Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 64 - 60 Xu Sanye’s Concerns

Chapter 64: Chapter 60 Xu Sanye’s Concerns

"Your sister works here?"

"Yep, she’s a waitress on this floor."

"Xiao Han is your sister?"

"You know my sister?"

"Yes, I’ve been staying here for several days."

The tall suspect sat down, picked up a match from the coffee table, and lit a cigarette: "Speaking of which, we are from the same place. My hometown is also in Linghai."

Han Yu asked in surprise, "Which part of Linghai are you from?"

"My hometown is Sansing in Linghai. My father took me back twice when he was alive, but I haven’t been back since then, and I’ve lost contact with my relatives there."

"My grandmother and my uncle are both from Sansing. Sansing has developed really well; there’s a big wholesale market there, specializing in wholesale of sheets, quilt covers, and pillowcases, as well as silk quilts. Lots of business owners from other places go there to stock up!"

"Really?"

"You should go back and see for yourself. Sansing also has many textile factories, including ones privately owned. People from Sansing are all skilled in sewing and embroidery. Every household is wealthy!"

"Sansing sounds like it’s developing well; I really should visit sometime."

The tall man smiled slightly and pulled out a business card: "Meeting a fellow townsman here in Binjiang must be fate. My surname is Ye, and here’s my business card. Little buddy, what’s your name?"

"My name is Han Yu."

"Salted Fish?"

"It’s ’Yu’ with the ’three drops of water’ radical and the surname ’Yu’, the abbreviation for Mountain City."

"Oh, that Yu." The tall man suddenly understood, then followed up with a question: "And your sister?"

"My sister’s name is Han Ning, ’Ning’ as in ’tranquility.’"

"’Ning’ as in the abbreviation for Jiangcheng. Why do both of your names refer to places?"

"Our family is involved in shipping..."

While explaining, Han Yu glanced at the business card which read, "East Sea City Xingda Foreign Economic Technical Cooperation Company," and his name, "Ye Xingguo," appeared in the middle.

There were two titles listed under his name.

One was deputy manager, the other was senior economist.

Below were the company’s address, contact phone number, fax, and postal code.

Business cards are not uncommon; Manager Wang from the Sailor Club has one, Boss Wu from Bailong Port Shipyard and Master Zhou also have them.

Pretending to be inexperienced, Han Yu cautiously held up the business card and asked, "Manager Ye, is this for me?"

"For you, I’m giving it to you. If you ever come to East Sea, you can give me a call."

"Thank you, Manager Ye." Han Yu put away the business card and picked up the kettle. "Manager Ye, I should go now."

Ye Xingguo said with a smile: "What’s the hurry? Let’s chat for a bit."

"My sister said not to disturb the guests."

"I was the one who called you here, not you barging in on your own."

"My sister said the management doesn’t allow staff to randomly enter guest rooms."

Ye Xingguo stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and went to close the door: "If the management doesn’t see, it isn’t a problem. Want some fruit or biscuits? We have some here."

"No thanks, I’ve already had lunch."

"We are fellow townsmen; relax, have a seat and talk."

"Talk about what?"

...

Just as his sister had said before, this man loved to engage in conversation and get chummy with others.

They talked about family, work, and amazingly the conversation even turned to Foreign Exchange Certificates.

"Our company handles import and export, and we need a lot of Foreign Exchange Certificates, but the superior’s allocation is too little and never enough. Salted Fish, you could make a fortune if you had Foreign Exchange Certificates. However many you have, our company would buy them all."

"But where would I get Foreign Exchange Certificates? Only foreign guests have them."

"Young man, making a fortune requires using your brain."

Ye Xingguo pointed to his forehead and then pointed downstairs: "As the saying goes, ’rely on the mountains, utilize the mountains; rely on the water, utilize the water.’ Your sister works at the Sailor Club, you help her there; you could totally rely on the Sailor Club."

Han Yu asked subconsciously, "How so?"

"The foreign sailors who come here all have Foreign Exchange Certificates. You could ask to exchange with them."

"My sister said the management forbids seeking exchanges with foreign guests, plus there are a lot of people outside trying to exchange them."

"If management forbids it, just make sure they don’t see."

Ye Xingguo excitedly calculated the profits from exchanging Foreign Exchange Certificates and selling them back to his company, then suddenly shifted the topic, "If you’re worried about the management finding out, there’s another way to get them."

Curious, Han Yu asked, "What way?"

"Ask friends and relatives to find out, who has overseas connections."

"Then what?"

"Those with overseas connections, their relatives abroad will bring them money when they visit. Foreign money can’t be used here directly, they have to exchange it for Foreign Exchange Certificates."

Han Yu muttered, "Those with overseas connections have Foreign Exchange Certificates..."

Ye Xingguo smiled and nodded, pressing the point while the iron was hot: "How much can you get from sailors, and it’s risky. But dealing with those who have overseas relations is different, no risk at all and you could get a lot."

"How much can it be exchanged for?"

"Think about it, if you make big money abroad and your sister is struggling back home, would you send her money?"

"Yes."

"That’s the point; it’s easier to earn money abroad. If you were to give money to your family, it’d be tens of thousands at once."

Ye Xingguo paused, then stared at Han Yu earnestly and sincerely, "We’re fellow villagers, and villagers should definitely help each other out. If you don’t have the capital, you can first negotiate with others, and after reaching an agreement, call me. I’ll bring money for the exchange. You’ll get a broker’s fee, and the more you exchange, the bigger your fee!"

