Chapter 11 — Floating Market Without Water

The "PAUSED MARKET" sign was torn in half before Ms. Sau could paste it on the wharf gate.

Half fell into the mud, the other half got caught on the rope. The person who tore it was Mr. Phuc, a fish seller, who used to sit on the cooperative's board of directors. He said the market cannot continue if the water has not been tested, but it cannot be closed because the goods are damaged.

“I don't tear because I like it,” he said. “I tore it up because no one pays for dead fish.”

Mrs. Sau picked up the piece of board and did not scold him. An stood next to her mother, watching two groups of people split up on the wharf. The group wants to wait for sample results, the group wants to open the stream at all costs. In the middle are the factory workers, who don't want the market to blame before reaching a conclusion.

Khai proposed a plan to use a portable pump to pull water from the east branch into the channel. The machine belongs to the factory, but if used, you will have to open the technical door near M-07.

“No,” An said.

“Otherwise, the boat won't move.”

"Opening the door without knowing what's in the tube is putting risk into the market."

“Leaving the boat lying in the mud is also risky.”

Quan, Khai's younger brother, stands on the factory team's side. He said the factory can provide machinery, labor and clean water. An knew he was trying to protect his shift, but his voice was filled with anger.

“Writing articles is easy,” Quan said. “Those whose shifts were cut have no work to pay the rent.”

"I know."

"I don't know. I just need the truth to match my article."

An looked at him. "If my lesson is wrong, I will bear it. If water makes children sick, who will bear it?"

“You're talking as if the factory wants to make people sick.”

“I'm saying no one has proven they didn't do it.”

Mrs. Sau forced everyone to back away from the edge of the wharf. She requested a meeting at the big boat, divided into three tasks: keeping drinking water, keeping goods and keeping evidence. Factory workers bear the drinking water; Cooperatives take care of damaged goods; An and Khai took care of documents, samples, and maps.

“The market cannot wait for a single answer,” she said. “But you can't use the thirst market to erase the question.”

During the meeting, Duy announced that the factory would support more money if the market agreed to temporarily stop filming around M-07. People were in an uproar. The amount of money is enough to compensate for part of the damaged goods, but the condition is to sign a minutes "not to spread unverified information".

An asked: "Who defines unverified?"

Duy replied: "Authorities."

“So what do people sign not to say?”

“No. Just don't spread false news.”

Ms. Sau holds the minutes. “This condition was not in the old support contract.”

“This is emergency assistance.”

“Emergency assistance in exchange for silence?”

Duy did not speak.

An's mother pulled her daughter behind the boat. She said someone wanted to receive money. An asked her mother if she thought they were wrong.

“No,” Mom said. “Our family also needs it.”

“But what if I sign?”

“Mom didn't sign.”

"Why?"

Mom looked at the cold pot of porridge. "Because last time I signed without knowing. This time I know what I'm changing."

The words calmed An down. She cannot force others not to accept money, she can only ask them to accept in the light.

Ti stood on the warehouse roof, taking pictures of two groups of people. In one photo, Ms. Sau holds a record next to the factory's water tank. In another corner, Khai spoke to Quan. I don't know which picture to choose.

“Choosing a photo doesn't make anyone look bad,” An said.

“Do you have that picture?”

"Unlikely."

At night, clean water is brought to the wharf. The factory transports by tanker truck, sealed. People lined up, everyone looked at the logo on the tank and still collected water. Dependency appears right in the middle of the light.

Khai called An to the edge of the river. He said the south branch is having increased pressure even though the market pump is off.

“The factory is still operating,” he said.

“Is there a way to prove it?”

“Pressure gauge.”

He showed her the device. The needle vibrates in eight-minute cycles. That cycle coincides with the tank cleaning schedule that Duy has not sent.

An sent photos to the editor. The editor said it wasn't enough to publish, but kept it.

On the other bank, a group of boat owners set up a banner demanding to open a market. They said if they closed for another day, the fruit would have to fall. Mrs. Sau came over to talk, but no one listened.

The army came to pull his brother back. Two brothers argued right under the lamppost.

“I choose them,” Quan said.

“You choose what you signed.”

“Sign so I can get a job.”

“And now you want me to pretend I don't know?”

Khai turned away.

An realizes the factory isn't the only thing dividing the town. Old signatures have entered families, cooperatives and the way people live. The receding water only exposes those dividing lines.

Near morning, Ms. Sau sent news: a cargo ship had passed through the south branch, even without orders. On the boat are gray plastic containers.

An, Khai and Ti ran to the wharf. Under the layer of mist, a line of black mud was drifting back towards the market.

On the last box there is code:

“SIDE SETTING TANKS – DO NOT BE TAKEN OUT.”

