Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 42 - 38: The Bold Meets Their End (Update Schedule Adjustment)

Chapter 42: Chapter 38: The Bold Meets Their End (Update Schedule Adjustment)

Two criminals suspected of fencing stolen goods, and likely even theft, couldn’t possibly be standing there waiting for Yanjiang Police Station to catch them.

Xu Sanye is preparing to give Wu Youfu a chance to contribute, planning to take Wu with him to help with identification in a few days.

If they can’t find the people, they might even have to stake out in East Sea for a few days.

Who knows when they will return from this trip, the work at the station needs urgent arranging.

He pulled out his car keys, called Old Zhang, hopped into his tricycle, and went out. No one knew where to, nor what he was actually busy with.

Zhang Lan hurried upstairs; she had it the hardest these days, having to look after the finances and procurement, and also assisting with police station chores.

The money that Xu Sanye requested to be returned to passengers had been approved by the bureau. The envelopes and letters to passengers printed by the print shop were also finished.

She needs to complete the remittance forms, collect addresses, and the headers for the letters according to the list, and stamp Yanjiang Police Station’s seal on the closing of the letter, then affix stamps on the envelopes.

That’s more than four thousand remittances, more than four thousand letters, with no room for error.

Fortunately, Old Qian, who is both a chef and skilled at fishing, is helping out; she couldn’t cope on her own.

Both main engines are breaking in and can’t be left unmanned; they’ll have to sleep on the boat tonight.

Han Yu went upstairs to pack his bedding roll, before returning to the shipyard, only to see the workers all gathered under the shade to buy and smoke cigarettes.

The small-time cigarette vendor Zhang Erxiao, who used to be seen daily at Bailong Port cracking down on ticket scalping, showed up again.

He has a relative in East Sea with connections to East Sea Tobacco Company, so every seven or eight days he takes a trip by boat to East Sea to stock up on cigarettes. Then, he stores them in a flat, large wooden box. Upon opening the lid, he hangs it on his chest like a clandestine member from the movies, selling cigarettes all over the place.

You could buy by the box or by the individual cigarette.

Because he was selling unpackaged cigarettes and offered a wide variety, he had a lot of cigarette packs.

Local children, without as many toys as their counterparts in big cities, liked to collect various cigarette packs, fold them into squares, and then compare with each other, so wherever he went, a gang of little kids would follow.

"Strong-bodied farmer comrades, two packs of Da Lingyang a day; responsible workers, peasants, and soldiers, half a strip of San You Dong each day!"

"How much for a Huang Guihua?"

"Huang Guihua, twenty cents each."

"That’s expensive, wasn’t it ten cents before?"

"It’s gone up. This is stock, that’s why it’s only twenty cents; in East Sea, the price has tripled."

Zhang Erxiao took out a pack of Huang Guihua, his brows dancing as he said: "Unpackaged right here, guaranteed fresh. Hurry if you want some. For the convenience of the people, I also have free matches."

He was quite a businessman.

Not only Boss Wu and Huang Jiangsheng frequently bought cigarettes from him, but even Xu Sanye, the instructor, and Old Zhang did too.

And with the craving for cigarettes, as long as they were out of sight they were out of mind, but once seen, they were desired; the workers hastily took out money, and Zhang Erxiao was frantically busy.

"Don’t rush, don’t rush, there’s enough for everyone!"

Seeing Old Factory Director Liu holding a tea jar coming over, Zhang Erxiao shouted: "Win or lose, all smoke Red Plum! Uncle, you must be a leading cadre; try a Red Plum."

Director Liu squeezed in, looked around, and smilingly asked, "How do you sell the peony ones?"

"Sorry, I don’t sell peonies individually. Think about it, peonies are so expensive, if I open a pack to sell one to you, who’s going to buy the rest?"

"Then give me a pack of Red Plum."

"Coming right up."

Huang Guihua, Shuangxi, Red Double Happiness, Dachongjiu, Da Shengchan, Flying Horse, Golden Monkey, and Daqian Gate... whatever was available at the alcohol and tobacco company, he had; what wasn’t available there, he had too.

In the morning, when the dock was busier with passengers, he sold even more.

In the afternoon, there were not many boats, nor passengers, and he’d take the chance to sneak some leisure time here.

It was so expensive to sell unpackaged cigarettes, yet there were buyers.

With such good business, Han Yu felt a bit envious and blurted out, "The Tobacco Company people are here!"

Startled, Zhang Erxiao looked up to find Han Yu and couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "Tashan stands tall as clouds part, public security police smoke Blue Arrow. Salted Fish, I don’t have Blue Arrow for such small business, just Good Friends, want a box?"

Good Friends and Blue Arrow were both foreign cigarettes and generally not available to the average person.

Han Yu laughed, "I don’t smoke, nor can I afford it."

"I’m treating you, have one to try."

"No need, if I get hooked, that’s the end of it. I don’t have that kind of money to burn."

"Salted Fish, I’m here for the convenience of the people and will be off soon. Remember to send my regards to Director Xu; whatever cigarettes he wants, just tell me and I’ll bring them to him."

Xu Sanye is wild, and Salted Fish is no pushover.

Hearing that Wu Youfu from the third team was caught just this afternoon, Zhang Erxiao didn’t want to cross paths with Salted Fish, so after collecting the money and closing the wooden box, he hurried away.

Watching him flee in a panic, everyone burst into laughter.

At this time, Boss Wu came back.

The workers dared not loaf on the job any longer and quickly went back to work.

