Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 35 - 33 Youthful Ignorance (Additional - for Alliance Leader)

Chapter 35: Chapter 33 Youthful Ignorance (Additional Chapter for Alliance Leader)

Traveling alone to the bustling big city by the East Sea, Lin Xiaohui felt very nervous and even a bit scared, but mostly, she was excited and thrilled.

She loved the bustling atmosphere, her biggest fear was loneliness and isolation.

As a child, there were many kids in her family, and her parents couldn’t take care of all, so the youngest one, Lin Xiaohui, was sent to live on her grandparents’ boat.

The planks of the boat separated her from the outside world, and when multiple boats formed a fleet to transport goods, she could play with other kids like Salted Fish.

But most of the time, she was alone, just leaning on the deck daydreaming, looking at the rivers and then the sky.

Her parents weren’t around, and she still wore split pants until she was six or seven years old.

At first, she eagerly awaited going ashore each day, hoping to buy sweets and perhaps encounter her parents’ boat at the docks.

Later, as she came to understand more, seeing Salted Fish go ashore to his grandmother’s house for school made her envious; Salted Fish had delicious food, fun toys, and new clothes. She then began to count the days until she could go ashore to attend school.

At last, when she could go ashore, new troubles awaited.

The children from the boats felt lonely on land, during parent-teacher meetings everyone else had parents with them, only her seat beside her remained empty.

Her family was poor, a single article of clothing was handed down from her eldest sister and by the time it reached her, it was worn out with several holes, always a subject of her classmates’ ridicule.

Her daily anticipation of going ashore shifted to hoping her grandparents and parents would come back soon; she would cry at night missing her parents.

Sometimes, when she really missed her parents, she would run alone to the riverside to look out.

Living alone from now on would certainly be very lonely.

Despite this, she still preferred life onshore, where she could walk freely to wherever she wanted, no longer confined to a few meters wide concrete boat.

She had enough of life on the boat; the summers were unbearable.

On the river, there was nothing to block the sun from fiercely scorching the deck, some goods even had to be covered with sun protection nets. It was bearable when the boat was moving and the wind blew, but once the boat stopped, the temperature aboard would soar, so hot that even breakfast had to be taken outside.

What she hated most, however, was winter. The cold wind would whoosh all day long, chilling her hands stiff during work.

Even more dreadful was the sudden freezing of the river water; water splashed onto the deck would freeze into ice, making it easy to slip and even fall into the river.

Now, she could go to East Sea to make money, see the world, and even make new clothes for herself, and dress herself beautifully...

Fantasizing about her bright future, she unknowingly rode her bike to Gangbei Bridge.

Children from the shipping company were very familiar with this area, not knowing how many times they had passed through the Bailong Port lock to enter or exit the Yangtze River.

It wasn’t far from Yanjiang Police Station now, and she started to get nervous again.

It was just six o’clock now, the office people were certainly not working yet, might not even have opened the door. If she stood at the door calling for Salted Fish, she would surely be heard by people in the police station, how embarrassing would that be.

Arriving too early was problematic, but being late could mean missing the boat.

At this moment, she suddenly saw a small figure standing under the bridge.

"Xiao Hui, I’m here! Didn’t you say 6:30? Why are you so early?"

"I... I was worried about missing the boat, how come you are up so early too."

Lin Xiaohui finally breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly pulled her bike brakes, and planted her foot on the ground.

Finally connected, Han Yu felt a surge of excitement, came up to support her bike’s handlebar, smiling as he asked her, "Did you make this dress yourself? It looks beautiful, I barely recognized you."

There weren’t as many rules on the boat as on the shore, the girls on the boat were all bold, otherwise, Lin Xiaohui wouldn’t dare to go to East Sea by herself.

The reason I was shy that day by the river was mainly because there were too many people around, and quite a few who liked to gossip.

But now, even though there’s no one around, I still feel a bit embarrassed. I carefully get out of the car, holding the hem of my skirt, and nervously say to Han Yu, who hasn’t changed much over the years, "I can only sew, not cut; the master did the cutting for me."

"It rained yesterday, it’s cooled down today, it was chilly this morning. Are you cold?"

"I was a bit when I first came out, but not now."

Lin Xiaohui looked up at the distant two-story building and then at his uniform, and couldn’t help but laugh, "You’re wearing a police uniform, I almost didn’t recognize you at first."

