The female billionaire took a stranger home to sleep to avoid the flood, in the middle of the night he demanded to do a thing that made her face pale and trembling…

White rain. The flood water overflowed so quickly that the villagers could not turn back. While everyone was closing the door, a young female billionaire – who had returned to her hometown from the city to do charity work – opened the door of her house to welcome a strange man who was drowning in the rain. That night, it was pitch black. When everyone in the house was asleep, the man knocked lightly on the door of her room and whispered a sentence that made her pale, trembling, speechless…

Her name is Ngoc Anh, 32 years old, a famous businesswoman in the technology industry. After many years of establishing a career in Saigon, she returned to her hometown in a small commune in Quang Tri province to do charity – rebuilding village bridges, donating books to students, distributing relief gifts to people in flooded areas.

Her poor childhood made Ngoc Anh always have a special sympathy for this land. Her parents have died, and the level 4 house with a corrugated iron roof on the riverside is now only a place to live every time she returns. Despite being famous, she still keeps her simple habits: no bodyguards, no drivers, no ostentation.

That afternoon, when the dark clouds came and rolled, she was still distributing gifts to people in the courtyard when a commune official ran to report: “Ms. Ngoc, the river water rises very quickly, this kind of rain is a big flood tonight. You go home and close the door early.”

She nodded, quickly packed up her things and returned. Her small house is located in an area higher than the field but not far from the riverbank. She locked the door, lined the sandbag around the corner, and looked at the sky anxiously.

At about 8 p.m., when the sound of rain hitting the corrugated iron roof sounded like a battle drum, a knock on the door sounded. She was startled.

Opening the door, in front of her was a man in his 40s, tall, angular face, soaked in the rain. He trembled and said:

“Miss… let me stay for a night… I was swept away by a motorbike, I no longer know where to go…

Yu Ying hesitated for a few seconds, then looked at his panicked eyes, she nodded. “Come in. The water is very big tonight.”

She got him her father’s clothes to change, and then made a place in the living room for him to lie on. Dinner was only white rice and boiled eggs, but he ate deliciously, always saying thank you.

When I asked, I found out that his name was Thanh, an electrician from the commune. On the way back, the flood water poured in suddenly, and he did not have time to turn back.

Ngoc Anh felt sorry, but was still a little wary in her heart. She locked the door, telling her to be careful. Outside, the sound of water hitting the embankment is getting more and more intense. The village was engulfed in a dark rain.

At about 1 a.m., while she was dreaming of sleeping, a light knock on the door of the room sounded.

“Miss Ngoc… Miss Ngoc…”

Mr. Thanh’s voice sounded small but clear. She was awake, her heart pounding. She walked out to open the door, not forgetting to hold a flashlight in her hand.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked at her, with a strange expression. Then he said a sentence that made her turn pale:

“I know this house has a secret…

She stood stunned, her heart pounding. How do you know? That secret—only she and her father knew. She squeezed the handle of the flashlight, feeling the cold air at the back of her neck.

“What did you say…?

He did not immediately reply. He held out his hand, opening his palm to show her an object. It was a small piece of metal, engraved with the words: “A.N. 1999.”

It was a piece of bronze she used to make an amulet with her father when she was a child, and then buried under the bricks of the house. That year, her father and son dug a small niche in the floor to hide a wooden box – inside was evidence of an old story…

Ngoc Anh stepped back, his face pale:

“Who are you? How do you know that?

Mr. Thanh sighed, sat down in his chair:

“Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want me to leave here immediately?”

Heavy space. The sound of rain still fell steadily on the porch, but inside that old house, every ticking sound of the clock was like a knife to the heart.

Ngoc Anh nodded. She knew, from this moment on, her life would no longer be the same as before.

Ngoc Anh sat silently, her hands clenched tightly in her heart. Her face was pale, and cold sweat was pouring out, even though the drafts from the crack of the door still carried the cold from the flood outside.

– Speak… – She spoke softly, her voice hoarse – … Who is he? How did you get that?

Mr. Thanh looked at her, his eyes no longer looked as confused as when he first arrived. Now he was sober — and sharp.

