Chapter 19 — The Alley Is No Longer On The Map

Three days after the community meeting, Vy was summoned to Mr. Binh's private office on the top floor of the building, where he usually reserved the most important meetings. Through the large glass window, the whole city stretches out below, high-rise buildings close together like a concrete forest with no end.

"Sit down." Mr. Binh pointed to the chair opposite, his voice more serious than usual. "I just received a call from the investment fund. They are concerned about the progress, especially after seeing reports of residents' reactions at the last meeting."

"I have tried my best to listen to people's wishes, while still ensuring overall progress." Vy replied, keeping her voice calm even though she knew in her heart that this meeting would not be easy.

"I know you tried." Mr. Binh sighed and rubbed his temples, a tired gesture he rarely showed in front of his subordinates. "But Ms. Vy, let me tell you something straight. Our company is borrowing nearly eight hundred billion dong from the bank for this project alone, with interest calculated for each day of delay. Foreign investment funds have committed to pouring capital in the second phase, but the condition is that site clearance must be completed on time. If it is more than three months behind schedule, they have the right to withdraw capital, and then, not only will this project collapse, but the whole company could fall into a serious financial crisis."

"I understand that pressure." Vy said, "but if we speed up progress by ignoring the people's legitimate aspirations, we will face an even larger wave of protests, prolonged complaints, and ultimately even slower progress."

"I didn't say ignore it." Mr. Binh shook his head. "I just want you to clearly understand the context you are standing in. This company has more than six hundred employees, Ms. Vy. Six hundred families are counting on their monthly salaries, on the company's stability. If this project fails because we delay too much, not only will the investors suffer, but many people in this building could lose their jobs."

Vy remained silent, the numbers Mr. Binh had just mentioned made her feel more clearly than ever the weight of responsibility that was resting on her shoulders - not only the responsibility to Gieng Chung alley, but also the responsibility to hundreds of other people, who were completely innocent in the past story between her and Khanh.

"I accepted you into this company fifteen years ago, when you were just a poor student just getting your feet wet." Mr. Binh continued, his voice softening, carrying a bit of nostalgia. "I believe in you because you have something rare: the ability to see the people behind the numbers. That's why I'm giving this project to you, not anyone else. But I also need you to understand, this is not a charity project. This is a business decision, with very real financial constraints that we cannot ignore."

Mr. Binh stood up, walked to the large glass window, looked down at the city below, his voice suddenly became more distant. "You know, thirty years ago, when I first started my career, I was in the same position as your uncle Khanh is now. My house was also cleared for a road expansion project, with cheap compensation, my family had to move to the suburbs to live in poverty for several years. At that time, I vowed to never work in this industry, because I hate people who sit at desks deciding the fate of others without ever experiencing the loss of their home."

"So why did you choose this profession?" Vy asked, surprised by a story she had never heard during all the years she worked under him.

"Because I realized, standing outside and cursing is easy, but it won't change anything." Mr. Binh turned back to look at her, his eyes full of confidence. "I entered this industry with the hope that one day, I would have enough power to do things differently, more fair, more humane than what happened to my family. But over the past thirty years, I have realized that reality is much more complicated than the ideals of my youth. There are financial ties, legal commitments that I cannot break alone, no matter how much I want to. That's why I need you, Ms. Vy - you still keep the ideal fire that I have now. Here, sometimes, I feel like it has mostly died out in my chest after so many years of compromise."

Mr. Binh's unexpected confession made Vy look at the teacher and boss who has been with her for the past fifteen years with a completely different look, no longer just the image of a cold manager pursuing profits, but a person who was also wounded, and whose ideals were gradually eroded over the years.

"So what do you want me to do?" Vy asked, her voice much softer than her initial defensive attitude.

"I want you to come up with a plan that both meets the progress requirements of investors and addresses the people's recommendations as satisfactorily as possible, within the next month." Mr. Binh replied. "I believe you can do it. But if after a month there is still a deadlock, I will be forced to apply a tougher solution in accordance with the law on land recovery, even though I don't want to."

*

Leaving Mr. Binh's office, Vy returned to her desk and sat quietly for a long time, her mind reeling with a series of problems with no perfect solution. She reopened the project file, looked at each number, each clause, trying to find some gap that could both satisfy the financial requirements and meet the recommendations of Khanh and her relatives.

Diem Quynh walked in and placed a cup of coffee on the table. "Ms. Vy, I have researched a few similar project models in other cities and found that there are a few cases where they retain part of the old public space in the new design, both reducing clearance costs and creating commercial highlights because of heritage and nostalgia elements. Sometimes that model can be applied to the area we are working on."

Vy looked up, a ray of hope flashing in her eyes. "Let me see."

Quynh opened her tablet and presented a few reference projects - new urban areas that retain an old market and a historic walking street, turning them into highlights to attract tourists and new residents, instead of completely obliterating them to build identical lifeless concrete blocks.

"This could be the way to go." Vy said, her voice gradually becoming more excited, for the first time after many stressful days. "If I propose to retain the common well area, turn it into a small community square in the overall design, both meeting the requirements of the people and creating a cultural highlight with commercial value for the entire project."

"I think it's feasible. But we have to carefully calculate the costs involved, and we have to convince the board of directors and investors to agree to this design change." Quynh spoke, her voice cautious but unable to hide her youthful excitement when participating in a meaningful idea.

Vy nodded and began sketching the first lines for a new proposal, filled with a new determination. This may be the way to help her both fulfill her responsibilities to the company and keep her promise to Khanh and the whole Gieng Chung neighborhood - but she also clearly understands that the road ahead is still very long, and not everyone in the board of directors will easily accept a change that increases costs and risks for a project that is already under heavy financial pressure.

The two sisters worked until late at night, Quynh looked up more data on the added commercial value of projects with heritage elements, and Vy re-drafted the overall drawing, testing many different layout options so that the common well area and ancient tamarind tree can be retained harmoniously in the overall modern architecture, instead of becoming a lost, forced patch.

"Do you think you can convince me?" Quynh asked, when they were both tired, the office lights were only flickering in a few places because most of their colleagues had long left.

"I don't know for sure." Vy answered honestly, rubbing her aching temples. "But I know one thing for sure, if I don't try, I will regret it for the rest of my life. There are safe options that make me regret it, and there are risky options but at least I tried my best. I choose the latter."

Quynh smiled, nodded in agreement, then the two continued to work hard, outside, the city was still glowing with sleepless lights, and somewhere twenty kilometers away, Gieng Chung alley had sunk into the quiet night, unaware of a new plan being silently nurtured for its own destiny.