Before retiring, Director Liu was the deputy technical director of the ship repair factory at the shipping company, not only did he know Han Yu’s parents, but he also knew Han Yu from a very early age.

The old man pulled out a big stool and sat down, took a satisfying puff of his cigarette and smiled, "Salted Fish, your Director Xu asked me to help him find someone."

"Find who?"

"A member of the Cooperative Defense Team. The boat will be fixed soon, and you’re going to be swamped by yourself."

"Director Liu, who did you find?"

"Wang Dalong. He’s retired and has nothing to do, his wife died early, and his children don’t need looking after. After being a captain for so many years and no one willing to hire him to pilot a boat, rather than sitting idle at home, he might as well join your station’s Cooperative Defense Team."

Wang Dalong was previously the captain of the fourth tugboat team of the shipping company, and 001, which is currently under maintenance, used to be piloted by him for many years.

The tugboat team is different from the sailboat team.

The captain of a tugboat team is an official and might not want to lose face. Perhaps his children have already landed onshore with formal jobs. When the company went to contracting, he didn’t contract for boats and stayed in the company as captain. Unexpectedly, he’s now retired.

Thinking that Wang Dalong not only can pilot boats but is also very familiar with the Yangtze River Channel, Han Yu asked with a smile, "Is Captain Wang willing to be a member of the Cooperative Defense Team? Our salary here is not high, I heard from Director Xu that the members of the Cooperative Defense Team only get fifty or sixty yuan a month."

"He already has his retirement pension, longer service time than me, so he gets more than I do. Since he’s idle anyway, coming to work at your station isn’t tiring. Why would he be unwilling?"

"Is it settled then?"

"It’s settled; he’s coming to work tomorrow morning."

"That’s great. Actually, when Director Xu mentioned recruiting for the Cooperative Defense Team, I thought about recruiting a few people from the company, we’re professionals when it comes to running ships. It’s just that since I’m from the shipping company, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to ask."

"I know."

Director Liu gave a slight smile, tapped the ash off his cigarette, and said, "He used to be an official, and now he’s retired. This is a re-employment, and the Police Station is not just any other institution. You’ve got to look after him a bit when the time comes."

Han Yu said with a mixture of laughter and tears, "Director Liu, you really are joking. Captain Wang is an old predecessor, even my dad would call him ’Uncle’ when he sees him. Me looking after him... it’s more like he would look after me."

"You are a formal public security police, and nothing is bigger than that in the Police Station!"

Director Liu turned his head to look at the shipyard office and laughed again, "Speaking of competence, Master Zhou’s skills are high enough, right? But when he went to the Police Bureau, he was so nervous he couldn’t even speak. It’s the same for Wang Dalong, don’t let his past as a captain fool you; in the Police Station, he’s just as timid."

As the old factory director said, many people are afraid of the police.

Not to mention this is the Yanjiang Police Station, with the famously known Director Xu Sanye.

While Han Yu was trying to keep a straight face between laughter and tears, Director Liu curiously asked, "That kid selling cigarettes looked pitiful and seemed quite sensible. Why do you always scare him?"

"Pitiful?"

"I heard his dad used to work in the coal mines and died in an accident. After his dad died, his mom ran off with someone else, and it was his grandma who brought him up. Alone and helpless, isn’t that pitiful?"

"If it’s about his family, then yes, he’s quite pitiful. But other than that, he’s really not pitiful at all."

Director Liu asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Han Yu pointed to the workers who were busy, smiled, and said, "Don’t be fooled by his young age; actually, he’s richer than all of us combined. When I was cracking down on scalpers and running a stall in Bailong Port, his business there was even better, making at least two hundred a day."

"Two hundred a day!"

"He could earn at least five or six thousand in a month."

"That much!"

Director Liu was stunned, unable to believe this was true.

Han Yu nodded affirmatively and explained, "The county tobacco company knows him, and they’ve caught him several times. The most they’ve found at his home was tobacco worth over three thousand yuan. If it weren’t for his young age, the early death of his father, his mother running off with someone, and him relying on his grandmother, they would have sent him to juvenile detention a long time ago."

I’ve heard that people in Bailong Port are rich, but never imagined they could be this rich.

What Han Yu described completely overturned Old Factory Director Liu’s perceptions. He picked up the recently bought Red Plum, offered a wry smile, and said, "I usually can’t bear to buy such good cigarettes. It was out of pity for him that I bought them."

"When it comes to money, we are pitiful compared to him, haha."

"Indeed, the brave are fed, and the timid starve to death. If I were twenty years younger, I’d have gone into business myself!"

"It’s not too late to go into business now. Just yesterday, Manager Wu said that quite a few bosses are planning to start shipyard businesses and are recruiting everywhere. They even plan to poach from Manager Wu, thinking of luring Master Zhou over there."

Nowadays, apart from salaries hardly increasing, other costs are all on the rise.

Afraid of being broke, Director Liu picked up his teacup and stood up, "I’ll go ask Manager Wu about it. When it comes to operating ships, we at the shipping company are the most professional, and when it comes to repairing and building ships, we are equally the best."

...

PS: Considering updating every night at twelve o’clock is quite late and making brothers and sisters stay up waiting, I plan to shift the update time. Starting tomorrow, updates will be at seven o’clock every morning.

This Chapter serves as a bonus Chapter, thanks to the support of all brothers and sisters, as well as the generous rewards from book friends like Romantic Sakura who diligently turns pages, Xuanxiao Jiahu, Confucian Wing, Fat Brother Reading Books, Lord Wolf silence, and 20211013231706745!