Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 57 - 53 Talking About Two Yuan

Chapter 57: Chapter 53 Talking About Two Yuan

By the time they reached Sanlin Pond, the sun had already set, and Shao Lei insisted that Han Yu stay at his home.

However, since this was a business trip, whether for meals or lodging, as long as there were invoices, everything could be reimbursed.

Moreover, obtaining the ship’s certification was required by the bureau, and all associated expenses were covered by the engineering leadership team.

The two hundred yuan brought with him were advanced from Zhang Lan, and after returning, he would seek reimbursement from Zhang Lan, so there was no need for the office to pay.

Han Yu didn’t want to trouble people too much and insisted on staying at a hostel.

Seeing that Han Yu was small but stubborn, Shao Lei reluctantly took him to a nearby hotel.

After checking in, they found a small privately-owned restaurant on the old street, ordered two local dishes, finished dinner together, took a stroll on the old street, then agreed to meet at eight tomorrow morning to head to the shipyard, and only then did Shao Lei return home with his luggage.

It was Han Yu’s first time staying in a hostel and he was a bit excited.

However, compared to the hostel’s accommodations, he was more interested in this ancient town which he had never visited or even heard of before.

After resting for a while, he couldn’t help but leave his room, lock the door, and wander around alone.

Stone street, stone bridge, Wenchang Pavilion, Ancient Stage, lots of windows with grid dividers on the house fronts... Everywhere carried an ancient charm.

It is said that this old street dates back to the Northern Song era, originally settled by a reputable figure named Lin Legeng from Jianfu.

He had three sons who lived in three places nearby, hence the villages of Donglin, Xilin, and Zhonglin were established, and that’s how Sanlin Pond got its name.

During dinner, Shao Lei mentioned that one must try the Sanlin cuisine when visiting Sanlin Old Street.

As it has been known since the Ming and Qing dynasties as a town of culinary skills, Sanlin’s chefs are called the "Shovel Blade Gang", and are said to be the forefathers of the East Sea local cuisine!

The pork skin sampled that night was indeed good.

But pork skin is just pork skin, even if it’s cooked deliciously, it’s still just pork skin.

Compared with that, Han Yu still preferred the braised pork chops from the passenger ship at noon.

Since it’s rare to visit, he decided to buy some Sanlin pickles to take back home.

After buying a few kilograms of pickles and preparing to return to the hostel, he inadvertently discovered a public phone ahead.

Traveling alone, he ought to call the office, as Director Xu and others would definitely be worried. If the phone charge wasn’t too expensive, he could also give Lin Xiaohui a call.

Unconsciously, Han Yu approached and asked, "Auntie, how much is the long-distance call charged?"

"Where are you calling?"

"Linghai, Jiangnan Province’s Linghai County."

"Hold on."

The middle-aged woman sitting inside the small shop looked up a rate sheet, examined it in detail, then said, "Long-distance charges are based on the distance, it’s five yuan per minute to Linghai since it’s more than two hundred kilometers away."

A bit expensive, but it’s just a few minutes, just need a few words once connected.

Han Yu thought and then asked, "Auntie, do you have an invoice?"

"No invoices, do you want a receipt? I can write you one."

"A receipt is not necessary."

"So, are you going to make the call?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how to place calls, do you have the number and the area code?"

"I know, I will make the call."

"Then go ahead."

The woman wanted to watch TV, slightly impatient.

Han Yu picked up the phone, first dialed the area code, then the office number, and after about a minute, he heard Old Zhang’s voice on the other end: "This is Yanjiang Police Station, who are you looking for?"

"Uncle Zhang, it’s Han Yu. I’ve arrived at East Sea, already settled down in a town not far from the shipyard, and will head to the shipyard early tomorrow morning."

"Good good good, I was just discussing with Old Qian where you might be at this moment."

"What about Director Xu and the instructor?"

"Director Xu went to his sister-in-law’s house at noon, joined them for sweet porridge. Then he went to the Firefighting team in the afternoon, and didn’t come to the station. The instructor is off-duty today, he went home right after work..."

"Uncle Zhang, long-distance calls are expensive, I just wanted to check in; I’m going to hang up now."

Han Yu kept an eye on the timer on the charge meter, and decisively cut the call around forty-three seconds.

He took out a fifty-cent bill, first paid for the long-distance call, feeling a bit embarrassed as he asked how much it cost per minute to call Xuhui.

The woman, reluctant to explain, handed over the rate sheet for him to look at himself.

As it turns out, the cost of using public telephones in East Sea was calculated based on spatial distance, up to 25 kilometers per minute is 0.1 yuan, up to 50 kilometers per minute is 0.2 yuan, up to 100 kilometers per minute is 0.3 yuan...

