Chapter 4 — The Lantern That Never Goes Out

The official meeting that Mr. Dai Quang Minh promised was finally scheduled for a Saturday morning, at the large hall of the Old Quarter Committee, which can accommodate nearly a hundred people. The news spread throughout the street a few days ago, causing almost all households doing traditional crafts, from lanterns, ceramics, mat weaving, to wood carving, to arrange their work to be present. Uyen Chi arrived early with her father, choosing a seat in the third row, close enough to hear every word clearly, and far enough away to observe the entire scene.

The hall gradually filled with people. Uyen Chi recognized most of the familiar faces in the old town - Uncle Sau Dong sitting with a few lamp makers, Miss Nham with an undisguised tense expression, and the potters and weavers that she only knew briefly but all had the same anxiety clearly visible on their faces. Bao Chau sat right behind, occasionally reaching up to whisper short words of encouragement into Uyen Chi's ear.

Right on time, Mr. Dai Quang Minh stepped onto the podium, followed by two people wearing elegant suits that Uyen Chi had never met. A middle-aged man, tall, with neatly combed hair, sharp eyes scanned the crowd as if assessing the situation. The other person is a younger woman, holding a briefcase, seemingly an assistant.

"Dear people," Mr. Minh began, his voice trembling slightly, different from his usual confidence. "Today, the Old Quarter Management Board invites people here to announce a new cooperation plan for this year's Nguyet Giang lantern festival. Please introduce, this is Mr. Han Vinh Vuong, General Director of Han Phat Company."

The whole hall was buzzing and then quieted down immediately, all eyes turned to the man who had just been introduced. Uyen Chi felt her heart beat faster when she heard that name clearly ringing out, no longer a vague rumor but a reality standing right in front of her. She glanced at her father and saw Mr. Khoan sitting stiffly, his hands clasped tightly together on his thighs, his eyes fixed on the man on the podium as if trying to find something familiar from old stories.

Mr. Han Vinh Vuong stepped in front of the microphone, smiling politely but somewhat distantly. "Hello people in Nguyet Giang ancient town. First of all, I would like to express my respect for the cultural values that people have preserved for many generations. We, Han Phat Company, do not intend to completely replace what people are doing, but only wish to contribute to making this year's festival more brilliant, more cost-effective for the local budget, and at the same time ensuring better fire safety than traditional candles."

He presented a series of data and illustrations of colorful LED lamp models that can be controlled remotely, save electricity, are highly durable, and cost only a small fraction of manual lamps. The numbers projected on the big screen, cost comparisons, production time comparisons, all leaned heavily in favor of Han Phat company's plan.

"We propose a cooperation plan: Han Phat company will provide the entire decorative lighting system for the main streets during this year's festival, with a significant sponsorship cost for the Management Board, in exchange for the right to place the company logo at key decoration points." Mr. Vuong finished his presentation, his eyes scanning the crowd with the confidence of someone who firmly grasped victory in his hands.

A heavy silence filled the hall before whispers began to rise. Uncle Sau Dong was the first to stand up, his voice shaking with anger. "So what about us? For generations, festival lights have been made by people in the old town. Now you say that means we will no longer be able to participate in our own festivals?"

Mr. Vuong raised his hand to signal calmness, his voice still maintaining a peaceful tone. "Not at all, sir. People can still sell their lights tourists as usual, we only take care of the main decoration on major streets."

"But if the main street is full of your plastic lamps, then who else will tourists pay attention to our silk lamps?" Ms. Nham stood up to continue speaking, her voice full of frustration. "You say it so gently, but you're actually forcing us into a corner."

The atmosphere in the hall began to become tense, many people stood up to protest, their voices intermingled, causing Mr. Minh to repeatedly raise his hand to request order. Uyen Chi stood up and took a deep breath to keep her voice from shaking.

"Please allow me to ask Mr. Vuong a question," she said, the whole hall gradually quieted down to listen to her. "Do you know exactly how many steps and how much time it takes to complete a handmade silk lamp? Do you know that each lamp carries its own story of the person who made it? If only compared by price and quantity, of course plastic lamps will win. But the Mid-Autumn Festival is not just about beautiful decoration, but also an opportunity to preserve and honor the cultural values that have created the identity of this old town."

