Chapter 13 — The Code in the Tangerine Garden

Lam placed the camera on the table, but did not open the file immediately.

Since his father's death, he has watched dozens of discrete videos: tangerine trees in the sun, Mrs. Man's hand tying branches, Quan measuring soil moisture, Billing clerk in the corner of the house. In no part does he ever say a complete sentence. He used to think he was keeping normal things. Now every frame feels like a piece of evidence.

Thu sat opposite. Quan called by phone, leaving the phone on the shelf next to the hospital bed. While sleeping, the IV line was draped over her little arm.

“Open it,” Quan said.

Lam plugged in the hard drive. The final file is called “Not shown”. Duration forty-three minutes. The creation date was three weeks before father was admitted to the hospital.

The image begins in the office. Dad sat behind the desk, in front of him was a green notebook. He coughed many times and had to stop to drink water. Outside the window, a survey vehicle drove slowly through the fence.

“I don't know when my kids will see this,” he said. "Maybe after everything calms down. Maybe when everything is sold."

Lam lowered his eyes.

Father placed six strips of paper on the table.

"I used to think that keeping the land means keeping the family. I was wrong. The land cannot keep anyone if the living do not talk to each other."

Quan looked at the screen, his lips pursed.

"The letter will ask why I didn't write the water line obligations into the will. The answer is that I wrote it in a separate agreement. I'm afraid a long will will scare the children and make them sell immediately. That's the wrong choice."

The letter said nothing. She had been waiting for an explanation from her father about countless things. Didn't think it would come through a small screen.

Father turned the page.

"Quan will want to sell for his children. It's not his fault. I once sold a piece of land to treat my children's mother. Then I gave myself the right to decide that everyone should be grateful. That was also wrong."

Quan turned away from the phone.

"Lam will film everything, then keep it private for fear of being misunderstood. He thinks the more people see the truth, the more dangerous it is. I understand him, because I did the exact same thing."

Lam clasped his hands.

"The letter will try to turn the promise into a spreadsheet. It needs to do so so as not to be pulled away by emotions. But there are things that are not payable. One cannot compensate for an erased name with a number."

Vibrating image. Father turned his head to look at the door. The shadow of a person passes by, only the reflective strip is visible.

"The company already knows the water source. They don't just want the land. They want to turn a common system into a reason to build a separate project. If you accept money, read the water part before the price part."

Dad opened a file and held it close to the camera. Letter pauses video. The paper is the old agreement. In the lower corner there are seven signatures, of which the last signature is unknown. The signer was Ms. Luu, but her handwriting was shaky.

"I hid the original under the tank. I gave the copy to Mr. Nghiem. If the tank is destroyed, the person who lost the paper will find a tree without fruit."

Quan asked from the phone: "So why don't you take out the original?"

Lam continued. Father replied as if he had heard the question:

"Because if you keep it in a safe, people will take the safe. If you keep it by water, the person who wants to take the paper must admit that water exists."

The image changes to a rainy day. Father and Mrs. Man stood next to the old tank. Mrs. Man asked:

“Are you going to tell your children yet?”

“Waiting for the final season.”

“You don't have much season left.”

Father smiled sadly. “The last season of a tree is not the last season of a person.”

Mrs. Man turned away. “You used that sentence to escape.”

"I know."

The video made the room so quiet that you could hear the sound of the machine Hospital air conditioner in phone.

Father continued:

"If someone asks for the name of the seventh person, don't look in the land list. Look for the person who stood outside the map. That person is Mrs. Luu. But Mrs. Luu is not the end. She is a reminder that every map has a blank spot."

Lam stopped the video. Thu looked at him.

“Have you seen this part?”

"Not yet."

“Why did dad send it to you specifically?”

“He said I'm the least trustworthy person in the family.”

Quan smiled faintly over the phone. “Dad said that?”

"He said my camera could be seen by others as a trick. Thanks to that, people won't be on guard."

“And you keep everything until we fight ourselves.”

Lam bowed his head. “I'm afraid if I open early, people will think I'm taking advantage of my father's death to make a movie.”

Thu said: "You made your own decisions for everyone. Just like your father."

Lam nodded. “I know.”

They open the end. Father stood in front of the fruitless tree. He used a knife to scrape the crust, revealing a small hole. From the hole, he took out a piece of scrolled paper.

"This is the original location if I didn't have time to say it. But it's not just me who has to take it. Three of you have to stand on all three sides of the tree."

