Chapter 9 — The Lantern That Never Goes Out

The "Old Crafts Market" that Uyen Chi initiated is finally approaching, with only three days left until the event officially takes place at the village communal house yard. The whole old town seemed to wake up after gloomy days due to rumors about Han Phat. Craft households were busy preparing their stalls, cleaning up tools that had not been used for a long time, and honing their skills to be able to perform in front of a large audience. Van Nguyet Workshop is no exception, Uyen Chi and her father and now Thien Vu all put their efforts into preparing their stall.

While rearranging the materials, Uyen Chi needed a large amount of bamboo to make frames for the sample lamps to be displayed, so she and Thien Vu stopped by Mr. Bay Tuyen's house to order more goods. Mr. Bay welcomed the two with a familiar gentle smile, but when he saw Thien Vu, something strange flashed through his eyes, as if trying to remember a face from a long time ago.

"You are..." Mr. Bay hesitated, looking closely at Thien Vu from head toe.

"I'm Han Thien Vu. I'm helping organize this year's festival, and I'm also learning to make lamps at the Van Nguyet workshop," Thien Vu introduced, bowing politely.

Mr. Bay's eyes stopped on Thien Vu's face for a long time, then he sighed softly, a sigh carrying many layers of meaning that neither Uyen Chi nor Thien Vu could understand all at once. “You look so much like your grandfather,” he said softly, almost in a whisper. "Especially the eyes, exactly the same."

Thien Vu was slightly startled. "Do you know my grandfather, Mr. Han Ba Vinh?"

Mr. Bay nodded slowly, his eyes distant as if lost in a very distant time. "I know. In the past, he and Ms. Tuyet Nga, Ms. Uyen Chi's grandmother, were the closest professional friends in this town. Both were talented, enthusiastic young people, always searching for new techniques to make lamps more beautiful and durable." He stopped, his eyes glanced at Uyen Chi and then back at Thien Vu, as if considering whether to continue the story or not.

"Please continue," Uyen Chi urged, her voice unable to hide the impatience that had accumulated for a long time. "I know this involves both families, I want to understand everything."

Mr. Bay sighed again, then sat down on his familiar stool, motioning for two people to sit next to him. "That happened more than thirty years ago. Back then, Mr. Vinh and Ms. Tuyet Nga worked together to research a new frame weaving technique, called a double helix frame, which helped the lamp fold up when not in use, much more convenient than the traditional fixed frame. It took the two of them a whole year of experimenting, failing countless times before succeeding."

Uyen Chi and Thien Vu listened silently, no one dared to interrupt, for fear of interrupting the old man's flowing memories.

"At that time," Mr. Bay continued, his voice lowered, "there was a big businessman from Saigon who offered to cooperate in mass production of that technology, promising a large sum of money. But the contract could only be in the name of one person who owns the invention. At that time, Mr. Vinh's family was in dire financial straits, his wife was seriously ill and needed money urgently for treatment. Mr. Vinh asked Ms. Tuyet Nga to let him be named first, promising to divide the fair share after the work stabilized."

"And what happens after that?" Thien Vu asked, his voice sounded a bit shaky, as if he had already guessed the answer but still couldn't help but be shocked to hear confirmation from someone else's own mouth.

"After that, Mr. Vinh used that patent to open his own factory, then gradually developed into a large company. The promise to redistribute the share to Ms. Tuyet Nga was never fulfilled. She did not sue, did not make a fuss, just quietly cut off the relationship, never mentioning it again. From then on, the two families were completely separated, even though they lived in the same small street." Mr. Bay looked at Thien Vu, his eyes were not reproachful but only had the sympathy of someone who had witnessed the whole story. "I didn't tell you to blame you or your father. The things that happened to adults in the past should not be left to weigh heavily on the shoulders of the next generation."

Thien Vu sat silently, his hands clasped tightly together on his thighs, his face pale as if he had just received a big shock. "So... Han Phat company now, the initial foundation is..."