This was incitement to commit illegal activities, and Han Yu was pondering how to respond, when suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Mr. Ye, sorry to disturb you, may I ask if Han Yu is inside?"

"It’s Xiao Han, I was just having a casual chat with your brother."

Knowing his sister was worried about him, Han Yu quickly picked up the kettle, "Manager Ye, I need to attend to something."

"Go ahead, and come sit here once you’re done."

"Sure, goodbye Manager Ye."

"Mr. Ye, sorry, my brother is just helping out temporarily; he doesn’t know the rules," Han Ning said apologetically.

Ye Xingguo laughed, "What rules? I think your brother is good, and I like him a lot."

Some guests just love chatting with the crew, and if you truly join them, there would be no time to work, especially considering this man is not good news.

Han Ning naturally did not pick up on the issue of whether they were fellow villagers or not, simply smiling, "I’ll close the door for you so as not to disturb you further."

Back in the duty room, Han Ning voluntarily kept watch outside.

Han Yu promptly used the intercom to report everything that had just happened to Director Zhang.

To his surprise, after hearing the report, Director Zhang laughed and said, "Salted Fish, you are not the first one he’s tried to tempt, and if we hadn’t caught on, you wouldn’t be the last."

"Has he tempted many others into exchanging Foreign Exchange Certificates?"

"We just caught one, doing the same as he described to you. To earn the broker’s fee, they’ve been looking worldwide for people with overseas connections and Foreign Exchange Certificates. They actually found one and helped exchange 45,000 yuan in certificates."

"Are you talking about the two who came by bus?"

"Yes, those two. They’ve been caught; one was a middleman they developed, the other an overseas-connected seller. Xiao Liu and I are interrogating them now."

"What about my situation?"

"Since they want to develop you as a middleman, just act like you are tempted and see what they do next."

"Okay."

Just as he put down the intercom, the phone rang.

Han Ning came in to answer it and realized it was from Xu Sanye, quickly handed the phone to his brother, and continued to keep watch outside.

"Director Xu, what’s up?"

"I spoke with a friend who works at a major bank to get some insights, and indeed, these Foreign Exchange Certificates are a bit tricky, and the current financial foreign exchange policies are quite complicated. Regardless if it’s useful to you or not, take a pen and note this down."

"I have a pen, go ahead."

Xu Sanye relayed the information he got from an old classmate while on the phone, and then inquired about the situation over there.

Han Yu quickly reported the progress from his side.

Xu Sanye was not interested in those already caught, but asked, "Do the suspects know about you and your sister’s relationship?"

"They only know we are siblings, not what I do. Not just them, my sister’s bosses and colleagues also don’t know, my identity won’t be exposed."

"That’s good, you go on."

Xu Sanye hung up, pulled out a cigarette, deep in thought.

Li Weiguo noticed his troubled expression and joked, "Director Xu, although Salted Fish is young, he’s not imprudent. He says his identity won’t be revealed, and he must be somewhat confident."

"What imprudent, I think he’s a bit foolish!"

Xu Sanye took a deep breath, his face stern, "It’s fine if Salted Fish doesn’t understand, but Old Zhang and Jiang Feijun must understand. Yet they not only didn’t warn him, but also encouraged Salted Fish to get close to them; I really don’t know how they manage to wear Makuni!"

Li Weiguo, perplexed, inquired, "Salted Fish’s identity hasn’t been exposed, and besides, that’s the Sailor Club with Old Liu and others watching downstairs. What danger could Salted Fish possibly be in?"

"I’m not worried about Salted Fish; his public security police identity indeed hasn’t been exposed, but his sibling relationship with Han Ning has been!"

Xu Sanye opened a drawer, pulled out the Criminal Law book, and flipped to Chapter Three - Crimes Against Socialist Economic Order, pointing to Article 117:

"Look, those who violate financial and foreign exchange regulations and engage in speculation, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed-term imprisonment, which means they might not even be sentenced to three years."

Li Weiguo unconsciously asked, "And what about that?"

"Once the case is over, Salted Fish can come back, but where can his sister go? She’s an employee at the Sailor Club, supposed to continue working there. If the suspects bear a grudge—and with so much money lost, they definitely will—what if they seek revenge in the future?"

"Director Xu, you’re worried about Han Ning!"

"Those involved in the currency certificate trade are very shrewd; it won’t be hard for them to make a comeback once they’re out. Once they have money again, hiring a few people to come to Binjiang to vent on their behalf, and if they can’t find Salted Fish, targeting Han Ning isn’t out of the question, and such cases have occurred before."

Better safe than sorry.

Li Weiguo realized there was some logic to his worries, furrowing his brows, asked, "Then what should we do?"

After some deliberation, Xu Sanye sternly said, "Han Ning is not in immediate danger, the case is in its most critical investigative phase, and we can’t demotivate Old Zhang and Salted Fish. Once the suspects are all apprehended, I’ll speak with Old Zhang and Jiang Feijun to see how they plan on handling things afterward."

...

PS: The Sanxing Home Textile Market mentioned in the book is based on a real place; it is still the largest wholesale market for bedding in the country.

The bed sets sold on the market, a majority come from there.

The village officials back then were impressive, facing down pressure to support the townspeople in business, uplifting many to prosperity. The Sanxing people were wealthy then and remain wealthy now.