Binjiang Police Affairs

In the deep of night, the river was shrouded in fog, pitch black, with only the occasionally brightening and dimming lights of the mooring ground discernible, and yet the sound of the diesel engines of the light boats anchored there carried far.

Through the telescope, one could clearly see that the little dinghy was very active.

A woman and two men were piloting the Iron Dinghy, hovering near the various cargo ships anchored in the river, sometimes moored alongside a big ship, staying put for twenty to thirty minutes. Other times, they'd head back to the Iron Dinghy, then move on to another cargo vessel.

With the diesel engine's noise being so loud, the likelihood of them committing theft aboard the large ships was next to nothing, but what exactly were the sneaky individuals on the Iron Dinghy up to?

Liang Xiaoyu was sitting on the familiar store ship, setting down the telescope and pondering how long she should keep watch when Liu Xinpei brought over some freshly cooked dishes to the small table, calling out, "Xiao Yu, dinner's ready."

"Okay."

"Do you want some old liquor?"

"We're working, we can't drink. Brother Liu, now that you're both the boss and the driver, it's best you don't drink either."

Talking about the current business, Liu Xinpei said with a bashful face, "What kind of boss am I? If it weren't for your family's help, I'd still be looking for work somewhere else."

Before, it had always been others helping her family; she never imagined there would come a day when her family could help someone else.

The feeling of helping others was truly wonderful!

As Xiao Yu reflected on a myriad of thoughts, she picked up her chopsticks and asked with a smile, "Brother Liu, how's business been these days?"

"Not bad." Liu Xinpei filled a bowl of rice for Xiao Yu and sat down saying, "Remind me to tell your dad, the money I owe your family will definitely be paid back by the end of next year."

"Don't worry, if you need to stock up or need cash flow, even the year after is fine."

"No, that won't do. Your dad is in business too, and he needs money for cash flow as well!"

"What business does he run? Both he and my mom are working for others now."

"Working for others?" Liu Xinpei asked in surprise.

Xiao Yu chuckled and said, "Yeah, they work for Yu Zhen, who pays them a salary. They're busy from morning till night, sometimes even skipping meals, busier than me!"

Liu Xinpei, catching on, curiously asked, "Is the apparel wholesale business really that busy?"

"Yeah." Xiao Yu glanced at the nearby mooring ground and excitedly said, "There are a lot of people going to the market to stock up every day, and there are also many wholesalers. For the same style of clothes, there are several wholesalers in the market with the same price. People could buy from my family, or they could buy from someone else, so the service has to keep up."

"How do you provide service?"

"The customers are also in business; time is very precious to them. They leave their hometown by coach in the afternoon and arrive at the market before dawn. If the customer buys a lot or is a regular, we'd ask if they've had breakfast. If not, my mom has to help them buy breakfast."

Xiao Yu laughed and continued, "They're not buying one or two pieces; it's usually dozens or hundreds at a time. Yu Zhen and her cousin take care of the accounts and collect money, while my dad helps them pack the goods into big bags and then uses a sack truck to deliver the goods to the parking lot, making dozens of trips every morning."

"Business is that good?"

"The market is booming; tens of thousands of people come every day to stock up. At around six or seven in the morning, it's crowded like our local fair, and you can't even squeeze in. Anyone going there to buy stocks is carrying at least ten to twenty thousand yuan, so there are also many pickpockets."

"Have you seen them?"

"I've not only seen them, but I've also caught quite a few. Every time I catch a pickpocket, Yu Zhen scolds me, so now I dare not go to the market anymore."

"Why does Yu Zhen scold you? Is she worried about retaliation from the pickpockets?"

"It's not about being afraid of retaliation. Those pickpockets, if they don't succeed, the moment they do, the amount involved is not small, and they would usually get sentenced to at least a year or two. It's not like the dock thieves who aren't pursued for criminal responsibility and are released after a few days in jail."

Xiao Yu took a bite of the spiced dish and continued, "Mainly, the reason I go to the market is to help out, like helping with packing and delivering goods to the parking lot, but every time I go, I end up spotting a thief. Spotting them doesn't mean I can catch them right away; I have to quietly keep an eye on them and only when they make a move can I catch them, it has to be red-handed, otherwise, there's no evidence.

In any case, spotting a thief means spending time on surveillance. It's not easy to catch one in the act, then I have to call over market security to help take them to the Police Station and find the victim. At the Police Station, I have to explain the situation and cooperate in making a statement. By the time all of this is done, the morning is over."

He had to work on weekdays; there was definitely no time to go to the market.

Only on Sundays was he free, and just when he could finally help out his fiancée, he ended up catching thieves...

Liu Xinpei couldn't help but laugh, "Xiao Yu, you've got an occupational disease."

"One has to catch them when the situation demands it; you'd do the same."

"I'm not police now, I'm just a citizen."

After taking a bite of his food, Liu Xinpei queried, "Your parents, grandfather, and Yu Zhen are all in Hanwu, so why did you decide to come back? Why didn't you stay in Hanwu to spend time with your family?"

"It's not about Salted Fish; I wanted to come back on my own."

Xiao Yu looked again at the mooring ground and explained, "The students from the '94 cohort are graduating soon, and they need to intern before graduation. The '95 cohort students also need to go to different branches for study. Some students can find internships themselves, while others can't, and the school has to organize it.

