Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 36 - 34: Youthful Ignorance (Part 2)

"What is detainment and repatriation?"

"It’s when you’re detained and, once there are enough people, everyone is sent to our Police Bureau together. I heard that family members have to pay the repatriation fee when they come to pick you up."

Lin Xiaohui was terrified and asked with a worried frown, "What should I do!"

Han Yu thought for a moment and said, "The shipping company has a collective household registration on the water, which is managed by our Police Station. Come on, I’ll ask Uncle Zhang to help you get an identity certificate."

"Is a certificate enough?"

"Not necessarily, but it’s definitely better than having nothing at all."

While leading her downstairs, Han Yu explained, "Once you arrive in East Sea, don’t throw away your ticket; it can prove when you arrived in East Sea. There seems to be a time rule for detainment and repatriation; you won’t be detained in the first few days after arriving."

"When you get to your aunt’s place, have her quickly take you to the Police Station to get a temporary residency certificate. I forget whether the fee is two yuan or five yuan, but don’t skimp on that money; it’s really dangerous for out-of-towners in East Sea without a temporary residency certificate."

Lin Xiaohui certainly didn’t want to be arrested by the East Sea police as a criminal, nor did she want to be repatriated, so she hurriedly agreed, "Okay."

Xu Sanye and Old Zhang did not expect Little Salted Fish to bring his little girlfriend downstairs so quickly.

Understanding the situation, Xu Sanye couldn’t help laughing and said, "I was just discussing this with Old Zhang. East Sea has strict management of incoming residents, and it seems you thought of that too."

Han Yu said, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I heard about it last time on the ship from a traveler who suffered a lot because he lost his ticket and didn’t have a temporary residency certificate."

"So we can’t take it lightly."

Xu Sanye nodded slightly, then turned and said, "Old Zhang, hurry up and help Xiao Hui with her certificate, and after that, let’s have a meal."

"Okay, come in, don’t stand outside."

"Thank you, Director Xu, thank you Uncle Zhang."

Han Yu led Lin Xiaohui into the household registration office and then added, "Ticket checking only starts at 8:10. Uncle Zhang, after breakfast, I’ll take Xiao Hui to the photo studio in Bailong Port to take a photo, and then bother you to help her get an ID."

Old Zhang opened the drawer, took out a pen, paper, and the official seal, and laughed, "Sooner or later it has to be done, but even if we start now, it will take at least two months to get it."

Lin Xiaohui glanced back at Salted Fish and hurriedly said, "Uncle Zhang, I’m not in a rush; I can pick it up when I come back for the New Year."

"No worries, I’ll give it to Xiao Han."

"Either way is fine, Uncle Zhang, how much does it cost for a certificate and an ID?"

"The certificate is free, but the ID costs ten yuan for the fee."

...

After getting the certificate and eating a bowl of fish soup noodles in the reception room, Lin Xiaohui politely bid farewell to Xu Sanye and Old Zhang.

Han Yu picked up the bags, planning to walk her to Bailong Port.

However, Xu Sanye unexpectedly pulled out his car keys, mentioned that he needed to handle some business at Bailong Port, and drove both of them to the photo studio in Bailong Port.

The villagers of Bailong Port Village must go to the designated photo studio by the Four Factory Police Station to take photos for their ID cards.

Because the Yanjiang Police Station is next to Bailong Port, both shipmen handling seaman’s certificates and residents managing their on-water household registration need to come to the photo studio in Bailong Port to take photos.

Moreover, after a recent crackdown on ticket scalping, which led to the arrest of about twenty people and fines for over three hundred, a significant portion of those making a living at the port had been dealt with by the Yanjiang Police Station.

Not only did everyone know how wild Xu Sanye was, even Little Salted Fish, who had disguised himself as a vendor to participate in the crackdown, had become well-known.

The photo studio owner, upon seeing Lin Xiaohui accompanied by Xu Sanye and Little Salted Fish, refused to accept any payment.

