Chapter 2 — Summer On The Terrace

Minh Quan does not measure the load by looking at the potted plants and then guessing. He divided the terrace into a one-meter grid, numbered each square, placed pressure sensors under large trays of soil and recorded the settlement in old cracks. Thao Vy stood next to him, holding the notepad, trying not to ask when he would finish.

“If you need a drawing today, measure the tree yourself,” Quan said.

“I'm recording.”

“Record the volume of wet soil, not the number of pots.”

Vy bent down. “A sixty liter tray, the soil retains about forty percent of the water.”

Quan turned to look at her. “You know?”

"I studied architecture, doesn't mean I don't know land."

“I didn't say that.”

“Your voice said so.”

Quan ignored, moved the sensor. Vy knew he wasn't trying to tease her; he just said what needed to be said. That way makes each sentence like a pebble thrown in a shoe.

Bao Long brings the advertising frame specifications. Eighteen-meter long frame, four column legs, LED lighting system and a bonsai tub for "friendly shaping". Quan reads and marks the parts that need to be asked.

“The wind load is not there yet,” he said.

Long shrugged. "Ms. Nhan said the detailed design will be available after the school approves the policy."

“Without wind load, it is impossible to evaluate.”

“I know. But you should tell the administration.”

Vy asked: "Have you sent the company the garden data yet?"

Long paused. “What data?”

“You are in charge of sponsorship.”

“I only send activity information and the number of participants.”

“Does the activity information include temperature and amount of vegetables?”

Long looked at My. "Not yet."

My put down the recorder. “If you send it, let everyone know.”

Long said he would check. Vy doesn't like that ambiguity, but there is no proof that Long did anything wrong.

By noon, the concrete floor was so hot that the marking tape peeled off. Quan used an infrared thermometer to measure the surface in three locations: an area without trees, an area with vines, and an area near the water tank. Fourteen degree difference. Vy took photos and recorded the time and sunlight conditions.

“If you put this number in the records, there must be a method,” Quan said.

“I will write down the device and the error.”

"Good."

“Can you say 'good' without making a face like you're grading papers?”

Quan looked at her for a moment. "Good."

Vy burst out laughing unexpectedly. Quan bent down to adjust the sensor, but the corner of his mouth also moved.

Ngoc Ha called them to the kitchen. She showed me the vegetable import book, the invoice and the amount of food. The garden provides herbs, baby cabbage and a portion of tomatoes, but the kitchen has to buy more when students are on break. Ha wants the group to clearly state the limits, not exaggerate the benefits.

“If you say the garden can feed the entire dormitory, they will immediately deny it,” Ha said. “It just helps the kitchen reduce some of the costs.”

Vy wrote: "The value is sufficient and can be verified."

Quan asked: "Where does the irrigation water come from?"

“Rainwater tank and faucet on the third floor.”

“Does the tank have a tight lid?”

Ha looked at Vy. “Probably yes.”

Quan didn't say anything, he went back to the rooftop to check. The tank lid is askew, there are rotten leaves inside. He turned off the valve and called Uncle Sau.

Uncle Sau came with a toolbox. “I told you not to leave the lid open.”

“We don't know,” Vy said.

“If I don't know, the sink will still be full of trash.”

Quan apologized on behalf of the group. He removed the cover, cleaned the filter, and recorded the error in the maintenance book.

Vy looked at him. “You don't need to take it all.”

"I'm here. Receiving my share is the fastest."

Uncle Sau looked at both of them. "If you want to keep a garden, don't just count on people seeing it. Water pipes, roof loads, and emergency exits are what determine whether it exists."

In the afternoon, Vy drew a plan Preliminary: reduce the large soil tray, transfer part of it to a light tray, open the escape route around the tank, add an instruction board. She placed the drawing on the table, waiting for Quan to check.

Quan used a red pen to circle three positions. "Here the new tray blocks the escape route. Here the load is concentrated. Here the water flows back into the crack."

“I fix it.”

"Don't edit on the final version. Make one version for a reason."

Vy looked up. “You want me to explain my fault too?”

“I want the reviewer to know that the plan has passed the test.”

Vy tore up the first sketch and put it aside. She didn't like the feeling that Quan saw the unfinished features, but he didn't smile. He just placed a steel ruler next to her.

That night, Long sent the group an email: New Sun Company offered to fund the entire cost of renovating the garden if they had the right to use the images and data for three years. No one knows what information Long sent them.

My asked: "Three years is longer than the time we studied."

Ha said: "So kitchen vegetables become advertisements?"

Quan opened the attached contract. "There is an exclusivity clause. If signed, the team cannot share the design with other parties."

Vy looked at the text. "Meeting tomorrow. No one signed."

Long replied: "If we don't have money, we don't have a chance."

Vy typed back: "If you have money but lose power, that is not an opportunity."

Quan looked at her, this time without arguing. Outside the window, the last sunlight of the day still lingers on the glass panes. The terrace heats up and then cools down, leaving behind the smell of earth and iron.

Quan set up a temporary loading board right on the rooftop. He explained with bricks: the soil tray is a distributed load, the water tank is a concentrated load, and the advertising frame is the horizontal thrust when there is wind. A group of first-year students stood listening, someone asked why the water tank was heavier than the plant pots.

