Binjiang Police Affairs

Night falls, Han Zhengxian slowly maneuvers the cargo ship to dock at the "old antique."

Captain Fan and Old Zhu see Boss Han has returned and immediately run over to help with the mooring ropes.

Ever since he had a granddaughter, ever since his daughter and son-in-law were transferred to Bailong Port, Friend Han has made Bailong Port his "mother port."

Whenever he is in the vicinity, he always comes back to visit; when there is no cargo, he's not in as much of a hurry as in previous years and simply returns to Bailong Port first, enjoying the bliss of a full family while waiting for calls from regular customers.

The ship worker Captain Wang helped to find is a retired veteran from a township shipping enterprise. The main reason he's still working after retirement is his discomfort with staying ashore, unlike young people who are short of money, he also enjoys the maritime lifestyle of working intermittently, like "fishing for three days followed by two days of drying the nets."

Grandpa has returned, we must hurriedly welcome him.

Han Xiangning runs down to the first floor and asks as she approaches, "Dad, why didn't you say something in advance before coming back?"

Friend Han, holding a teacup, jumps onto the "old antique" and laughs, "I was originally going to Lang Mountain to load coal, but Boss Wang said there was more than 30,000 tons of imported coal that needed to be transferred onto smaller boats for transport to Jiangcheng. I don't like hauling coal, but since it was mentioned, I had to take a look. When I got there, I saw dozens of barges and crane ships, and it might not even be my turn until tomorrow afternoon."

"Transferring tens of thousands of tons of coal, but not using a fleet and instead using small boats?"

"Yeah, I really don't know what the big boss is thinking." Friend Han isn't interested in discussing those matters and asks with concern, "Ningning, why did you come up to the dunship, where's Han Han?"

"I have to work tomorrow, just came to check on things. Han Han is in the dormitory, Mom is looking after her."

"The wind is strong on the river, make sure to wear more."

"I know."

Dad understands the balance between work and rest, not pushing himself like in previous years, Han Yu is very happy.

After all, as one ages, health comes first. Besides, the living conditions at home are now many times better than before, so there's no need to work day and night for money.

Seeing her senior sister climbing up to check on her own boat, Han Yu couldn't help but smile.

Friend Han has long been used to being inspected, just as he was ready to go back aboard to retrieve the items his daughter-in-law wanted to check, his son pulls him aside.

"San'er, what are you doing?"

"Dad, I want to ask about something."

"What do you want to ask?" Old Han is clueless.

Who could be more familiar with the river's state of affairs than his father who runs on it every day!

How could Han Yu miss this opportunity? He takes Friend Han aside and asks in a low voice, "How's the security on the river these days?"

Old Han answers without hesitation, "Not bad, I don't go far, but the security around here is good. It's been years since I've seen water bandits, nor have I heard of anyone being robbed on the river."

"Are there any 'oil thieves'?"

"Definitely, I estimate quite a few, otherwise where would those oil peddlers get all that cheap oil from? But most of that oil is stolen in collusion from inside and outside. We know it exists but don't know what's really going on."

"Dad, do you know oil peddlers?"

"Who running on the river doesn't know a few oil peddlers? Even if you don't seek them out, they'll come up to you and ask if you want to refuel." Friend Han takes out a cigarette, then changes the subject, "San'er, why did you start asking about this?"

"Dad, what do I do?" Han Yu counters.

Old Han is briefly taken aback, then can't help but laugh and ask, "Crackdown operation, do you also have tasks?"

Han Yu smiles back and asks, "How do you know about it?"

"I heard it from others. This crackdown is different from previous crackdowns, it's a decision made by the National People's Congress, directly led by the Vice Chairman, with each province's top leaders personally in charge."

Friend Han, with his back to the wind, lights his cigarette and animatedly says, "Boss Qian of Liuhe Port has a son-in-law who's a cop, and he's got quotas, he has to arrest a certain number within a certain time, sentence a certain number, it's linked to their salary. Catch more and get a bonus, fail to meet the quota and get a deduction!"

Even his father knows this crackdown is different from before, and yet he has been so busy that he didn't take it seriously.

Han Yu feels a bit embarrassed; thinking it over, he then asks, "Dad, are there many thieves on the river?"

"Live off the mountain if near a mountain, live off the water if near water, not only are there thieves, but also those who steal from their own watch."

"How do they steal from their own watch?"

"Last time when I was transporting coal to Wuhu, a small boat came alongside and asked if I wanted to make some extra money. They said they could arrange for a few tons to be secretly unloaded, ensuring it wouldn't be noticeable. Can you believe I'd do such a thing for a little cash? I told them to get as far away from me as they could."

Old Han instinctively looks at the river surface and continues, "I ignore them, but that doesn't mean others will. There are more and more boats on the river these days, business is getting harder, some people are bold and will do anything, and some specialize in this!"

Han Yu asked in shock, "Someone does this on purpose?"

"Some people specialize in transporting coal and iron ore, and their ships have issues. They tamper with the cargo during transit, and the shipper can't even tell."

"What's the issue with the ships?"

"They have connections. A ship that's clearly capable of carrying five hundred tons is only registered for four hundred tons. They underreport their tonnage and overload their cargo. When transferring cargo on the river, they don't weigh it, and even at the dock, they usually just look at the load line. The overloaded hundred tons? They can just sell it off."

