Chapter 20 — Floating Market Without Water

The first boat left the harbor after nineteen days lying in the mud.

Not a sales boat. It was a current measuring boat, carrying three students, an environmental officer, Khai and Ti. The nose of the boat moves slowly past the repainted piles. Each pile has coordinates, date of inspection and name of person responsible.

An stood on the dock, holding a new map. The map no longer has a single path. It has three layers: market channel, technical road and side gate. Uncertain passages are marked with broken lines and not inked to create a feeling of completeness.

Ms. Sau hangs a new sign in her office:

“Every water operating schedule must be read publicly.”

Below the table is the list of operating councils. The factory has two people, the cooperative has three, the downstream population has two, and the environmental department has one. No one keeps the key alone. General access code canceled; Each time the valve is opened, the name, time, purpose and water sample must be recorded.

Khai did not return to work as a factory technician. He took on the job of dispatching boats and teaching boat owners to read pressure, not to turn people into mechanics but so they wouldn't be told that water was too technical.

Duy still works at the factory, but moved to the compliance department. He said it wasn't a reward. His first task is to publicize the tank cleaning schedule and settle the sludge treatment fee. The Company has not accepted full liability; The investigation continues.

Vinh was suspended to clarify the deletion of the log. He went to apologize to Mrs. Sau, but she said she was sorry and couldn't restore the data. Vinh must work with the inspection team and revise the records. He accepted.

An's mother reopened the porridge pot on the boat. She changed the name of "clear water fish porridge" to "Moc Thuy market fish porridge", because she did not want to use cleanliness as an unmeasured promise. On the lid of the pot is a small label with the date the water was drawn.

“Have you written a newspaper yet?” Mom asked.

“I'm writing.”

“Write the part I signed.”

“Are you sure?”

"Sure. People don't know what their signature does if they don't read it again."

An wrote the last article of the investigation series, without naming it "the factory that drained the market". She named it "Those who left the water unmanned". The article tells about the pipeline, the sedimentation tank, the contract, Ti's photo, mother's signature, Khai's acceptance letter, Mrs. Sau's silence and Duy's decision to advance the money. No one is bleached, no one is turned into a monster.

The editor finished reading and asked:

“Are you afraid of losing advertising?”

"Have."

“Still posted?”

"Post."

Ti organized a photo exhibition on the wharf. He printed twelve plates, each with time and location. The last photo is not a picture of a person, just a river surface with a leaf floating past pile M-07.

A customer asked why there was no photo of anyone flushing the water.

Ti said: "Because we couldn't see it, we didn't draw more."

Mr. Nam placed the old drawing next to the new map. He circled the part of the map where he was still unsure. When someone asked him if he regretted keeping it for so long, he said:

"Sorry. But giving it today is better than keeping more."

Ms. Sau read the revised commitment in front of the entire market. In which the factory no longer has the right to "coordinate" in general; Only operate clearly stated items, according to a public schedule and independent inspection. Cooperatives cannot receive support with unread appendices. The seller has the right to see water samples.

People are not completely satisfied. Some households want the factory to pay more. Some households fear a decrease in employment. Some households want the market to move completely to shore. The debates did not end the same day the market opened.

But This time, the debate took place on a board with names, times and numbers.

Khai took the boat to the south branch. The water is not as clear as before the factory opened, but there is no longer white foam. The meter reports a temporary safe level. Officers take samples, seal them and record witnesses.

An's mother sold out the first pot of porridge before noon. She is in no hurry to cook more. She sat and wiped the pot, watching the boats begin to drift down the stream.

“The market is floating again,” An said.

“No,” Mom replied. “After floating for a day, I don't think I'm back.”

An looked at the map. The market is no longer a strip of boats leaning on the water like before. It must have an inspection schedule, a processing budget, a recorder, and even unknown areas. Many people would call it annoying.

Ti stood next to the stake, clicking the camera.

“What did you take?” An asked.

“The distance between two streams of water.”

An looked at the lens. A stream flows from upstream to downstream. A stream flowed from the side door, weaker, someone measured it and someone signed it.

“Shoot,” she said. “But write down who's standing next to you.”

The boat carrying porridge left the dock. An's mother held the steering wheel, Khai held the pole, Ti sat at the head of the boat, and An stood between two pots of water. At the bottom of the river, the old pipes are still there. They do not disappear because of an article, nor do they become innocent because the market is open.

They just have the watchman's name added, the hours recorded, and the questions allowed.

An doesn't call it victory. After the market opening day, the council still has to meet every week. Subsequent test results may cause the factory to pay more, the cooperative to pay a fine, or households to change the way they anchor their boats. Some people left the market because they could not stand the inspection time. Some other people turned back because they knew the water time.

