Chapter 19 — Tomorrow's Kitchen

Khoi wrote the last line of the new menu and left the contributor's name blank.

Family fixed dishes: braised chicken with ginger, vegetable soup, eggs with meat.

Dishes by market: vegetables and fish for each day, list supplier, delivery time, condition.

Community dishes: recipes with proponents, curators, prices, risks and editing rights.

The portion is enough to eat: not called economical, not used as advertising bait, with choices of rice, potatoes, vegetables and protein according to ability.

Ha read and said that the "family's fixed dishes" section needs to clearly state which family. Khoi changed it to "a dish kept by the Kitchen for many years", but Lan's mother said that sentence was long.

“Don't let a pretty name ruin your source,” she said.

Finally, they wrote: "The dish is kept by Lan, Ha, Khoi and those who have commented over twenty years."

Long name, but more correct.

The kitchen council met for the first time in the storage room that once stored cooking oil. The rotating customer representative is Phuong, a worker who often buys the fund. She didn't want to accept it because she was afraid she wouldn't know how to cook. Ha said the guest representative is not the one who dines the food, but the one who asks who will eat, how much they will pay and what inconveniences they will encounter.

Phuong sat next to Vy, holding a copy of the rules. “If I object to the dish, do I have the right to stop?”

“No,” Ha replied. "You have the right to request a review. The person in charge of safety has the right to stop for safety reasons. The person in charge of the item has the right to stop for quality. Finance has the right to stop when the fund drops to a dangerous level. But all stopping rights must be recorded."

Phuong nodded. “So do I have the right to ask why?”

"Have."

Khoi added to the regulations: "Do not consider questions as hindering operations."

Vy read the financial section. Restaurant revenue, shared kitchen fees, meal funds, bridge funds, and loans are separated into lines. Each week a summary is posted on the board. Repayments have date, amount and confirmer.

Lan's mother no longer sits at the head of the table. She sat next to Phuong, taking notes on what the elderly guests needed. Khoi saw that she was confused when she wasn't the one to conclude, but she still stayed until the end.

In the afternoon, the group of workers wanted to add soup to the permanent menu. Ha said they can only be included in seasonal groups because ingredients change. Quan disagreed, saying their customers needed that dish every day.

The vase presents a vegetable calendar. This season, cabbage and squash are enough, but next month there may be a shortage. Khoi suggests keeping the cooking method, not keeping one type of vegetable. Quan asked the guest if he accepted.

Phuong said: "If the restaurant clearly states what soup it is today, diners can choose."

Quan asked: "What if they want the same dish as yesterday?"

“So it's not guaranteed.”

No one likes the answer, but they vote. Seasonal soup is kept, the name of the worker group is in the proponent section. Quan signed, although still not completely satisfied.

Khoi understands that a model with many people is not where all opinions win. It is where the loser knows why the decision was made and can ask for a review when the data changes.

Man sent a request to rent a kitchen for the new store. He changed the name, but still wanted to use some of the recipes developed during his time at Nha Kitchen. Ha prepares a limited license: name of contributor, scope of use, duration, cannot be called a family recipe, cannot use guest photos, does not turn the meal fund into an advertising campaign.

Man read and said too many conditions.

Ha replied: "You can not use it."

Man looked at Khoi. “You let her do all the negotiating?”

Khoi said: “That's her recipe.”

Man signed after correcting an article about the fee. He was not happy, but accepted. Khoi saw that this was the first time they made a transaction where the contributor's name came before the profit.

A month later, Bep Man sent the first fund contribution, clearly stating that he did not buy rights. Vy publicly announced it on the board. Some customers objected not to accept money from competitors. Ha asked if the money was binding. Vy showed the paper: no.

Phuong said: "If the money is clean and the conditions are clear, there is no need to hate the sender."

Khoi remembered Lan's mother's words: the person you don't like can still pay correctly.

At the end of the month, Binh's debt decreased further. He no longer has to use his car as security for the stall owner. Binh proposed opening a small processing point near the market, where households can buy second-grade vegetables that have been inspected. Kitchen Nha does not own that point, only signs the process and buys at the public price.

Vy asked what if Binh failed. Binh replied: "I bear my share. Quan does not promise to save."

Khoi said: "Write that in the contract."

Binh laughed. “I'm starting to like you guys.”

Lan's mother grows herbs on the balcony. She doesn't stand in the kitchen all day anymore. Every morning, she writes down a line about customers who need chairs on the porch, then hands it over to Phuong if there's work. Old customers initially asked why Lan's mother did not directly scoop the soup. She said someone else could scoop it up, and if someone else did it wrong, tell them.

One person asked if Bep Nha Kitchen was still mom's restaurant. Lan's mother replied: "It's the shop I opened, but it's not the shop I keep alone."

Khoi still hasn't fully tasted it. One day he can distinguish between salty and sour more clearly. One day all the fragrance is gone. The doctor said progress was uneven and one should not use a good day to promise tomorrow.

Khoi records the status in the notebook along with other data. Ha did not let him check the broth himself. You can suggest a background, but the person in charge of the shift decides after listening to the group of guests.

One day, Khoi tasted a very faint smell of ginger. He was startled and was about to call everyone. Then he remembered the doctor's words and Ha's words: a personal experience is not the conclusion of the whole pot.

“I feel ginger,” he said.

Ha asked: "What level?"