Friend Han detested those unscrupulous ships and thought for a while before adding, "Director Yu has cracked down on a lot of water bandits in the past few years. Security along the canal has much improved, but wiping them out completely is difficult. Many of those Tiger Team members who used to cause trouble on the canal have moved to the Yangtze River.

They dare not rob openly or intentionally collide with ships to extort money anymore. Instead, they operate like scavengers with a rundown ship, asking private ship owners if they have any goods to sell. They buy anything, from sand and gravel to coal and ore, even daring to take steel materials."

Han Yu had heard rumors before but had not expected the issue to be so serious.

With a sullen face, he asked, "Dad, you knew so much, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"They don't come to Bailong Port, and some aren't even in Binjiang, not under your jurisdiction, so what use is there in telling you?"

"Now it's under my jurisdiction, Dad, what else do you know?"

"I enjoy chatting on the high-frequency radio nowadays and don't go ashore much when mooring, so there's not much I know. If you want to know about what's happening on the river, you could ask Old Fan!"

"Captain Fan spends every day on the dunship; what would he know?"

"He's been captain for so many years, think about how many people he knows on the river. Just consider how many ships our shipping company has on the river."

"That's true. I could ask Captain Fan for help gathering information."

"You go ask him. I'm going back to the ship to pack up some clothes and then return to see Ningning."

"Okay, watch your step and don't fall."

...

At 7:30 in the evening, the dunship was brightly lit.

Not only had Old Jia, who should have gone home after work, not left, but Chen Zikun, who was supposed to be off today, had also hurried back. Even Old Ding and Old Zhang from the Four Factory Police Station's Bainiu Ferry Police Station had been invited to attend the meeting.

Xiao Gong, who had attended many meetings since starting work, had never been to a meeting as serious as tonight's and opened his notebook to take notes.

Zhang Ping had also never seen Han Yu so serious and wondered if this meeting had anything to do with the fierce conflict between the sub-division and the Port Authority Police Branch Team.

Old Ding and Old Zhang were pleased, though, finally seeing Salted Fish taking a leader's posture.

"Crackdowns have happened before last year and the year before, but this time the higher-ups' emphasis on the crackdown is unprecedented. This could be said to be the largest scaled coordinated strike action nationwide since the first major crackdown in '83. The focus of the crackdown is on serious violent crimes such as murder, robbery, and rape, as well as on gang-related crimes involving gangs, guns, drugs, hooligans, and crimes of the nature of organized crime."

Han Yu paused and looked around at everyone: "Looking at the whole country, different places have different focuses for their crackdowns. From what I know, the Capital's crackdown is mainly against cases with negative impact and long unresolved investigations, while Donghai and Nanhe provinces mainly target itinerant criminal activities.

West Mountain focuses on gang-related forces, while East Guang cracks down on gun-related crimes and drug-related organized crime. Xiguang and Haiqing mainly fight the production and trafficking of guns and drugs...

Before dinner, I called Political Commissioner Jiang, who told me that just in the past three months, the nationwide crackdown has taken down over ninety thousand criminal gangs, arresting more than four hundred twenty thousand members, and an additional thirty thousand plus offenders have surrendered to the police or confessed to overlooked crimes while imprisoned, under the pressure of the crackdown.

But our fellow police in other provinces and cities have paid a heavy price. In the three months since the start of the 'crackdown,' seventy-five police officers have been killed nationwide, more than two thousand eight hundred injured, two hundred and sixty-six of them seriously."

The security at Bailong Port is good, and Bailong Port is isolated.

Without hearing the reports, one would not know how chaotic it is outside or the price fellow police in other provinces and cities have paid to combat various crimes.

Old Ding sighed softly, while Old Zhang lit a cigarette, lost in thought.

Chen Zikun and Old Jia had solemn expressions.

Zhang Ping also wanted to smoke but seeing Han Ning covering her nose on the opposite side as she took meeting notes, slipped the cigarette he had pulled out back into his pocket.

"Folks, although we each come from the Changhang Bureau, the Water Police Station, and the Linghai Police Bureau, we have one thing in common: we are all public security police officers on and beside the river, especially us from the Changhang navigation police. What's the full name of our Changhang Police Bureau, Xiao Gong, you say it."

"Ministry of Transport Yangtze River Shipping Police Bureau."

"The Yangtze River Shipping Police Bureau. As the name suggests, it is the police bureau tasked with ensuring the safety of Yangtze River shipping! What the superiors demand of us is not just to maintain good port security. We of the Changhang navigation police are not only onboard police. It is no exaggeration to say that the security of the two-thousand-plus-kilometer main line of the Yangtze River falls under our purview. It's just that for various reasons, the jurisdiction has been chaotically divided."

Han Yu took a deep breath and changed his tone: "This afternoon, Director He called me to remind me that I cannot just focus on that small patch of the port. At first, I thought that the Economic Police Team was putting pressure on our bureau, but then I realized the true intent of the bureau leaders.

We are the Changhang navigation police, not just port police. If the past five years redefined our bureau's primary responsibility from solely port security to a mix between that and a ten-kilometer jurisdiction along the shoreline, then from now on, our bureau, in partnership with the Water Police Station, must take up the responsibility of maintaining over a hundred kilometers of security along the Yangtze River.

In other words, the Port Authority's restoration of the Security Department and establishment of the Economic Police Team provides a chance for our bureau to transform. With the Security Department and Economic Police Team handling security within the port, our bureau can free up resources to do what we're supposed to do!"