Chapter 186 - 148 Home of the Fish

Chapter 186: Chapter 148 Home of the FishHan Yu had just docked 001 at Binjiang Port No.3 Pier when the Director asked him to bring his bedding and ride in the Volga Sedan driven by Criminal Investigation Department investigator Liu Guixiang from Binjiang Port Police Station, to go to Jiezhi Gate to take over the office space. Xu Sanye had also originally asked Zhang Lan to come ashore, but she wanted to go back to shower and change clothes. Considering that Little Salted Fish only had bedding and no change of clothes in the crew cabin of 001, Xu Sanye readily agreed, letting Zhang Lan wait until the illumination flares were delivered to the ship, and then come to the city early the next morning on a light motorcycle with a change of clothes for Little Salted Fish. Scholar Yu was somewhat worried, but since there was a significant operation happening at night and no one could be spared, he could only walk to the car window and instruct, "Salted Fish, the Aquatic Bureau’s people are moving. When you get there, you need to be smart. Anything that we could use, make sure to keep it all." "What if they insist on taking everything away?" "Absolutely don’t let them move anything. We are the police, what are we afraid of? Besides, they’re the ones asking for our help." Scholar Yu opened his briefcase, took out paper and a pen, and wrote down a phone number on the hood of the car. Tearing off the note, he handed it to Han Yu, "If they don’t listen, call their leadership. His surname is Zheng, just call him Station Chief Zheng." Han Yu smiled, "Alright." Not only wanting their location but also their belongings. This wasn’t the Water Police Division; this was more like "water bandits." Director Jiang couldn’t help but snicker and said, "Xiao Liu, after you drop off Salted Fish, don’t hurry back. Wait until Director Yu’s reinforcements arrive then return." Liu Guixiang hadn’t expected to be tasked with "aiding in robbery", and couldn’t help but laugh, "Yes!" Director Wei patted the roof of the car and joked, "Hurry up and get going, or all the goods will be moved away by others by the time you get there." Liu Guixiang didn’t dare to ruin the Water Police Station’s big plan of grabbing goods, so he quickly drove the car off the dock. Han Yu was dead tired and started dozing off against the backrest of the chair. "Salted Fish, I heard the city leaders were scared away by you, is that true?" "What are you joking about? I wouldn’t dare scare the city leaders, not even with ten times the courage. Plus, it wasn’t just the city leaders on the boat earlier; our City Police Bureau’s leaders were also there." "Director Zhang said Mayor Cao and the City Bureau’s Director Zhong went up to the second layer and, after seeing you in the cockpit steering the boat, they immediately asked to dock." Han Yu was startled and opened his eyes, "Brother Liu, are you saying the city leaders didn’t dare to ride on the boat I was driving?" "I wouldn’t dare either, haha." "I have a license, and I steer very steadily!" "But you’re a newbie with little experience, and not very tall. Can you really see the river surface clearly standing in front of the helm?" There indeed had been a secretary-looking person on the boat who followed Mayor Cao into the cockpit and crouched behind him, likely trying to assess if height could impede the view. Thinking that the city leaders could actually have been scared off by him, Han Yu grudgingly said, "I’ll weld a metal door at the stairs later, to prevent people from casually going up to the second deck." Compared to Little Salted Fish scaring away city leaders, Liu Guixiang was more interested in the "grand opening" of the Water Police Station and asked curiously, "Salted Fish, Director Yu asked you to take over the office and case-handling space, does that mean he’s planning to transfer you from Bailong Port?" Han Yu, eyes closed, said proudly, "I’ll come if I want to, no need for such troublesome transfers." "So, will you mainly be in the city area or at Bailong Port?" "Half and half, I’d say." "What do you mean?" "I’m the captain of 001, and since 001 isn’t coming over, there’s no way I could be transferred here. But I’m going to attend night school soon to study computer science. Linghai doesn’t offer such classes, only the urban areas do, and it’s inconvenient to commute back and forth all the time, so I’ll need to get a dorm in the city." "It’s not just you who can captain a ship, transferring to the urban area would be better for you. Your sister and brother-in-law are here, after all." "I don’t like the urban area. Although I studied there for three years, to this day I can’t understand what people there say. Bailong Port is actually quite nice; it has a post office, so many shops, restaurants, schools, a