Chapter 16 — Tailor Shop at the End of Third Alley

Hanh went to see Ms. Thao and asked for permission to talk to the students about signing the papers. She brought an old form, pointing out the lines she hadn't read. Ms. Thao did not ask her to use the word "mistake", only asked to be specific.

Hanh said people often think a signature is the end. It is actually the starting point of responsibility. Chau asked what if I signed and then discovered it was wrong. Hanh replied that she had to go back, write down the date and clearly state which parts had changed.

Tung asked the company to grant access to the records for the inspection team. I don't know if it will be approved, but I put my request in writing. An's father helped him read the terms. This was the first time the two of them worked together not because of a debt.

In the evening, Mrs. Van put the proposal to buy the store in an unnamed compartment. Chau asked if she was still considering it. She said consideration is not the same as acceptance; The tailor needs to know the size before cutting.

Hanh talked to Mrs. Van in the back room, where phone number three was inaudible. She said she once signed a sign with the name "households voluntarily relocated", even though many people never agreed. She thought it was just a temporary name, but later it became a base.

Mrs. Van asked if she kept the board. Hanh said she took a photo, but was afraid to save it on the company computer. Chau recommends sending via a coded channel, not using class groups. Hanh agreed, then read the privacy notice herself before sending.

Ngoc received the board and compared it with the shirt list. There are seventeen people in the two panels, but the signatures are different. Tung said the difference needs to be assessed, it cannot be seen with the eyes.

Chau learned to wait for the conclusion. She used to want to pull the thread as soon as she saw the loose knot; Now she knows that there are stitches that must be kept intact for others to check.

An and his father repaired the back door frame. Mr. Thanh used old wood, An measured the slot, Chau held the screw. Father and son did not say much, but when the door was closed, Mr. Thanh gave him the key. He said this time the key was not hidden in a box, but left where everyone knew.

Mrs. Van placed the key next to machine number three, then gave Hanh a V button. Hanh understood that she could share the story when she was ready.

Hanh tells about the day she received her first set of clothes. She stood outside the store three times, not daring to go in because she thought people would ask why she didn't buy new shirts. Khai just gave her a tape measure and told her to measure it herself. When she measured wrongly, he didn't laugh; He measured it again and wrote down both numbers, so she knew she had done the part herself.

Chau asked Hanh if she was the person in the missing video. Hanh said maybe, but didn't want to remember where the camera was. She is afraid that her face in the past will be used as evidence against the present. Ms. Thao said people have the right to control their image, but they cannot request deletion of the entire event just because of embarrassment.

Mrs. Van tried on the gray suit that Hanh brought. The shoulders of the shirt are too wide, the hem touches the ground. She said the wearer is not the person standing in the suit; the suit must be repaired so that the person can stand upright. Chau understood that this sentence was also for Hanh.

Tung presented his proposal to buy the store. The company wants to keep the facade as part of the "neighborhood heritage", but the back passage will become a private corridor. Ms. Van asked if the back door was not open, would the shop still be the old shop? Tung admitted no.

Chau asked Hanh why the company chose to buy the store instead of editing the map. Hanh said the profile was advertised, many people placed deposits on model homes, and each change generated money. She didn't make excuses, just said that was the reason people are afraid of the truth.

Ngoc created a table comparing three options: sell, keep, and change stores. Each option has costs, effects on residents and necessary conditions. Khoa asked why not add the option of "sewing an additional wall". Ngoc said he could make suggestions if he found a customer.

An left the store to take her sister to school. Before leaving, he placed a lunch box next to Chau and said nothing. Hanh saw it and asked if the two of them were dating. Chau almost dropped the needle, An outside the door faked a cough.

Ms. Van said not to turn care into proof of affection too soon. Chau said she said that because she didn't know that An often reminded her to eat. Mrs. Van replied that she knew, because An reminded her to take her medicine regularly.

At the end of the day, Hanh took back the offer to buy the store. She said she would not force Ms. Van to sign, but needed answers to report. Ms. Van did not promise to sell, only asked Hanh if she was willing to be on the record if the company was wrong.

Hanh nodded. She took a pen and signed a form confirming that she knew the path was used by the community. The signature trembles, but does not break.

That night, Chau received news from Tung: the company had changed the person in charge, and the new person wanted to clean the shop in three days. Hanh read, silent. She said she wouldn't stand outside the door this time.

The buyer was silent again

Hanh came to the store alone on Tuesday afternoon. She wasn't wearing a company jacket, just a white shirt and holding a canvas bag. Chau realized that the seam on her wrist looked like a purple thread, very neat and low.

“I used to receive shirts here,” Hanh said. "Not to ask anyone's name. Just want to repay a debt."

