Chapter 6 — The Life-Changing Journey of the 200 Billion Shan Tuyet Tea King

The last car left the tea village on the Hoang Lien range when Loc was still writing the seventh number in the book. Loc did not rush to conclusions. People who are accustomed to mountain dew, nectar-stained hands, and tea-burning wood stoves understand that one small sign can be the consequence of a whole series of wrong choices. Loc placed the old key next to the notebook, circled the unusual spot and reminded himself of the ancient tea tree and his promise to the village.

Chapter 6 revolves around the old people telling the rules of picking. Loc divided tasks into components that can be inspected: who goes where, what samples to take, who to notify and where to stop if there is a risk. May recorded each timestep to a compressed recording file; they did not allow vague memories to replace data. Cuong may say the project only needs a boost, but in the tea village on the Hoang Lien range, a wrong decision often costs many years.

In the afternoon, a new detail appeared: the old man told the picking rules. It forced Loc to look again at his motives. They were so focused on winning over Cuong that they forgot their original goal of protecting the ancient tea tree and their promise to the village. May just asked: "If you win but everyone still loses what they need, what kind of win do you call that?"

A copy was sent unexpectedly. It showed that Cuong did not act alone and that the old man said the picking law was just the outer layer of a longer plan. Loc compared the signature, file creation time and narrative. Each piece was small, but when placed next to the others it pointed to a door that no one dared to open before.

Loc returned with the map and on-site testimony, this time with another person to avoid one voice deciding everything. They compared mountain dew, nectar-stained hands, and wood stoves for drying tea with the previous day's data. They asked the person who had witnessed the old man to tell them the picking rules and clearly write down the unknown part. The method was slower than a statement, but each step left a trace for later inspection. When May said she was tired, Loc put away the documents, poured water and reminded: "You can rest, but don't skip the question."