Binjiang Police Affairs

Nightfall descended, and the harbor lights shone brightly.

Director He's home was far in Hanwu, and with nothing particular to do in the evening, he was accustomed to taking walks on the pier.

Recently, there had been a theft of steel, and Jiang Xiaojun returned to the city with the couple Han Yu, had some food in the cafeteria, then changed into casual clothes and went to the pier to try their luck.

Instead of finding the thief, they ran into the strolling director; the two walked along the riverside and naturally started talking about Han Yu.

"Ningning went too?"

"To get anything out of that couple's mouths, he must show some sincerity."

Director He laughed, stopped in his tracks and asked, "What kind of clues is he hoping to pry out?"

Jiang Xiaojun looked back in the direction of the Sailor Club and smiled, "To see if he can extract some leads on human smuggling. As for how the money was transferred out of the country, Salted Fish probably wouldn't ask. Even if he did, that couple wouldn't say—after all, money is their lifeblood."

Director He said with some emotion, "Law is nothing but a matter of sentiment. That couple feels aggrieved, thinking they've been wronged. Upon reflection, it's understandable. After all, the kind of things they did were indeed happening in other places at the time, especially in big cities like the Capital, East Sea, and in some cities down south—it really wasn't considered much."

"Does that mean we were wrong?"

"You were enforcing the law impartially back then, how could you be wrong? I'm saying that enforcement standards vary from place to place, and the law seeks fairness, which is why the parties involved feel dissatisfied."

Director He thought for a moment and continued, "Not to mention the far-off, just take water traffic law enforcement—Transportation Department Port Supervision and local Port Supervision enforce the law with different standards, and there's also disparity among the local Port Supervision bureaus themselves. Unit interests, department interests, it's highly complex. Who knows when these relationships will be sorted out."

Jiang Xiaojun nodded and did not say anything more.

Director He continued walking forward, talking as he went: "Take the fraud case that Salted Fish worked on with Linghai Police Bureau a few months back, for example. There are a lot of sham schools over in East Guang. Why only crack down on Huayuan and not investigate other sham schools? The main perpetrators who were hit won't be convinced either."

"I heard the case has been transferred for prosecution, and the Procuratorate recommended a ten-year sentence for the main culprits."

"Looking at the crime, the amount involved, and the bad influence it had, recommending ten years isn't considered harsh."

Director He stopped again, looked at Old Jiang with a profound meaning and said, "But if you make a horizontal comparison, especially compared to the fake certificate trafficking and usage case you organized, if that principal from Huayuan really receives a ten-year sentence, then it would be quite heavy-handed."

The case involving the manufacture, sale, and use of fake Seaman's Certificates across several provinces and cities had essentially been concluded. Although the amount involved was substantial, it was difficult to impose severe punishments under current law, with the main culprits facing at most one or two years.

Jiang Xiaojun was frustrated, and couldn't help but sigh, "Legislation is lagging behind, and the construction of the rule of law has a long way to go."

...

Meanwhile, Shen Rulan was sitting in a luxurious private room on the second floor of the Sailor Club, pouring out her grievances to Han Xiangning and complaining about Han Yu.

"Ningning, I really treated him like a younger brother back then. Seeing him so sensible yet dressed so poorly, it was pitiable. I wanted to take him to East Sea to make big money and live well, but he ended up betraying me!"

"You're pregnant now, so you should understand how hard it is to carry a big belly. Whatever you want to eat, your family would surely hurry to buy it and prepare it for you, ensuring you get proper nutrition. Back then, I had nothing. Not only did I have to hide from debt collectors, but I also had to shamelessly borrow money from everyone..."

Overwhelmed with sorrow, Shen Rulan's tears flowed freely.

Maybe it was because she was also pregnant, but Han Xiangning truly sympathized with her, her eyes reddening from her tale, tears swirling.

Han Yu listened uncomfortably, his face a mask of embarrassment.

"Lanlan, let's forget the past," Zhang Asheng put down his glass and pointing at Han Yu said, "Besides, we've had our moment of anger. When things went south, I hit Salted Fish, and you also caught Salted Fish."

Han Yu subconsciously touched his neck and said in a low voice, "Brother Zhang, you really went hard on me back then. Sister Shen, you were quite ruthless too. You nearly disfigured me, making me afraid to eat any soy sauce-braised dishes for months."

Thinking of how they had dealt with this youngster, Shen Rulan was so angry she laughed, raising her chopsticks to scold him, "You had it coming!"

Seizing the moment, Han Xiangning said, "Sister Shen, I'm sorry. If you're still unsatisfied, give him another lesson to see, I won't mind."

"We didn't know he was police back then. Now that we know, even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare."

While urging Han Xiangning to eat, Shen Rulan laughed again and said, "Besides, every cloud has a silver lining. Although Brother Zhang and I were betrayed by Salted Fish, if it weren't for that betrayal, Brother Zhang and I wouldn't be where we are today. Since he has already apologized, let's consider the matter settled; we're even."

"Even, as if it's that easy."

"Salted Fish, what do you mean by that?"

"Sister Shen, Brother Zhang, you initially bought a hundred thousand worth of subscription certificates and only sold half. The rest you entered in a draw, and with the money from selling the certificates, you bought stocks, and the stocks made money. You aren't just millionaires now; you're multimillionaires!"

