Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 243 - 181: Holding One’s Head High

Chapter 243: Chapter 181: Holding One’s Head High

Two tables were set up at noon, one for the family and one for the brigade cadres and Old Han’s childhood friends.

Although Old Han is the deputy chief engineer of the Meteorological Bureau and ranks among the top experts in Binjiang’s meteorological system, the Meteorological Bureau wields no power or money, and in the eyes of the townsfolk, doesn’t seem very capable.

By comparison, Xiang Fan is more respected by the folks back home.

Everyone gets sick from time to time, and when sick, you go to the hospital for checks and treatments.

The medical standards and facilities of the County People’s Hospital certainly can’t compare with those in the city, and whenever friends and neighbors get a serious illness that the County People’s Hospital can’t handle, they turn to Binjiang and seek help from Nurse Chief Xiang.

In the rural people’s minds, the police definitely have power!

Han Yu’s status somehow surpassingly outshines her father-in-law, only second to her mother-in-law.

Everyone praised Friend Han for his good fortune, for marrying such a kind and capable wife like Nurse Chief Xiang, having two beautiful and capable daughters, and for attracting such an esteemed and handsome son-in-law like Han Yu.

If it hadn’t been for Friend Han deflecting the drinks, Han Yu would surely have been drunk under the efforts of the several brigade cadres.

Being the matrilocal son-in-law not only gave the grandparents reasons to feel proud, especially when he and his wife each rode a light motorcycle back home, but also made the grandparents and two aunts eagerly pull him aside to ask endless questions.

Both aunts were teachers, but their Mandarin was not good, leaving Han Xiangning to continue her role as interpreter.

While chatting, the grandfather invented an excuse to go out, supposedly for some urgent business, and returned with red envelopes.

The two uncles and two aunts caught on and quickly fetched their wallets to prepare red envelopes.

For a first-time visit, accepting the red envelope is customary in Si Gang, and not to be refused.

Han Yu had no choice but to stiffly accept them, and before he could even see how much the grandparents, two uncles, and aunts had given, his elder sister had already taken custody of the red envelopes.

After eating and drinking to their hearts’ content and chatting with a few village cadres, the family of four, under the adamant insistence of the grandparents, began to make rounds like a parade, primarily to visit the elderly of Phoenix Six Brigade.

They sat at the doorway of his house for a while before moving to the next to chat, finally being surrounded by the villagers in front of the small shop at the Six Brigade’s "political and cultural cum commercial center."

Whatever Friend Han asked, Han Yu and Han Xiangning obediently called out.

The store wasn’t privately owned but was a retail outlet of Dinghu Town’s Commercial Corporation. The salesclerk’s spouse was an educated youth who stayed in the village and spoke good Mandarin. They had also seen the world and smiled as they asked Han Xiangning, "Ningning, does the Port Supervision fall under the Transportation Bureau?"

"The local Port Supervision falls under the Transportation Bureau, but we belong to the Yangtze River Port Supervision, which isn’t managed by the Binjiang Transportation Bureau."

"Then who does oversee you?"

"We report to the Yangtze River Port and Navigation Supervision Bureau."

"Where is the Yangtze River Port and Navigation Supervision Bureau located?"

"In Hanwu."

There are too many authorities overseeing the Yangtze River, and regular folks really can’t make heads or tails of it. Han Xiangning added with a smile, "The Yangtze River Port Supervision Bureau is under the Ministry of Transport. From the head to the tail of the Yangtze River, there are ten Port Supervision Bureaus in total, and our Binjiang Yangtze River Port Supervision Bureau is one of them."

An old man asked a few questions in Si Gang language, and the salesclerk’s spouse translated, "Sixth Master is asking what you manage?"

"We manage water traffic safety, akin to road traffic police, but on the water."

"And your boyfriend?"

"He deals with water security, meaning he combats illegal and criminal activities on the water."

"So, you’re both essentially police."

"We’re akin to road traffic police on the water, but we’re different from real police officers. We perform administrative law enforcement, while they not only have administrative penalties for violations against security regulations but also criminal investigative powers for certain criminal cases."

"Your boyfriend has more authority than you!"

"Of course, they have guns, we don’t."

This makes sense.

The police have guns; they definitely have power.

The crowd’s respect for Han Yu increased, and they looked at Friend Han and his spouse with full admiration and disbelief that he could secure a public security police officer as a matrilocal son-in-law.

Both were ex-military officers, but while others became leaders, he stayed technical.

Friend Han felt somewhat embarrassed every time he returned to his home village, but today his son-in-law helped earn the respect back, allowing him to hold his head high with pride for once, joyfully handing out cigarettes to the villagers.

On the way back to the grandparents’ house, Han Yu chuckled to Han Xiangning, "What’s this about our authority being greater than yours? You fine so heavily; it’s clear your power is greater than ours, isn’t it?"

Xiang Fan usually had a heavy workload and was genuinely curious about his daughter’s job, so he asked, "Ningning, have you ever fined anyone?"

"What fine? We enforce the law. Besides, fining is just a means, ensuring the safety of water traffic is the goal."

"But have you ever issued a ticket to someone?"

"Yes, I have."

"Was it at Bailong Port?"

"Yes."

"How many have you issued in total?"

Han Xiangning looked back and covered her mouth, giggling, "Six or seven hundred thousand, I guess. I’m not the only one handing out fines. I just fill out penalty receipts and explain to the crew members why they’re being fined."

Xiang Fan exclaimed in shock, "Six or seven hundred thousand!"

It seemed that the mother-in-law didn’t know how fiercely her daughter could hand out fines. Han Yu couldn’t help but laugh, "Mom, Ningning went to Bailong Port with a safe and a pile of blank fine receipts. On the first day she started working with Director Jin and Sister Zhu, which was actually just an afternoon, she handed out fines totaling over forty thousand."

