Chapter 15 — The Inn at the End of the Pass

A week after the real estate broker came to the shop, Thao discovered something that shocked her even more than what had happened before. When checking the monthly income and expenditure records, she noticed a small amount of money missing from the record - not much, only about two million dong, but enough to make a meticulous person like her pay attention.

Following the trail, she discovered that the money had been withdrawn from the inn's general fund, by Thuy Duong herself, based on her signature authorizing her sister to manage the cashier when she was busy with other things.

That night, Thao called Thuy Duong aside to talk privately, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible so as not to scare her sister.

"Can you explain to me the missing two million in the cash book last week?"

Thuy Duong's face turned pale, her hands tightened on her shirt, and she was silent for a long time before mumbling a response. "I... I gave it to Binh, sister."

"Give it to Mr. Binh for what?" Thao asked, trying to keep her voice from being too harsh even though many doubts arose in her heart.

"He said he needed money urgently to put down a deposit to rent a new place in town, because he didn't want to live in the garage anymore. He asked me not to tell you, I'm afraid you'd be more upset." Thuy Duong burst into tears, the tears she had held back for so long finally fell. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept this from you. But I found him so miserable, I couldn't bear to refuse."

Thao hugged her sister and rubbed her back to reassure her, although in her heart she felt both pain and worry that her family, under the pressure of the ongoing crisis, began to have cracks in mutual trust - something that they had never allowed to happen before, no matter how poor.

"I don't blame you for helping Mr. Binh." Thao said, her voice gentle but serious. "I just hope that from now on, if there is anything related to money, no matter how small, you will tell me directly. We are a family, we should not hide such things from each other, even if it comes from good intentions."

Thuy Duong nodded, promising not to do it again, but the story still left Thao with an indescribable worry - if Gia Binh has started looking for his own place to live, is he really preparing to leave his family, leave this pass decisively, despite all the healing efforts she is trying to make.

The next day, Thao decided to go town to meet Gia Binh directly, unannounced, bringing with her a bag of home-cooked food - braised pork with turmeric, which he has loved the most since childhood.

The garage where Gia Binh works is located in a small alley, noisy with machinery and a strong smell of oil. Seeing Thao suddenly appear, Gia Binh was a bit surprised, awkwardly wiped his hands on a rag and walked out, his expression still cautious after the previous argument.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked, his voice no longer as harsh as before but still keeping a certain distance.

"Bring you food. I heard you've been in the garage for a few days. I'm afraid you've been eating erratically." Thao held out the bag of food, her voice gentle and not reproachful.

Gia Binh received it, his eyes showing a little emotion even though he tried to hide it. The two sisters sat down on an old plastic chair in front of the garage door, remaining silent for a long time before Thao spoke first.

"I know that you plan to rent your own house. I won't stop you, but I want to ask honestly — do you still consider the inn and your sisters family, or have you decided to leave once and for all?"

Gia Binh was silent for a long time, his hands fiddled with an oil rag, his eyes looking far into the space in front of him.

"I don't know anymore, Thao." He finally spoke, his voice deep and sad. "I still consider you, Duong, and Minh family. But I also need my own space to think for myself, decide my own path, and not be influenced by emotions or responsibilities to my family anymore. I'm afraid that if I stay in that cycle of worry and responsibility, I will never know what I really want for my life."

Gia Binh's explanation, although it did not completely erase Thao's worries, also helped her better understand her younger brother's complex thoughts - not a complete abandonment, but an uncertain search for self of a twenty-year-old man growing up amid constant family turmoil.

"I understand." Thao said, her voice softened. "I just hope that no matter what you decide, our door will always be open for you to return. And I hope that before you decide to sell the inherited land, you will give me a little more time. Mr. Dang and I are working on a project that, if successful, could completely change the situation, not only for our shop but for the whole neighborhood."

Gia Binh nodded, not making any firm promises, but also not refusing outright like before. "I'll wait a little longer. But you also have to promise me that if that project doesn't work out, you have to let me decide for myself and not stop me."

"I promise." Thao replied, even though inside she couldn't help but worry about the invisible deadline hanging over the whole family's heads.

On the way back to the inn, Thao felt both a little lighter after the frank conversation with Gia Binh and heavier under the increasingly narrowing pressure of time. The "heritage road" project is now not only the hope of saving the whole neighborhood's livelihood, but also becoming the last fragile thread keeping her patchwork family from completely falling apart.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she saw Khai Dang sitting on the porch waiting, his face looking unusually serious, in his hand holding a printed piece of paper that he had just received via email.

"What's the matter?" Thao asked, her uneasy feeling rising again.

"The company just sent a notice." Khai Dang replied, his voice low. "They set the deadline for the final survey phase to be two months away. After that, the official design plan will be finalized, and the site clearance compensation process will begin immediately after that."

Two months. That number rang in Thao's head like an alarm bell, turning all her previous plans and vague hopes into a real race against time, where each passing day had a vital meaning for the future of the whole inn, the whole Back Deo village, and her entire patchwork family that was on the brink of danger like never before.

"Is two months enough to complete the project?" Thao asked, her voice shaking from the sudden pressure.

"It will be very urgent, but not impossible." Khai Dang replied, trying to keep his voice calm to reassure her. "We need to speed up the survey process, and at the same time find a professional tourism consulting unit to help complete the documents, and most importantly, there must be an official written petition from the people, signed and agreed by the majority of households in the neighborhood."

"So we have to meet with the whole neighborhood as soon as possible." Thao said, in her mind, she had begun to visualize the to-do list - from convincing Ms. Sau Hong to temporarily put aside her intention to sell the land, to asking Mr. Bay Trinh to mobilize other households, and then seeking support from Khai Dang's relationships in the industry.

Khai Dang nodded, pulled out a notebook from his pocket with detailed notes of plans and tasks that needed to be completed, evidence that he had silently prepared for this situation in advance, not letting the unexpected deadline catch them both off guard.

"I have already outlined a work roadmap." He said, showing the notebook to Thao. "We will divide it into three phases - the first two weeks completing the survey and collecting consensus signatures, the next three weeks working with the consulting unit to complete the technical documents, and the last three weeks for submitting and lobbying the competent authorities for consideration before they finalize the final design plan."

Looking at the meticulous notebook, detailing every day, Thao feels more clearly than ever Khai Dang's seriousness and dedication to this war - not only because of his feelings for her, but also because of the professional conscience of an engineer who does not want to see the project he contributed to rebuild at the cost of the destruction of a community that has existed for many generations.

"Thank you." She said, her voice choked with emotion. "I don't know how I would cope without you by my side these days."

"You won't have to manage it alone." Khai Dang replied, holding her hand tightly as a firm commitment. "No matter how difficult or tiring the next two months may be, we will overcome it together, step by step, without giving up halfway."