"Wow, you actually did the math for us!"

Han Yu said with a smile, "All I did was cause Brother Zhang to spend a bit over a year in the detention center, and made you lose a few hundred thousand. But without me, would you have had the resolve to go all-in and become multimillionaires in one fell swoop?"

When it came to the wealth they possessed, Zhang Asheng smiled proudly, "We indeed have millions, but that's not how you say it. Only you owe us, we don't owe you anything."

Han Yu responded sulkily, "Alright, we're even."

Not wanting the mood to dampen, Han Xiangning took a small bite of her dish and curiously asked, "Brother Zhang, Sister Shen, when you learned that the subscription certificates surged to over a thousand each, and realized you had struck it rich, were you excited, were you thrilled?"

"Could we be anything but happy and excited!"

Shen Rulan wiped her tears with a tissue and couldn't help but laugh: "At that time, we felt like we were dreaming, thinking that our suffering had finally turned to sweetness. After selling a hundred of them, we packed up our things and moved into the JJJ Hotel with the kids. Excited and sleepless, we sat on the hotel's big bed counting money."

Zhang Asheng grinned and said, "We counted and recounted, counted the cash and then the subscription certificates, as they were just as good as cash."

Shen Rulan added, "After counting the certificates, we started to tally up, discussing how many more to sell tomorrow. How much we owed others, we needed to pay back our debts, and not short on the interest either. Those who helped us during our toughest times, how we should show our gratitude..."

It turns out they have a strong sense of loyalty and honor.

But then again, if everyone had that much money, everyone would be as loyal and honorable as they are.

After talking about how they made their fortune, they switched to discussing Ye Xingguo.

Zhang Asheng didn't want to dwell on the past and laughed, asking, "Salted Fish, you've climbed the ranks pretty fast, having already become a Deputy Division Commander. Did you get promoted for selling us out?"

Han Yu put on a distressed face and said, "Brother Zhang, as we said before, let's square it up and not talk about that stuff anymore, alright?"

Having money is great, but feeling revered is even better.

Shen Rulan didn't want her husband to spoil the mood and agreed deeply, "Exactly, exactly, let's not bring up the past anymore."

Han Xiangning felt that it still needed to be mentioned and lifted her head to say, "Brother Zhang, when you knew Salted Fish, he was only sixteen years old, barely a year into his job. The superiors wouldn't promote him no matter who they were considering."

"It has nothing to do with selling us out?"

"Nothing."

"Then how did he become Deputy Division Commander?"

Seeing the couple's curiosity, Han Yu recounted his experiences over the past years with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Shen Rulan caught her breath and asked in astonishment, "You also worked on a ship, you've really been to Canada?"

"Yeah, if you don't believe me, you can ask around. Many people at the Port Authority and Port Supervision Bureau know about it."

"What do you mainly manage now?"

"Security at the Bailong Port Passenger Pier and firefighting in the Bailong Port Waters."

Han Yu took a small sip of soup, then added after some thought, "Since the Water Police Station doesn't have Law Enforcement Vessels, I also have to look after the waterway security on North Branch Channel. From Bailong Port to the sea's entrance, basically everything falls under my jurisdiction."

Zhang Asheng muttered, "It's not the same on the water as on land. What's there to manage on the water? Not only is there little to manage, but there's also no benefits in it!"

"Brother Zhang, you sure have a sense of humor. Why would I think about benefits? But there's indeed a lot that needs managing, like registrations on water, whether the seamen have their Seaman's Certificate, whether there are any water bandit vessels in the area, or anyone committing smuggling or stowaways, and so on."

"You're in charge of stowaways too?"

"Not only that, but if there's smuggling involved, that's within my remit as well."

The kid had already bowed his head and admitted his fault.

Zhang Asheng, with a great sense of achievement and a smirk, said, "Lucky we got out of the country through official channels. If we hadn't turned our lives around and smuggled out just like everyone else, we might have ended up in your hands again."

"Brother Zhang, you're really joking."

"I'm not joking with you. Back then, we seriously considered smuggling. We had no choice; we owed so much money, had a record, and couldn't find a decent job. Without smuggling out, we had no way to survive."

"Brother Zhang, I'm sorry..."

"It's all in the past; no need to apologize anymore."

Zhang Asheng exchanged a glance with his wife, fished out a phone number from his mobile phone, and then gently placed the phone in front of Han Yu, "Since we're friends now, I'll give you a welcome gift."

Han Yu feigned confusion and asked, "What welcome gift?"

"Didn't you say you handle smuggling? This person has connections, and I suspect he's a Snake Head."

"Ah..."

"Ah what? I'm not kidding you, but this guy is a big slippery fish, not straightforward like me and your Sister Shen, so it won't be easy for you to catch him."

I put up with your criticism all night long, apologized so many times, all for this moment.

Han Yu suppressed the excitement in his heart and tentatively asked with skepticism, "Brother Zhang, are you reporting a smuggling lead?"

"I guess so, but I'm particular about people, I wouldn't tell any other policeman."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang. As long as it can be verified, I'll help you get a reward from my superiors."

"Forget the reward, I don't need that little bit of money and I'm not interested in such small gains."

"I almost forgot, you're now multimillionaires. Alright, what's the surname of this guy, what's his name, and where's he from?"