Chapter 9 — The Promise of a Demobilized Soldier

Two weeks after Dong Thinh's retaliation, the situation of Binh Minh company showed no signs of improvement but worsened day by day. Without the three major contracts, the warehouse began to have a backlog of agricultural products that had been purchased in advance. Some perishable vegetables were forced to be sold off at low prices to small retail markets to salvage some of it, accepting losses to reduce damage rather than letting the goods rot in the warehouse.

The company's cash flow dried up quickly. The chief accountant, his face haggard with worry, brings Thanh Phong more and more worrying numbers every day. The bank loan to invest in a new processing line last year is due to be repaid, while the main source of revenue has been almost completely cut off. If this situation continues for another month, the company will no longer have enough money to pay the salaries of more than two hundred workers, most of whom are disabled veterans who do not have many job options other than Binh Minh.

The atmosphere in the factory became heavier than ever. Toan's familiar laughter and jokes are now fading away, replaced by worried whispers between groups of workers during breaks. Some people started asking for information about other companies that were recruiting, although in their hearts, everyone did not want to leave the place that had supported them for many years.

Thanh Phong realized this through the eyes of each person he met every day. One afternoon, he overheard the conversation of two young workers in the warehouse, one lost a leg, one lost an arm, talking to each other in worried voices.

"Did you hear that the company will not be able to pay salaries?" one person asked.

"I heard that too, but I don't know where to go now. Out there, no one will accept me to work with this prosthetic leg. Only here will Mr. Phong not hesitate." The other person replied, his voice lowered.

"Yeah, me too. But looking at Mr. Phong these days, seeing him is so painful, it's like carrying a mountain on your shoulders."

Hearing this, Thanh Phong quietly left, not wanting the two to discover that he had heard that conversation. His heart was heavy, the feeling of responsibility weighing heavily on his shoulders, which were already injured from the battlefield. He was not afraid of his own difficulties, but he was most afraid of disappointing those who once trusted him, having to once again feel abandoned in life, the way many of them felt when they first left the army, carrying wounds that outside society was not always willing to bear.

That afternoon, Thanh Phong convened a smaller meeting with department heads to discuss temporary cost cutting plans. He proposed voluntarily reducing his own salary to the minimum level, keeping only enough to cover basic living expenses, and putting the rest to ensure workers' salaries are not delayed.

"Mr. Phong, you can't just carry all the burden on yourself like that." Ben protested, his voice filled with worry. "You also need to live. If you cut your salary to that level, how can you survive?"

"I can live." Thanh Phong replied, his voice resolute. "I'm still healthy and younger than many of you here. But many of you have families and children of school age. They can't wait. I'm the leader, I have to suffer first."

The meeting ended in a quiet atmosphere, each person carrying their own worries when returning to their work positions. Thanh Phong stayed in the office alone, flipping through each page of the books, trying to find a possible direction, but the more he calculated, the more he realized the situation was more serious than he initially predicted. At the current rate of cash flow depletion, the company can only hold on for three more weeks at most before being forced to make painful decisions, possibly cutting staff, something he has never had to do since the company's founding.

In the midst of such confusion, a small incident happened that made Thanh Phong even more tormented. A worker named Hai, who lost a leg in a traffic accident after being discharged from the army, came to him and asked for a portion of his monthly salary in advance to take his young daughter to the doctor because she had a high fever for several days in a row. The man stood in front of the office door for a long time, rubbing his cap in his hand, hesitantly before knocking on the door, his face clearly showing embarrassment because he had to ask for help while the company was in trouble.

"Mr. Phong, I know the company is tight, but my child's fever hasn't improved for several days. I'm so scared." Hai said, his voice trembling. "I only asked for a small advance, I can make it up next month."

Thanh Phong looked at the man standing in front of him, his heart aching. He did not hesitate to immediately withdraw from his personal reserve fund, giving Hai an amount enough to take his child to the hospital, warning him that there was no need to repay it urgently. But after Hai left with profuse thanks, Thanh Phong sat silently for a long time, realizing that this was just one of hundreds of similar stories silently taking place in the company, small families were living on a small but steady salary from Binh Minh, and if the company collapsed, not only Hai but also many other families would fall into poverty with no way out.

The thought of having to fire any of the veterans who had trusted him to follow him made Thanh Phong's heart ache. He recalls each face, each individual situation, the stories they told him during simple lunches, about their families, and the difficulties they overcame to have a stable job today. He couldn't, and didn't want to, let any of them experience the feeling of being abandoned again.

That evening, when Thanh Phong was sitting alone in the dark office, with only the small desk lamp illuminating the pile of papers in front of him, there was a light knock on the door. Bao Chau walked in, holding a cup of hot tea, placing it in front of him.

"You haven't had dinner yet, right? I saw your office light was on so I came by." She said, her voice gentle.

Thanh Phong looked up and tried to give a forced smile. "Thank you, Ms. Chau. I'm not very hungry, I'm trying to find a way to get through this period."

Bao Chau pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him, his eyes firmly looking straight at him. "Mr. Phong, I've been up for the past few nights reviewing the entire company's financial statements. I think I've found some ways that can help the company survive the most difficult period, at least enough time for you to find a new partner. Do you have time to listen to my presentation?"

Thanh Phong looked up, a faint ray of hope suddenly flashed in his tired eyes. He nodded, pulled his chair closer, ready to listen to every detail that this resilient woman had diligently searched for over the past sleepless nights, like a benefactor who suddenly appeared right at the moment he needed it most.

"Before I go into details, I want to ask you a question." Bao Chau looked straight into his eyes, his voice serious. "Are you willing to change some of the company's familiar ways of operating? I don't mean to criticize the way you've been doing things for so long, but to get through this period, there are things that need to be done differently, even if it's not easy."

"I'm ready." Thanh Phong replied without hesitation. "As long as the workers do not suffer, I am willing to change anything."

Bao Chau nodded, his eyes slightly relieved at his openness. "Okay then. I have found three possible directions, one is to restructure outstanding receivables from small partners, two is to temporarily redirect a part of output to direct sales channels to consumers to reduce dependence on large distributors, and three, most importantly, is to renegotiate with the bank to reschedule the chain investment loan, based on the company's reputation for paying debt on time over the years. All three directions require time and patience, but I believe that if we do it right, our company can hold on, and even have the opportunity to build a more sustainable customer base, no longer depending too much on a few big partners like before."

Thanh Phong listened to every word, feeling like a beam of light had just penetrated the thick black cloud that had been covering his mind for the past two weeks. He looked at Bao Chau, his heart filled with deep gratitude mixed with a new belief that perhaps, his company still had a chance to overcome this storm, not thanks to luck, but thanks to the intelligence and resilience of the woman sitting in front of him right now.