Binjiang Police Affairs

Xu Sanye is no longer around, and Li Weiguo has become the most esteemed elder in Xiao Yu's family.

According to Comrade Old Li, now everything revolves around economic construction. Yu Zhen is so capable and has managed to carve out a career in Hanwu. Old Liang and his wife should support and help their child.

Yu Zhen's parents were both out at sea, so Captain Wang, an elder and matchmaker, was fully qualified to represent the bride's side and also believed that Old Yu's couple should go to Hanwu to help their children.

The two boats could be sold, but what about the house on the shore?

As Old Yu and his wife were hesitating, Old Qian from distant Hanwu gave them a call.

"Uncle Qian, this is Han Yu. We are eating right now, have you eaten? Uncle Li and Captain Wang are here, and so is Xiao Yu and the others. We are discussing this matter. The boat is easy to deal with. You should remember Liu Xinpei, who used to work at the Water Police Station."

Han Yu smiled at Xiao Yu's parents and laughed, holding up his phone: "He's back from Shenzhen and is free now. Running a store on the river is tough but can earn at least a hundred thousand a year. I had Ma Jintao go and talk to him this afternoon; he's interested."

Old Qian, deep down, hoped that his daughter and son-in-law could come to Hanwu to help out the kids. Standing in the public phone booth, he pressed on: "And the other boat?"

"The other is easy too. Instructor Li's nephew-in-law, Xu Changsheng, wants to take over. As for the transfer fee, it's negotiable. They can't pay all at once, so we can let them do it over time; they are not strangers anyway. The issue now is that Uncle Yu is worried about leaving the house unattended. After all, Hanwu is so far, and they can't return more than a few times a year - the house can't always be empty."

"I'll go back!"

"Uncle Qian, all of them are over there, what would you do back here?"

Old Qian lit a cigarette and smiled: "I miss home. No matter how good it is outside, it's not as good as my own home. Once they all move over, I'll go back to look after the house."

"You'd better discuss such a big decision with Xiao Yu and the others."

Han Yu quickly handed the phone to Xiao Yu, who was about to take it when Comrade Old Li grabbed the phone, laughing: "Old Qian, this is Li Weiguo. How have you been?"

"Instructor Li, I'm fine, just a bit homesick. Can you help me talk to them and let me go back to look after the house?"

"How can you go back alone?"

"What's wrong with that? Besides, I won't be truly alone once I'm back. Aren't Salted Fish and Ningning at Bailong Port? The village has neighbors, and the locks, docks, and shipyards have so many old friends. It would be nice to look after the house, fish, chat with old friends, and play chess."

…

The apartment at Xiao Yu's place is Old Qian's home; as one grows old, they long for home.

Old Qian's phone call finally resolved Xiao Yu's parents' decision to go to Hanwu.

With the New Year approaching, for Xiao Yu and Yu Zhen, it was the busiest time, and they couldn't possibly return to pick them up after leaving. So the transfer of the two 'store ships' was settled in one morning.

Former water policeman Liu Xinpei gave Xiao Yu an IOU and took over the anchored boat at Yingchuan Port along with the goods on board, and Instructor Li's nephew-in-law Xu Changsheng took over Xiao Yu's family's boat and its goods at Bailong Port…

On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, nine days after Xiao Yu's family left, Old Qian returned, laden with baggage and travel-worn.

Just like the last time he sent Xiao Yu to the police academy for enrolment, he took a train to East Sea first, then returned aboard the Bai Shen Passenger Liner from East Sea.

He went straight from the boat to the dockworkers' family area to see Little Han Han, handing out a red envelope with a thousand yuan in it!

Han Yu was startled: "Uncle Qian, this is too much."

Han Xiangning, who didn't deserve the reward, was hesitant to accept: "Uncle Qian, we can't possibly take your money, and this much at that."

"It's not much."