“Because water is not only heavy when standing still,” Quan said. “When it moves, it pushes against the wall of the tub.”

Vy adds an arrow, turning the explanation into a diagram. She found that the technique was not as dry as she thought; it just needs the presenter to know how to bring it to life.

Uncle Sau brought up a new coil and said the tank must have a lid and filter. Quan records expenses. Ha asked if the amount of food was reduced, would the vegetables be enough? Quan calculates the amount of water for each type of plant, recommends removing the two varieties that require a lot of watering and keeping the heat-resistant varieties.

“Who decides which trees are abandoned?” Ha asked.

“Growers and chefs decide together,” Vy said.

They set up a voting table, not letting technology decide for agriculture.

In the afternoon, a staff member from the administration department came to measure the area. He didn't know the advertising frame had specs. Vy asked if she could see the referral letter. He gave the card and said he would only do as requested.

Quan asked: "Where do you measure from?"

“According to the landmark on the company drawing.”

“That drawing has not been published by the school.”

Staff shrugged. “I only have this copy.”

Vy wrote down the document code and asked permission to take a photo of the cover. He agreed.

After he got down, Quan said: "They had the measurement before the group knew."

Vy asked: "Is it because the contract was signed?"

"Maybe. But signing a contract doesn't make the drawing safe."

Long sent word that the board of directors did not want the group to announce the announcement, for fear of causing confusion. My asked if they had the right to ban it. Ms. Huong replied: the group can communicate about its activities, but not distribute internal documents or unverified conclusions.

My compiled a short information sheet: the garden is being inspected, the temporary use schedule remains the same, all data will be updated. Vy read, Change the sentence "under threat" to "under consideration".

“The new sentence is boring,” My said.

“But yes.”

Quan looked at Vy. “True is not always boring.”

At night, they broadcast information through the school bulletin board. Some people asked when there will be a donation campaign. Vy hasn't opened it yet, but says she needs to calculate the cost first. Ha sent the material price list, Quan updated the download. The amount increased more than expected because the waterproofing layer did not include labor.

Vy asked Quan if it could be reduced by using old materials. He said to only use it if checking the quality, not to exchange safety for cheapness.

“You always say no,” she complained.

"I say no if there's no one responsible. I'll say yes if there's an inspection."

Vy nodded. She adds a “auditor” column to the budget sheet.

When everyone was about to get down, a piece of paint at the base of the tub peeled off, revealing an old line underneath. Has anyone ever marked the position of the steel frame right on the roof?

Quan used a flashlight to see a line extending to the engine room. Vy circled the drawing, then received a text message from Ms. Huong: "Don't erase that mark. It may be the part of the file you need."

In the evening, Vy adjusted the drawing according to the old markings. She did not erase the frame line, just highlighted it lightly and wrote "unverified". Quan looked through the call and reminded her not to put captions on the exit area.

“Are you even editing drawings remotely?”

“I just pointed out the error.”

“Not much different.”

“The difference is that I don't hold a pen.”

Vy smiled, then sent the update to Ms. Huong. Ms. Huong responded to the request to add the source of the old parameters. Vy looked in the database and found nothing, stating "not found".

Ha sent the quantity of vegetables according to each tray. A tray was once counted twice because someone mistakenly recorded the weight of dry soil as wet soil. Vy fixed the board and told Ha and Quan.

Quan said: "A small error table also makes the plan wrong."

“I know.”

“You speak more slowly.”

Vy looked at the mark under the sink. A day at work made her understand that numbers are not something to use to win, but to not fool herself.

In the afternoon, the group set up a folding table as a note-taking station. On the table are three pairs of scales, two measuring tapes, an indelible pen and a box of plastic bags to hold soil samples. Quan labels each item with the date of purchase, person in charge and battery status. Ha asked if it was necessary to be so serious. Quan replied that if a piece of equipment breaks down mid-process, they must know exactly which number to trust.

Vy tried entering data on the tablet. The application automatically changed the comma to a period in the humidity column, causing the number 12.5 to become 125. She discovered it before sending the table, but still took a screenshot of the error and recorded it in the problem section. My said it was a small mistake but the record was as long as an accident report. Vy said big mistakes often start with people being afraid to admit small mistakes.

At the end of the session, a freshman named Tuan asked if he could put the pot of mint in a shady corner. Ha did not accept it immediately. She asked Tuan if he could water it, if he knew how the plants needed drainage, and if he agreed to write the caretaker's name on the board. Tuan answered each question, then went back to find a pot with a hole in the bottom. Vy looked at the conversation and understood that the garden is not a place where anyone can put whatever they want, but it should not be turned into a laboratory only for those who know the terminology.

That night, Vy reopened the old voiceover. The sentence "the garden helps reduce heat" was changed to "the team will measure the ability to reduce heat under the stated conditions, the results may not be the same". The new sentence is longer and less polished, but doesn't overpromise the part I know. She sent the draft to Quan to see. He only replied with one line: "Can read." Vy burst out laughing. Tu Quan, that's almost a compliment.