Mrs. Sau no longer keeps the key alone. She keeps part of the book, the rest is in the environmental room and the public cabinet on the wharf. Each time the valve is opened, the reader must now read the operator's name over the loudspeaker. Some people were annoyed, but no one said they didn't know.

Khai opens a short class for boat owners. He teaches how to see bubbles, measure flow, recognize abnormal pressure and call the right agency. He also teaches how to write "don't know" instead of writing a beautiful sentence.

“Not everyone needs to be a technician,” he said. “But anyone who lives next to water must know when the water is saying something else.”

Duy publicly disclosed the reports the factory sent, including the missing parts. You can't make companies look good, but you can make data no longer just stay in the legal department. His father is mentioned in the records not as someone who took all the blame, but as someone who gave warnings but was not listened to enough.

Vinh works with the inspection team. He no longer uses the common access code. When signing the minutes, his hand shook, but he did not ask anyone else to sign for him.

An's mother cooked porridge again. She did not hang the sign "absolutely clean water". She posted the date of the most recent sample collection and the council's phone number. Customers read the sign and still eat. Some guests asked more questions than before. She answered within her ability, the part that didn't know called An.

Ti set up a small exhibition on the wharf. He divided the photos into three groups: “seen”, “measured” and “unknown”. The last photo is the river surface where the two streams meet. No one in the photo is facing the camera.

Mr. Nam placed the old drawing next to the new map. He didn't hide the torn corner anymore. The student asked why the map had blank spaces. He replied:

"Because land and water change. Maps must not pretend to be unchanging."

An completed the last lesson. She wrote Mother signed, Mrs. Sau remained silent, Khai signed incorrectly, Vinh erased, Duy knew part of it, the factory benefited, the market depended and the people both received support and demanded the right to know. She wrote that responsibility is not shared equally, but one person's innocence cannot be used to hide the fact that many others have turned their backs.

The editor asked for the title.

An chooses: "The floating market has no water and people must learn to be responsible."

Mom read it and said it was long.

“You write for newspapers like your mother cooks porridge,” she said. “All sorts of things make one pot.”

Khai took the boat to the south branch. The water is clearer, but samples are still taken. Record the time. Duy stands on the shore and watches, not entering the technical area without being registered. Mrs. Sau reads the calendar. An image of a map with blank spaces remains intact.

After three weeks, additional test results confirmed that the sludge sample had ingredients that needed continued monitoring, but there was not enough evidence to call it toxic waste. Some indexes decreased after the factory stopped cleaning through M-07. The conclusion doesn't please everyone, but it does show that the pause has an impact.

The board posted the entire report, along with the lab's explanation. Anyone reading can see the limits of the results. Ms. Sau said that if they cover the "not enough" part, they will repeat the old method.

The factory agreed to renovate the tank, replace standard gaskets, open the side door with witnesses and pay the sludge treatment fund according to the usage rate. The cooperative bears part of the costs for leveling the tank and managing the common code. The government bears the cost of re-measuring public corridors.

Khai was not restored to his old position, but was invited to join the community technical group. He said he would not sign for acceptance without independent measuring equipment.

Vinh works with the inspection team. He no longer accepts off-the-books shifts. Duy holds a position at the factory, but all environmental reports are passed through a council of people. He is still suspected by the workers, as well as still suspected by the people. No one needs to believe him right away.

An's mother reopened the porridge pot. She wrote down the date she got the water, the time she washed the pot, and her phone number in case there was a problem. Customers asked why they had to write so much. She said:

“Because I once signed a piece of paper that no one read.”

Ti organizes a photo exhibition. He divided the images into "seen", "measured", "unknown". One person asked why he "didn't know" more. Ti replied because water moves faster than humans.

Mr. Nam hung the old drawing next to the new map. He wrote below:

"The map has a date. The person responsible also has a date."

An wrote the last article, including the fact that the first article did not use enough photo sources, then edited the caption. The editor said that admitting mistakes would mean making the article weak. An said that if he didn't admit his mistakes, he would do a weak test.

Mom read the manuscript and asked An if she would write and sign it. An said yes.

“Writing even when I don't know,” she said. “But don't write stupid mother.”

An corrects the sentence. Her mother was not stupid; She chose a station in a situation where she didn't have many options and wasn't read enough. The responsibility of the compiler and interpreter cannot be completely pushed to the signer.

The first boat left the harbor after nineteen days lying in the mud.

It doesn't run fast. No one wants to make the water muddy again. The paddle dips down and up, leaving small circles. The market did not return to its original shape; Some boats move ashore, some sell according to the testing schedule, some only anchor when someone reads the valve.

But the river is no longer the dark background under every decision.

Market day Learning to float begins like that: not when the water covers all the mud, but when people stop calling the common water no one's business.