Han Yu had woken up at five twenty this morning. Hair too stiff, many strands were sticking up when he woke up, and no amount of combing helped, which looked bad.

Food used to be scarce, having money but no food coupons meant you couldn’t even eat outside.

Now food is not so scarce, many places only take money, no need for food coupons anymore.

His sister had exchanged some leftover food coupons for a few bottles of shampoo; last time he brought one from her place.

He usually doesn’t like to use it, but he used it this morning to wash his hair. Not only did it make his usually unruly hair smooth, but it also smelled nice.

As for what to wear, he was conflicted for nearly twenty minutes.

If he wore his uniform, Old Zhang and Director Xu, who were on duty last night and hadn’t gone home, would definitely laugh at him. But if he didn’t wear the uniform, Lin Xiaohui wouldn’t be able to see him in it.

After much deliberation, he ended up wearing the uniform!

Today he was wearing the spring and autumn uniform, which had a different collar from Director Xu and Old Zhang’s.

Han Yu subconsciously touched his collar and smiled, "I don’t usually wear it, mainly because it was a bit chilly this morning."

At the shipping company, many of his peers were the same age, and he had the best grades during school, and now he was the most capable, even becoming a policeman.

Lin Xiaohui couldn’t help but stare a bit more, admiringly saying, "You look quite impressive in a police uniform."

"Impressive? The salary isn’t high."

"How much per month?"

"Fifty-three during the probation period, not until this time next year will I get ninety-seven and a half."

The salary isn’t much. There are many rural enterprises in Linghai County, and many private factories too, anywhere you work for a month you’d earn more than a hundred, but Lin Xiaohui still thinks he is capable.

"You just started working; your cadres count seniority, in a few years your salary will increase."

"Let’s not talk about this anymore, come on, let me take you for breakfast."

"I ate before I came."

"You rode for more than twenty miles, even if you ate, it’s probably digested by now, eat something more."

"I’m really not hungry."

What Lin Xiaohui was concerned about now was something else. She stopped in her tracks and turned around: "Salted Fish, help me check, did any mud splash on the back?"

Han Yu supported the handlebar of the bicycle and looked back, realizing that it had rained yesterday and there was standing water on the road. Although there was a mudguard on the rear wheel of this bicycle, it couldn’t stop the mud water kicked up by the wheels, and her back was speckled with quite a lot of it.

"There is."

"A lot?"

"Not a little."

Had I known, I wouldn’t have worn new clothes for cycling; how am I to go to East Sea in these dirty clothes, Lin Xiaohui regretted deeply.

Han Yu quickly asked, knowing girls love to look good, "Did you bring a change of clothes?"

Lin Xiaohui, with a distressed expression, leaning on the bag tied to the back seat of the bicycle, replied, "Yes, it’s in the bag."

"The boat at Sixteen Piers doesn’t check tickets until 8:10, we have plenty of time now. I’ll take you to the dorm to change."

"You have a dorm?"

"Where else would I live if I didn’t have one?"

"How many people are in your dorm?"

"Just me alone."

Han Yu pushed the bicycle to the entrance of the Police Station with a sign that said "Linghai County Police Bureau Water Police Team," and lifting his arm he pointed to the office building inside the yard, "I live in the second room on the north side of the second floor."

It’s good to be an officer, living in an apartment building, and even in a single-room dorm!

Lin Xiaohui looked up anxiously and asked, "Can I go in?"

"Of course, why not?"

"This is a police station, won’t your leaders say anything?"

"Don’t be afraid, our leaders are very nice."

Originally plans were to just pick up the boat ticket and go to the dock, but Salted Fish didn’t mention the tickets, and one can’t meet people without changing into clean clothes...

Lin Xiaohui hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Alright then."

Director Xu had moved his bed from upstairs to his office yesterday, and was now up, chatting in the director’s office with Old Zhang who had just gotten up.

As soon as they saw him pushing the bicycle and leading Lin Xiaohui into the yard, the two of them walked out with a smile.

Vain for once, wearing his uniform to meet Lin Xiaohui, they caught him red-handed, making Han Yu so embarrassed he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Salted Fish, so this is your classmate?"

"She’s also a neighbor. Xiao Hui, this is our Director Xu, and this is Uncle Zhang."

They’re all from the police, Lin Xiaohui was startled and quickly said, "Hello Director, hello Uncle Zhang."

