Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 300 - 215: The Happiest Five Years

Chapter 300: Chapter 215: The Happiest Five Years

The bride did not go back to her hometown with Sister Wei and Xu Haoran, because her parents also came.

They had lunch here at noon, and when they saw Director Yang and Commissioner Ding arrive, they went to the Jindun Hotel opposite the Police Bureau. Zhang Lan was there at the hotel accompanying the others.

Han Yu had just asked her senior to join them when Liang Xiaoyu arrived.

Seeing Xu Sanye’s leg swollen badly, sitting in a rattan chair unable to move, she hugged Xu Sanye’s legs and cried her heart out.

When others cry, Xu Sanye is not pleased.

But when Xiao Yu cries, Xu Sanye is not displeased, instead, he gently pats Xiao Yu’s shoulders and speaks slowly to comfort him: "You are a person with a significant other, how can you burst into tears at any trouble? Aren’t you afraid of people laughing at you?"

"Director Xu, my grandfather knows an old Chinese medicine practitioner. It was that old Chinese medicine practitioner who cured my grandfather’s leg. I know where that old Chinese medicine practitioner lives, I can take you to see him, he will definitely be able to cure you!"

"The old Chinese medicine practitioner you mentioned, I know him, but my ailment is different from your grandfather’s."

"That old Chinese medicine practitioner is really amazing, he must have a way."

"Let’s talk about seeing the old Chinese medicine practitioner later. First, get up and wipe your tears. What did I always tell you? A true man should never falter in the face of skin and flesh wounds, should sweat and bleed but never shed tears. Look at you now, what do you look like, crying and sobbing, are you the soldier led by me, Xu Sanye?"

"I won’t cry..."

Xiao Yu says he won’t cry, but tears keep flowing incessantly.

Xu Sanye pulled him to sit by his side and sighed: "Time flies so fast. When Old Li brought you to the station, you were just a kid like Salted Fish, and in the blink of an eye, you have grown up and even found your significant other."

Compared to Salted Fish, Xiao Yu is truly someone Xu Sanye raised himself.

He was an illiterate who had never been to school but managed to learn so many skills under Xu Sanye’s mentorship, obtain so many certificates, and even earned a vocational diploma from a TV university.

In these years, Xiao Yu participated in almost all operations organized by Yanjiang Police Station and proved to be extremely capable.

If this were more than a decade ago, he could have been promoted just like Xu Sanye in his youth.

But now is not more than a decade ago, achieving a promotion is too hard, and to date, there are still a dozen contract police officers in the Bureau who have not become permanent.

There are indeed staff members in the Bureau, but the staffing allocations are equally tight.

The current staff members are either cadres transferred from various townships when the organization was restored or ex-servicemen placed by superiors.

Director Yang really wants to do something, but he is unable to and can only sit on the side in silence.

In fact, whether he gets an official position or not, Xiao Yu does not care, because his family is now wealthy and will become even wealthier.

Xu Sanye doesn’t care either, continuing to say: "I plan to let your Brother Salted Fish become a squad leader at Bailong Port in a couple of years, but I guess even that role Brother Salted Fish won’t hold for long. He is the best ship operator among all police in Binjiang and even the entire province; it’s a waste of his talent to keep him always at Bailong Port.

Captain Wang is getting older and his health is not very good, so in the next few years, you have to seriously learn from Salted Fish how to operate and repair ships, and it’s best to train one or two more mechanic sailors. Whether Dunship and 001 can be maintained in the best condition and for how many years they can be used will depend entirely on you."

"Director Xu..."

"You’re crying again, can you let me finish speaking."

Xu Sanye patted his shoulder, and changing the subject, he said: "Compared to security, I am more worried about firefighting on the river. From the oil barges that pass through Hanwu to the Qingdao Oil Storage, to the big fire at Tianjin Port, to the passenger ships of the East Sea Shipping Bureau, every time a fire breaks out, it causes huge economic losses and environmental pollution, and there are always casualties.