As arguing could cause a scene, Han Yu had no choice but to let Lin Xiaohui keep the money.

With too many travelers in the morning and the waiting room being too small to even find a place to sit or stand,

Old Liu, who was on duty today, saw Han Yu escorting someone, and it was a dainty girl, he couldn’t help but smile and led the two into the duty room.

"Xiao Han, sit here for a while. If you find it stuffy, you can go outside and enjoy the riverscape. There’s boiling water in the thermos if you get thirsty."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu."

"There are a lot of travelers today, I’m going out for duty now."

"Do your thing, don’t mind us."

"Alright, I’ll close the door for you."

The police duty room has two doors; one leads to the crowded waiting room, and the other to the pier, directly accessing the passenger ships.

Lin Xiaohui, curious about everything, pointed to a distant ship and asked, "Salted Fish, am I going to board that ship later?"

"Yes, that’s the one."

"It’s huge!"

"Yeah, it’s much bigger than the ships of our shipping company."

"Have you been on it?"

"Many times. I rode it for ten days straight; going to East Sea in the morning and returning in the evening. It was novel at first, but later I got tired of it."

"Rode it for ten days?"

"On assignment."

While talking, Director Zhang and Old Hu knocked and came in.

Their faces were smiling brightly, and it was clear from their expressions they had heard the news and came to see Lin Xiaohui.

Han Yu felt quite embarrassed and swiftly stood up to introduce everyone.

Lin Xiaohui felt both shy and a bit excited, hardly believing she was encountering so many police officers, each more amiable than the last.

"Xiao Lin, which class cabin are you in?"

"Fifth-class cabin."

"Who bought the ferry ticket?"

"Salted Fish helped me buy it."

"Xiao Han, I don’t mean to criticize you, but why did you buy a scattered seat? Why didn’t you help Xiao Lin buy a fourth-class cabin?"

Han Yu awkwardly said he wanted to save money for the other person, quickly adding, "I couldn’t get one, by the time it was my turn in line, the ticket seller said the fourth-class cabins were sold out."

"Wel,l scattered seating it is then, it’s just a few hours anyway, we’ll arrive by the afternoon."

Director Zhang smiled, looked at his watch, and then pointed towards the Dunship in the distance, "It’s still early. Just head there later. Today’s onboard police officer is Liu Bin, you know him, so say hello to him and get Xiao Lin on the boat."

"Director Zhang, is that appropriate?"

"It’s fine, Xiao Lin has a ticket, after all."

...

Director Zhang had a few more words, then he went ahead to the Dunship with Old Hu.

Lin Xiaohui watched their backs and exclaimed, "Salted Fish, you’re amazing, you know so many people just after starting your job."

"There’s nothing amazing about that, I’m a police officer. It’s my job to interact with people."

"It’s still better than me working the sewing machine every day."

Half an hour later, she was gone, without knowing when they might see each other again.

Han Yu didn’t want to miss the last chance and hesitated before saying, "Xiao Hui, it’s inconvenient in East Sea without an ID card. Plus, I’m not at ease not knowing if you’ve arrived safely or if your aunt has picked you up."

"I’ll call you once I get to East Sea. My aunt said there’s a public phone at the front of her shop."

"A phone call is too expensive, better write letters."

"I’ve never written a letter..."

"It’s easy. Write it, put it in an envelope, stick a stamp on it, and drop it in a mailbox. It’ll arrive in a week for just eight cents!"

Han Yu quickly pulled out paper and pen he had prepared beforehand, quickly wrote down the mailing address and postal code, and gently placed it in front of her,

"When you get there, ask for your aunt’s shop address and the postal code for that area. After I receive your letter, I can write back to you."

Lin Xiaohui playfully asked, "Pen pals?"

Han Yu smiled and asked, "Have you ever had one?"

"No, but when I was learning sewing, a sister had a pen pal and received several letters every week."