"Don't know."

“So it says there are signs, not yet used as a decision.”

Khoi laughed, his eyes stinging. Ha didn't hug him, just gave him the pen.

In the afternoon, the kitchen council approved a new dish proposed by the student group: potato rice, tofu spiced with tangerine peel and stir-fried vegetables. The proponent wants to name it "Meals not left behind". Ha said the name is a bit long. Phuong said guests will remember. Lan's mother asked if the name would make the eater feel sorry for himself.

The student group changed its name to "Stay Meal".

Khoi looked at the slip with four words written on it. A new dish with no heirlooms and no heroes. It has a team, a price, a process and a question: do diners want to come back.

The bank calls in the last week of the month. The letter said the report was better, but the loan was still large. They proposed to extend the structure for another six months if Bep Nha does not transfer the brand and maintain reporting.

Vy asked about the interest rate.

Thu spoke a little higher than before.

Lan's mother asked about the deadline to pay it off.

No one promises beautiful numbers.

Khoi said: "We agree if all conditions are clearly stated."

Thu replied: "I know you will say that."

After signing the extension, they did not celebrate. Vy just bought an extra fan. Ha corrected the holiday schedule. Vegetable container. Phuong updated the fund table. Lan's mother sat on the porch looking at the guests.

Khoi opened the warehouse door and saw The old cupboard is emptier than before. Debt books, formula books and agreements are all placed on labeled shelves. The recording box is in the middle, not locked.

He asked his mother why it wasn't locked.

“Because everyone has the right to hear their part.”

“What about the others?”

“Must ask.”

Khoi nodded.

That night, they placed a copy of the rules in front of the kitchen door:

NO THING CAN BE CALLED ONE PERSON'S IF IT IS MADE WITH THE EFFORT OF MANY PEOPLE.

Ha said this sentence is like a declaration.

“Then write more ways to correct mistakes,” Vy said.

Khoi added the second line:

WHO FINDS WRONG HAS THE RIGHT TO SPEAK; WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO CORRECT MUST RECORD IT.

Lan's mother added a third line:

PEOPLE WHO EAT HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO COME BACK, BUT THE BARRIER HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ASK WHY.

They looked at the three lines of text. There is no line that says tomorrow will be easy.

On the street, the Bep Nha sign has been repainted. Below is a small line:

OPEN FORMULA — NAME CONTRIBUTOR.

Khoi thought the story was almost over, but Vy called him from the storage room. She held a new envelope, with a bank stamp.

“They sent the original contract,” Vy said.

It contains not only Lan's mother's signature. There is a confirmation signature of an intermediary who introduced the loan after the flood.

That person's name is Man.

Khoi looked at the signature, and the taste of ginger that had just returned to his tongue suddenly disappeared.

He didn't call Man at night. Hanh told everyone to wait until morning, because a signature on the file does not by itself prove that a person intentionally harmed anyone. Khoi was uncomfortable with that reminder, but still agreed. If the Home Kitchen is learning not to judge a diner from a photo, they must also learn not to judge a person from a byline.

The next morning, Man arrived before opening time. He didn't carry a tablet, just a thin file.

“I signed to confirm the loan introducer,” Man said. "At that time, I worked for a financial company and was assigned to find a business with a history of operation. I gave your mother's profile. I did not know that the appendix would require the right to change the model."

Khoi asked: "Do you accept referral money?"

"Yes. A small amount. I don't remember the number, but yes."

“Does my mother know?”

"I think you know the company pays the fee. I don't think you know I'm the one who submitted the documents."

Lan's mother looked at Man. "I knew there was a fee. I didn't know you signed the confirmation."

Man put down the notepad. "I don't want you to think I made up a story about buying a brand to cover it up. When I saw that the shop was at risk, I thought buying it was a way to repay the loan with my own money. But I used a business person's perspective to talk about a place I only partly knew."

Ha asked: "Which part?"

"Chef Khoi's share. Not the girls' share, Binh's share, the guests' share is on credit."

No one forgives right away. Hanh asked Man to sign a record confirming that he had no rights to the recipe or image of Bep Nha Kitchen before the transfer. Man signed. They also agreed that if the parties use an authorized formula in the future, they must clearly state the source and deadline.

Khoi asked: "Do you want to cancel the purchase offer?"

"The old offer is no longer valid. I no longer want to buy. I still want to rent the kitchen on a daily basis if the conditions are right."

"Why?"

Man looked at the open formula table. "Because I've understood that expansion isn't necessarily about taking everything away from this place. Sometimes it's about letting other people come in without being allowed to rename what they didn't create."

Ha looked at him, then turned to Khoi. “Let's try renting for a day, there are people available monitor."

Khoi asked Vy. Vy asked Man again about insurance, equipment liability and deposit. Man replied. No one speaks with mere goodwill anymore.

The meeting ended when the first guest arrived. Man stood aside, making way for the woman to bring the pot of porridge into the common kitchen. He watched her stick her name on the board, then adjusted the apron tie herself.

Khoi picked up a pen to write down the date of the rental. The first line of the new book is neither "Man" nor "House Kitchen". It says: “A kitchen can let others in when the door, responsibilities and names are clear.”

Lan's mother opened the shop door. Sunlight shines on the brick floor that was replaced after the flood. No one said they won. They're just starting a new shift, with an outstanding loan, a long guest list, and more things to do right than yesterday.