Chapter 23 — Tailor Shop at the End of Third Alley

At the car repair shop, An replaced the chain on a delivery bike. The owner asked how long he could work. An said he needed to go back to a meeting with the shop. He said work and promises both needed a schedule, then let him change shifts.

Chau sent An a photo of the repaired suit. He replied with a picture of his oily hands, asking if she needed more stitches. She said not yet, but keep her hands clean before touching the fabric.

Tung re-read the communication plan, deleting the sentence "project to revive the old alley". Hanh said the alley was never dead, it was just told wrongly by others. Tung replaced it with "check the road with residents". Chau found it a less beautiful but true sentence.

An's father brought the first debt repayment slip. He didn't want Chau to read it, but An asked for permission. He said the money didn't need to be included in the file if Dad didn't want it, he just needed to know that the appendix had been edited.

At night, Khai called. He asked if machine number three was still making noise. Mrs. Van said it ran, but Chau had learned to slow down. Khai smiled, then said he would send an additional map with a yellow mark, for the elderly who could not go to the meeting on their own.

The call ended, Chau asked An if he wanted to meet Khai. An said he wanted to, but not to blame. He wanted to ask how adults could leave and still keep their word.

Tung brought a suit that was too big to class 11C to try on one last time. Khoa mistakenly measured his shoulder as a necklace, causing Tung to stand still in a position like he was being arrested. Chau corrected the number, An kept the ruler, Ngoc read it again. The whole class laughed, Tung also laughed for the first time.

In the vest pocket there is a media plan. The company intended to call the store a “removable heritage,” a phrase that caused Ms. Van to take off her glasses. Chau crossed out the word "relocate" and wrote "continue in place". Tung said he would use the revised version, even though his superiors might object.

Hanh explained that she was chosen by the company because she knew the neighborhood and was trusted. She realized she had used people's memories to make the project look friendlier, but didn't ask if they wanted those memories to appear.

Chau asked what she could do now. Hanh said she was on the record, apologized to those whose images were used and asked the company to return the right to make decisions. Not everything can be fixed, but at least don't keep taking it.

An has an internship scheduled at a car repair workshop, coinciding with the inspection date. He didn't want to quit, because it was an opportunity to have a stable salary. Chau told him to go, the group would not force him to stay to prove his affection or responsibility.

“You talk as if I always leave.”

“You often skip meals, not people.”

An smiled and said he would leave in the morning and return in time for the meeting. Chau didn't ask if he wanted her to wait.

In the car repair shop, An learned how to change chains and write warranty cards. The factory owner asked him if he wanted to work long term. An said he was helping the tailor shop maintain one meter of land. The owner said it sounded strange, but if he really did it, he could come back.

An brought back a new piece of belt for machine number three. Ms. Van said she didn't need to replace it, but accepted it because the old cord was frayed. Chau asked him what he learned. An Bao learns to choose what is just enough, not the most expensive thing.

Tung's access rights were suspended. He gave the card to Hanh, but did not want them to use it if it was against the rules. Hanh said the card only opens the door, the person entering still has to sign.

At the end of the day, a letter from Khai arrived. He said he had read Ms. Van's letter, but was not ready to go home yet. He confirmed that the person "holding the red scissors" was Phuc, the person who cut the bottom of the map on verbal orders. However, Phuc changed his mind and kept the appendix to return.

Chau asked why Phuc didn't Say the name of the person giving the order. Khai replied because that person died, but the system still exists. Evidence needs to show the wrong way through many people, not just find one person.

An read the letter and said Khai's whereabouts were not as important as his agreement to let the records be used. Mrs. Van folded the letter and put it in an iron box.

That night, the suit was adjusted to fit Tung's shoulders. The purple line on the hem only appears when he walks through the door.

A suit that's too big

Tung brought to the store a gray suit, two sizes larger than his brother. He asked Mrs. Van to fix it so he could wear it during the inspection meeting. Ms. Van asked why she didn't rent a more suitable set. Tung said he wanted to wear something that reminded him that the application would not fit people if the person making the application just stood outside.

Chau measured Tung's shoulders. An stood next to hold the ruler, Khoa wrote down the number but mistakenly read centimeters as meters. Ngoc snatched the pen from his hand.