Old Qian glanced back at Mrs. Han, who was busy brewing tea, and said proudly: "This is the salary that Yu Zhen gave me. I didn't want it, but she insisted on giving it to me and would be unhappy if I didn't accept. I already have my pension, and I don't have anywhere to spend it anyway. Why keep it if not for the children? I would be unhappy if you didn't accept it."

"Yu Zhen gave you a salary?"

"Not just to me. Now she also gives it to Xiao Yu's dad and mom. That kid really knows how to do things right."

"Uncle Qian, you are truly blessed."

"Yes, I am blessed. Who would've thought I could have such a life?"

While they were talking, Chen Zikun's family came back.

Old Qian signaled to Han Xiangning to quickly pocket the red envelope and then pulled out another one, already prepared, and stuffed it into the hand of Chen Zikun's son.

Though they were all younger relatives, how close they were made a difference, and Chen Zikun's son got only two hundred.

The old man had come from far away, so they had to give him a welcoming feast.

Mrs. Han organized a table full of dishes and liquor, Han Yu invited Old Ding and Old Zhang who were on duty at the Bainiu Ferry, and after some thought, also called Zhang Erxiao from Bailong Port Shipyard and Old Man Zhang, the gatekeeper, to drink with Comrade Old Qian.

Back home, Old Qian was truly happy. Setting down his drink, he exclaimed excitedly: "Hanwu is big and bustling, but without relatives and friends, I'm out of my element as I'm not so good with Mandarin and had no one to talk to. It's better to be back, more lively at home."

Old Ding laughed: "Old Qian, you feel good about coming back, but the kids are worried."

"If they are worried, they can call. Yu Zhen gave me three thousand yuan to install a phone."

"The initial installation fee is not as expensive as before. It won't cost three thousand, but you can't apply for it in Bailong Port; you have to go to the Four Factory Post Office."

"The Bailong Port Post Office has ceased operations?"

"It's not just closed, the post office doesn't exist anymore."

"Where did it go?"

"It shut down." Old Zhang pointed in the direction of the post office and sighed, "Not only the post office, but the Cooperative Society was also contracted out to a private individual."

Old Qian couldn't believe how much Bailong Port had changed after only being away for half a year and couldn't help asking, "The post office shut down, where did Director Wu and the others go?"

"They went to Four Factory. Everyone from the post office regrets it now."

"Regrets what?"

"Regrets pooling money to build houses. Bailong Port isn't as busy as before, and they have to commute so far for work. They each spent over twenty thousand to build those houses back then, and now no one would buy them even for eleven thousand per unit."

Old Zhang took a bite of the cold dishes and continued, "The Bailong Port Health Center is the same. Although it's not closing down, it may as well be; it's turning into a health clinic with only two doctors staying, and the others are moving to the Four Factory Health Center."

Old Qian didn't want to believe this was true, and pressed on, "What about Bailong Port Primary School?"

"It's probably going to happen soon, too. With each family only having one child these days, there are not as many kids. Several nearby village schools have already been consolidated. It's only a matter of time before Bailong Port Primary School is merged into Four Factory Primary School."

"And the commercial company?"

"Now there's only one person left to guard the commercial company, and no one wants to rent those warehouses even without charging rent."

The Bainiu Passenger Line stopped operating.

The long-distance bus station closed down.

Bailong Port Post Office shut down, as did the commercial company, the Cooperative Society, and the clinic turned into a health clinic. Even Bailong Port Primary School is to be merged into Four Factory Primary School...

Old Qian really couldn't come to terms with the reality, his brows tightly furrowed as he said, "Before, the county wasn't as lively as Four Factory, Four Factory wasn't as lively as Bailong Port. Bailong Port could be said to be the most bustling and prosperous place in Linghai. How could it have fallen to this state?"

"Uncle Qian, Bailong Port used to be bustling, bustling for over a hundred years, mainly depending on waterborne passenger transport, relying on being close to the East Sea. Now that waterborne passenger transport is no longer viable, it naturally can't be bustling."