On the paper there is a diagram of three routes from the house, the well and the north gate. The intersection is under the tree, but next to it is written: "Open only after hearing the sixth person."

“Who is the sixth person?” Quan asked.

Thu thought of six households, then thought of Huy.

Huy has been standing outside the door ever since. He didn't knock, just listened to the last sentences.

“It could be my father,” he said.

Quan turned off the phone. “When did you get here?”

“I need to see Thu.”

“And eavesdropping?”

“I heard it.”

Huy placed a USB on the table. "I got the survey data before the account was locked. There was a schedule for water testing in the past three days. The person doing it was Tran Khai and a contractor named Dung."

USB plug letter. The data sheet shows that they opened the valve from outside during the late hours, causing the water pressure to drop and recording the data. One column reads “water line has no usage records.”

“They are creating false evidence,” she said.

"I know."

“Did you take this data because you wanted to help or because you were afraid of being blamed?”

Huy accepted the question. "Both."

Na woke up and looked at Quan's phone screen. The child asked:

“Did grandpa tell you?”

Quan softened his voice. "Yes. He said I remember the tree has no fruit."

Na thought for a moment. "That tree has no fruit because people don't give it water. He told it to keep the soil soft so people don't lose the tank."

Thu looked at the map. The fruitless tree not only marks Ms. Luu's name. Its roots are located above a hollow cavity, possibly the tank's air passage.

“We need to get the original before they destroy it,” she said.

Huy nodded. “I will call Mai and the old households.”

Quan looked at his phone. “I can't go home yet.”

“I live with Na,” Thu said. “This part is left to us.”

"No. Father said the three of you must stand on three sides."

Na opened her eyes. "Dad standing on three sides are Ms. Thu, Uncle Lam and dad. But dad is at the hospital."

Lam looked at the screen. “Maybe your dad doesn't need to stand on his feet.”

Quan smiled softly for the first time in many days.

They placed his phone opposite the tree on the map, so he could point the direction from afar. Lam brought the camera, Thu held the paper copy, Huy held the key. Mrs. Man stood behind, holding Mrs. Luu's book.

As they exited the garden, a figure crossed the south fence. Lam turned to follow, but could only catch one arm. There is a long scar on his wrist.

Huy looked at the frozen frame.

“That's not Khai,” he said.

“I know Who?"

Huy did not answer.

There was no fruit at the base of the tree, a small hole had just been dug in the ground.

There are no originals inside.

Lam did not touch the ring. He wrapped it in a towel and placed it next to the copy of the agreement. The ring face has fresh mud stains but the L part is worn, as if worn for many years. When Mai saw it, she immediately recognized it as the type of ring her mother used to use to tie a key to a cloth string.

“My mother lost it after going into the tank,” Mai said.

“Who put it in the hole?” Thu asked.

Huy looked towards the fence. “Dung can get it from your mother's old house.”

“But why put it here?”

“Let us think that Mrs. Luu is the person behind it.”

Mai shook her head. “My mother is not behind anyone. She stood in front of the valve.”

Lam reopened the video. In the last frame, the father looked down at the wrist of the person standing behind him. The silver ring was not on that person's hand, but the yellow cloth string was wrapped around the wrist. The person standing behind is not the ring bearer; They took the ring from another place to use as bait.

Letter zooms in on the square face watch. The device code is no longer visible, but the watch strap has a diagonal cut. Huy said all of the company's watches have anti-removal locks, except for those that are returned.

“Khai said the equipment was lost before the survey day,” Huy said. “If this is in the video, the device loss record is incorrect.”

“Or someone in the company reported it lost to use it off the books,” Thu replied.

Quan called and said the doctor had just sent Na back to the room to rest. He asked what they found. The letter only said a ring and a new direction. She didn't want him to feel more pressure from afar.

Lam looked at her. “You're doing what dad used to do.”

“Hide it because you think other people can't stand it?”

"YES."

Thu sighed. “Then I will speak.”

She told me all about the call, the photos, the survey data and the ring. Quan listened, then said: "I'm afraid the truth will make Na tired. But not knowing makes me even more tired.”

Huy received the ring with his gloves. “I'll ask my mother about it.”

Mai held his hand back. “Don't ask as if she's guilty.”

"I know."

“We are all questioning others through our fears.”

Huy let go.

There was no fruit at the base of the tree, a small hole had just been dug in the ground.

There are no originals inside.

There is only one silver ring engraved with the letter L.