Chapter 25 — The Bookmobile Through the Mountains

The large hall of the Van Thac District Cultural Center was packed with people on the morning of the public hearing. Not only were there officials and representatives of departments of the district and province, but also a large number of people from the villages, including Mr. Sung A Chinh leading Dinh, Ms. Ban Thi Nai carrying baby Senh who is now healthy again, Mr. Truong Van Nhiem and his son Khoi, and a group of parents and students from Nam Cay led by Mr. Nam and Ms. Ngan, who traveled a long distance to be present at the important event. hey.

Nghi stood in front of the hall door, looking at the sea of people gradually filling the rows of seats, feeling nervous mixed with an indescribable pride. This is no longer just her fight, but the fight of an entire community that has stood together for the past eight weeks.

The hearing began with a re-presentation from the representative of the company providing digital library equipment, this time they were more prepared, made commitments to technical improvements, promised to fix problems that had occurred, and showed images of the kiosk in Nam Cay that had been repaired and returned to operation in the past few days. Nghi sat and listened, taking careful notes, not denying their efforts to overcome them, but still maintaining her belief in what she was about to present.

When it was her turn, Nghi stepped up to the podium to speak, her father's leather briefcase placed next to her, her eyes scanned the entire hall, stopping for a moment where Nam was sitting in the front row, sending her a look of encouragement and trust.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Nghi began, her voice echoing throughout the hall, no longer trembling like the first meeting, but filled with confidence forged through eight weeks of non-stop fighting. "I won't present all the data you already have. Instead, I want to tell you about a stormy night five days ago."

The whole hall listened silently as Nghi recounted the entire story of the night rescuing baby Senh - from the panicked call in the middle of the storm, the journey across the dangerous landslide road, to the moment the old bookmobile, the only vehicle that could weave through that dangerous terrain, brought the baby to the hospital in time before life-threatening complications developed.

"If at that time, in Khuoi Tra there was only one tablet kiosk, no matter how modern it was, it still could not carry a child with a high fever and convulsions across fifteen kilometers of landslides in the middle of a stormy night to the hospital," Nghi said, her voice filled with emotion but still maintaining the necessary composure. "I do not deny the value of technology and digital transformation. But I believe that in lands like Van Thac, where the terrain is still difficult and infrastructure is lacking, we need a flexible approach, harmoniously combining what is modern and what has been proven to be effective in practice, instead of exchanging one for the other."

She invited Mrs. Ban Thi Nai, who was sitting with Senh in the audience, to share her story directly. Ms. Nai, although still shy in front of a crowd, still tried to recount her family's entire experience. Her voice was shaky but so sincere that it made many people in the hall wipe away their tears.

"If it weren't for Ms. Nghi, without that bookmobile, I would have lost my son," Ms. Nau finished her story, her voice choked up. "I beg you, please keep this program for us, for children, for families like us in remote areas."

Next, Nghi invited the representative of the district Education Department to present the actual survey results, including the participation of Mr. Than Quoc Vinh, who now has a completely different perspective than the original.

"After directly surveying the infrastructure situation in remote villages, especially the Nam Cay school site," Mr. Vinh said, his voice serious, no longer as confident and subjective as before, "I realized that the digital library project, although it has long-term potential, currently still has many limitations in terms of technical infrastructure in areas without grid electricity and stable telecommunications waves. I propose that, instead of choosing one of the two options, the district We should build a combined roadmap - maintain and invest in upgrading the mobile bookmobile program for the most difficult areas, and pilot digital libraries more cautiously in places where basic infrastructure conditions are available."

The proposal of Mr. Vinh, who had previously been the strongest advocate for completely replacing the bookmobile program, caused a stir in the hall. This is a notable change of stance, and it carries special weight because it comes from someone who was once on the opposing side.

Nghi continued to present the long-term development plan that she and Nam and Ngan had built - not only asking to maintain the old budget, but also proposing an additional investment to replace seriously degraded vehicles, along with a roadmap to expand new stops in the future, combining flexibility with appropriate technological initiatives where conditions permit.

After the presentations of the parties, Mr. Luong Dac Uy stood up, his face pensive, pondering carefully before making his conclusion. "Thank you to all parties for their full and enthusiastic presentations. This is clearly not an easy decision, but based on everything that has been presented today, especially the emotional story of the last night of saving lives, along with the actual evidence of the limitations of the technology model in remote areas, I believe, the district needs to make a more thorough decision, and cannot rush to cut off a program that has proven its practical value over the past sixteen years."

He stopped for a moment, looked around the hall as he waited with bated breath, then continued. "I will submit this proposal to the District People's Council at the nearest meeting, with the recommendation to maintain the budget for the mobile bookmobile program, and consider adding a special investment to support vehicle replacement. The official decision will be announced within the next two weeks."

Although it is not a 100% certain confirmation, this is clearly an extremely positive signal, causing the whole hall to burst into endless applause. Nghi stood on the podium, tears rolling down, looking down at the joyful crowd, seeing Nam standing up and clapping with undisguised pride in his eyes, seeing Mrs. Dung hugging Mrs. Nai, both of them shed tears of emotion, seeing a group of children — Dinh, My, Khoi, Pao — jumping up and down with joy in the crowd.

It was a moment that Nghi knew she would never forget, a moment that crystallized eight weeks of tireless effort, of sixteen years of the legacy her father left behind, and of an entire community that stood up together to protect what they believed was right and necessary for the future of the children of Van Thac highland.

After the hearing ended, many people came up to shake hands and congratulate Nghi, including strange faces she had never met before - a few business representatives in the province, a group of university lecturers interested in highland education, and even a few people from neighboring districts who heard the news and came just to witness this historic hearing. Mr. Vinh also approached and shook Nghi's hand tightly, his eyes filled with respect.

"Thank you, Ms. Nghi, for persevering to the end, and for giving me the opportunity to look at the problem more comprehensively," he said, his voice sincere. "I believe, with the combination of the two models as proposed today, the whole Van Thac district will benefit more, not just remote areas."

Yen, standing nearby to record the entire proceedings of the hearing for the next follow-up article, ran to hug Nghi, her voice full of excitement. "You did it, Nghi! I filmed the entire moment you stood on the podium. This will definitely be the most beautiful ending to my series of articles."

Nam walked through the crowd, approached Nghi, didn't say much, just gently hugged her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder amid the applause and bustling laughter around. "You did the most amazing thing I've ever seen," he whispered in her ear. "Your dad, somewhere, is probably very proud of you right now."

Nghi looked up at Nam, then looked around the hall, still filled with a joyful atmosphere, at the familiar faces of the villagers and the children who had become an indispensable part of her life for more than a year. She knew that even though the official decision still had to wait two more weeks, right at this moment, she felt a victory greater than any administrative document could bring - the victory of faith, of love, and of a community that stood up together for the values they cherish.