Chapter 48 - 44: Sending Charcoal in Snowy Weather

Chapter 48: Chapter 44: Sending Charcoal in Snowy WeatherLin Xiaohui sent a letter, saying everything was fine in East Sea. The letter included two photos, one taken at the Bund and the other in People’s Park. In the photos, she was wearing very fashionable new clothes, her hair cut short, no longer in braids, just draped over her shoulders, with a pretty little bag slung over her arm, looking very Westernized. Han Yu just couldn’t put them down, looking at them over and over again; if it hadn’t been for the Director urging him from downstairs to call his sister right away, he would have refused to put them down. There was an extension phone in the dormitory that could be dialed directly. The Sailor Club had a switchboard; he asked the switchboard operator to transfer the call to the Guest Room Department. After waiting for about three minutes, he finally heard his sister’s voice. "Mom and Dad went to He Fei, they told you to work with peace of mind." "Didn’t they say anything else?" "They said your sister-in-law is about to give birth soon, planning to spend the New Year at her parents’ home this year." On the ship, celebrating the New Year is simple; wherever the ship stops, that’s where they celebrate. Already accustomed to it, Han Yu subconsciously asked: "When will the sister-in-law give birth?" "It should be at the end of this month. When the child is born, her family will call me, and then I’ll tell you." "Alright, I’ll also come to visit then." "If you’re busy, you don’t need to come. Your brother-in-law and I will go." "It’s not nice not to go." seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Fine, we’ll go together then." "Did you mention the ship change to Dad?" "I did, Dad also wants to change, but changing to an iron ship costs a lot of money..." Being young and short, having no authority in the unit and only being able to wear a women’s uniform could be tolerated, but also having no standing at home. Dad didn’t believe in his words, Han Yu was very anxious and helpless. This phone in the station is rural, and calling the city is very expensive; Han Yu did not dare to waste the station’s phone charges, absentmindedly said a few words and then hung up. If the cement ship isn’t sold now, it won’t be able to be sold in the future... Just as he was very worried, Wang Dalong came back from the shipyard holding a pile of manuals for newly purchased equipment. The man was a real old-timer, and Han Yu quickly got up to greet him. "Captain Wang, take a seat, I’ll pour you a glass of water." "No need to pour, I’ve just drunk some at the shipyard." Wang Dalong put down the manuals, pulled over a chair and sat at the desk, chuckling: "San’er, we have a lot of work ahead of us." "What’s going on?" Han Yu asked curiously. "Two years ago, the Ministry of Transport issued the Inland Waterway Traffic Safety Management Regulations, which clearly state that the registration inspection of fishing boats and the examination and licensing of fishing boat crew members, including investigation and handling of traffic accidents between fishing boats, are under the supervision and management of the Fishery Administration and Fish Port Supervision departments." Wang Dalong took out a cigarette and continued, "The management of military-controlled areas, military vessels, and police vessels is separately stipulated by relevant national departments, which means the Port Supervision doesn’t cover our Law Enforcement Rescue Boats." The management on the river is a mess. First of all, it comes from too many sources of policy. Port Supervision under the transport system is like traffic police on the river, but they can only supervise ordinary vessels; fishery vessels fall under the Agricultural Department’s Fishery Administration Port Supervision, and log rafts and bamboo rafts on the river are managed by the Forestry Department. If ordinary vessels have a traffic accident with fishing boats, the Inland Port Supervision under the transport system should handle it in conjunction with Fishery Administration Port Supervision. If logs dropped from upstream hit other boats, the Forestry Department must also be involved in dealing with it. Secondly, responsibilities are unclear. For example, the Binjiang Yangtze River section; navigational safety falls under the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau. But Binjiang’s large, the Binjiang Yangtze River stretches for more than 200 kilometers, along which lie Gaoru, Chonggang, Changzhou, Linghai, and Dongqi - five districts and counties. The Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau only has so many people and so few Law Enforcement Vessels; they simply can’t manage it all. At the same time, each district and county’s Transportation Bureau has its own Port and Navigation Supervision Station; for accidents that happen on the river in their respective areas, should it be managed by the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau or the Port Supervision Station of the district and county along the river? Moreover, for the management of Yangtze River shipping, specifically, the Ministry of Transport has set up the Yangtze River Shipping Administration, and the Changhang Administration also has a Port Supervision Bureau. In short, there are many Port Supervisions on the Yangtze River now; there are those from the Ministry of Transport, from various provinces, cities, districts, and counties... As for ship registration inspection and crew examination and licensing, that’s even more chaotic. Provinces like Nanhe, Dongshan, etc., don’t even border the river, but still conduct ship registration inspections and crew examinations and licensing. For example, for the cement ships’ certificates, Jiangnan Province is no longer approving them, but some provinces are still issuing them. The central doesn’t approve but the local does; the local doesn’t approve but the central does; this province doesn’t approve but that one does... The admission standards are multifarious, making it unclear how many ships on the river come from provinces like Nanhe, Dongshan, etc. But then again, the Yangtze River isn’t just for the provinces and cities along the river; it belongs to all the people of the country. The same goes for the security management on the river. The Yangtze River Shipping Administration based far in Hanwu has a Yangtze River Shipping Police Bureau; theoretically, the security of the entire Yangtze River and major tributaries falls under their jurisdiction. But their headquarters is far away in Hanwu, and only a few large cities like East Sea have sub-bureaus. So, who is responsible for the security of the waters without Changhang Police? Han