health clinic – everything’s there, it’s bustling." Liu Guixiang suddenly felt a bit envious of Little Salted Fish, who was the sole attraction in Bailong Port, almost like the Water Police Division that was set to open soon. Other than him, Chen Zikun was the only other official police officer, the rest were either leaders or contract police officers. Having a permanent position versus not having one are completely different things. Contract police officers have unequal pay for equal work compared to permanent staff and almost no chance for promotion; at most, they could participate in commendation evaluations. Whether it’s the Yanjiang Police Station or the future Water Police Division, any good opportunities would go straight to him and Chen Zikun. By the time they arrived at their destination, it was past two in the afternoon. A large truck and several tricycles were parked in the courtyard, and six or seven employees from the fishery company were moving items onto the vehicles. The yard was very large, at a glance easily five or six hundred square meters, with a cement-floored ground that was cracked all over due to its age. The main gate faced south, towards the road. To the west of the gate was a guard room, next to which were several storefronts, but their doors were all locked. To the east of the gate was a row of bungalows, six in total, with doors and windows facing north, looking like dormitories. There were bungalows on both the east and west sides, with a row of awnings in front of the two rows of bungalows. The main building was a two-story Soviet-style old building made of red bricks, and you could clearly see traces of past signs hanging on both sides of the entry hall. Getting off the car, they indeed smelled a strong fishy odor – the kind from sea fish. Han Yu instinctively covered his nose. At this moment, a responsible-looking man in his fifties came over to greet them. "Hello, may I know if you are from the Police Bureau?" "Just look at our uniforms and you’ll know. Uncle, what’s your honorable surname?" "No need for ’honorable’, my last name is Wu. The leaders have already called us, we’re moving out now and will make sure to clear out the place for you before dark." "Uncle Wu, don’t rush to move things just yet. Could you first show us around? It’s our first time here, and we’re not familiar with the surroundings. Oh, my name is Han Yu, and this gentleman’s name is Liu Guixiang." "Salted Fish, haha, young comrade, you really came to the right place. Our place is all about frozen fish now, but in the past, we had not only frozen and fresh fish but also salted fish." "..." The person in charge didn’t know what Han Yu was thinking, he opened the guard room door, took out a bunch of keys, and said with a mix of pride and loss: "This place is not only our fishery company’s procurement station but also our supply and marketing point. I’ve been working here since 1958. Back then, all aquatic products were under a unified purchase and distribution system. The lowest purchase was in 1961, just 893 tons. The highest was in 1965, including several other procurement points, altogether we procured 4,300 tons of fresh fish and 1,675 tons of dried and salted fish. Later on, the focus shifted to grain as the key staple, and the aquatic resources in the river and inland rivers became scarce, so procurement volumes started to decline, but it always hovered between 3,000 to 4,000 tons. Now, the prices of aquatic products have been liberalized, and the fish market too. There are many private fish mongers out there. Trade follows the market. Starting this year, we no longer procure live fish." Han Yu turned around and looked at his surroundings, then laughed: "No wonder there is such a strong fishy smell, and even fish scales scattered on the floor. This place used to be where fish were received and sold." "Mainly purchasing, not much retail." "Not much retail, so where did all the purchased fish go?" "The Superiors had purchasing and sales plans in place; they determined how many tons were to go to East Sea’s fishing company and how many to Jiangcheng’s fishing company, all according to the plan." Han Yu walked up to a single-story building, pushed the door open, and to his surprise, found a large pool inside. Liu Guixiang asked curiously as well: "All the fish that were purchased, were they raised here?" "How could we possibly raise them here? We have boats, each commune has their fish breeding grounds and farms, countless fish ponds. This place’s main functions were purchasing, transferring, allocating, and adjusting." Old Wu pointed outside: "Out there is the sales department, that’s where retail was handled. In the past, you needed coupons to buy fish. In the year ’80, we implemented a dual-pricing system, where fixed-priced