Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Old acquaintance — Where the Sun Returns

The shiny black car with the Saigon license plate slowly rolled onto the red dirt road leading to Đồi Thông village, leaving behind a trail of dust that caused a few children playing along the roadside to rub their eyes and look curiously. This type of car rarely appears in this remote countryside.

Miên stood waiting in front of the house gate, her heart pounding, not sure whether because of nervousness or because of a feeling of insecurity that had been brewing for many days. She decided not to tell Phong about this appointment, using the excuse that Phong was still busy at the hospital taking care of Mrs. Tám on the day of discharge, while she took the opportunity to "deal with some paperwork" at home.

The car door opens. A woman walked down, wearing a delicately tailored ash gray business suit, stiletto heels, and her hair tied up in a neat bun without a single strand of tangle. Even though she hadn't seen that face for more than a year, Miên still recognized it immediately.

Ms. Hà.

The woman who had kept her up all night editing the design, who hung up harshly as soon as she wanted to explain, now stood before her with a completely different demeanor: confident, luxurious, and somewhat more dignified than before.

"Mộc Miên," Ms. Hà spoke first, her voice was still as sharp as ever but no longer had the old hostility, replaced by an unpredictable smile. "Long time no see. You... have changed so much."

"Me too," Miên replied, trying to keep her voice calm even though her mind was full of chaos. "I never thought that one day I would welcome you here, in a role like this."

Ms. Hà smiled softly, her eyes swept around the green garden, stopping at the small wooden sign engraved with the words "Wood Trại" hanging in front of the gate. "No one can predict anything in life, right? I also didn't expect that the employee who once threw her resignation letter in my face would now become the person running a business model that caught the attention of my entire corporation."

"Let's go inside and have a drink first," Miên invited, even though she was still wary. Mrs. Tám was taken home to rest yesterday and is currently sleeping in her room, so Miên took the opportunity to invite guests to sit outside in the yard so as not to disturb her sleep.

Ms. Hà looked around the garden, her eyes stopped for a long time at the green vegetable beds reaching out to catch the sunlight, at the row of strange scarecrows still standing quietly in the wind, and at the rustic wooden sign engraved with the name "Wood Trại". There was a brief moment when her usually sharp eyes softened, as if remembering something she had never said.

"The day I submitted my resignation letter that year," Ms. Hà suddenly spoke up, her voice no longer carrying the usual business tone. "Actually, I was shocked for a long time. Not because I lost an employee, but because I realized that in all my years of working, no one had ever had the courage to stand up straight in front of me like that. After that, I followed you for a while on social networks and saw that you were completely quiet. I thought you had given up and lived a mediocre life somewhere. Who would have thought..."

She left her sentence unfinished, smiling slightly, a complicated smile mixed with admiration and a little bit of jealousy.

They sat down at the bamboo table and chairs under the star apple tree, which was Miên's familiar "office". Ms. Hà slowly opened her leather briefcase, took out a professionally presented document, the cover printed with stylized green fields and the words "Việt Xanh Ecological Agriculture Village Project - Đá Bàn Valley".

"I'll get straight to the point, because I know you're not someone who likes to beat around the bush," Ms. Hà said, her voice turning professional. "Việt Xanh Group is planning to invest in an eco-resort combined with a large-scale clean agricultural raw material area in this very valley. We need to purchase or rent long-term most of the land in the area, including the land of my family and neighboring households."

Miên was silent, her heart cooled a beat. True to Phong's hunch, they targeted the land, not simply cooperating in purchasing agricultural products.

"I knew you would be worried," Ms. Hà continued, her voice softening in a calculated way. "But this is a big opportunity, not only for the corporation but for me as well. The land purchase price we offer is three times higher than the current market price. With that amount of money, I can pay off all my debts, take care of my grandmother's hospital bills, and even have the capital to start over wherever I want."

"Do you already know about my grandmother being hospitalized?" Miên asked, her voice a bit stiff.

"The group always researches partners carefully before negotiating," Ms. Hà replied frankly without hiding anything, her eyes looking straight at Miên. "But I'm not just asking because of work. I really care about you, Miên. I've been following your Fanpage since the early days, your 'Vegetables tell stories' campaign, I have to admit, is excellent. That's also the reason I proposed to Chairman Dinh to personally take charge of this deal, and also the reason I want to offer you a special position."

Ms. Hà pulled out another piece of paper and placed it in front of Miên. It was a cooperation proposal, with a clearly printed title: "Brand Communications Director - Việt Xanh Ecological Agriculture Village Project", the accompanying salary was five times higher than what Miên had received at her old company.

"I want you to use your storytelling talent to help the corporation build a brand for this project," Ms. Hà said, her voice full of conviction. "I understand this land well, I understand the people here, there is no one more suitable than me to help the project be accepted smoothly by the people. In return, I will have everything I have ever dreamed of: position, money, and financial security for my family."

Miên picked up the paper, her hands shaking slightly. This is not simply a job offer, but a sophisticated test, tapping straight into her deepest fears and desires that she had before leaving the city.

"I need time to think," Miên replied, trying to keep her voice calm. "This is a big decision, not only affecting me but also Mr. Phong and everyone in the village."

"I understand," Ms. Hà nodded, stood up and adjusted her vest. "But I have to tell the truth, this project has a specific schedule from Chairman Dinh. We need an answer from this area within the next two weeks. If people do not agree, the group still has other plans to achieve the goal, it just won't be as smooth as the plan of cooperating with you."

Ms. Hà's last words, although spoken in a gentle tone, carried an implicit threat that sent a chill down Miên's spine. She watched as the shiny black car slowly rolled away from the red dirt road, carrying both a stack of project documents and a heavy decision that she knew she would have to face in the coming days.

Miên stood alone in the middle of the yard, still holding the cooperation proposal tightly in her hand, her heart more confused than ever. She remembered Phong's steadfast eyes when he talked about protecting the land and the people's trust, remembered Uncle Bảy's bright smile when announcing the success of the test plot, and even the pale face of her grandmother who was recuperating. Each image is a weight pulling her in different directions, making her not know which is the right path to continue.

She folded the paper and stuffed it into the desk drawer, not daring to let Phong see it when he returned from the hospital this afternoon. That was the first time, Mộc Miên chose to hide the person she loved the most, and she did not know that decision to stay silent would have consequences much greater than she imagined.

Late that afternoon, when Phong drove Mrs. Tám home, Miên hurried to greet her, her face trying to appear normal as if nothing had happened. But Phong, with the sharpness of someone accustomed to observing every smallest change in the land and trees, immediately noticed something strange in her eyes.

"Is there anything at home today?" Phong asked, his voice natural as he helped Mrs. Tám into the house.

"It's nothing," Miên replied quickly, a little too quickly than usual, making herself startled by her own awkwardness. "I... I just cleaned up the books," Phong frowned slightly, but did not ask further, just quietly observed her for a while longer before turning to worry about Mrs. Tám. In his heart, a vague but unpleasant premonition began to form, although he could not yet name exactly what was causing the atmosphere between the two of them to suddenly become so awkward.

That night, Miên couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of the cooperation proposal and Ms. Hà's unpredictable smile appeared clearly. She turned around and looked at the window, where the late moonlight filtered through the leaves, wondering if she was repeating her old mistake: once again letting flashy numbers obscure the true value she had worked so hard to find in this highland land.