Chapter 10 — The Snow Melts, The Sun Shines On The Green Mountains

The day he was discharged from the hospital, I rented a small bus to pick him up from the hospital and go straight to the beginning of the new road. The car rounded the final corner. When he saw the red ribbon and the crowd, he was silent for a long time. The new road is flat and wide, with railings extending along the mountainside. The merit stele has been moved to the small square on the side of the road. The hundred year old tree stands behind the stele. The foliage is not yet thick, but the branches are full of young buds. Luong Quoc Dong gave him scissors.

“Uncle, cut it.”

Luong Thu Nghia did not accept.

“Let Chieu Tinh cut.”

I shook my head.

“This path does not belong to you alone.”

After discussing for a long time, in the end each family appointed a representative, everyone held a large pair of scissors tied with a red ribbon. Sprinkle. The silk ribbon fell to the ground. The brass bell on my pocket rang. Luong Thu Nghia suddenly took the old iron box out of his pocket. Inside were three and a half coins that I gave him when I was eight years old.

“Didn't you already pay me back?”

“I put it under your pillow again.”

He placed the iron box in front of the merit stele.

"Thanh Thach Ao repaired the road. The first payment, Hua Chieu Tinh, three coins and five dimes."

My nose is stinging. At that moment, Trieu Khanh Phat stood next to him and calculated.

“Including interest over twenty years, it should at least double, right?”

“Shut up.”

“What I said makes sense.”

“Cutting the ribbon today, not debt collection.”

Everyone laughed. The ceremony ended, the first refrigerated truck drove into the village. The driver got down and said:

“This road is easier to follow than shown on the map.”

Just a very normal saying. Luong Quoc Dong turned his back and squatted on the side of the road to smoke for a long time. That year, the cooperative's revenue approached ten million dong. The families who had previously stood aside and watched all joined the cooperative, and surrounding villages also began supplying goods. We are not in a hurry to expand, first stabilizing quality control, classification and accounting. Trieu Khanh Phat became head of the quality inspection team. Whoever's goods don't meet standards, he scolds even more fiercely than me. Someone made fun of the old walnuts from that year. He did not avoid it at all.

"I once tripped, so I know where the hole is. If you've never tripped, just listen to me."

Luong Tranh quit his job at the district and was in charge of safety and equipment at the processing site. You still like to confiscate my computer. On the roster, there is also a special rule: Hua Chieu Tinh must take one day off every week. I used to object. In the general meeting of members, except me, all voted in favor. Tuong Tu Lan sat in the first row.

“The minority obeys the majority.”

I had to accept. As for the Trac family, after the investigation into the fake contract, the company was fined and several major customers also stopped cooperating. Trac Tu Hang never looked for me. He only declared through his lawyer that he did not know what his parents did that year, and at the same time gave up contacting me in the name of "younger brother". I respect this boundary. I also don't vent my anger on him. Both children's lives were arbitrarily arranged by their parents, there was no need to continue hurting each other. Phuong Man Le once posted a long article online, saying that she was forced by her family to favor men and despise women, hoping to receive support. sympathize. The question that appears most often in the comments section is:

"You were hurt before, why do you continue to hurt your daughter?"

She deleted the post. I don't feel happy about winning. Honestly, their withdrawal from my life makes me happier than their misfortune. My life is too busy. My schedule changes according to the agricultural season in the mountains. Honey has just been warehoused, and walnuts have reached harvest season. The budget table permanently stops at the "awaiting editing" column. Young people in the village returned one after another. There are people who livestream sales, there are warehouse managers, and there are university students who come to practice. In the past, adults in the village often urged their children:

“Go out, don't come back.”

Now they will say another half sentence:

“Go out and learn, learn and then come back.”