From Zhangjia Port to Dacang Waters, and if we also include our North Branch Channel, the Yangtze River waterfront section is more than one hundred and eighty kilometers long, with hundreds of docks and berths, and seven or eight ferry terminals, all bristling with dangerous goods terminals.

Last year alone, the throughput of dangerous chemicals at Binjiang Port reached over five million tons, and oil depots and chemical parks along the river continue to expand, increasing the likelihood of fire and hazardous chemical leaks.

We’ve been lucky in these years to not have experienced any major fire, but safety hazards cannot be ignored. It would be alright if the management of water firefighting was chaotic, but we lack professional water firefighting and rescue forces.

As far as I know, only the Zhangjia Port Authority has a Fire and Towing Ship. If nothing happens, of course, that’s great, but in case of emergency, relying solely on a Fire and Towing Ship would probably mean we can only watch helplessly and sigh."

Director Yang did not expect the water firefighting hidden dangers to be so significant, and he listened with silent alarm.

Commissioner Ding did not expect Xu Sanye, despite being so sick, to still have his mind on work, and that too on the firefighting of the entire Yangtze River waterfront section; he couldn’t help but sigh that a cadre like him is becoming increasingly rare.

Xu Sanye does not know what they are thinking, patting Xiao Yu’s shoulder: "Good soldiers are trained for a day of battle, 001 must be kept in the best condition, ready to be mobilized and effective at any moment. If a fire breaks out on the river or along the coast, you must play your role."

Liang Xiaoyu eagerly responds: "Yes!"

Fearful that the child would only cry and not take in what was said, Xu Sanye emphasized: "Xiao Yu, if Salted Fish is the best at operating and fixing ships among the police, then you are the most knowledgeable auxiliary police about water firefighting and rescue!

You must always be mindful that our jurisdiction has two ferry terminals, one passenger terminal, and two water refueling stations, with so many ferries and passenger ships sailing in our jurisdiction every day, transporting thousands and thousands of passengers."

Liang Xiaoyu dares not cry again and quickly wipes away his tears: "I understand."

As they were talking, Han Shuqun and Xiang Fan arrived.

They had never visited Xu Sanye’s home before and didn’t know the way; they went directly to the Police Bureau, and the duty police officers from the Bureau brought them over.

After some pleasantries, they looked over the medical records and test results.

Old Han didn’t understand, but Nurse Chief Xiang did.

After Nurse Chief Xiang finished reading, her heart felt cold and she hesitated before putting down the medical records and test results.

However, Xu Sanye acted as if nothing had happened and smiled at her, asking, "Director Xiang, does this mean my illness has reached an incurable stage?"

"Director Xu, this disease indeed poses a significant threat to your health, but we need to maintain a positive attitude..."

"My attitude is still okay."

"Director Xu, you can’t smoke anymore."

"I know it has spread to my lungs, but the symptoms aren’t very apparent, just a bit of chest tightness. I want to enjoy a few more cigarettes while I still can."

Xu Sanye looked up at Salted Fish, who was biting her lips tightly, then turned back to look at Director Yang and Political Commissioner Ding, and said with a bitter smile, "The disease in my bones has started to guerrilla, spreading everywhere. Isn’t it strange how diseases are these days? It seems like there weren’t so many cases of cancer before, as if it suddenly emerged in recent years."

Director Yang hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, "They were always there, it’s just that the medical technology wasn’t as advanced before, so those illnesses weren’t detectable, and no one knew what they were."

"That’s a possibility."

Xu Sanye nodded, then complained, "There’s nothing we can do if the medical level wasn’t up to par, but when it comes to medical exams, I attended every one organized by the bureau. But what good did it do? Measuring blood pressure, pricking a finger for blood tests, listening to the chest with a stethoscope, sometimes not even taking X-rays."

The county’s medical examinations indeed... indeed can’t detect much.

Director Yang didn’t know how to respond when Xu Sanye raised his arm and pointed to his forehead, "The experts at the military hospital said the disease has not only spread to my lungs, but it will likely also reach my brain. Once it reaches the brain, I’ll become delirious and suffer from cognitive impairment, even my vision could be affected. That’s why I’m talking a bit too much today. Don’t get annoyed by me, I may not have another chance."