Some teachers are older and in poor health, and some have families and can't leave, and handling internships is definitely something that falls to us younger and unmarried folks. Even if I weren't taking students back home for internships, I'd have to take them to other branches, and going to other branches is not as good as going back to my hometown."

Liu Xinpei clearly remembered how Salted Fish, due to her short stature, had to wear a female police uniform and how the then skinny Xiao Yu, shy around people, dressed plainly, was a complete bumpkin.

In just a few years, these two fish from Yanjiang Police Station, one had become the Deputy Division Commander, and the other not only a police academy instructor but also the richest among them all!

He was about to ask Xiao Yu when he planned to marry Yu Zhen when the noise from the Iron Dinghy's diesel engine came from outside once again.

Xiao Yu immediately poked his head out, then swiftly grabbed the telescope.

"Something going on?"

"It looks like they're planning to come ashore."

Xiao Yu observed for a while, then put down the binoculars and picked up the walkie-talkie: "Captain Luo, Captain Luo, this is Xiao Yu, please respond if you receive this."

"Received, received, what's the situation?"

"The target has headed to the shore, the target has headed to the shore."

"Understood."

...

At 8:42 p.m., the lights were still on in the second floor command and control room of the Dunship.

Jia Yongqiang, with a cigarette in his mouth, marked the target's current location on the map based on the report from Yingchuan Port Water Police Captain Luo Wenjiang.

Old comrades stay up late every day; the younger ones can't slack off.

Han Ning glanced at the map and picked up the high-frequency radio transceiver: "Company calling Dongqi Fish 203, company calling Dongqi Fish 203, please respond if you receive this."

After waiting for about a minute, a reply came from the radio.

"Dongqi Fish 203 received, Dongqi Fish 203 received, go ahead company."

"Old Wu, Old Qian, and Old Qu are planning to go ashore; they might head your way, please make sure to take care of them."

"203 received, we will make sure to take care of them."

Iron Dinghies can't travel that far at night; the three targets are very likely to switch to cars or motorcycles on the shore to head to the remote Cha Port.

To continue surveillance of the two "three-no boats" that are the targets, and to facilitate the monitoring and stakeout by the other two groups, my brother borrowed four boats that had been confiscated during enforcement actions from the Port Supervision Bureau and Fishery Station.

Having borrowed the boats, they needed someone to operate them, so with the help of the Four Factory Police Station, they hired four Mechanical Drivers who used to work on boats but don't anymore.

A lot of money has been spent on the maritime crackdown from the start until today.

Part of the spent money went into the maintenance of the machinery on those four boats, refueling them, installing very high frequency radios, and paying the wages of the four temporarily hired Mechanical Drivers.

Zhang Ping and Dong Bangjun also had a boat; otherwise, if Zhao Guofu sailed away, they would have no way to keep track of him.

The same applied to Ma Jintao and Yang Yong's side, but compared to the other groups, their work was not only mundane but they also didn't have a clear target.

Hearing Han Ning's call over the radio, Ma Jintao couldn't help but pick up the transceiver: "Sister Han, Sister Han, how long do we have to keep an eye on the ship repairs? The shipyard isn't going to cut corners, there's nothing worth observing."

They were using the wireless frequencies of the Yangtze River Communication Network; there are many relay stations along the Yanjiang area, which allow for calling over long distances.

Changhang's communication frequency is not conducive to maintaining secrecy, so they could only use secret language.

Han Ning turned to look at Old Jia and said impatiently, "If the boss tells you to watch, you watch for a few days. It's not like you aren't getting paid."

"What is the boss busy with?"

"I'm not the boss, how would I know?"

"Alright, we'll keep watching."

"Port Supervision is strict, anchorages at the dock must be guarded and listen to the traffic management frequencies."

"Understood."

"Don't forget to copy down the navigation notices."

"Why do we need to copy down anything for our small boat?"

"Just copy it down, consider it learning. You'll have to take an exam later."

"Understood."

"What do you understand." Han Ning took the Port Supervision Bureau notice about waterways and navigation handed to her by Old Jia and reminded him: "Take a good look at the notice from 9 o'clock this morning."

"I've seen it, read it several times."

"Okay, my shift is over, goodbye."

Ma Jintao put down the transceiver, donned his jacket, and crawled out of the cabin to continue observing the river surface.

Yang Yuan couldn't help asking: "Captain Ma, what did Sister Han say?"

"She told us to be patient and keep a lookout, reminding us that there's a Hanwu oil tanker leaving from Dacang Port full of oil going upstream."

"The notice said the tanker left the port at 11 a.m., based on the timing it should be passing through here by now."

"So we have to keep a close eye."

The waters in this area are at the border of two cities; no lights are visible on the opposite bank, and both the left and right sides are equally desolate, with only a small dock 500 meters downstream.

Yang Yuan looked downstream and whispered, "According to intelligence, that tanker had offloaded oil in this area a few months ago. Even if the tanker goes back to Dacang Port for more oil, it's unlikely to offload it in this area again."

"There's hardly anyone on either bank of this stretch of water, so if that tanker comes again, it's very likely to offload here."

"But is waiting like this reliable?"

"Do you have a better plan?"

"No."

"That settles it then." Ma Jintao turned to look at Old Sun, who had come out to pee, pulled out a cigarette, and said with a wry smile, "Salted Fish warned me before coming to prepare mentally for a two-month stakeout."