This girl is quite pretty; she is half a head taller than Little Salted Fish, with a fair melon-seeded face, curved eyebrows over a pair of bright sparkling eyes, very fair skin, a ponytail, and wearing a floral dress, she truly stood gracefully.

Xu Sanye had originally thought Little Salted Fish’s classmate was a girl tanned dark on a boat, but it turns out Little Salted Fish had a good eye, he couldn’t help but smile and say, "Xiao Hui, right? Hello, hello."

Old Zhang also smiled and said, "Xiao Han, Old Qian just caught a few fish with a cage net, he’s making fish soup. You take Xiao Hui upstairs first, and we’ll all have noodles with fish soup later."

"Okay, thank you Director Xu, thank you Uncle Zhang."

"Uncle Zhang, I’m not hungry..."

"You can still have some fish soup if you’re not hungry."

Director and Old Zhang were very gracious, and Han Yu truly appreciated it, parked the bicycle quickly, unwrapped the luggage tied to it, and led Lin Xiaohui upstairs.

Opened the dormitory door, inviting Lin Xiaohui in.

Lin Xiaohui was surprised and murmured, "There’s even a TV!"

"It belongs to the station, it’s not mine." Han Yu put down the luggage, opened a drawer, and took out a boat ticket: "I’ll step out first, you hurry and change your clothes, we can eat noodles together later."

"I’m really not hungry."

"Have a little to eat, otherwise our Director will be unhappy."

"Alright then."

"I’ll leave first."

One shouldn’t peek when someone is changing clothes.

Han Yu helped pull the curtains closed, walked out, and closed the door behind him.

After waiting five or six minutes, the door opened, and Lin Xiaohui emerged wearing a white Dique Liang shirt, black trousers, and had swapped her sandals for cloth shoes.

Though not as stylish as the dress, she still looked very pretty.

"What are you looking at?" asked Lin Xiaohui with flushed cheeks.

"Nothing," hurriedly replied Han Yu.

Lin Xiaohui stuffed the clothes she changed out of into the bag, and muttered, "That was the only outfit I had for going out."

"I don’t really go out much, I don’t even have clothes for going out."

Not wanting to be ridiculed again by Director and Old Zhang, Han Yu drew the curtain between the bed and the desk, stepped behind it, took off his uniform, and quickly changed into casual clothes.

Lin Xiaohui, looking at the law books and all sorts of notices on the desk, said melancholically, "It was better when I was in school. When I graduated last year, my mom first asked if I wanted to continue to high school, then said there’s no use in going to high school. What could I say, I just had to listen to her and learn sewing."

"You could take a self-study examination if you want to continue learning."

"What is a self-study examination?"

"As long as you have a junior high school diploma you can enroll, there are many specialties to choose from, and once you pass all the courses, you get a nationally recognized vocational diploma. I’ve enrolled too, I’m taking a college-level course."

"You’ve always been smart, quick to learn anything. I think I’ll pass, I’ll just focus on the craft."

"Learning sewing is good too, East Sea people dress the most stylishly, you could learn there for two years and then come back to open a store."

"That’s what my mom said too."

Han Yu, now in casual clothes, opened the curtains to see her looking at the boat ticket, and smiled as he asked, "Xiao Hui, did you bring your ID card?"

Lin Xiaohui looked up and said, "I don’t have an ID card, do I need one to get on the boat?"

"You don’t need one for the boat, but you might need it when you get to East Sea."

"Where would I need it?"

East Sea isn’t like Linghai, East Sea has strict controls on people coming from other places.

Han Yu, not wanting to take it lightly, pressed, "Did you bring any other form of identification?"

"No, my mom didn’t say, and besides, why would I need any identification to go to East Sea?"

Lin Xiaohui was confused by the questioning.

It’s not a small matter, Han Yu explained, "East Sea has strict management of incoming people, if you don’t have identification in East Sea you can’t get a temporary residence permit. Without a temporary residence permit, if the East Sea police find you, even with an ID card you could be detained and deported."

...

PS: Heartfelt thanks to yuO412 book friend for their generous reward, we finally have a leader, and I’m so grateful, I will promptly add another Chapter.

Thanks also to Touch Your Heartbeat, Nanquan, Sigh Over Books, Quiet Apple, Little Carp with Dreams, erbao, Jiaojiao with Rare Skills, Love of Red Maple Leaves, Go Xiao San Shi and other brothers and sisters for their rewards, as well as all other brothers and sisters who quietly read and vote silently, you are all kin to Old Zhuo!