Chapter 2 — Sunlight on the Red Book

The next morning, Ha Vy went to the commune cadastral office very early, carrying the file and notes she had stayed up late drafting last night. Mai Anh was already there, preparing a pot of hot tea. When she saw Ha Vy walk in with a thoughtful look on her face, she immediately asked. "What's wrong, did you find anything when you went to the field yesterday?"

"I think there's something wrong between the old map and the current map," Ha Vy replied, spreading the two photocopied maps on the desk. "The western boundary of the Lam family's garden seems to have been adjusted compared to the original measurement in ninety-nine."

Mai Anh bent down to look closely at the two maps, her face gradually becoming serious. "Yeah, if you look closely, there really is a difference," she said, her voice somewhat surprised. "But this happened so long ago, no one can remember clearly anymore. Besides, there must be some legitimate reason for the adjustment records, it can't just be changed suddenly."

"That's exactly what I need to find out," Ha Vy replied. "If there is an official adjustment decision, there must certainly be accompanying records, signatures, and clear reasons. But if no such documents are found, then this will be a big question mark."

All morning, the two women diligently searched through all archived records related to the Lam family's garden area, from the late nineties until now. After many hours of searching, they only found the original hand-drawn map in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, along with the land inventory book updated in the year two thousand and three, showing the changed boundaries - but completely without any documents or official adjustment decisions explaining that change.

"That's strange," Mai Anh muttered, rubbing her temples. "If there is no adjustment decision, how can the index book be updated with the new boundary?"

"Perhaps, the person who made the update at that time arbitrarily adjusted it, without going through the correct process," Ha Vy said, her voice thoughtful. "Do you know who was in charge of measuring and updating the commune's cadastral records at that time?"

Mai Anh thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "I remember at that time, the person in charge of the commune's cadastre for the longest time was Mr. Ba Dat. He had retired a long time ago, but was still alive, near the commune market. He was probably the most knowledgeable person about all land matters in the commune over the past decades."

The thought of directly meeting the person who was in charge of measuring in the past made Ha Vy excited. But before doing that, she understood she needed to complete one more important step — accurate field measurements, to clearly determine whether the current boundary being used actually matches the boundary recorded in the current red book.

In the afternoon, Ha Vy and a technical colleague brought specialized GPS measuring equipment to the Lam family's garden to conduct work. Dang Khoa, when he heard the news, proactively showed up to support and guide the way through every corner of the large garden.

"This is the western boundary, adjacent to Mr. Sau Tam's land," Dang Khoa pointed to an old bamboo fence that had grown moss over the years. "I've seen this fence here since I was little, but from what my father told me, in the past the actual boundary was even further inward, not as close as it is now."

Dang Khoa's unintentional statement caught Ha Vy's attention immediately. "You said the boundary in the past was more inward?" she asked again, her voice filled with professional curiosity.

Dang Khoa nodded, somewhat surprised by her sudden concern. "Yes, when I was young, I often played hide and seek with my friends in the neighborhood, including Mr. Sau Tam's son. At that time, the land boundary between the two houses was not as clear as it is now, the trees grew mixed together. But later, for some reason, the fence was set back a little further, but I didn't pay much attention because I was still young at that time."

The results of field measurements, after comparison with the coordinates on current records, show that the actual boundary completely matches the current red book - but differs significantly from what is shown on the hand-drawn map of the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine that Ha Vy found in the archives. That difference in land, although not too large, is enough to form a long strip of land running along the entire western boundary, estimated to be several square meters of land.

"If it is as I suspect," the technical colleague accompanying Ha Vy commented after completing the measurement, "this difference in land should belong to the bordering land, that is, Mr. Sau Tam's land, not the Lam family's land."

Ha Vy stood silently in the middle of the garden, the afternoon sunlight passing through the tall coconut canopy shining down in shimmering streaks of light on the ground, but her heart felt heavy at the discovery she had just made. If her hypothesis is correct, it means that over the past twenty years, a poor family has silently lost a part of the land that should have belonged to them, without knowing it, or not being able to speak up for justice.

"Are you okay?" Dang Khoa asked, noticing Ha Vy's unusually thoughtful expression.

"I'm fine," she replied, her voice trying to remain calm despite a fierce determination rising inside her. "It's just that, I think this case is much more complicated than a normal inheritance dispute between you and Mr. Phong. It may also involve the interests of another family."

Dang Khoa frowned, his eyes slightly confused at that unexpected information. "You mean, my land could have... encroached on another house's land?"

"I can't confirm for sure," Ha Vy replied cautiously. "But I think, we need to find out the truth, even though it may not be pleasant at all."

On the way back, crossing a small path along the edge of the garden, they happened to meet an old man mending nets in front of the porch of a simple thatched house, right next to the boundary that Ha Vy had just measured. "That's Mr. Sau Tam," Dang Khoa said softly, his voice somewhat low. "He lives alone since his aunt passed away, his son works far away and only comes back to visit occasionally."

Ha Vy looked at the old man with thoughtful eyes. With a thin figure and tanned skin wrinkled by age and wind, he was still busy with his familiar job of mending nets, completely unaware of the newly rekindled doubts directly related to the land where his family had been living for many generations.

"Hello Mr. Sau," Dang Khoa said in a friendly greeting, as is the habit of a long-time neighbor.

Mr. Sau Tam looked up and smiled kindly when he recognized Dang Khoa. "Is that Khoa? How are you doing? And who is this girl?" he asked, his eyes turned towards Ha Vy with the curiosity of a simple countryman.

"Yes, Ms. Vy is a new cadastral officer in our commune," Dang Khoa introduced. "I'm processing the land documents for your family."

"Ah, is that so?" Mr. Sau Tam nodded and continued his work mending nets. "Land is so complicated now, but in the past there were no cumbersome documents like now. Just living together and sharing with each other is enough."

Ha Vy took this opportunity to gently start a conversation. "Yes sir, have you lived here long?"

"From my father's generation, son," he replied, his voice filled with both pride and nostalgia. "This land, in the past, was much larger than it is now. But no, there's no point in repeating old stories. Now I'm happy to live in peace."

That careless statement from Mr. Sau Tam made Ha Vy's heart tighten slightly. She wanted to ask more, but held back, afraid that asking too soon, without clear evidence, might cause the old man unnecessary confusion, or accidentally reveal suspicions that had not been fully confirmed.

On the way out of the garden, Ha Vy turned to look at Dang Khoa. "Do you know how big Mr. Sau's house was in the past?"

Dang Khoa shook his head, his expression also full of concern. "I don't know, I only heard adults mention it a few times when I was young. But listening to the way Mr. Sau said it just now, I have the feeling that this is not simply an ordinary technical mistake."

Ha Vy nodded, her eyes looking far away at the river sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. "I have the same feeling," she said. "And I think, we need to go to Mr. Ba Dat as soon as possible, to find out everything clearly before drawing any official conclusions, even though that may cause both of us to face uncomfortable truths."