Mrs. Van poured tea. Hanh doesn't drink. She placed a new offer on the table, the price was two times higher than the old envelope. She said the company wants to buy the store to keep the frontage, and can hire Ms. Van as a consultant for the new neighborhood.

“Adviser for the thing that cleared the path?” Mrs. Van asked.

Hanh looked down. “I'm not a cartographer.”

“But you're the one who knows it's wrong.”

Hanh was silent. Chau heard the sound of Mrs. Van's sewing machine behind her, each needle counting time.

Hanh said when she was seventeen years old, she and her mother lived in a damp room at the end of an alley. A torn uniform made her not dare to go to school. Khai sewed her a new shirt, and Thanh repaired her car so she could go to school. She kept that dress for many years. When the company recruited people, she accepted the job because she needed money. She later discovered that the map had been adjusted, but signed the inspection record as an assistant.

“I think it's just a few centimeters missing,” Hanh said. "Once we understood that 1.14 meters was the path of the entire alley, everything became a record."

An asked why she still worked for them.

Hanh answered because if she took a break, she wouldn't be able to see the next profile pages. Chau doesn't know if it's courage or a way of self-forgiveness.

“Do you have proof?” Ngoc asked.

Hanh took out a copy of the minutes, but the artist's name was covered up. Mrs. Van recognized the purple ink on the corner of the paper. That's the ink from machine number three, the type of thread she and Khai used.

Hanh said there is one person who keeps the original: Pham Quang Tung, the person in charge of the current project. Tung knew the documents were missing but didn't know why. Hanh did not want to speak directly for fear of being blamed.

Khoa put down the camera and asked her if she agreed to record her story. Hanh shook her head. She said she wasn't ready. Chau turned off the phone and said that when she wanted to talk, the shop would be open.

Hanh took it back and offered to buy the store. Ms. Van asked if she didn't have the final signature, could the company stop. Hanh said it is possible to request an independent review, But there must be enough people to sign.

“It's not a set of clothes,” Ms. Van said. “It's thirty-two people.”

Hanh stood up and looked at machine number three. “Next Tuesday, I will bring the list.”

After she left, Chau asked Mrs. Van if she believed it. She told me that the seams were the easiest to unravel and had to be sewn with work.

That night, Tung sent a text message to Chau: **I was asked to remove the old stake tomorrow morning. If you want to keep the mark, have someone witness it at six o'clock.**

An read the news and said his father would come. Chau called Ms. Thao, Ngoc called the neighborhood representative, and Khoa set up two cameras. They don't sleep much. Chau sat at machine number three, changing a bobbin of purple thread.

Near morning, she discovered a small piece of paper in the gears of the machine. On it are written the coordinates of the old stake and a sentence:

**Don't let the buyer be silent on behalf of the deceased.**

Chau read that sentence three times. She didn't know if the "buyer" was a company, an individual, or an entire neighborhood that was too tired to speak up. An pulled out a chair next to him and placed a photo from the school archive on the table. He zoomed in on the boy's face in the back row. It was true that his father, much younger, was holding a pocket of a shirt with purple stitching.

“My dad never told me,” An said.

“Maybe because he thought it was over.”

“Or because he was the one who delivered the last shirt.”

They didn't ask right away. The next morning, An's father repaired the old motorbike. He waited until the last customer left before showing the photo. Ba An wiped his hands with a rag, looked at it for a while, then put it in a drawer.

“Back then, Dad only did deliveries,” he said. "Khai asked his father to bring the shirt to the station. The recipient did not appear. Dad turned around and saw a man wearing a silver ring standing next to him."

"Whatman?"

"The person who bought the house in the east. Khai argued with him about the land mark. After that day, Khai didn't ask his father anymore."

An asked why dad didn't tell. He smiled sadly and said that when the whole neighborhood signs a contract, the people who don't sign have no choice but to fend for themselves. He chose to stay silent to keep his job, and for ten years he still heard the sound of cars passing through the station every time it rained.

Chau saw An bow his head. She didn't try to comfort her with a pleasant sentence. She gave him a purple thread, telling him to tie it on his wrist to remember that words may come late but are still valuable.

In the evening, the group meets at the shop. Hanh created a folder that only Ms. Thao and Ms. Van could access. Faculty designed the time table, Ngoc called each household to ask if they still kept old photos. Tung sent a warning message: the company will ask the school to sign a "no opinion" minutes tomorrow.

Chau looked at the red-handled scissors. She used to be afraid of cutting it wrong, but now she's afraid of not cutting it at all. She told everyone: "We don't need to make any noise. We just need to put the pieces in the right place."

Outside the alley, the person wearing the silver ring turned back. He placed an envelope under the door without knocking. Inside was an invitation to buy back the store for a price four times higher than the electricity debt.