Chapter 21 — The Secret Pension

Han Duc Hai, Ma Xao Van, and Han Viet were taken away to assist with the investigation. Lu Kien Quoc and Phuong Ve Dong did not return to the unit either. Initially, Hac Quang Chi remained stubbornly defiant, but the scrap of paper left behind by Sister Nguyet's husband, Old Tan's duty log, Cao Kien Dan's testimony, the original documents in the warehouse, Yuan Hui's photographs, along with the processing records from the bank and the social security agency, acted like an inescapable net, exposing the events of twelve years ago once again under the bright light of day. A month later, the social security agency issued its official disciplinary conclusion. The alteration of my father's special allowance account constituted a serious violation. All subsequent disbursements were restored to his rightful primary account, and the embezzled funds would be recovered in accordance with the law. The factory also reissued the official liability statement regarding the accident. In the tragic production line accident twelve years ago, Han Duc Xuong had previously submitted a formal request to halt the machinery for a safety inspection and thus bore no responsibility for the unauthorized restarting of the equipment.

That day, I read the official document aloud to my father. He sat out on the balcony, warm sunlight spilling across the back of his deeply wrinkled hands. As I reached the final line, he suddenly turned his face away. I caught the unmistakable glint of moisture at the corner of his eye.

Thanh Thanh.

Can your mother hear this?

I answered, Yes, she can. I carried the document into the hospital room. After listening to it from beginning to end, my mother let out a long, profound sigh of relief.

Old Han, your name has finally been cleared of all wrongs.

My father reached out and took her hand, holding it as if he were grasping onto a recovered half of his very life that had long been lost.

Mai, you must remember to take your medicine on time from now on.

And you must buy bottled water to drink instead of tap water.

My mother chuckled softly at him.

Do you really have the heart to spend that kind of money?

My father smiled back.

Yes, I do.

The recovered funds could not be returned in a single day. Han Duc Hai's car was impounded and liquidated, the funds used to renovate Han Viet's new house were placed under investigation, and Ma Xao Van wept bitterly as she begged my mother to write a letter of forgiveness. She knelt outside the hospital room, crying that they were all still relatives after all. My mother refused to see her. Neither did my father. He merely instructed me to relay a single sentence back to her.

Real relatives would never have taken my sister-in-law's hand and forced her thumbprint onto the red ink pad.

Later, on the day the court handed down its verdict, I took a day off from work. Han Duc Hai's entire family was ordered to return all the illicitly acquired funds and face the corresponding legal consequences. Phuong Ve Dong and Lu Kien Quoc were dealt with in a separate, related criminal case. Hac Quang Chi was also held criminally accountable for his mishandling of the accident documents all those years ago. The judgment document was exceptionally thick. My father put on his reading glasses and read through it for a very long time. Finally, he closed the thick bundle of papers and placed it inside the cardboard box he had brought home on the day of his retirement. Inside the box still sat his old enamel mug, a few faded blueprints, half a red ink pen, and the factory badge with its chipped enamel paint. I looked at him and asked, Dad, are you still keeping all of these things? He gently stroked the surface of the factory badge.

Keeping them.

They should never have had to lose face on account of wicked people.

Several months later, my mother was finally discharged from the hospital and returned home. For the very first time, my father took the initiative to walk downstairs to buy water himself. Two yuan a bottle. He bought three bottles in total. One for my mother, one for me, and the third he twisted open himself and took a large, refreshing gulp. The owner of the small neighborhood grocery store smiled warmly at him.

Old Han, feeling rather generous today, are we?

My father smiled back.

It is not that I could not afford it in the past.

It was simply that my hard-earned money had been stolen away by thieves.

A gentle breeze rustled through the canopy of towering sycamore trees shading the old residential compound. I watched as my mother and father walked slowly side by side toward home. Their backs were still aged and slightly stooped. But I knew that from this day forward, they would never have to live with their heads bowed in humiliation ever again.