The boat is bringing that thing into the market channel.

An did not run after the boat immediately. She recorded the tank code, direction and time. Khai looked at the muddy stream and said that if he blocked the boat with human strength, the barrel might fall into the channel.

Mrs. Sau called for someone to pull the rope from both sides of the bank. The people on the cargo boat refused to stop, saying they were only transporting according to orders. Another boat owner ran out to block the bow, causing the two boats to collide. Several baskets of fish fell into the mud.

"Enough!" Mrs. Sau shouted. “No one can save the market by sinking more boats.”

An called the neighborhood chief and the environment department. While waiting, Duy came down from the factory shore and asked the operator to turn off the machine. The boat driver said he did not accept Duy's orders.

“Do you have a dispatch certificate?” An asked.

"Are not."

“So why do you carry the box?”

“I accept the schedule.”

“Who gave it?”

The driver pointed at the phone, but the screen was off.

Khai checked a box. The seal is intact, the code is correct, but there is no shipping slip. He didn't open it. Environmental officers came and asked to bring the boat to shore for inspection.

The boat owners stood around, both wanting to know what was in the box and afraid that if the box was a factory product, they would be hindering their work. Ms. Sau told everyone to step back and let the officers do the work.

When the box is opened, inside are sandbags and used sludge filter bags. There are no liquid chemicals, but the surface of the bag has black particles similar to sample M-07. Officials sealed it and clearly stated that there was no source conclusion.

Duy looked at the filter bag. “The factory uses this type.”

“When is the factory used?” An asked.

“During cleaning sessions.”

“So why did the boat bring them to the market?”

"I don't know yet."

“Are you tired of this sentence?”

Duy looked at her. "Have."

Khai said the secondary settling tank can be used as a place to collect bags after cleaning. If the tank is flooded, the operator can move them through the channel to take them to storage. It is not necessary to intend to dump mud, but carrying without documents proves that control is very poor.

An also noted that possibility.

In the other group, Mr. Phuc said that if he stopped the market, he would lose the whole batch of fish. Another person said that if opened, his goods could make people sick. The two argued so much that Mrs. Sau had to separate.

“Do you want answers or do you want someone to take the blame?” she asked.

No one replied.

Mom An brought out the pot of porridge and gave it to people waiting for free. She said she couldn't sell it in dirty water, but she could give it to people to eat. An looked at the bowls being passed around and understood that the community was still holding on to each other even though the big systems didn't know who was holding the valve.

Khai gave An Anh the box code. “This code belongs to the processing warehouse, not the tank warehouse.”

“Do you know?”

“He may not know.”

“It's possible again.”

Khai looked at her. “You want people to say for sure even if they don't know yet?”

“No. I want them to clarify the unknown part.”

Little stood on the wharf taking pictures of cargo boats. A photo shows the boat driver receiving a phone call from Vinh just before docking. I can't see the content of the call, only the time.

An told him to keep the original photo.

At night, goods were transferred to shore, and market water was temporarily banned from use. Ms. Sau posted a clean water distribution schedule. The cooperative did not have enough bottles, so the factory sent more tankers. People lined up next to banners protesting the factory, still receiving water with the factory logo.

An asked Duy if he felt conflicted.

“Yes,” he said. “But drinking water has no sides.”

“The operator does.”

Duy looked upstream.

“I will find someone to order the crate to be transported.”

Khai pointed to the mud stream that was splitting into two branches. One branch goes to the market, the other goes under the residential area.

“But first we have to stop it.”

The boat is bringing that thing into the market channel.

And no one on the boat dared to say from whom they received orders.

Ms. Sau asked the staff to make a record of the container before processing. The boat driver was upset and said he was just working for hire. An wrote down those words.

An's mother stood on the shore and said that hired workers are often the first to be questioned and the last to know what they are carrying. Duy heard and said he would check the job assignment process.

Khai found in the driver's phone a shipping schedule without the sender's name. The hour codes match the discharge schedule, but do not prove the scheduler is the factory. The officer copied the files and sealed the phone as agreed.

Shoot the box from four angles, avoid taking photos of people's faces. He said the photo may show the tank was tilted, causing the used filter bag to leak sludge. An asked him if he knew if the mud came from the bag or from the water. Ti shook his head.

“Then write down both possibilities,” An said.

The market temporarily opened a small entrance for light boats, but every boat must use its own clean water. Goods are shipped slowly, fees increase. Ms. Sau said they cannot maintain the image of the floating market by hiding the real costs.

Khai stood at the beginning of the pressure reading stream. The mud stream has become thinner, but black particles still settle at the bottom. No one calls it the end.