"I came back from the East Sea on the Bai Shen Passenger Liner, and there were not few passengers on board."

"Nor were there many." Han Yu put down his chopsticks and looked up, "Besides, what time is it now? It's the Spring Festival travel rush."

Old Qian realized and sighed deeply, "That's right, it's almost New Year and the ship wasn't even full. It's incomparable to the past."

Old Ding poured wine for Old Qian and said nonchalantly, "Old Zhang and I won't be working in Bailong Port much longer either. The ferry company's manager said that they would close the ferry terminal after the Spring Festival travel season and move the staff and ferries to Sanhe. From then on, there will only be the Lingda Car Ferry; the Bainiu Ferry will no longer operate."

"If they close the ferry terminal, how will the islanders come over, and how will our people go to the island?"

"Once the Bainiu ferry service is suspended, the Lingniu ferry route will be opened. It's inconvenient for the people, especially in Four Factory and Bailong Port, but it doesn't affect people from other towns much."

"Why close it? Why merge it with Sanhe?"

"The silt accumulation is severe, making it difficult for the ferry to operate. Plus, taking the Bainiu Car Ferry to the East Sea and then having to get on another car ferry at Zhuangming Island is neither safe nor convenient."

Being in the police but seeing others' jurisdictions flourishing while one's own goes the opposite way, it's truly a case of getting worse day by day.

Thinking about the days when Bailong Port was thriving, Han Yu felt quite upset.

Zhang Erxiao was a true Bailong Port native, and it hurt him to think that his place of prosperity had ended up like this. He couldn't help but smile bitterly, "They say you eat from the mountain if you live by it and drink from the water if you live by it. People from the village used to earn a bit of money from the docks. Now they can no longer rely on the docks and have to either go into business or find jobs elsewhere. Even the village officials don't want to take on their roles anymore."

Positions as village officials are labor-intensive and pay little, with no social status; it's true that young people aren't willing to take them on.

Han Yu teased, "President Zhang, you could do it."

"Secretary Wang really approached me about it, saying that now I have made it, I can't forget my hometown and elders — he wanted to elect me as a village official to lead everyone towards prosperity."

"That's a good thing; you should indeed contribute to your hometown."

"I'm an East Sea person now, not from Bailong Port. Plus, aside from the passenger dock, what else is there in Bailong Port? Once the Bainiu Car Ferry is gone, transportation will become even less convenient. There aren't even many able-bodied workers in the village; nothing can be accomplished."

He had purchased a house in the East Sea and obtained a registered residence there with the East Sea's blue seal.

He had been trying to talk to the education bureau to see if he could transfer his fiancée Gao Xiaoqin's residence registration over and whether it would affect her retirement pension in the future.

Just as Han Yu was about to jokingly scold him for forgetting his roots, claiming he did not recognize himself as a Bailong Port person, Zhang Erxiao continued with a smile, "The Cooperative Society, the commercial company, so many units have left, freeing up a lot of space. Secretary Wang wants to attract investment, asking me if those places can be put to use, like opening factories or something."

Old Ding asked curiously, "What did you say?"

Zhang Erxiao placed his chopsticks down and pointed toward the docks, "I told him if you want to invite merchants over to invest in building factories, you need to leave a good impression on them. Like the sign on the dock welcoming visitors to Bailong Port, it was written over a decade ago and now it's so rusted it's barely recognizable. As soon as someone steps off the ship and sees that sign, they know this place is in bad shape."

In recent years, Binjiang Port has been undergoing massive construction while Bailong Port has done nothing.

Hearing him say this, Han Yu suddenly realized how decrepit the dock looked.

Seeing that Old Ding, Old Zhang, and Han Yu all deeply agreed, Zhang Erxiao continued animatedly, "The dock is the face of the place. If you want to develop, you should start by giving the dock a good coat of paint. Remove that old sign and replace it with a new one. Don't write anything about Linghai; just write 'China Bailong Port welcomes you', making a memorable impression on visitors."