"That's right," Mr. Bay nodded, his voice gentle but firm. "It is the technique that Ms. Tuyet Nga helped create."

Uyen Chi looked at Thien Vu, saw in his eyes a real pain, a shame that he did not deserve to suffer, but still could not stop that feeling from surging. She placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him with the simplest gesture.

"This isn't your fault," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "You don't have to bear the responsibility for what the previous generation did."

"But I'm benefiting from that," Thien Vu said, his voice choked. "My entire childhood, my father's entire career, were built on a foundation that should have been shared fairly with your family. Yet now, that same company is trying to push Van Nguyet workshop out of the festival, continuing to hurt you once again."

Mr. Bay put his hand on Thien Vu's shoulder, his voice became warmer. "You don't need to blame yourself like that. The important thing is that now, when you know the truth, what you choose to do next. Mrs. Tuyet Nga, if you're still alive, I think you won't want to see you tormented by other people's mistakes, but will want to see your generation find a way to heal what's broken."

The three people sat quietly in Mr. Bay's bamboo-filled yard, the afternoon sunlight filtering through the leaves pouring down shimmering streaks of light on the ground. Uyen Chi looked at Thien Vu, saw that he was trying to calm down after the shock he had just received, and in her heart, a new determination was forming - determination that, no matter how painful the truth of the past was, she would not let it become a barrier between her and Thien Vu, but on the contrary, would turn it into a motivation for them both to find a way to fix what was wrong, not only for themselves, but also for the values that her grandmother had worked so hard to cultivate all her life.

On the way home, the two walked in silence for a long time, each pursuing their own thoughts. Finally, when approaching the gate of Van Nguyet factory, Thien Vu spoke, his voice had calmed down but still contained a hint of concern.

"I need time to think about this," he said, "and perhaps, I also need to talk frankly with my father, even though I know it won't be easy."

Uyen Chi nodded, gently holding his hand in a gesture of encouragement. "I'll be here, whenever you need me."

Thien Vu looked at her, his eyes contained a deep gratitude that words could hardly express. He did not enter the factory immediately but stood in front of the gate for a long time, looking inside where the familiar oil lamp was emitting a warm light, where Mr. Khoan was probably still sitting waiting for his daughter to return. "I need to go for a walk to clear my head," he said. "Tomorrow I will come back to help you prepare for the Old Craft Market as promised."

Uyen Chi watched his shadow disappear into the dark alley, her heart was heavy both because of sympathy for Thien Vu and because of a vague worry about whether the newly revealed truth would crack the fragile relationship between the two people. She entered the workshop and saw her father waiting as expected, holding her grandmother's notebook, his eyes questioning when he saw his daughter's thoughtful expression.

"What's the matter, child?" Mr. Khoan asked, placing the notebook on the table.

Uyen Chi sat down and told the entire story that Mr. Bay had just revealed, every detail, from the double helix frame technique, to Mr. Han Ba Vinh's never-fulfilled promise, to Thien Vu's painful reaction when he learned the truth about his own family company. Mr. Khoan listened in silence, his trembling hands clasped tightly together, his eyes gradually filled with tears.

"So I finally know," he said softly, his voice choked. "For many years, my mother kept this secret in her heart, without a word of complaint, just silently putting all her energy into creating the Cuu Lien lamp, as a way to prove her worth without relying on anyone. Father always thought her mother was strong, but now that I think about it, perhaps it was also a way for her to heal herself from the wound that she didn't want anyone to see."

Father and son sat quietly together for a long time, the oil lamp light swaying with each wind blowing through the door, as if they were commemorating a heartbreaking story that had just been told after many years of silence. Uyen Chi held her father's hand, feeling the familiar trembling in his fingers, and in her heart, the love for her father and grandmother became deeper and deeper, and she became more determined not to let this sad story continue to weigh on anyone in the family again.