Listen to the whispers.

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1. After my check-up at the provincial hospital, I called a Grab taxi. For someone my age, using Grab – a high-tech transportation service – is convenient in many ways. Especially, Grab drivers are usually very friendly and like to chat with customers. This time, it was a cheerful, outgoing female driver. Just a few opening sentences and I learned about her. She's 48 years old and has two daughters who are both in university. Previously, she ran a grocery store, but recently business has been slow, so she bought a Kia Morning and registered it with Grab. Her work is now running smoothly. Generally, it's easygoing. She wakes up, has breakfast, goes to work, comes home at 12 noon for lunch and a rest. In the afternoon, she wakes up at 2 pm to go back to work. She goes home around 6 pm. Her average monthly income is about 15 million VND, more than when she ran the grocery store. I was about to ask more questions when a police officer ahead blew his whistle and signaled for the car to pull over to the side of the road. The female driver steered the car according to the police officer's instructions, parked, and got out with her purse in hand. Sitting in the car, I didn't hear what the police officer and the female driver said to each other, but about five minutes later, the female driver opened the door and got back in with a very annoyed expression. "What law did you break?" I asked. After a moment of hesitation, the female driver replied curtly, "Not wearing a seatbelt is fine, but there's no way the wheels touched the line; my eyesight is still very good." But arguing with her would only hurt me. The fine would easily amount to over 1 million dong, and the lengthy official report would take a long time to get me out of here. Well, they have the power. Just then, the officer winked and said, "Be a little more assertive!" I understood. So I just paid 500,000 dong to settle the matter!

The matter was indeed settled. But the story wasn't over yet. From then until the car dropped me off at home, the female driver uttered countless angry and bitter words about the injustice and, especially, about the police officer's bribery. Further conversation revealed that bribing traffic police officers is, if not common, then certainly not rare. Further conversation showed that even after the bribe was settled, the victim's subsequent words were still unpleasant, even vile, contemptuous, and disdainful towards the person who received the bribe. Did the person who received the bribe hear those whispered words of shame and contempt?

2. That week, an employee from the Department of Agriculture and Environment came to my house to measure the land for the issuance of a land use certificate. My neighbor, Mr. B, also received his certificate. A week passed. A month passed. Seeing that Mr. B next door had already received his land use certificate while I hadn't seen any news, I became anxious and went to the department to inquire about the results. Following the method of the female driver, I prepared an envelope containing 500,000 dong, and as I peeked through the transaction door, I quietly placed it on the employee's desk.

The female driver bribed someone to get the job done. I once bribed someone to get my nephew into a school outside his designated catchment area. And in public opinion, I've heard countless stories about this person and that person using money to buy positions, power, and even to get away with crimes, to buy diplomas and official seals...

What about this time?

Unfortunately, this time I received a refusal. Please don't do that! I'm handling your case, and your file is missing some important details, so please be patient and allow a few more days.

Disappointed, I went home. And honestly, I still had doubts. It wasn't until the following week, when the same employee came to my house to guide me through completing the paperwork, with genuine dedication, without any demands or requests for special treatment, that I received my land use certificate a week later.

Looking back calmly, I realize that, deep down, in cases where bribery was successful, I always experienced a state of ambivalence: a mixture of joy, embarrassment, and self-contempt. Similarly, with the person who accepted my bribe and got my job done, I would thank them verbally, but inwardly I harbored deep hatred and contempt.

And now, for those who don't accept bribes, the only voice I have left is respect. Respect and admiration for integrity. Despise and outrage at corruption! Those in power! Please listen to the voices that come from the depths of your hearts before each of your actions.

Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/9/172525/hay-lang-nghe-nhung-tieng-noi-tham