In the vest pocket there is a piece of paper with a project schedule. Tung allows them to view, but not copy the internal parts. The calendar shows that the company purchased materials before mold testing was completed. That doesn't prove they were intentionally wrong, but it proves progress has run faster than the truth.

Tung said he grew up in a temporary housing area and had his clothes repaired for free by a tailor shop. He joined the company because he wanted to do better housing projects. When he realized the progress was forcing people, he asked many times to stop but was reminded that if he was one day late, he would lose money.

“Why haven't you stopped yet?” Chau asked.

“Because I still think it can be fixed from the inside.”

An said that sometimes staying inside for too long makes people forget what they wanted to fix. Tung nodded, not proud.

Ms. Van cut off the shoulders and tried on the suit again. Tung stood straight, but his sleeves were still long. Chau suggested embroidering a purple line on the hem to mark the repair. Tung agrees.

While sewing, Hanh went to inform the company that they approved an independent inspection but wanted to choose a unit. Residents request a general option. The debate may drag on, but the deadline to clean up the shop is only six days away.

Ngoc proposed that three units quote the same price, draw lots for the first person, and the remaining two people supervise. Tung said this method is not perfect, but it is more fair than choosing one side.

Chau realized that the group had learned to speak through process instead of anger. But the process still needs people to perform it.

In the evening, Tung received a phone call from his superior. He heard and said the company wanted him to sign a statement confirming that the store had no legal entrance. He refused. The call ended with a threat about the job position.

The suit fits the shoulders. Tung buttoned up and looked at himself in the shop's old mirror. The purple lines on the hem only appear when he walks.

“A very small seam,” he said.

“Small but can hold the hem of the shirt,” Ms. Van replied.

Tung paid in full, then placed a company employee card on the table. He said that if he is not present tomorrow, this card can open the map storage room.

Hanh looked at him and asked what he was going to do. Tung said he did not want to be a silent buyer.

That night, the store's electricity was completely turned off. Machine number three stops in the middle of a stitch. Chau touched the flywheel and heard the sound of someone setting up a generator outside.

An turns on the bicycle light and shines it on the wall. A silhouette of a person is writing in red paint:

**There are no stores open this Tuesday.**

An does not chase the writer. He turned off the car lights and stood looking at the red paint streaks on the wall. Chau tried wiping with a wet towel, but the paint stuck deep into the lime layer. Ms. Van said not to delete; every threat needs its date and shape.

They called Ms. Thao, Then call the whole neighborhood group. A neighbor brought out an old camera and said last night a truck stopped at the end of the alley. The image is blurry but enough to see a person wearing a baseball cap and a silver ring. Khoa enlarged the frame, not confirming the face.

Tuesday morning, the shop is still open. Mrs. Van posted the sign **Receiving items to be repaired - receiving message to keep**, the word "keep" was written in bolder. Students in the school whispered to each other, some came to place buttons, some just wanted to ask how they could help. Chau clearly assigns: people in charge of orders, people who take notes, people who don't post photos online.

Phuc brought the sewn bag. I sewed it wrong, but the list envelope fits perfectly in the pocket. Mrs. Van paid me with a shirt with repaired sleeves. Phuc tried it on, turned around in front of the mirror, and felt much more confident.

At noon, a ward lawyer sent a notice that the threatening behavior had to be verified but there was not enough evidence to conclude who was behind it. Ms. Thao told everyone not to look for suspicious people. Chau obeyed, even though in her heart she wanted to look straight at the silver ring.

In the afternoon, Mr. Duc appeared. He wasn't wearing a vest, just an old shirt. He placed a wooden box on the table and said it was shirt number 32. Mrs. Van did not open it immediately.

“I kept it for ten years,” Duc said. "It's not because I want to hide it. I just don't know who to give it to without putting Lien in danger."

An asked why he bought the row of houses. Duc replied that he once believed that money would solve everything. But after seeing his daughter also going to school through the alley, he realized that a map without people was just a piece of paper.

Mrs. Van opened the box. The shirt is faded, the number 32 is sewn with purple thread. In his pocket was a small tape recorder.

Chau looked at An. The case is not over; but for the first time, the person who had been silent began to open the door himself.