One yuan could afford ten minutes of talk time!

Han Yu thought it was not too expensive, at least he could afford it, so he quickly took out the little notebook with the number on it, found the number and made the call.

People there also use a public phone, but their service is better, they ask who you are looking for and eagerly call them for you.

Worried that Han Yu might not be able to wait, they also mentioned that the tailor shop hadn’t closed yet.

After waiting for about a minute, Lin Xiaohui’s voice came through the receiver.

"Who is it, Salted Fish?"

"Xiao Hui, how did you know it’s me? I haven’t called you before."

"Besides you, no one else calls me."

When Lin Xiaohui received the call for the first time, she was both happy and a bit embarrassed. She looked up at the old man in the phone booth, then turned back to look at her aunt who was standing at the shop door looking in this direction, clutching the handset and asked quietly, "What made you think of calling me today? Is something wrong?"

Hearing her voice was truly wonderful.

Han Yu’s heart fluttered, and he smiled, "I’m on a business trip in East Sea, saw a public phone here and decided to call you."

"You’re in East Sea? When did you arrive?"

"Arrived today, just this afternoon."

"Where are you at!"

"I’m in Pudong, far away from you, otherwise I would have come to see you."

"How many days are you on this trip? When do you plan to go back?"

"I’m going to the shipyard tomorrow morning to handle some work. If everything goes well, I plan to take a ship back tomorrow afternoon."

Lin Xiaohui asked, puzzled, "Our shipping company also has a shipyard, why are you going to a shipyard in East Sea?"

Han Yu explained, "Our company does have a shipyard, but it can only repair small boats and build barges under one hundred tons. Tomorrow, I’m going to the shipyard of East Sea Port Barge Transport Company, which are professional supporting manufacturers of port ships and mechanical equipment."

Lin Xiaohui asked curiously, "How professional are they?"

"They can repair tugs under nine hundred horsepower, push tugs (which push at the back of the fleet), and build thousand-ton barges, passenger and cargo ships, dunships, and lifting ships!"

"Aren’t you in the police now? Why do you start talking about repairing and building ships?"

"I’m in the Water Police. Our station has a law enforcement rescue boat, and I’m in charge of repairing and piloting the ships there."

"You finally passed your technical school exams and got a desk job. Why are you back to repairing and piloting ships, haven’t you had enough of being on the water?"

"I... I studied Water Transport Management, and all I know is repairing and piloting ships."

Every child who grew up on a ship wishes to go ashore...

Han Yu understood why she asked this and quickly changed the subject, "Xiao Hui, I received your letter and photo. It’s very pretty and fashionable, you look like a movie star."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? I’m afraid the photo might fade, so I went to the studio and had it laminated. The boss lady of the studio also said it looked good."

Lin Xiaohui saw the old man at the phone booth smiling at her, and she suddenly blushed, but felt very pleased inwardly. She quickly turned around and muttered, "You never sent me any photos."

Han Yu quickly replied, "I’ll send one when I get back."

"When are you leaving tomorrow? I’ll come to see you off."

"No need, I’ve looked at the map on the ship. Your place is also very far from Sixteen Piers Pier, and it’s still uncertain whether I can leave tomorrow."

"Then I won’t come to see you off."

"No need to."

Han Yu chuckled and asked, "Xiao Hui, the old man who answered the phone just now said your shop is still open. Are there a lot of clothes to make, are you tired there?"

The Shadi language in Linghai is similar to the East Sea language, and the old man at the booth could understand it, Lin Xiaohui didn’t want him to tell her aunt her words.

Besides, who isn’t tired from working? She didn’t want Salted Fish to worry, so she whispered, "There are quite a few clothes to make, but it’s not tiring, sewing isn’t hard labor."

"We have to work night shifts..."

"Not for long, we stop at around eight or nine."

"If you’re tired, consider changing jobs, if really necessary, just come back to Linghai."

"What can I do if I return to Linghai."

"You can do anything, I’ll help you find something then."

"Salted Fish, stop joking, I won’t return to Linghai. I like East Sea, and I’m not going anywhere else."

...

East Sea is so prosperous and fashionable, who wouldn’t like it?

But how hard it is for an outsider to make a stand in East Sea!

After a two yuan call, Han Yu returned to the hotel, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

His mind alternated between images of Lin Xiaohui working under the lamp at the sewing machine, thinking of Huang Jiangsheng who couldn’t go home and had to go to Linghai to trade rice and eggs, and then recalling Shao Lei who, although registered as an East Sea person, never considered himself one.

He felt that East Sea belonged to those with hukou_rights, formal jobs, and homes, and for those without these, like this visiting Water Policeman, were just passersby.