Chapter 123 - 106: Raising Ships, Raising People

Chapter 123: Chapter 106: Raising Ships, Raising PeopleShips without insurance must be inspected, and those with expired insurance that have not been renewed must be inspected. Ships with signal lights uninstalled or not lit on the bow, stern, and mast must be penalized, and crew members whose certifications do not match their actual duties must be inspected. Overloaded ships must be penalized, and those transporting flammable and explosive goods without filing a report must be inspected. One ship, in order to berth alongside another, damaged the navigation marks without reporting it, and will not only be fined heavily but also ordered to compensate. The rafts at the innermost anchorage have neither displayed signals as required nor paid the regulatory fees and must be inspected. ... It was still snowing in the morning, but by noon, the sun was shining brightly. The snow began to melt and freeze over; with the strong winds over the river, it was the coldest time. Sister Zhu and Han Xiangning’s faces were frozen purple, but their enthusiasm for work was still high. After checking the ships and rafts at anchor and confirming that the ships to be detained had anchored in the designated waters awaiting further processing, they began a spirited patrol downstream. A fleet owned by a township enterprise was seriously overloaded; the thirteen barges they were towing had their freeboards submerged, leaving only the bow and stern visible, looking like thirteen submarines at a glance. Using the loudspeaker, they ordered the fleet to anchor in the designated waters for inspection... The inspection lasted from noon until after 5 p.m., and it was already dark when Director Jin, Sister Zhu, and Han Xiangning, still enjoying the work, let Little Salted Fish head back. Back in the Bailong Port Waters, they could see from a distance the brightly lit Dunship, with the "Linghai Police" and "Water Shang 110" signs particularly conspicuous. Looks like the electricity is connected! Han Yu was steering the boat, joyfully asking through the walkie-talkie: "Command Dispatch, Command Dispatch, this is 001, may I ask who’s on duty?" "This is Xu Sanye, I’m on duty." "Director Xu, when did you come back?" "Just now, not that long ago, I was about to ask where you guys were and when you might return." seaʀᴄh thё novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Xu Sanye sat in front of the command platform, watching the approaching 001 with its searchlights on, a cigarette in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other, asking: "How did this afternoon’s enforcement go?" Han Yu handed the steering over to Captain Wang and grinned: "Very smoothly, extremely smoothly." "Any gains?" "Yes, quite a lot. We penalized 126 individuals without Seaman’s Certificates, totaling 630 yuan in fines." "That many!" Xu Sanye was quite surprised. Thinking of the senior sister resting in the first deck’s commanding cabin, Han Yu said enviously: "Not a lot compared to Director Jin and the others. Our fines aren’t even enough to compare to their pocket change." Xu Sanye knew that the Port Supervision people were there and asked curiously: "How much did they fine?" "At least four thousand in cash, and there’s another twenty thousand pending superior approval." "They fined twenty-four thousand in one afternoon!" "Maybe even more. That’s just my estimate; they are down in the command cabin counting it up." Port Supervision makes money so fast, no wonder they want to build a new building. Xu Sanye felt somewhat sour and turned to look at Li Weiguo, lifting the walkie-talkie to ask: "Salted Fish, about that thing you mentioned last time, the S-something, can we get it?" "VTS?" "Yeah, the VTS!" "No can do, we can’t handle it." "Why not." "Director Xu, that system requires building radar stations with large radars installed on mountains or high buildings, similar to Navy or Air Force radar stations." Xu Sanye paused, subconsciously asking, "It’s a large investment?" Han Yu laughed: "I don’t know how much money it’d cost, but definitely millions or even tens of millions." "Then forget it. Although we also need it, they are the main department for maritime traffic safety, and they need it more than we do." "Director Xu, Director Jin said he’s going to treat us to dinner tonight." "Old Qian has already prepared everything, just waiting for you guys to come back and start cooking. Besides, what’s the big deal about a meal? Ask them to push their leaders to expedite the Water Depth Detector." "I asked in the afternoon. Director Jin said it has been purchased and is just waiting for the