fish were supplied with coupons, and negotiated-priced fish were openly supplied." "Uncle Wu, what was this room used for?" "This was where the tickets were issued." "How about that room over there?" "That was for curing fish. The live fish we purchased would sometimes be damaged, and those that died would be killed and cured into salted fish." "..." After going around, all the rooms were related to fish. Looking at the built-in fish tanks in the rooms, the baskets for holding fish, the large beam scales, and the smaller scales, it was easy to imagine how bustling this place was during the planned economy era. seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. One could even envision these busy few who contributed so much over the past decades to ensure the people of big cities like East Sea and Jiangcheng could have fish to eat. Having gone inside and out, Han Yu returned to the large truck and said with a smile: "Uncle Wu, our bureau leaders have arranged with the Aquatic Bureau heads; the phone lines should not be dismantled, and the desks, filing cabinets, and beds must be left behind." "The Aquatic Bureau has long been gone; now it’s an Aquatic Company." "It’s precisely with the leaders of the Aquatic Company that an agreement was reached." "Manager Zhang didn’t tell us that." "He must have been too busy to mention it." The police shouldn’t be liars. Moreover, the police officer before them was a kid, and kids are even less likely to lie. Old Wu thought to himself that it was after all government property; taking less would actually save trouble. He readily agreed: "Okay, I’ll load the scales and baskets onto the truck first." "Uncle Wu, let me help you with that. We’ll go room by room." "How could I impose on you?" "It’s okay; we’re free anyway." ... The light bulbs were useful, keep them. Toilet paper could be used for wiping, keep it. Even if the enamel basin couldn’t be used for washing faces, it could be used for washing feet, keep it. Brooms, dustpans, mops would definitely be needed, keep them. Director Xu smokes, Director Yu smokes, it seems like everyone smokes, ashtrays all kept. Han Yu wanted everything; he was just like a ragpicker. Liu Guixiang nearly laughed himself breathless. Old Wu and the other workers felt this young officer knew how to make do, getting inspired, they actively helped gather useful things. Everybody was busy until sunset, and Han Yu, after receiving a large bunch of keys and checking them, asked: "Uncle Wu, where’s the key to the sales department?" "Xiao Han, you’re the police, not a commercial company; what do you need the sales department for?" "We’re planning to convert those few rooms at the entrance into a reception room, specially for meeting the public. You know how the police work, Uncle Wu, inside are case handling areas with lots of confidential stuff; we can’t just let the public wander in." "Manager Zhang only told me to empty the inside, didn’t say to give you the sales department too." "Who’s higher-ranked, Manager Zhang or Station Chief Zheng?" "Well, it’s hard to say, Manager Zhang is in charge of operations, while Station Chief Zheng is responsible for issuing certificates to fishing boats." "Give me the keys for now, and our bureau leaders will talk to your Manager Zhang later. It’s just a few rooms, not something else; we can’t take them away if we wanted to." Seeing Old Wu hesitating, Han Yu struck while the iron was hot and said: "Besides, this place was originally borrowed from the Agricultural Bureau; we’ll return it once our office building is completed. Since we’ve borrowed so many rooms inside, why care about a few more outside?" Thinking it over, it indeed made sense. Borrowing one room meant borrowing, and ten was the same. Just wanting to get off work and go home for dinner, Old Wu simply took out the keys to the outside sales department. Watching the large truck and several tricycles drive off, and locking the large iron gate, Han Yu sniffed and turned with a smile: "Mission accomplished. From now on, this place is the Water Police Station’s!" Liu Guixiang was completely convinced and looked at him with a smile, asking: "Waiting for the new office building to be completed, Salted Fish, who taught you all these sneaky tricks." "Brother Liu, stop teasing me. We’re not like you guys, enjoying the shade under the big tree of the Port Authority, with everything at your disposal. We started with nothing, wanted for everything." "But now you’ve got something." "All old stuff, an old building, old furniture, everything’s old." "It’s better than nothing, at least you’ve got a footing in Binjiang now." "That’s true, I’ve got to make a quick call to report to Director Xu." Han Yu chuckled and with the keys in his hand, he ran into the duty room inside the entrance hall.