Director Yang couldn’t help but ask, "Sanye, what else did the experts from the military hospital say?"

"They said the time to come will be very tough, the pain will be worse than now, and I will rapidly lose weight."

Xu Sanye pointed to his forehead again and half-jokingly said, "I don’t want to become an idiot or blind, nor do I want to be screaming in pain, and certainly don’t want to become as thin as a chicken. I really want to end it swiftly for myself. But if I really did that, I would be free of pain, but it would trouble all of you."

Director Yang was startled and quickly said, "Don’t talk nonsense, and don’t indulge in wild fantasies."

"Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for you, nor will I let others ridicule me for being a coward. If it’s painful, then so be it. What’s the big deal, at worst it’s just a scar the size of a bowl after losing a head."

"So what are your plans for what comes next?"

"After attending the farewell drinks back in my hometown, I will have Haoran return to the military, and then I’ll head to Bailong Port with Old Wei. Director Yang, Old Ding, Master Han, Director Xiang, you should also refrain from visiting me at Bailong Port later on. I want to complete this last stretch by the Yangtze River in peace and quiet."

Han Yu’s heart was breaking, silencing his tears.

Director Yang was also teary-eyed and after a moment of silence, he slightly nodded, "Alright, Old Ding and I won’t disturb your recovery, and we won’t let others do so either."

He didn’t want anyone to see his dire state, nor did he want others’ sympathy.

Seeing Xu Sanye looking at him, Han Shuqun quickly said, "We won’t go either."

"Thank you."

Xu Sanye gave a slight smile and continued, "Let’s have dinner together tonight, as a farewell. The day after tomorrow, I won’t invite you to my hometown for the celebration. The relatives in the countryside are faint-hearted, and they’ll feel uncomfortable if you all attend."

With tears in his eyes, Director Yang nodded, "I’ll arrange for tonight, at the Jindun Hotel."

"My relatives are here, Master Han and Director Xiang came to see me, there’s no need for the bureau to arrange my family matters."

Director Xu’s tone was firm as he gently patted Director Yang’s arm and looked up again, "Salted Fish, have you ever been to Taiwan?"

"No, but I’ve passed by the strait."

"I want to see it."

"Ah..."

"Even though it seemed like I was pretty impressive back in Linghai, I was just a homebody, only knowing how to operate there. It wasn’t until I became the Yanjiang Police Station Chief and met you that I realized how fascinating the outside world is. One could say that the last five years in Bailong Port have been the happiest years of my life."

Xu Sanye lit a cigarette and added with a smile, "I’ve roamed the Yangtze River for five years, but I’ve only been to the estuary twice, and because the 001 is an inland river tugboat, we had to turn back before seeing the seawater. Do me a favor, when I die, scatter my ashes into the river, let them flow with the current and into the sea, let me see Taiwan and the South Sea."

"Master..."

Han Yu was in tears, not knowing what to say.

Xu Sanye tapped the ashes off his cigarette and looked at him with a smile, "Don’t worry, I’ve already discussed this with your master’s wife, she won’t object."

"Sanye, let’s talk about something else," said Director Yang, unable to bear it any longer and quickly interjecting.

"Director Yang, didn’t I tell you earlier that the illness might spread to my brain? If I don’t say it now, I might not have another chance."

Xu Sanye looked at Salted Fish with a very earnest and serious expression, "This is my final wish, and there are benefits to scattering ashes into the big river and sea.

You all are so busy with your work, and you all have your own parents and families to care for. Your Brother Haoran is serving in the military. If you bury my ashes somewhere, you’ll have to visit my grave every Qingming Festival. If you don’t go, others might criticize, and it’s meaningless if you do.

Besides, not everyone has the privilege of having their ashes scattered across the great rivers and seas. Who am I, Xu Sanye? Even in death, I want to be distinct from others!"