Chapter 27 — The Lantern That Never Goes Out

One week before the official festival, the survey team from the provincial cultural heritage conservation organization officially visited Nguyet Giang ancient town. The group consisted of three experts, led by a middle-aged woman with a serious demeanor but eyes that always sparkled with passion whenever traditional cultural values were mentioned. They spent two full days surveying the entire craft village area, from the Van Nguyet lamp factory to households making pottery, weaving mats, and weaving rattan and bamboo.

Uyen Chi welcomed the survey group at the workshop and personally introduced each stage of lamp making, from choosing bamboo, splitting slats, weaving frames, to covering silk and drawing patterns. She carefully presented the whole story about the Cuu Lien lamp, about the double helix frame technique, without hiding any details, including the story about the old feud between the two families that had recently been resolved.

"Your story is truly very special," the survey team leader commented after listening, taking careful notes in his notebook. "Not only the technique of making lamps, but also the story of reconciliation, of the community spirit standing up to protect heritage, are all important factors in assessing the value of an intangible cultural heritage."

The survey team also visited Mr. Bay Tuyen's house and recorded the process of sharpening bamboo slats with skillful techniques passed down through generations. The old man, although initially shy in front of the camera, gradually became more natural when telling stories about his profession, his voice filled with pride when mentioning the deceased artisans he had the opportunity to learn from.

On the last day of the survey, the delegation also visited Han Phat company, where Mr. Vuong personally welcomed and presented about the Anh Dang Nguyet Giang Fund and committed to long-term companionship with artisans. The remarkable transformation of a business that was once the biggest threat to a traditional profession, now becoming an active supporting partner, made the survey team especially impressed.

"This is a rare model," the delegation leader commented during the debriefing session before leaving. "Normally, we witness a prolonged confrontation between large businesses and small craft households. We rarely see such positive transformation in just a short time. We will propose the application to recognize the Nguyet Giang handmade lantern making profession to a higher authority, and I believe the possibility of success is very high."

This news spread throughout the old town that evening, bringing a new wave of joy, almost comparable to the joy of the previous night of the parade of lights. Uyen Chi, after seeing the survey team off, returned to the workshop with a deep sense of relief and satisfaction.

"You did well," Mr. Khoan said, embracing his daughter in a rare hug that clearly showed his unconcealed pride. "I believe, if my mother were still alive, she would be more proud of you than anything else."

That night, after having dinner with her father, Uyen Chi brought a new version of a small nine-petal lotus lantern - not the one that was dropped into the river during the night of the lantern parade, but another one she had just completed, planning to display it at the exhibition area during the official festival night - out to the yard to sit and admire it under the gradually full moonlight.

Thien Vu stopped by and saw her sitting alone, so he came and sat next to her. “What are you thinking?” he asked, following her eyes following the lamp in her hand.

"I'm thinking about the journey I've been through," Uyen Chi replied, her voice quiet but full of thought. "From a girl who only worried about whether she was good enough to succeed her grandmother, now I am faced with the opportunity to help an entire craft village be recognized as a cultural heritage. Sometimes I still can't believe that things can turn around so quickly and completely."

"You deserve all of that," Thien Vu said, wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders. "And I believe, this is just the beginning. There are many good things waiting ahead, for you, for Van Nguyet workshop, and for us."

Uyen Chi leaned her head on his shoulder, both of them silently watching the moonlight rising higher in the night sky. Only a few days left until it would be perfect, just like what they were hoping for the upcoming festival night, and for the love story that was gradually blossoming between the two of them.

A few days later, Thi Bao Chau organized a small gathering at her tea shop, inviting all her close friends in the village to relax together after weeks of continuous stressful work. Uyen Chi, Thien Vu, Mr. Bay Tuyen, and a few other young friends gathered around a simple bamboo table, sipping a cup of fragrant lotus tea in the chilly air of the early days of autumn.

"I have to say," Bao Chau smiled, pouring more tea for everyone, "I've never seen you so radiant, Uyen Chi. When you first started fighting with Han Phat, your face was always as tense as a string, now..." she glanced at Thien Vu meaningfully, making the whole table laugh.

Uyen Chi blushed and gently pushed your shoulder. "You're teasing me again."

"It's funny," Mr. Bay Tuyen contributed, his voice with a rare sense of humor. "You've lived for seventy years. You can immediately tell who is in love and who is being loved by looking at you. The two of you are like a lamp and a candle. Without each other, they will go out."

The whole table laughed again, a warm, friendly atmosphere spread throughout the small corner of the riverside restaurant. Thien Vu, although somewhat embarrassed by the teasing, still could not hide his happy smile, his hand gently held Uyen Chi's hand under the table, a small gesture but enough for both of them to feel the bond that was growing stronger.

"To be honest," Bao Chau continued, her voice becoming a bit more serious, "I'm happy for you guys. Not only because of your feelings, but because of the way you two have overcome so many storms together. Not everyone is brave enough to stand on the right side, especially when that means having to confront their own family."

Thien Vu nodded, his eyes looking at Uyen Chi affectionately. "I think, if it weren't for Uyen Chi, maybe I wouldn't have had the courage to do what I did. She was the one who showed me that sometimes, the right path is not always the easy path, but is always worth following."

The story gradually turned to happy memories during the past journey - the story of Uncle Sau Dong almost knocking over an entire tray of marching lanterns while rehearsing for the night of the lantern parade, the story of Ms. Nham struggling all day to teach the children how to shape clay molds properly, the story of Thien Vu holding a bamboo knife for the first time and nearly cutting his hand, causing the whole workshop to panic. Each story told is accompanied by bursts of laughter, erasing all traces of fatigue left after stressful weeks.

Mr. Bay Tuyen, after a few cups of tea, began to tell older stories, about when he was young, about the Mid-Autumn Festival nights decades ago, when the whole street still had no electricity, only oil lamps and candle-lit lanterns illuminated the alleys. "Back then, we were much poorer than now," he said, his voice far away with nostalgia, "but happier, warmer. Maybe because people still knew how to appreciate what they had, not just having a lot of money meant being happy."

Uyen Chi listened attentively, with a deeper understanding of the value she was trying to preserve. She looked around the table, looked at the familiar faces beaming in the warm oil lamp light of the small tea shop, and felt extremely grateful to have had these people accompany her throughout the past journey.

The gathering lasted until late, when the moon rose high in the clear sky, reflecting sparklingly on the river surface right in front of the tea shop. Everyone left one by one, only Uyen Chi and Thien Vu stayed behind to help Bao Chau clean up. When the work was finished, the three sat on the steps of the shop, looking out at the quiet river.

"Only five more days," Bao Chau said, her voice both excited and a little nervous. "I'm still nervous every time I think about the official festival night. This time the scale is much larger than the night of the lantern parade, I don't know if everything will go smoothly."

"It will go smoothly," Uyen Chi reassured, although in her heart she could not hide the same nervousness. "We have prepared carefully, have support from the Management Board, from the Anh Dang Foundation, and most importantly, have the consensus of the entire community. I believe, this year's festival will be the most memorable night ever."

The three of them sat quietly together for a while longer, enjoying the rare moment of peace before the busy pace of the last days of preparing for the festival continued to take them away.