Long ago in a small village beside the Thu Bồn River, rice farmers, pottery makers from Thanh Hà, and bamboo weavers would exchange the fruits of their honest labor. Those with rice traded for earthen pots; those with bamboo baskets traded for crisp green vegetables. One autumn morning, Master Carpenter from Kim Bồng spent three patient days carving a sturdy wooden bench. He hoped to trade it for lamp oil and sea salt, but the salt merchant had no need for a bench, and trading an entire bench for a single cup of salt was not fair to the artisan's craft. The village elders and artisans gathered by the peaceful docks of Hội An. Together, they selected smooth white sea shells, and later minted round copper coins with square holes at their centers, strung together on hemp cords. A coin in itself could not be eaten, but it carried the solemn promise and shared trust of the whole community for the value of honest labor. When the morning marketplace opened, merchants counted coins, added sums, and returned change transparently. Yet the gentle grandmother beside the river still reminded little Cloud: "Coins help us trade with justice, but trust, keeping our promises, and a gift crafted with our own hands remain the true treasures that no money can ever buy."