agent’s engineer to come over and install it for us." "Did they say when the engineer will come over?" "In the next few days." Han Yu knew the Director was jealous of the others’ money, or more precisely felt they were at a disadvantage, and couldn’t help laughing: "Director Xu, our 001 is like the color TV sponsored by Customs, we can’t always leave it off. Assisting them with the enforcement is like letting them keep our ship afloat." The logic was sound, but dispatching both ships and personnel, they only managed a few hundred yuan in fines while others imposed fines in the tens of thousands. Xu Sanye still felt a bit disgruntled and said sourly: "We’re not breaking the bank to run errands for them. Find an opportunity to ask if they can help with the water and electricity bills and telephone fees." "Director Xu, are you talking about the Dunship?" "Yes." "Alright, I’ll find a chance to ask." Speaking of water and electricity bills, Han Yu asked: "Director Xu, who coordinated with the electric power installation company for us this afternoon when we were not here? Who brought the electricity to the Dunship?" Xu Sanye explained: "Old Qian said the people from the electric power installation company came at three-thirty in the afternoon. He didn’t understand anything, Old Zhang didn’t understand either, so they went to find Master Zhou, and it was Master Zhou who helped bring the electricity." Han Yu followed up: "Is the telephone installed?" "It’s all installed. I just made a call to Wu Ren Guang from the Port Supervision duty room." "Good to hear." "Salted Fish, there’s another thing, when you get a chance, ask if they can send over a driver who knows how to steer a ship. 002 can’t be idle, and we can’t always trouble Old Zhou from the locks." "Director Xu, they don’t have many staff in their bureau either." "Then ask if they can cover the salary for a driver. They pay, we recruit." "Okay, I’ll ask about it later." Xu Sanye thought for a moment and then said, "Boss Wu crossing the river and tearing down the bridge, Old Zhang has told me about it. So recruiting a pilot is important. Right now, 002 is unmanned, and once Boss Wu and his partner’s sponsored speedboat arrives, there will be no one to pilot it either. Having law enforcement vessels without pilots is also a waste." Han Yu quickly said, "I know, I understand." Li Weiguo couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Little Salted Fish handling such a money-related negotiation. Xu Sanye didn’t think it was too much to ask the Port Supervision Bureau to shed a little more blood. He flipped through the duty log and said, "Salted Fish, we can’t only cultivate others’ fields and leave our own barren. In joint law enforcement, we can’t just focus on checking for Seaman’s Certificates." "I know. Xiao Yu and I have inspected those ships this afternoon, and we haven’t found anything suspicious." "Did you manage to collect any leads on the water bandits?" "No, I didn’t get around to it. It was too busy this afternoon." "There are priorities in everything. Collecting leads on illegal activities is the most important. In the future, when we conduct joint law enforcement, the first thing is to check whether the ship owners, crew, and cargo are suspicious. Then check for Seaman’s Certificates, and finally ask if they’ve encountered any water bandits." "Yes." "I and Old Li are a bit busy recently and can’t take care of the rivers. Old Zhang needs to be on duty, so you’ll have to carry the burden of river patrols." "Director Xu, relying on me alone, I’m worried I won’t be able to handle it." "I’ve talked with Director Yu, and Chen Zikun will come over tomorrow. After his arrival, he’ll follow your command, joining you in joint law enforcement with the Port Supervision." As they were talking, 001 had already approached the Dunship. Xu Sanye put down the walkie-talkie, put on labor protection gloves, went to the first deck, and personally started to dismantle the railing before joining Zhu Baogen and Liang Xiaoyu to attach and secure the cable. He wasn’t wearing his uniform today, so Director Jin thought he was a member of the Cooperative Defense Team like Captain Wang and Zhu Baogen. After tidying up the money and the receipts, he stepped out of the command cabin and thanked them before jumping onto the Dunship and entering the combined duty room and office of the Port Supervision. Old Liu came up with a smile and said, "Director Xu, I brought you some wedding candies. Did you see them?" "I saw them, all from White Rabbit. Congratulations on soon having a grandchild." "I’m following the national call; it doesn’t matter if our children