Chapter 7 — The Snow Melts, The Sun Shines On The Green Mountains

Luong Tranh pushed the documents towards me.

“Do we need to chase them away?”

“No need.”

“They clearly target the project.”

“They came at just the right time.”

I called the police station, asked to see the records from that year, and contacted a lawyer. The next day, Phuong Man Le went directly to the village. She was wearing a creamy white cashmere coat, her heels sinking into the mud. The look of hate on his face only appeared for half a second. But half a second was enough for me to see. She carried several designer bags and stood in front of my yard gate.

“Love Projection.”

I didn't let her in.

“If you have something to say, say it here.”

She looked towards Tuong Tu Lan drying chili peppers in the yard.

“This person is... the adoptive mother, right?”

Tuong Tu Lan stood up, wiped his hands twice on his apron. I stepped forward, standing in front of her.

“This is my mother. Please be a little respectful when addressing me.”

Phuong Man Le's lips twitched.

“Okay.”

“Thank you everyone for taking care of my daughter.”

Tuong Tu Lan burst out laughing.

"You don't need to thank me. Chieu Tinh is the child I legally adopted. I raise my daughter, it has nothing to do with you."

Chapter 6 Normally my mother speaks very softly. But once someone stepped on the door, she was tougher than anyone. Phuong Man Le brought the bags over.

“This is a meeting gift for everyone. If there are misunderstandings in the past, we can sit down and talk slowly.”

I glanced. Scarves, supplements, men's watches, and brands are all placed in the most prominent positions. Perhaps she thinks that the more expensive the gift, the easier it is to let go of the past.

“Mrs. Trac.”

Her eyes turned red again.

“Don't call me that. I'm your mother.”

“My mother is standing behind.”

Her tears stopped very quickly.

“Blood ties cannot be severed.”

“Who said he wanted to cut?”

I took out my phone.

"A DNA test can be done. Child abandonment can also be investigated. Keeping this blood relationship as evidence is also very good."

At this moment, Trac Kien Hung got out of the car. He is more straightforward than Phuong Man Le.

"You are an adult, so you should be a little more reasonable. We are willing to compensate, and we can also provide better consumption channels for the cooperative."

“What are the conditions?”

"First go back to the Trac family. The name may not need to be changed. The company will give you shares. Your younger brother is in charge of business, and you are in charge of the supply chain. Thanh Thach Ao project will be merged into Trac Thi group, the scale can increase ten times."

He spoke extremely fluently. It seems that before coming here, they had already arranged the remaining half of my life. I asked:

“What about my adoptive parents?”

“We will pay a thank you money.”

“What about the other people in the village?”

“Retain the working position. But management rights must be unified.”

“The cooperative's brand?”

“Small brands don't need to be kept.”

I opened the recording application.

“It's all been recorded.”

Trac Kien Hung's face immediately darkened.

“What do you mean?”

“Protect yourself. After all, the first time you met, you two planned to use a few gift bags to exchange for the entire cooperative.”

“That's your brother's future career!”

Phuong Man Le blurted out. The whole yard immediately became quiet. I laughed.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

“Thank you for helping me save time investigating muscle."

I put the gift bags back on the hood.

“Next month, the district will hold a cooperation signing ceremony. If you two want to discuss the project, just talk openly.”

Trac Kien Hung stared at me.

“You will regret your attitude today.”

“No way.”

I closed the yard gate.

“I only regret that I spent too much time with you two just now.”

After the door latch was reinstalled, the yard became even quieter. Tuong Tu Lan bent down to collect the chili peppers on the drying mat, but picked it up twice but still couldn't hold it firmly. Red peppers slipped through her fingers and rolled everywhere. I squatted down to help her pick it up.

“Mom.”

“Don't call, mom heard it.”

She turned her back to me, her voice muffled by her scarf.

“I just don't understand. How could they bear such a healthy baby that year?

I squeezed a dried chili in my hand, the sharp end bit into my palm until it hurt. Just now when I faced Phuong Man Le, I was only worried about exposing her every word, and didn't even have time to get angry. As soon as the gate closed, the words "we are family" slowly subsided, choking in my chest. When I was young, I also imagined what my biological mother would look like. When I had a fever, I used to wonder if she was sleeping well somewhere. When the school held a parent-teacher meeting, I used to secretly look towards the gate, thinking that maybe a strange woman would recognize me. After that, those thoughts became less and less, so little that I thought I had given up a long time ago. It wasn't until Phuong Man Le actually stood in front of me that I realized the woman in my imagination never existed. Tuong Tu Lan suddenly turned around and removed a chili leaf from my hair.

“If you want to accept them, then accept them. Mom didn't stop me."

She spoke very generously, but didn't dare look me in the eye. I poured all the chili I just picked back onto the mat.

“I don't accept it. Mom, stop pretending to be generous, it doesn't look like it at all.”

She was stunned, then raised her hand and patted my shoulder lightly, as gently as brushing off dust. Luong Quoc Dong is still sitting under the porch. Only then did he stand up.

“They will still come back.”

“I know.”

“Then find all the necessary documents. Don't just argue with a loud voice. Winning an argument does not count as winning.”

In the next half month, my lawyer and I completed the documents on the adoption procedures that year, the documents of people who had come to visit and the business registration documents of the Trac family. Trac Kien Hung is also not free. His assistant sent over an official cooperation contract, the terms of which were even harsher than what he said in the yard. The brand belongs to Trac Thi, the management rights belong to Trac Thi, and I only receive an incentive that can be revoked at any time. That contract made me completely understand what they really wanted to get.