"As long as you write to me, I’ll write back, and then you’ll also receive letters."

"Okay."

After having received so much help from him, Lin Xiaohui felt a bit embarrassed, and then added, "If there’s anything you want to buy, write to me. I’ll get it for you and bring it back when I come for New Year."

Han Yu happily replied, "That works."

They chatted, and without realizing it, it was almost time for ticket checking.

Director Zhang’s voice came through the intercom on the desk, directing him to bring Lin Xiaohui over.

Given many tasks at the police station today, with leaders from the Bureau even coming in the morning to sign a contract with Boss Wu, Han Yu couldn’t afford to stay outside too long. He hurried to send Lin Xiaohui aboard before the ticket check in the waiting room.

She had been on board for ten days, from the Captain and Political Commissioner to the staff, everyone knew her.

After asking around a bit jokingly and confirming that Lin Xiaohui would definitely have a place to sit despite her scattered seat ticket, he reluctantly said goodbye.

Lin Xiaohui hadn’t cried when she departed from Water Village, but standing on the steamer, holding onto the railing, seeing him turn back three steps at a time waving, suddenly her heart ached, and tears spilled from her eyes.

Han Yu also felt a bit upset. Walking back to the station, he was just about to go upstairs to change into his work uniform when Xu Sanye stopped him.

"Director Xu..."

"This girl is not bad, worth considering."

"Director Xu, she’s my neighbor, not what you’re thinking."

"Can’t even lie properly, you know? Your face turned as red as a monkey’s butt just now."

"Director Xu!"

"If you like her, just admit it. Liking someone isn’t something to be ashamed of. But she’s half a head taller than you. There’s a bowl of fish soup in the kitchen, go drink it quickly. How can you talk to her if you don’t grow taller?"

Xu Sanye teased him verbally but secretly chuckled that this Little Salted Fish, as small as a bean, was learning to fall in love.

Flushed with embarrassment, Han Yu blurted out "I’m off to repair the ship," and ran upstairs to change as if fleeing.

Xu Sanye couldn’t help but laugh and said, "You must finish that fish soup. I’ll come up to check later. If you dare waste it, when your brother-in-law comes over to help with the ship repairs in a few days, I’ll tell him you’ve got a girlfriend!"

The cook Old Qian liked fishing and shrimping, well-equipped with fishing rods, spear, cages, and silk nets, even a set of small basket nets.

Four bamboo rods were tied into a cross, hung on a main rod, the fishing net hung at the ends of the four rods, positioned by the river or riverside at a good angle and direction, sink the net into the water, and every few minutes pull up using a rope, perfectly capturing the fish swimming through.

The day before yesterday in the afternoon was the biggest haul, amazingly catching over thirty pounds using the basket net.

The people in the station couldn’t eat all of it, kept a few big ones, and divided the rest into thirds among the Director, instructor, and Old Zhang each taking a share home.

With Chef and fisherman Old Qian around, it wasn’t just having fish every day; it was fish for every meal!

Crucian Carp, Grass Carp, Whitebait, Knife Fish, Black fish, Hua Lian, Ang Ci... all kinds of fish, without needing to spend money.

The cooking methods varied: braised, steamed, stuffed with pork in fish bellies, sliced into fillets and stir-fried, mashed into fish balls and simmered, marinated and fried; almost a new dish every day.

Hua Lian Tofu Soup, Crucian Carp Soup, Black Fish Soup, Ang Ci Fish Soup, a big bowl was required each time, according to Xu Sanye, fish soup was nutritious, good for growing taller.

The fish soup tasted good and was indeed nutritious, but it was too much having it every single day, every meal.

Han Yu was already tired of it, really didn’t want to drink any more, but the Director might really come up to check later, and they meant well, so he had no choice but to brace himself, walk into the kitchen, and start drinking the stewed snowy white Crucian Carp soup.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