Chapter 18 — Tomorrow's Kitchen

Khoi placed the mortgage appendix on the table, next to the recording box and the green book.

Lan's mother no longer avoided his eyes. She knew this day would come from the moment she took out the box.

“My mother signed after the flood,” Khoi said.

"YES."

“Using the brand, the formula and the right to change the paradigm.”

"YES."

“Mom said to only use first names.”

“The lender said so.”

“Mom, didn't you read carefully?”

"Mom read it, but at that time Ha was in the hospital due to exhaustion, Binh lost his car, Vy had to miss school for a semester, the shop couldn't pay her salary. People put money in front of her, saying that if she didn't sign, everyone would take care of it themselves."

Khoi listened to his mother's voice and had no intention of defending. That made him angrier.

“Mom, you can tell us.”

“The children were still too young at that time.”

“What now?”

“Now you are old enough to know I was wrong.”

Vy sat down and read the appendix again. "This clause gives the bank the right to approve or refuse to change the model, but does not say ownership of the transfer formula. So Man does not have any rights yet."

Hanh confirmed by phone. "If the transfer has not been signed, Man only has the rights of the outside party. But the mortgage means the shared kitchen plan must be reported to the bank."

Ha asked: "If the bank refuses, do we have to stop?"

"Regarding the contract, there is a risk if continuing. But the bank has temporarily restructured it because of the operating report. They can approve it if they see the risks are controlled."

Khoi looked at his mother. “How much did you borrow to pay everyone?”

Lan's mother pulled the recording box. She took out her old salary book. Highlighted items:

Ha — three months' salary after the flood.

Binh — money for vegetables delivered during the time the kitchen is closed.

Vy — outstanding semester tuition fee.

Two other people work — wages for cleaning the kitchen.

Cost to repair range hood and steam oven valve.

Khoi looked at Vy's line. His sister knew her mother borrowed, but probably didn't know her tuition money was in the mortgage.

“Mom paid my tuition with the brand?”

Vy asked.

“Mom doesn't want me to drop out of school.”

Vy smiled, tears fell but her voice did not tremble. "Mom always said she didn't want us to sacrifice. Then she sacrificed herself instead."

Lan's mother did not speak.

Ha holds the salary book. "I do not know."

“I don't want you to feel like you're in debt.”

"I don't owe you money because you paid me. I owe you money because you didn't tell me what loan I was on."

Lan's mother nodded. “I understand.”

Khoi stood up and went to the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and took a bowl. He wanted to throw it but just put it on the table. Since returning, he blamed his mother for hiding the debt, blamed himself for not asking, blamed Ha for not writing down his name, blamed Vy for being too stubborn. Now everything comes back to one place: mother used silence to keep everyone, and everyone accepted that protection without asking the price.

Lan's mother followed. “If you want to scold me, just scold me.”

“Do you think I scold you for money?”

“Because I signed for you guys.”

“Mom signed alone but forced the whole shop to live down there.”

“I know.”

Khoi leans on the stainless steel table. “Have you ever thought about closing the shop?”

“Yes. Every time the machine breaks down.”

“So why don't you close it?”

"Because every time I think about it, I remember that you won't have a place to eat. Then I open it again."

“I can't use them as the only reason.”

“I know.”

“Home Kitchen cannot save everyone.”

“I know.”

“So why do you still do it?”

Lan's mother looked at the contributor's nameplate. "Because there are times when mom needs a place for herself. She doesn't want to admit that she is also someone who needs to be kept by others."

Khoi couldn't say anything.

The meeting with the bank took place that afternoon. Thu and Phuc listened to Lan's mother Present the entire loan. She didn't say "to save the staff" as a nice sentence. She gave the list, the amount, the payment date and the remaining balance.

The letter asked: "Do you know the annex that allows banks to control model changes?"

“I know after reading it again.”

“Why didn't you report it from the beginning?”

Lan's mother replied: "Because I'm embarrassed."

Phuc looked up. Perhaps you have heard many reasons, but few people say you are embarrassed by a loan.

Khoi presents the shared kitchen: group number, fees, process, stopping rights, wages, problems and how to handle them. Ha clearly stated that one group had their food canceled because they did not control the temperature. Binh gave the delivery schedule. Vy gives cash flow.

The letter asked what assets would be protected if the communal kitchen failed.

Vy replied: "The shop does not borrow more, does not use money to contribute to other accounts, does not transfer brand rights. If the revenue is not enough after three months, we have a meeting to stop the model, do not continue to use new debt to cover old debt."