"Ningning, aren’t you worried about offending people by fining them so harshly?"

"I’m just enforcing the law impartially. Plus, with San’er by my side, I have nothing to fear."

"Is San’er handing out fines with you?"

"He was carrying a submachine gun and accompanied us for inspections, and he certainly wasn’t idle either. He’s also handed out fines to people."

"San’er, are you also handing out fines?"

"Mom, I hand out less. I only fine crew members who don’t have a Seaman’s Certificate, and I can only fine five yuan at a time."

"Ningning, how much do you fine at a time?"

"It depends on the situation. The highest fine I’ve issued for a single ship was sixteen thousand yuan. The smaller ones are three to four hundred."

One can only fine five yuan, while the other can hand out fines of over ten thousand at a time. It seems that the daughter has more power than the son-in-law. No wonder the Port Supervision Bureau is building both an office building and a Traffic Control Center.

As Xiang Fan didn’t know what to say to her daughter, Old Han lit a cigarette and asked with a smile, "San’er, if you’re not going to study computer science this year, how are you planning to spend the upcoming vacation?"

"The tide level of the Yangtze has dropped, and we’ve entered the dry season. I need to return to Bailong Port tomorrow to join Captain Wang and his team in adding jump ships, lengthening floating piers, and adjusting the position of the dunships."

"What’s a ’jump ship’?"

Before Han Yu could answer, Han Xiangning wrapped her arm around her father and explained, "It’s a steel floating box that supports the floating pier. This work is critical as it directly affects the safety of the dunships and the berthing vessels. We need to use tugboats and anchor boats to throw the dunship anchors into deeper water, then use the dunship’s own anchor winch to pull the ship towards the center of the river."

"How many meters do you have to pull it?"

"This depends on the tide level and water depth. All the floating piers and dunships in the Binjiang Port area need to be adjusted, and they have to be pulled at least twenty meters into the river."

"The water’s shallow, and the dunships are further from the shore; does that mean the floating piers need to be extended?"

"They have to be extended; otherwise, people won’t be able to get on them."

"That’s no small project. How many days will it take?"

Han Xiangning was not very clear on this, and she subconsciously turned her head back.

Seeing her looking at him, Han Yu hurriedly said, "The dunships at Bailong Port Pier also need to be adjusted. They will get an anchor boat from Binjiang Port to help out. It should all be adjusted within half a day."

Xiang Fan really didn’t want her son-in-law to leave and asked with a smile, "Does this mean you can come home the day after tomorrow?"

Han Yu knew his mother-in-law was talking about her home, and with an apologetic face, he said, "Mom, I’m a public security police officer at Yanjiang Police Station. We have so few people there, and Director Xu has been so good to me. I want to go back to help out; I can’t really take a vacation."

If it weren’t for Xu Sanye, where would such an obedient and agreeable son-in-law come from?

Plus, they were cultivating Sanye, and his job performance was critical. He couldn’t let them down.

Friend Han thought the son-in-law’s words made sense and pondered for a while, saying, "San’er is right. These two months off were granted by the Marine Bureau, not by Director Xu. You can’t really take a break; you should go back to the station and help."

Seeing her mother-in-law looking hesitant, Han Yu carefully said, "Last night, when I went to borrow the car from Sister Zhang Lan, I also went back to the station. Director Xu said learning to sail is important, self-study exams are important, and military training is equally important. Four Factory’s Military Department is about to organize training for Civilian Soldiers; he plans on having me and Xiao Yu continue to participate."

Han Xiangning instinctively asked, "How many days of training?"

"Last year’s training took twelve days. This year it won’t be as long, just one week."

"Did they say when the training will be?"

"They said it would be at the end of this month, but it’s not finally confirmed."

Han Yu knew his senior sister didn’t want him to leave and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Director Xu also said that our Yanjiang Police Station and the Water Police Station are part of the Binjiang Water Police, which may seem like one family but actually doesn’t have a reporting relationship. He said I can’t just take advantage of the Water Police Station’s dormitory and make things difficult for Director Yu and Political Commissioner Wang."

Han Xiangning, misinterpreting it as a dormitory issue, let go of Friend Han’s arm, turned around and pulled him, asking, "What exactly does your master mean by this?"

"He wants me to report to the Water Police Station after completing the Civilian Soldiers training, as if on a secondment, and work at the Water Police Station for a month. From now on, whenever I take leave, I should go there, so that people won’t gossip behind Director Yu and Political Commissioner Wang’s backs."

"You’re not a police officer of the Water Police Station; it’s not appropriate for the Water Police Station to allocate a dormitory to you. But as long as you work there for a while, Director Yu and Political Commissioner Wang can allocate one?"

"Director Xu probably means that."

"Then why doesn’t he just transfer your work relationship directly to the Water Police Station?"

"Our station has only four police officers in total; if I leave, there would only be three left."

Friend Han, although he had never been in a leadership position, had many years of experience in the military and several years in civilian roles. He still had basic political acumen.

After thinking for a moment, he couldn’t help but laugh, "I understand the good intentions of your station chief."

"Dad, I don’t quite follow." Han Yu was puzzled.

Friend Han patted his arm and explained with a smile, "The Water Police Station is actually the Water Police Department of the city Police Bureau. Although the police of the division do grassroots policing, to others, the Water Police Station is regarded as an office."

Han Xiangning was also confused and asked, "What’s the issue with being an office?"

Friend Han chuckled and said, "No matter what you do, you need experience at the grassroots level; otherwise, your foundation won’t be stable. Especially in the police system, many chiefs and deputy chiefs have served as chief of a police station or at least have some experience working in a grassroots police station. San’er is still young; he should spend a few years honing his skills at the grassroots level. There’s no need for him to move to an office position so soon."