Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 251 - 185 "Can’t Do Anything Else"_2

Chapter 251: Chapter 185 "Can’t Do Anything Else"_2

After Han Xiangning washed up, the ginger soup was almost ready. He watched her drink a bowl, then hurried back to the dormitory to fetch a change of clothes and take a shower.

Having tidied up the sheets and bedding, they rushed to the shipyard where Old Qian was playing chess with the gatekeeper, Old Chen.

The two politely greeted with "Uncle Qian, Uncle Chen" and carried the bedding to the command cabin of boat 001.

The air in the crew’s cabin was not very circulated, with a diesel smell. The command cabin’s air was much fresher. They laid down the wire bed that had been brought onto the ship a few days earlier while assisting the Customs enforcement.

Thus, the two sat side by side on the wire bed, gazing at the lights of the cargo ships shuttling back and forth on the river, listening to the rhythm of the river waves hitting the shore, admiring the moonlight’s play on the water’s surface, and bathing in the gentle river breeze. It was as if they were in the center of a beautiful painting, enjoying a moment of serenity and tranquility that belonged only to them.

"San’er, my mom plans to take us to visit my maternal grandparents in Xichuan next year during your holiday," he said.

"Okay."

The wall behind the cabin was cold and hard, and Han Yu, afraid she might be uncomfortable, picked up a pillow to use as her backrest.

Just as he finished adjusting the pillow, Han Xiangning couldn’t help but pull on his arm, her voice a blend of shyness, nervousness, and anticipation, "San’er, I don’t want to be laughed at by Mengmeng anymore."

Han Yu suddenly understood, his heart skipping a beat. He gently held her in his arms, unable to resist kissing her fair cheek, greedily inhaling the faint fragrance of her hair, and whispered, "I dare as I say, she can’t make fun of us."

Before, it was only holding hands, only hugging when riding the light motorcycle. Now, the feeling was entirely different.

Han Xiangning trembled slightly like she was electrified, snuggling up to him like a bird nestling against a person, her face flushed, motionless.

Han Yu felt as if encouraged, hugged her tighter, and kissed her again while caressing her soft hand.

So this is what love is...

Lost in emotions, Han Xiangning tilted her head up to meet his kiss.

They didn’t know how long they kissed, but only that Uncle Qian called out from below that he was leaving, and she was startled, quickly pushing Han Yu away.

Han Yu also felt guilty, like a thief, quickly wiping his mouth and running to the front of the ship to say goodbye to Old Qian.

After seeing off Old Qian, he returned to the command cabin, the lingering feelings still with him.

Han Xiangning enjoyed a few more moments in his arms, then gently pushed him away again, snuggling into his embrace as before, her hand caressing the one he wrapped around her, and spoke hesitantly, "San’er, we can only do this much, we shouldn’t do anything else, we are still young..."

To be able to hug and kiss his beloved senior, Han Yu was entirely content, whispering in her ear, "I won’t do anything that makes you unhappy or angry."

Han Xiangning stroked his face and murmured, "It feels like a dream."

"Me too."

"How should we sleep tonight?"

"You sleep here, I’ll go to the back, to the crew’s cabin."

"I’m scared to sleep here alone; my stomach hurts."

"I’ll go there after you fall asleep."

"I’ll still be scared even in my sleep."

"I’ll stay with you."

"Just hug me to sleep, but you need to behave, no wandering hands."

"This bed is so small, how can we sleep?"

"It’s alright."

"Okay."

...

While they were deep in affection, Xu Sanye had just finished dinner and, for the first time, arrived at the Water Police Station, sitting in the Political Commissioner’s office discussing escorting the shipping company with Scholar Yu and Political Commissioner Wang.

Political Commissioner Wang, having understood the situation, pondered, "We owe the shipping company. We can’t ignore their difficulties. Yet, escorting is only a temporary solution, not a permanent cure."

Scholar Yu strongly agreed, handing over a cigarette, "Director Xu, we can escort their fleet this time, but we can’t do it every month. What will they do if they encounter such situations again in the future?"

"At first, I only planned to use boat 001 to help them tow a dozen or so barges for one trip, considering that it’s not a permanent solution. That’s why I asked Manager Jiang to arrange another tugboat and organize several more barges, hoping to bring back more coal in one go."

Xu Sanye lit up a cigarette and continued, "County Magistrate Gu thinks this plan is viable. In our presence, he called the manager of the coal company, instructing the mines at Xuzhou to ramp up production and see if they can mine more. He also asked Old Ge to organize shipping companies from various towns, taking advantage of our escort to organize more ships and transport more coal."

Political Commissioner Wang curiously asked, "How many tons does the county plan to bring back?"

"Whatever amount of coal there is in Xuzhou, we’ll transport that much back. This time, at least 10,000 tons."

"That means escorting several fleets!"

"There might even be outboard boats participating."

Seeing their astonished expressions, Xu Sanye added, "The Grand Canal is a major waterway for the North Coal South Transport and South Grain North Transport between several provinces, including East Sea. Due to the presence of water bandits and river bullies, coal from the north can’t get through, and the south’s grain also can’t reach up here.

The shipping company suffered severe losses before and wants to take advantage of our escort to contact the grain departments they had dealt with in the past. The plan is to transport grain on the way there and bring coal back, trying to recover some losses as much as possible. After all, it’s almost the end of the year, and they can’t go without paying the workers’ salaries."

Sending empty ships would definitely not be cost-effective...

Political Commissioner Wang realized and asked with furrowed brows, "Sanye, we can spare ten officers from our side, and including Salted Fish, there are at most three officers from your side who can join the operation. With so many ships to escort, can we manage?"

"The county takes this matter very seriously. Wall grass said they’d try to allocate an additional ten officers from the Criminal Investigation Team, Security Team, and local Police Stations, and twenty members of the Cooperative Defense Team."