Phuc asked: "Do you accept the payment if you fail?"

Khoi said: "Accept the consideration. Not considering closing is a moral failure."

Lan's mother looked at him, her expression both painful and light.

The letter said the bank needed an additional record. They agreed to let Nha Kitchen operate the shared kitchen for three months, but required weekly reporting, no transfer and no mortgage of assets to third parties. If violated, the structure will be reviewed.

It's not like they're free. They are allowed to try within the boundaries.

After the meeting, Vy asked her mother why she didn't talk about the loan from the beginning. Lan's mother said she was afraid her children would see the shop as a burden.

Vy said: "The shop is a burden when mom hides it. If we knew, we could divide it."

Ha added: "Dividing is not just about dividing money."

Lan's mother nodded. “I don't know how to divide.”

Khoi said: "So learn from today."

They reopened the old debt book, not to erase the history. Each amount is classified: liabilities, contributions, non-refundable support, paid items and items requiring verification. Vy invited relevant people to read her part. Some people discovered that the amount was wrongly recorded, some people asked to have their names removed, and some people wanted to clearly state their jobs.

Ha found her name in a line “kitchen assistant — support”. She took a pen and a brick and wrote “person in charge of the kitchen shift”.

Khoi did not correct it.

Binh replaced the line "deliver vegetables to the restaurant" with "advance payment for purchases and delivery during the time the restaurant has not paid". I don't ask for more, I just want to be right.

Mr. Sau put his name in the repair section and did not convert it into money. He said if someone else needs to fix it in the future, they know the shop has already accepted help.

Lan's mother recorded the loan at the top of the book, under the line "original responsible person: Lan". Next to it, she wrote "current responsible person: kitchen council according to the signed scope".

Khoi asked: "Do you need to sign again?"

“No. Mom needs to stop taking all the decisions in her name.”

They set up a five-person kitchen committee: Ha is in charge of operations, Vy is in charge of finances, Binh represents the source, a rotating customer representative and Khoi is in charge of the dish process. Lan's mother plays the role of founder and advisor, and does not sign on behalf of the council.

Lan's mother wants a voting seat. Ha said that if she both advises and votes, it is still easy to return to the old model. Lan's mother thought and agreed.

Khoi looked at his mother, for the first time seeing her proactively give up part of her rights to keep the rest meaningful.

That evening, he asked Ha if she knew that her mother borrowed money to pay her salary at that time. Ha said he knows now.

“Do you blame your mother?”

“Yes. But Not because my mother paid. Because she thought I wouldn't want to know.”

“Do you still blame me?”

"Have."

Khoi laughed. “Speak frankly.”

“I need to hear.”

“I'm listening.”

Ha looked at the spice pot. “You used my formula in the city. If you don't come back, I may still not know that my name has been erased."

“I will fix it.”

“The past cannot be fixed.”

“So fix it the way it is from now on.”

Ha nodded.

A week later, the bank signed the temporary structure minutes. Man received the document adjusting the name and did not continue to use misleading images. He did not apologize publicly, but changed all the labels.

When Nha Kitchen announced the kitchen committee, guests asked Lan's mother if she was still the owner. Khoi replied that she is still the founder and head of the household, but not the only one who decides.

One person asked who owned the food that was enough to eat. Ha replied: “Those who made it and those who are eating it, within the agreed scope.”

Khoi sees that the answer is not simple. But it no longer needs a unique name.

At night, Lan's mother took the tape at the end of the flood season. This time she listened with everyone. After the question about the loan, a strange man's voice said: "If you don't sign, I will call someone else. If you sign, you will have money within the day.”

Lan's mother's voice replied: "I sign." But the name of the shop still belongs to me.”

The man smiled: "Don't worry."

The tape stops.

No one said it was a lie. No one needs to talk.

Khoi turned off the phone. “Tomorrow I have to find the original contract.”

Hanh replied over the phone: “I searched. The old lender merged into the current bank. There is an archive to request.”

Vy asked: "What if the original contract has different terms?"

“Then you need to know before renewing.”

Lan's mother looked at the sign "Open kitchen with conditions". She said: “I was thinking of a name that could protect the shop.”

Khoi replied: "A name is only protected when the person bearing the name stands up together."

Outside the door, a group of students are waiting to receive the kitchen keys for the morning shift. Quan will send a list of users next week. Binh sends vegetable calendar. Ha called Linh to check the knife.

Home Kitchen is no longer kept by a single secret. But one thing remains unclear: in the original contract, how was the right to use the formula written, and who brought the lender to Lan's mother the night after the flood.