Mr. Vuong looked at her, his eyes slightly surprised at the young girl's straightforwardness, then nodded slightly, his voice still calm and professional. "You're not wrong. But ma'am, business and culture sometimes have to find a balance. The Management Board has a limited budget and tourism development targets to achieve. We are just proposing a feasible solution in a real context."

"In fact, you guys are planning to use money to buy out an entire traditional festival," Uyen Chi replied, her voice unable to hide her determination. "If the Management Board really needs a balanced solution, why not give traditional craft households a chance to prove it first, instead of imposing such a top-down solution?"

The hall suddenly burst into applause from many sides, causing Mr. Minh to hastily speak up to calm the situation. "Please calm down, this is just an initial consultation session, no final decision has been made yet. The Management Board will carefully consider all opinions before deciding."

The meeting ended in an unresolved atmosphere, but it was clear that a line had been drawn between the two sides. When everyone left, Uyen Chi caught a glimpse of Mr. Han Vinh Vuong standing and talking privately with Mr. Minh in the corner of the room, their voices were low but both of their faces were serious. She also noticed that, while packing up documents, Mr. Vuong accidentally dropped a business card, and when she bent down to pick it up to help, her eyes glanced at the company logo printed on it - a stylized image of a lantern, but drawn in a modern, sharp style, completely different from the soft lines of traditional silk lamps.

"Thank you," Mr. Vuong said as he received the business card back. His eyes stayed on Uyen Chi's face a little longer than usual, as if trying to remember something. "Are you... a descendant of which family in town?"

"I am Pho Uyen Chi, daughter of Mr. Pho Van Khoan, Van Nguyet lamp factory," she replied, keeping her voice polite but no less decisive.

Hearing the name "Pho", Mr. Vuong's eyes softened for a brief moment, enough for Uyen Chi to realize that something unusual flashed across this man's face, before he could regain his usual composure. "Van Nguyet... I've heard of this workshop," he said, his voice gentle but somewhat reserved, then said goodbye and quickly walked out of the hall with his assistant.

Uyen Chi stood still for a moment, watching Mr. Vuong's disappearing figure, a new question arose in her heart. That fleeting reaction wasn't something random — it seemed like the name Pho Van Nguyet had some meaning to him, a meaning she couldn't fully understand yet.

On the way home, she recounted that detail to her father. Mr. Khoan was silent for a long time, his steps slowed down. "Perhaps," he said, his voice low, "my mother's old story has more influence on the present than I thought. I think it's time for us to find out everything clearly, we can't let these obscure secrets hinder the battle we are facing."

Uyen Chi nodded, both worried and somewhat relieved - finally, after many years of silence, perhaps it was time for the truth about her grandmother, about the mysterious connection with the Han family, to gradually be revealed. And she has a hunch that truth will play as important a role as bamboo slats and silk sheets in the battle to maintain the profession that she is engaged in.

That night, when the lights were turned off in the whole workshop, only the small oil lamp in Mr. Khoan's room was still on. Uyen Chi heard his father searching for something in an old wooden cabinet in the corner of the room, where his grandmother's things were kept that he had always been afraid touch. She stood outside the door, not daring to speak, just quietly observing her father's shadow falling on the wall through the slightly opened door. A long while later, he came out, holding a small rusty tin box in his hand, placing it on the table in the middle of the house.

"I found this at the bottom of the closet. When I was cleaning the house after my mother passed away, I kept it and didn't open it because I was still so heartbroken at the time," he said, his voice choking. "Now that I think about it, maybe this has something to do with what we're looking into."

Uyen Chi sat down next to her father, father and son both looked at the tin box covered in dust from time, neither of them was in a hurry to open it right away, as if they both needed a little more courage before facing what might lie inside. Outside, the night wind blew through the window, carrying cool steam from the river, causing the oil lamp on the table to sway slightly, the light wavering like the nervous heartbeat of both people.