Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 110 - 97: The Pitiful Junior

Chapter 110: Chapter 97: The Pitiful Junior

Han Yu was driving very carefully, afraid of hitting someone and even more afraid of damaging his beloved light motorcycle.

Han Xiangning knew he was very nervous because his whole body was tense.

He wasn’t very big, but he was trying so hard to be strong; the thought alone was amusing.

Han Xiangning, worried his nervousness would lead to a fall, praised his driving and asked where his sister worked and what his brother-in-law did...

By keeping the conversation going, she eased the tension he felt being on the road for the first time and carrying a passenger.

Han Yu answered every question, feeling very pleased inside.

Back at school, he could only look up to her and had to sneak those glances.

He never dared to get too close, to make eye contact, let alone talk to her. He felt like they were worlds apart.

Who could have thought after graduation they would interact, and she would even ride in his car — all of this gave Han Yu a real sense that times have changed.

Han Xiangning didn’t know what he was thinking and asked again, "Salted Fish, how come I’m the only one asking questions? Don’t you have anything you want to ask me?"

"What should I ask?"

"You can ask anything."

Not from the same world, what’s there to ask, but it would be rude not to ask something.

After thinking for a bit, Han Yu asked, "Sister Xiang Ning, why were you named this?"

Han Xiangning thought he’d ask about the Port Supervision Bureau’s salary and benefits, but to her surprise, he asked this and couldn’t help laughing, "Is my name not good? Even if it’s not very nice, it’s still better than yours."

"I’m just curious."

"Fine, I’ll satisfy your curiosity."

Han Xiangning, hugging his waist and leaning on his shoulder, explained, "My dad’s surname is Han, and my mom’s surname is Xiang. They didn’t just have me, but also my younger sister. We are twins. My mom missed her hometown a lot, so she named me Han Xiangning and my sister Han Xiangmeng."

Han Yu exclaimed in surprise, "You are twins? Does your sister look just like you?"

"To others, we look identical, but actually, we’re not exactly the same."

"How many hours older are you than her?"

"It’s not a matter of hours, my mom said I was born just a few minutes before her."

"Han Xiangning Han Xiangmeng, lemon, Sister Xiang Ning, does your mom really like lemons?"

"Lemons are for making tea, not for peeling and eating like oranges." Han Xiangning laughed and asked back, "Have you ever seen a lemon?"

Embarrassed by the question, Han Yu answered honestly, "I haven’t seen one."

Han Xiangning smiled and said, "No one grows lemon trees or sells lemons in Binjiang, so it’s normal you haven’t seen them."

"Do they grow them at your grandma’s?"

"My grandma lives in An Yue, Xichuan. An Yue is known for lemons. Not only do they grow lemon trees, but they also export lemon essential oils for foreign exchange. It’s just that An Yue is too far away from Binjiang, and my sister and I only visited with my mom twice."

"Xichuan, eh? That’s quite far." Han Yu glanced at the rearview mirror and pressed on, "Why did your mom think of marrying someone so far away?"

"My mom didn’t marry and move here; she used to be a soldier in Jiangcheng, and my dad was also a soldier there. They met in the military, got married in the military, and my sister and I grew up in the military. Later when my dad retired, my mom brought my sister and me back to Binjiang."

"Your parents were military officers, you’re the child of officers!"

"I guess you could say that, but my parents weren’t high-ranking officers."

"What does your dad do?"

"My dad was a technician in the military. Before he retired, he worked at the Weather Station, and after returning home, he was reassigned to the Meteorological Bureau. If you want to know the weather forecast, you can ask me; I find out before everyone else."

Remembering something he learned in school, Han Yu murmured, "Recognizing weather by the clouds, your dad is really impressive."

Han Xiangning always thought her dad wasn’t that capable, but she was surprised to find he admired him and laughed, "My dad isn’t as impressive as you think. One moment he says it will rain and tells us to bring an umbrella. The next he predicts a drop in temperature and tells us to wear more clothes, but his forecasts are sometimes off, which often leads to us making a fool of ourselves."

Children who grew up in the military have a different temperament than those from ordinary families.

Deep down, Han Yu admired her and curiously asked, "Sister Xiang Ning, does your dad also predict the weather for the waterway?"

"Of course, Binjiang doesn’t have a second Meteorological Bureau."

"What does your mom do?"

"My mom used to be a nurse and still is, only she moved from a military hospital to a local hospital."

Han Xiangning paused, then couldn’t help but laugh again, "If you go to the First People’s Hospital for shots or IVs, you can look for my mom. I’ll ask her to take a good look before she pokes you, haha."

"I’m very healthy, I won’t need to go to a hospital."

"What do you mean you won’t go to the hospital? Where did you get that light motorcycle from? Didn’t you get injured catching criminals in East Sea?"

"It was just a superficial injury; no needles, no IVs, no hospital stay. Just had a check-up, treated the wound and got some medication."

"You have a wound? Where did you get hurt?"

"My neck got scratched."

"Is it healed? Let me see."

"It’s almost healed; nothing much to see."

"Don’t move; let me take a look!"

Being peered at by a girl to check his neck, Han Yu was truly a bit embarrassed.

He was secretly glad that he had to participate in daily morning physical fitness training combined with coastline patrols, taking showers upon returning to the station every day.

