Linh said frankly that was a sign that Minh needed to practice holding his hand more firmly.

Mrs. Nam bought a separate ticket for the theater's cat. Aunt Tam bought another ticket for a person who had owed her money for tea for many years and had not paid it off. The whole group happily debated whether the cat was eligible to sit in the theater or not, and finally agreed to build a small chair for it right outside the door.

Thanks to this program, the theater was able to pay off a significant portion of its outstanding debt. Linh received another offer to buy the entire theater from another investor, at a price much higher than the current market price. She immediately refused, because the accompanying condition was that they wanted to completely change the name Ha Vang and have full control over the movie schedule according to their own wishes.

Minh asked her if she regretted that large amount of money. Linh said she regretted it, but she didn't regret her decision at all. He said that was the answer of someone who truly chose to stay, no longer half-hearted like before.

That investor then turned to sponsor another project in the area, causing some residents to begin to suspect that Linh was being too stubborn and conservative. She is not in a hurry to refute those rumors. Mai helped her publicly and transparently publish the entire income and expenditure chart and detailed debt repayment plan on the public notice board. People have every right to disagree with her decision, as long as they know what specifically they are disagreeing with.

Linh's mother proposed opening a small sewing stall right inside the theater. She repaired clothes for people in the area, part of the salary contributed directly to the general fund. Hau accidentally advertised as a "memory tailoring" service online, but strangely, a week later someone actually came to ask about that service seriously. Ms. Nam said that sometimes being wrong becomes right is also a rare form of luck in life.

Minh created a free toy repair corner specifically for children in the neighborhood. One boy brought a broken toy radio, another girl brought a model car with a broken wheel. He never promises to fix everything he brings, but always patiently explains clearly why a certain item cannot be saved anymore. Linh realized that was the real way they were saving the theater: not promising it would return to the way it was, just saying it could become something truly useful for the present.

At the end of the month, the Ha Vang nameplate was carefully repainted. They deliberately kept the peeling marks around the letter edges as a historical mark, only adding a thin layer of anti-rust on the outside. Linh officially signed the operating documents, becoming the official manager of the theater instead of just temporarily like before. She no longer uses the word "temporary" as an implicit apology to herself every time she mentions her role.

Linh arranges her personal schedule so she can go to the city to study three days a week. Mother takes care of the ticket counter, Mai is in charge of approving legal documents, Minh maintains the projection room, and Hau is in charge of communications under the close supervision of Mrs. Nam. Everyone has the right to replace others when necessary, but no one can arbitrarily change the general process agreed upon in advance.

She signed the new assignment schedule, then herself crossed out the word "temporary" on the sign with her title hanging at the ticket office. Ha Vang can now continue to operate smoothly even when the main manager has to step out for personal reasons.

The first month of applying the new assignment schedule was not entirely as smooth as expected. A screening had to be canceled because Minh was busy repairing an emergency machine for a far away school, and a fund meeting was postponed because Linh's mother suddenly had severe back pain. Hau panicked and called Linh to tell the news, but she did not rush back immediately like her old reflex. She calmly asked him if he had reviewed the backup replacement process, who he had contacted and what specific information was missing.

Hau answered each question in detail, even though her voice was still shaking with anxiety. Mai immediately came to check the books, Mrs. Nam personally cooked porridge to bring to Linh's mother, and a group of volunteer students took the initiative to guard the door to help. That evening's show started twenty minutes later than scheduled but was not canceled completely. Linh sat in a rented room in the city, listening to the bustling applause through Minh's video call. She understands that a system is only truly mature when it can operate smoothly even in the absence of the person who worked so hard to build it.

That weekend, when Linh returned to the theater and re-read the entire incident report, she didn't see any flowery compliments written there, only specific columns of time, the names of the people in charge of each task, what went wrong and how everyone handled it. The priest confirmed at the end of the report, then added a small line: "Next month try to have Hau coordinate a full screening." Hau saw his name appear on the new assignment board and took a step back in surprise. Mai said that if he didn't dare to try this time, he would forever be someone who stood on the outside complaining. Hau sighed deeply, then reached out to receive the projection room keys.

The screening, personally coordinated by Hau, took place on a sunny and windy weekend night. He prepared more thoroughly than ever, to the point of creating a separate checklist posted in front of the box office mirror to remind himself of each step. Minh stood in the projection room but deliberately did not intervene, only observing from afar so that Hau could handle all situations that arose. When an elderly guest complained about the seat being obscured from view, Hau calmly apologized and arranged to change to another seat instead of frantically calling Linh for help like before.

In the middle of the screening, the box office lights suddenly flickered due to a small problem in the line, but Hau has learned how to handle it calmly from previous times. He did not panic, just gently informed the audience, turned on the backup lights, and then silently contacted Minh via text message instead of calling loudly in the middle of the screening. The problem was resolved in less than five minutes without anyone in the audience feeling unduly disturbed.

At the end of the evening, Hau stood in front of the door to see each guest leave, receiving many compliments on her thoughtful organization. When Linh made a video call to ask about the situation, he proudly recounted every little detail he had handled, his voice full of excitement like a child who had just successfully completed his first test. After listening, Linh felt an indescribable joy welling up in her heart, not only because the screening went smoothly, but because she realized that her cousin, who used to joke around and carefree, was now much more mature than the first day she returned to An Binh.

That evening, Linh called her mother and told the whole story about Hau with a proud voice. Mom smiled and said that she had also noticed that change a few weeks ago, but she just didn't want to say it out loud for fear of making Hau shy and unnatural. She added that this afternoon, it was Hau who reminded her to take her medicine on time, something that Linh often had to repeat in the past. Hearing that, Linh suddenly realized that Ha Vang Theater was not only teaching people how to operate a common space, but also silently teaching each of them how to care for each other more specifically and persistently every day.