12 When I returned to the village, the snow had just stopped falling. The new road has been cleaned by snowplows, the black road surface stretches from the foot of the mountain to the beginning of the village. The street lights light up one after another. The roof of the far processing site was covered with a thin layer of snow. Luong Thu Nghia sat in the sun in the new square. He is nearly ninety years old, his hearing is getting worse, but his spirit is still fine. Seeing me, he raised his stick.

"Is General Director Hua back?"

“Don't learn from Luong Tranh.”

“How much did you earn this year?”

“Still not closed yet.”

“Don't try to trick him.”

I sat down next to him, took off the bronze bell and placed it in his palm. There are many small scratches on the bell body, but the sound is still the same as when I was a child.

“Eldest grandfather, the fund to support students in the village has been approved.”

“How much?”

"Enough for the children in the village to pay tuition and additional fees. From now on, it will continue to be supplemented each year."

“Whose idea?”

“All cooperative members.”

He held the bronze bell and nodded.

“This money is well spent.”

On the other side of the square, several children carrying schoolbags ran past. The smallest girl slipped her shoelace, almost fell, then crawled up on her own. A new bronze bell also hangs on her school bag. The bell was very similar to the old one in my hand, but the edges were rounder and the girl's name was engraved on the back. In recent years, the cooperative has given a bell to each child entering school. The jingling sound of the bell followed her footsteps as she ran straight towards the school bus. The girl ran halfway and turned back to stare at me.

“Are you Hua Chieu Tinh?”

“Call me.”

“The teacher said I'm almost thirty years old.”

I turned my head to look at Luong Thu Nghia. He raised his stick to the sky, pretending he didn't hear anything. The girl took a baked sweet potato from the side compartment of her schoolbag, the plastic bag filled with condensation.

"He told me to give it to you. He said you always forget to eat when you're busy."

“Who is your great-grandfather?”

“Ba La.”

I almost couldn't react in time. Mrs. La used to make small quilts for me when I was a child, but now she has become an old lady in the mouths of children. Later, she clearly understood the cooperative's contract, put on her old glasses and re-painted it over and over again for half a day at the signature spot, and insisted on including the non-refundable boarding fee that year as part of her capital contribution. I took the sweet potato, it was so hot that I had to switch it back and forth between my hands. The girl squatted down to tie her shoe laces. The knot is ramshackle, but at least also quite tight.

“Do you know how to fix roads?” the girl asked.

“Know a little.”

"So the school yard floods every time it rains, please fix it."

“This matter must be found with the principal.”

“The principal said to find you.”

I was speechless when asked by the girl. Luong Thu Nghia sitting next to him burst out laughing. The school bus driver honked. The girl replied, put on the bag with the jingling bell and ran away. The girl did not turn her head. When I was young, every time I left the village in the car, I had to lie down on the side of the car and look back, until the last roof disappeared before I could sit upright. Children today do not need to remember that muddy road, nor do they have to worry that a rainstorm will keep the car from returning home between the mountainside. That's very good. There are old stories that just need to stop in our generation. Luong Thu Nghia asked:

“Are there any more road repairs?”

“Yes.”

“The road is clear already?”

"Besides the cold storage, it is necessary to build a freight transport branch. The bee farm on the mountain also needs to repair the small road. In the future, there will also be a learning attraction, a medical room and a service station for the elderly."

He laughed at me being greedy.

“Three and a half dong and you want to fix so many things?”

I took out three coins and a five dime bill from my pocket. I still keep that old set of money.

“The first road has been repaired, the following roads can be gradually repaired.”

In the evening, kitchen smoke began to rise from the rooftops in the village. The car lights on the new road pass through the branches of the eucalyptus tree, illuminating the merit stele and also illuminating the old iron box placed next to it. I stood up, brushed the dust off my pant legs and walked towards the processing point. Behind me, someone called me home to eat, and in front, there was someone holding a book, waiting for me to sign. The wind blew through the mountain gate. The clear sound of the bronze bell rang out, following me all the way home. The snow has stopped falling. The whole Thanh Thach Ao was bathed in sunlight. END OF STORY.