Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Reopening the Case File — Where the Sun Returns

"Mai! I need your help with something urgent," Miên said over the phone as soon as Mai picked up the phone, her voice unable to hide the tension.

"Oh great, are you really planning to return to the city to become a Director?" Mai joked, but when she heard her friend's serious tone, she immediately changed her attitude. "What's going on? Tell me."

Miên briefly told the whole incident: Việt Xanh Group, Ms. Hà, the plan to buy the entire Đá Bàn valley under the name of "ecological agricultural village", and the deadline was less than three days before the village's decisive meeting.

The other end of the line was silent for a moment. "Is that woman Hà deceiving others again? She's really used to her old ways," Mai was annoyed. "Okay, let me call Kiên. Do you remember Kiên was in the same math class in high school as us? Now he works as an economic investigative journalist for a large newspaper, specializing in uncovering shady real estate projects. If anyone is capable of turning over the records of this corporation, it's only him." A few hours later, Mai called back, her voice mixed with excitement and seriousness. "I talked to Kiên. He said he had heard of the name Việt Xanh. There were a few complaints from a similar project in another province. Local people accused them of promising to build an ecological zone but in fact they were leveling it up to create a large-scale agricultural processing industrial park, using chemicals and industrial fertilizers massively. Kiên is asking for a few days off to come directly to your place to verify."

While waiting for Kiên to arrange a time to go down to the place, Miên and Phong still had to continue operating the farm as usual, even though both of their hearts were heavy with worry. Together, they checked the newly built temporary greenhouse system and together took care of the batch of Japanese strawberries that were just starting to flower. Something had changed in the way they work together: there was no longer the witty banter like before, but instead there was a quiet, harmonious coordination, as if they both implicitly understand that, to overcome the coming storm, they need to be a unified whole, with no more room for misunderstandings or hiding.

Uncle Bảy also stopped by to check on the situation every day, his face full of worry. "The households that just converted to the model met together yesterday to discuss a lot. Some people have begun to waver. Hearing the news that the corporation paid a high price makes them feel greedy. Do you guys have any good solutions?"

"We're trying to find real evidence, Uncle Bảy," Phong replied, his voice reassuring even though inside he wasn't completely sure. "Please help me reassure everyone for a few more days, don't rush to make any decisions."

Two days later, journalist Kiên appeared at Trại Mộc, carrying a backpack with a camera and a thick notebook. He is a man about the same age as Miên, with an agile appearance and sharp eyes of someone accustomed to revealing the truth behind flashy covers.

"Hello Ms. Miên, hello Mr. Phong," Kiên shook both hands, his voice friendly but straight to the point. "I spent the past two days looking up business registration documents and environmental impact reports that Việt Xanh submitted to authorities for previous projects. There are some very suspicious points."

He opened his laptop and showed Miên and Phong a series of documents he had collected. "Their project in Bình Thuận province last year was initially promoted as an 'organic agricultural area combined with experiential tourism', but the internal environmental impact assessment report that I obtained showed that the actual plan was to build an industrial-scale agricultural product processing and packaging factory, using chemical fertilizers and preservatives to maximize export output. The 'eco-village' area only occupies a small part of the area, used for promotional photos and to welcome tour groups. officials and press."

Phong finished listening, clenched his fists, his jaw tightened in anger. "So that means, if the people of Đồi Thông village agree to sell the land, most of this valley will turn into an industrial chemical farming area, with only a small corner remaining for ornamental purposes?"

"That's correct," Kiên nodded. "And worse, according to what I have gathered, the drainage and chemical treatment systems of similar projects often do not meet standards, posing a potential risk of polluting groundwater sources for the entire surrounding area, even households who do not sell their land are also affected."

Miên felt a chill run down her spine. Not only is it the loss of land and the loss of the organic farming model that they have worked so hard to build, but the future of the entire valley's habitat is being threatened by such a sophisticated disguised plan.

"But I need more specific evidence directly related to the project here, in Đá Bàn valley," Kiên continued, his voice becoming cautious. "What I have now is just data from old projects elsewhere, enough to raise doubts but not strong enough to convince everyone in such an important meeting. I need to find internal documents directly related to the plan here."

"So where do we get it?" Miên asked, her heart was heavy.

Kiên pondered. "Normally, this type of document is only fully accessible to those in senior management positions on the project. You said the representative negotiating with you is named Hà, right? If she truly has a professional conscience, and if she trusts you enough, this may be the only clue we have in the short time left."

Miên was silent, in her mind a complicated image of Ms. Hà appeared: the person who once pushed her to the end, but also the person who gave her a respectful look when talking about the "Vegetables tell stories" campaign. She remembered what Ms. Hà said the day they met at the coffee shop, about how she had silently followed her journey for the past year, about the admiration and jealousy shown in her eyes. Whether behind that sharp, professional facade, there was any remaining conscience to help her right now, she couldn't be sure.

Kiên closed his laptop and looked at Miên with serious eyes. "I will stay in town for a few more days to continue verifying more information from other sources. But remember, whether you get the documents or not, time waits for no one. The village meeting will still take place according to the schedule set by the other corporation."

"I'll try," Miên said, her voice determined even though she was still insecure. "But this time, I won't hide it from anyone anymore." She turned to look at Phong, her eyes asking for agreement. Phong nodded and gently squeezed her hand. "Let's go together. This time, we face everything together."

That night, after Kiên returned to the motel in town to continue looking up more data, Miên sat alone to compose a message to Ms. Hà, deleting and rewriting it countless times before deciding to send a short but straightforward line: "I need to see you. Not to discuss the contract, but to ask you one single question: do you really believe in what the group is doing here?"

The message was sent, the phone screen faded into darkness. Miên sat quietly, listening to the sound of the highland night wind rushing through the door, waiting for an answer that she knew, no matter what, would largely determine the outcome of the coming days.

Phong walked out and sat next to her on the steps, not saying anything, just quietly placing a cup of hot ginger tea in her hand, just like that stormy night last year when they still didn't really understand each other. Miên smiled slightly, accepting the cup of tea, the warmth spreading through her palm as a reminder that, although there were still many uncertainties ahead, at least now, she no longer had to shoulder everything alone.

"What if Ms. Hà doesn't answer?" Miên asked softly, her eyes looking into the deep night.

"We still have Uncle Bảy, Mrs. Tu, and the real numbers that we have witnessed with our own eyes from the testing ground," Phong replied, his voice firm. "The truth doesn't have to rely entirely on a single person to be exposed, Miên. But if she would speak up, everything would be much faster and more complete."

They sat together late into the night, neither of them rushing the other to sleep, as if this rare moment of quiet was the only thing that kept them both calm enough to face what was about to happen in the coming days.

In the distance, at the end of the slope leading into the village, the light from Uncle Bảy's house is still shining. Perhaps he is just as concerned as they are about the decision that will determine the fate of the entire land where generations of Đồi Thông people have been attached all their lives.