– My real name is Nguyen Van Thanh, I used to work with your father – Mr. Nguyen Van Lam, who the whole village still calls “Mr. Lam Engineer”.

Ngoc Anh was startled. Her father never told about Mr. Thanh. Until now, all she knew about her father was a gentle, loving man who lived in silence after her mother died in a traffic accident nearly twenty years ago.

– Your father… – Mr. Thanh continued – … not just an agricultural engineer. He was part of an independent research group on mineral extraction in this midlands. In 1999, they discovered a small gemstone deep underground – right under the floor.

Ngoc Anh was stunned:

–Gemstone…? But why did my father hide it?

– Because an accident happened. One member of the group – Mr. Phuc, a geological engineer – was killed during an exploration drill. After that accident, the group disbanded. The government at that time did not know about it. Her father is the only one who still keeps all the documents and… an original gemstone sample – which can make this place the largest mining site in Quang Tri province.

“Then what? She asked, her voice choking.

After Mr. Lam hid the stone sample and the certification papers in a wooden box, he buried it on the floor of the house – along with the amulet that the father and son had wore. It was the piece of copper I was holding. I helped him do that. But I haven’t returned to the village since the accident. Until now…

Ngoc Anh looked at him, in a hundred scattered hearts.

–So… did you come back because of the contents of that box?

Mr. Thanh nodded.

“I’m not here to steal. I came to help you bring it to light. If it is true that my father and I have calculated, this amount of gems can help this region change its life – instead of flooding, deprivation, and displacement every year.

Yu Ying was silent for a long time. She herself has always aspired to change her homeland. But for many years as an entrepreneur, she also understands: when money and resources appear, people’s hearts will no longer be the same.

“You think… Can I believe you?

Mr. Thanh pulled out an old envelope from his pocket. The paper has turned yellow, the corners of the letter are stained with ink. He gave her.

“This is your father’s handwritten letter to me, before he died. He told me: “When she is old enough, brave enough, give it back to her. If he refuses, bury the secret forever.”

Ngoc Anh opened the letter tremblingly. The familiar handwriting made her eyes blur. The last line is her father’s handwritten words:

“If you can read these lines, you are mature enough to face the truth. I don’t want you to be the richest, but I want you to be the one who keeps the light in the midst of the darkest choices.”

Ngoc Anh’s tears fell. She nodded.

– Let’s dig up.

The rain stopped. It was still overcast, but the flood water had begun to recede from the yard. Ngoc Anh and Mr. Thanh flipped the tiles under the kitchen floor – where her father used to tell no one to touch them.

After nearly an hour, they found the old wooden box. Inside, just as Thanh says: documents, rock map maps, gleaming blue rough rock samples – and a detailed notebook, signed by four members of the research team.

Ngoc Anh held the stone in his hand. It wasn’t like the jade or ruby she had ever seen. The color is strange, transparent like crystal, but it has natural veins like quartz.

– This is a stone that has never been officially announced in Vietnam – Mr. Thanh said – the scientific name is Spinel lam, extremely rare. The value can be many times higher than sapphire if the quality is verified correctly.

Ngoc Anh looked at him:

“So if I leave this matter to the government, what do you have?”

Mr. Thanh laughed:

“I just need to fulfill my promise to your father. The rest is up to her to decide.

Three months later

A provincial mineral exploitation center was established, coordinating with Ngoc Anh’s enterprises to invest methodically, ensuring not to destroy the environment. She kept her father’s word: spend 30% of the profits on the construction of local infrastructure, schools, and hospitals.

Mr. Thanh was invited to be a technical advisor. Villagers now know the “stranger on the night of the flood”, who used to knock on the door of Ms. Ngoc’s house in the rain but no one expected to bring a forgotten treasure.

On the last night before the project was officially exploited, Ngoc Anh stood in front of the porch, where it all happened. She whispered to herself:

“Thank you… for believing in me.”

Behind him, Mr. Thanh walked out, standing quietly next to her. He said:

– The flood that year swept away many things… but also gives us an opportunity. Sometimes, the most precious thing lies under the mud of the past.

She smiled and nodded gently. The bright moon shining on the ground of his homeland – a secret place that had been dormant for nearly three decades has now become the beginning of a brighter future.