Yu, who studied Water Transport Management in junior college, had heard teachers say more than once that such management is too chaotic. Seeing Wang Dalong mention the management of police vessels, he asked puzzledly: "Captain Wang, are you saying that Port Supervision is going to manage our Law Enforcement Rescue Boat?" "The Port Supervision Bureau doesn’t require it. It’s written in black and white on the document. They wouldn’t bother with it; it’s your bureau that requires it." "Our bureau requires it?" "Your bureau requires that the vessel must be certified, and the crew must be certified as well. If possible, they should also be insured." Wang Dalong saw that there was no ashtray in Little Salted Fish’s dormitory, so he stood up, went out to flick off the ash, and then added: "Your bureau leaders say that sailing is just like driving; if you don’t hit others, others will hit you. Although the superiors haven’t explicitly stated that we need to have all certifications in place, if an accident happens and we have nothing, the bureau will end up in a very passive position." Either nothing happens on the river, or when it does, it’s a big deal. Like last year’s major collision at Binjiang Port Waters, it shocked the entire country and would be noted in the history of transportation. Han Yu nodded, "The bureau’s concerns are somewhat reasonable." "Because of this, Master Ding specifically spoke with Commander Li. Commander Li reported to Director Xu, and Director Xu handed the matter to us." "Did you ask Port Supervision’s ship inspection department for help with the inspection?" "All the previous procedures are gone; even if we could find them, they’re from ten years ago, practically the same as having none. So, even though it’s an old vessel, it needs to be registered and inspected as if it were new." Getting a full set of documents is not as simple as just having someone come and take a look; a series of tests must be done. Before launching, a tightness test must be carried out to check for leaks at the hull’s bottom and the fuel tank. Then comes the mooring test, where the main engine, auxiliary engine, anchor engine, and shafting are checked, but these tests can all be done at the dock. Because "Linghai Police 001" is a tugboat and could potentially perform rescue tasks, such as towing grounded or drifting vessels, it means that a towing test is necessary, which is to figure out how many tons of ship it can tow. The wind and water currents on the river are very complicated, and towing is actually very dangerous as many accidents have happened because of towing. Hence, the towing test is very important and must be done. Lastly is the sea trial, which at a minimum must cover two or three hundred kilometers to test the vessel’s speed and other performance metrics. Thinking about this, Han Yu said softly, "Registration and inspection are going to cost a fair bit of money." Wang Dalong threw away his cigarette butt and stamped it out, "Director Xu said to spend what needs to be spent." "So, which Port Supervision should we go to?" "Let’s go to our county’s Transportation Bureau. Although the certificates are ultimately issued by the Ship Inspection Bureau, we are more familiar with our county’s Transportation Bureau." "Okay, I’ll follow your lead." "Then let’s head to the Transportation Bureau together tomorrow morning." "Sure." Han Yu nodded. Then after a thought, he asked, "Does the dunship need to be registered and inspected?" "That too, your bureau leaders are really funny. Daring to drive uninsured cars without a license on land, yet they wouldn’t dare to use an unlicensed boat on water." "They’re not familiar with conditions on the river and probably a bit afraid of accidents; having a certificate is definitely better than not having one." While they were talking, the sound of a car horn came from downstairs. It didn’t sound like the jeep from Bailong Port Police Station, and Four Factory Police Station only had one sidecar motorcycle. Maybe some bureau leader came for an inspection... Han Yu quickly got up and went out to see. To his surprise, it was a brand-new van. A police light was mounted on the roof of the van, and the side of the vehicle bore the word ’police’. Just wondering if the bureau had bought a new car, the jeep from Bailong Port Police Station slowly drove in and parked next to the new police car. Following that, Director Zhang from the Bailong Port Police Station got out of the new police car and headed straight to the director’s office. "Director Xu, busy with something?" "I was wondering who it was. Nice car, just issued?" "Thanks to you, or else how would we get to use a new car." Director Zhang took the keys from the jeep driver and handed them to Xu Sanye, who was looking enviously at the new car, "Director Xu, one vehicle is enough for us, so we’ll leave the jeep here with you." Xu Sanye grinned and asked, "Is this a loan or a gift?" "I wish I could give it to you. Just mentioning it and our bureau leaders would surely agree. But if I really gave it to you, could you keep it?" "That’s true. It’s better to borrow, hahaha." "Where’s Little Salted Fish?" "What do you need Little Salted Fish for?" "This time, thanks to you, not only did we make a big impression, but we also got a perk, what’s an old second-hand jeep in comparison. Didn’t you say last time it would be great if the Law Enforcement Rescue Boat had a radar? I reported to our bureau leader and he agreed without a second word, and figured out a way to help you get one." "I was just talking, you really took it seriously!" "What concerns you, concerns me. If you mention it, of course, I’ll take it to heart. Considering communication is also an issue, besides the radar, I took the liberty of asking our bureau leader to get you a couple of radios as well." "Where are they?" "In the car. You might not know how to use them, but Little Salted Fish does. His school has a marine class where radio operation and radar are required courses. Even if he hasn’t learned, he can go back and pick it up; he’s smart and learns anything fast." That’s really sending charcoal in snowy weather! An absolute good brother, no, this is like a real brother... Xu Sanye was overjoyed and looked up to shout, "Little Salted Fish, come down quick, there’s good stuff for you!" ... PS: Thanks to East River, Xi Ying, and book friends like Little Carp with a Dream and My Off-key Singing for their rewards and monthly ticket support, and all the brothers and sisters who read silently and vote quietly! You guys are amazing; the numbers have gotten a lot better these past few days. And could the old irons who have a book list please help add this book to your list, Old Zhuo bows in gratitude here.