have boys or girls." "Be careful here, there’s no guardrail." "It doesn’t matter." "It’s really hard for Old Zhang to grab your strong man and freeze you up on the river like this." Xu Sanye chatted with Old Liu. Director Jin and Sister Zhu were stunned, unable to believe that the person working was actually the Yanjiang Police Station Chief, who the department leaders had repeatedly instructed them to respect. Han Xiangning, realizing that the Big Commander and Sister Zhu were rather embarrassed, quickly and cleverly said, "Hello, Director Xu, let me introduce to you – this is our squadron leader Director Jin Weiguo, and this is Deputy Director Zhu Chunmiao from our Port Supervision Bureau office." "Director Xu, sorry for our ignorance. We did not recognize you." "Director Xu, have a cigarette." "What’s this about not recognizing a renowned figure? When you’re here, you’re one of us. We’re going to see each other every day and work and live together." Xu Sanye laughed heartily, took off his gloves, and shook Director Jin’s hand firmly, then looked at Li Weiguo, "Director Jin, let me introduce someone too. This is our station’s instructor Li Weiguo. Your name is Jin Weiguo, his is Li Weiguo; the names are so similar, don’t you think it’s a coincidence?" Director Jin laughed and said, "It is indeed a coincidence. Nice to meet you, Commander Li." ... Taking advantage of the leaders chatting, Han Yu pulled his school sister into the Yanjiang Police Station duty room, with an embarrassed face, he began talking about the station’s problems with water, electricity, phone bills, and the lack of a ship pilot. Han Xiangning closed the door, rubbing her reddened face, and asked, "Asking for money again?" "What do you mean again? It’s as if we’ve asked you for money before." "You haven’t asked for money before, but you did ask for a Water Depth Detector. Do you know how expensive a Water Depth Detector is?" Han Yu scratched his neck, his face full of misery, and said, "Sister Xiang Ning, I know this puts you in a difficult position. You have been here for several days, and you know our station’s situation. We only have this Dunship, 001, and 002 two law enforcement vessels, nothing else; we can’t afford to sustain them." Han Xiangning couldn’t help but pinch his ear, gritted her teeth and asked, "You little salted fish, are you jealous because we fined some money?" "Ouch! I have frostbite on my ear!" "Let me see." "Sister Xiang Ning, what’s so interesting about frostbite? Let’s talk business." "How am I supposed to ask the leaders for you?" "Just ask." "I’m really fed up with you; at such a young age, instead of learning something good, you only learned how to blackmail, extort, and demand bribes! Our school has produced so many talents, we’ve trained several pilots, how could we produce someone like you?" "How could I be blackmailing and extorting, demanding bribes? I’m talking to you about work." What a headache it is to deal with such a junior. Han Xiangning sat down with a sigh, propping her chin in her hand, "I had just bragged to the leaders at noon, with you as my little brother there, we have no obstacles in enforcing the law in the North Branch Waters. Yet in just a few hours, you come talk conditions with me, asking for money like a lion opening its mouth; aren’t you making me slap my own face?" Han Yu was extremely embarrassed and carefully said, "Sister, don’t be angry, I’m just the messenger." "You are the primary heir and the only heir in your unit. Since you regard me as your sister, why don’t you help me and say a few words to your leaders?" "I did." "What did you say?" "Our leaders are very interested in the VTS system. If it weren’t for me advocating for you, we wouldn’t be discussing a little water, electricity, phone bills and a pilot right now; it would be whether you could sponsor us with a VTS system." Han Xiangning laughed and said incredulously, "Your leaders have wild ideas!" Han Yu nodded seriously and earnestly, "Sister Xiang Ning, I’m not joking with you. Our Director Xu not only dares to dream but also dares to act." Their station chief could be quite fierce and aggressive. Han Xiangning realized her junior was not joking and said helplessly, "Alright, I’ll try to find an opportunity to ask Sister Zhu tonight. It’s useless to talk to Director Jin, only Sister Zhu can help." "Why?" "What’s so strange about that? Just like your Director Xu, although he’s just a police station chief, he might have more clout than a deputy director in your bureau. Sister Zhu is the same; she is the deputy director of our bureau office, and her words carry more weight than Director Jin’s."