If he didn’t shower for several days, and his neck was all grimy, how embarrassing that would be.

When Han Xiangning pulled open his collar, she suddenly discovered several red scratch marks that looked rather chilling, and in a low voice said, "You’re only sixteen, clearly knowing you can’t beat them, yet you still foolishly rush in."

Han Yu didn’t want to talk about these things and quickly changed the subject: "Sister Xiang Ning, what is your sister doing?"

"She’s studying at a health school, also graduated last year, and became a nurse like my mom, but not at the First People’s Hospital."

"Which hospital is she at?"

"Why do you ask so clearly, are you planning to pursue my sister!"

"No, I...I’m just asking casually."

"What’s the hurry, I’m just joking with you, she’s at the same place as your sister and brother-in-law, at the Port Authority Hospital."

Han Yu said with envy: "Officials’ families are really different, their jobs are so good, all four people in the family make money."

Although Han Xiangning thought so too, she considered her little school brother’s self-esteem and said as if it were nothing: "It seems like all four are making money, but they’re just drawing fixed salaries. Once you go to work on foreign vessels as a sailor, your one month’s salary will equal what my whole family earns in a year."

To her surprise, after being silent for a moment, Han Yu actually said: "Sister Xiang Ning, once I fulfill the service years on board, I will still sign up to take the promotion exams at your place, but I might not go work on foreign vessels."

"Why not."

"The leaders in our unit treat me very well, and the station needs me."

"How well do they treat you?"

"Very well, they couldn’t treat me any better, they’re training me to be a future police station chief. And in our Police Bureau, among so many public security police, only I can drive and repair boats."

"Training you to be a future police station chief, haha."

"Sister Xiang Ning, what are you laughing at?"

He’s such a kid, deeply believing whatever vision the leadership paints for him.

Han Xiangning almost couldn’t stop laughing, but didn’t want to speak ill of his leaders behind their back, nor did she want to dampen his work enthusiasm, and couldn’t help but pat his shoulder: "If you don’t want to be a sailor, then don’t be one. Stay at the police station and work hard, future ’Salted Fish’ station chief comrade."

What’s wrong with being the future ’Salted Fish’ station chief, are they looking down on me?

After thinking it over, Han Yu said proudly: "Sister Xiang Ning, you might not believe it, but someone like me, a secondary vocational student in shipping, isn’t much in the Port and Navigation System, but within Linghai Police Bureau and even the whole Binjiang Police System, you can’t find a second one."

"In the traffic system you’re just a blade of grass, but in the police system you’re a treasure?"

"Pretty much, you’ll see in the future."

"I believe you, otherwise they wouldn’t award you with a motorcycle as a reward."

"Director Xu said that in the future I should become the Yanjiang Police Station Chief, and Director Yu from the City Bureau’s Water Security Department also wants to cultivate me to become the chief of the Binjiang Water Police Branch. With them being so good to me, how could I possibly switch jobs?"

The leaders at the Police Bureau are too wicked, actually feeding a child such sweet delusions.

Realizing that her little school brother was too deeply "poisoned," Han Xiangning felt even more sympathetic to his situation and reminded him: "We’re about to enter the downtown area, it’s crowded up ahead, slow down."

"Oh."

"Do you know where the Meteorological Bureau is? My home is in the Meteorological Bureau dormitory."

"I know, the Meteorological Bureau is not far from your unit."

"The leaders probably haven’t left work yet, you better drop me off at my unit first."

"Okay."

...

One can tell if a unit is well-funded just by looking at the office building.

Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau was established last year, and I heard they are currently requisitioning land to construct a new office building. The present office building was the former Binjiang Navigation Administration Office.

The three-story white building is located right on the riverbank and hasn’t been up for many years.

Several small cars were parked at the entrance, and there were five outdoor units for split air conditioners installed outside the office building!

Inside the dunship and on the 001, three small window-type air conditioners had been installed, and Zhang Lan was envious, but how could that compare to what others have.

Such an impressive unit, Han Yu neither dared nor wished to enter. He declined his senior sister’s kind invitation to sit for a while, tied his military coat to the back seat, and headed straight to the Port Authority residential area.

Han Xiangning watched her silly little school brother leave, then turned to go upstairs, but Sister Wu called out with a laugh: "Xiao Han, who was that?"

This big sister was okay in every aspect except that she liked to gossip.

Not wanting to be misunderstood, Han Xiangning replied without thinking: "My little brother."

"Don’t you only have a twin sister? How come a little brother suddenly appeared?"

"Cousin brother, surname Han, called Salted Fish. Director Dong knows him too."

"Turns out he’s your cousin brother. Why would a boy buy a women’s style light motorcycle?"

No wonder she was so interested; it turns out that her little school brother’s bike was the same as hers.

Recalling how proud she was in the unit for getting a light motorcycle, Han Xiangning couldn’t help but smile and say: "Sister Wu, my brother’s bike wasn’t bought, it was awarded to him by his unit."

Sister Wu asked in amazement: "What kind of unit, even if the performance is good, they wouldn’t possibly reward a light motorcycle!"

With a titter, Han Xiangning said: "The Police Bureau, my brother is a public security police. He solved a major case, accomplished a great merit, so his unit wants to reward him."