Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 391 - 276: A Long Way to Go (Part 2)

"Director Li, if the Port Authority leadership takes firefighting so seriously, why don’t they increase the investment in firefighting?"

"There are many factors involved, it’s not just about funding."

Director Li was fully aware of the heavy burden the young man would shoulder and added thoughtfully, "In fact, striving for support from superiors is also part of your future work. After all, the firefighting along the ten kilometers of shoreline in the port district is not just the responsibility of our branch alone. The Port Authority, Port Supervision Bureau, Water Police Station, and Port District Bureau all need to exert effort together, and you are familiar with all these units. You have an advantage in this task over others."

Han Yu didn’t ask further, as he had already guessed the general idea.

Firstly, money — firefighting equipment is expensive, and water firefighting equipment is even more so. Spending hundreds of thousands wouldn’t make much impact. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Secondly, the firefighting of the ten kilometers of shoreline at Binjiang Port involves the jurisdiction of several authorities like the Port Supervision Bureau, Changhang Bureau, Port Authority, Water Police Station, and the Port District Bureau.

Once a big fire occurs, even the City Bureau Fire Department must come to extinguish it.

With so many units involved, management becomes very chaotic.

Moreover, if such a huge fire does occur, the hundreds of thousands spent on equipment still won’t be adequate for firefighting...

As Han Yu was wondering what to say next, Director Li looked at Liang Xiaoyu, who had just walked in, and asked with a smile, "Xiao Yu, do you like this police uniform? Do you want to be a public security police?"

"I do, I want to!"

"Then after you return, you need to prepare and go to Hanwu for training after the New Year."

"To Hanwu, that’s far!"

"Your situation is different from Salted Fish; if you want to be in the police, you must undergo training."

Xiao Yu was truly a homebody who thrives in Bailong Port but becomes timid outside. With a troubled expression, he said, "Director Li, Director Tong, I’ve never been to Hanwu, I’ve never been that far away; I’m a bit scared."

Director Tong laughed and asked, "You are a police officer, what are you afraid of?"

"I... I’m just scared."

"Don’t be afraid. You are now with our Changhang Police Binjiang Branch, and we will send you on the Jiang Han passenger ferry. The Passenger Ferry Police Team will escort you to the school."

"What school, isn’t it training? Why has it become schooling?"

"It’s at the Yangtze River Shipping Police School; the training is conducted there. When you’re there, you must study hard as there will be exams. If you fail, you can’t become a police officer."

"Director Tong, I’ve never really attended school, I went to a distance learning university, my basics are not strong..."

"Don’t worry, it won’t be that difficult."

As the conversation turned to Xiao Yu’s upcoming training in Hanwu, Director Li thought of someone else and couldn’t help but smile, "If it works out, you can go together with Director Yang from the Port Authority’s youngest son."

Curious, Han Yu asked, "Director Li, besides Xiao Yu, is there someone else going to the Shipping Police School for training?"

"Yang San isn’t going for training, he has always wanted to be a police officer even though his academic performance isn’t very strong. Director Yang managed to secure a sponsored training slot for him to attend the police college. He’ll graduate next year and then join our branch as a police officer."

Director Li smiled and continued, "Since you’re reporting today, right in time for the New Year, we won’t arrange a duty schedule for the festival, but don’t think about resting. You need to not only watch over the ships but also prepare for the handover ceremony on the sixth day of the first month."

"What preparations do we need to make?"

"I’ve listed down a checklist for our branch, for the Port Supervision Bureau side, call Director Zhu."

"Yes."

"Moreover, in the future, you’re not just going to be a police officer working on ship repairs and operations; you need to quickly adapt to your role and prioritize establishing a firefighting team in your mind."

As soon as Director Li finished speaking, Director Tong patted Han Yu on the arm, "I’m getting old and can’t keep up with the times, the future of the fire department depends on you."

The man before him was truly a legendary figure.

He first served in the Army, retiring as a standard captain before being assigned to a coastal police station in his hometown of Dongqi.

Following the reform of the public security institutions, it became a Border Police Station.

His station became a Border Police Station, and he transitioned into active-duty public security police, donning the Armed Police uniform.

In 1988 during the Armed Police rank conferral, nearly reaching fifty, he was exceptionally conferred the rank of Armed Police Captain.

A forty-eight-year-old captain was rare, but at the time the Border Police Station was a standard company-level unit; the director and instructor held the rank of captain, so as the deputy director, he too was conferred as a captain.

Perhaps considering that it was inappropriate to treat a senior comrade this way, they secured a deputy company slot for him, conferring him as a major the following year.

Finding himself considerably older and out of place among others, he didn’t wait to be promoted to major before filing for a transfer. Thus, he served in the Border Armed Police for a year before transferring again to what was then the Binjiang Port Police Bureau.

Others serve in the military once in their life, but he joined twice.

Having served in the Army, worked in local police, served in the Border Armed Police, and now in sector-specific public security, his life has indeed been remarkable, something his master used to envy greatly.

Han Yu also felt envious, and upon hearing his future immediate boss say this, he quickly responded: "Director Tong, I am too young; I need to learn from you."

"What to learn from me? As for combat experience, your master taught you when he was alive, and certainly better than me. In terms of firefighting management and skills, you are the one who teaches me from the podium. As for navigating ships, that goes without saying."

"Salted Fish, you needn’t be so modest."

Director Li took over the conversation, pointing at him and laughing, "To use Secretary Gu from the Port Authority’s words, your pilot certificate and sea ship chief officer certificate are worth more than a master’s degree. The Linghai Police Bureau might not recognize these certifications, but our Transportation Port and Navigation System do."

Director Tong strongly agreed, laughing: "That’s why you should have been transferred back here."

What his immediate boss meant by saying "transferred back here" instead of "transferred here" deeply moved Han Yu.

Director Li smiled and continued: "The Water Police Station was established based on your Yanjiang Police Station, and now our branch’s fire brigade will also be based on your Water Police Squadron. Once the official appointment is made, you will be the deputy head of the firefighting department, as well as our first full-time firefighter in the Changhang Bureau."

Before Han Yu could speak, Xiao Yu grinned and said, "I am the second!"

"That’s right; you are the second."

"Am I then police or a firefighter?"

"You are both public security police and firefighter; you belong to the firefighting police."

"Why not firefighting armed police?"

"On shore, it’s firefighting armed police; on water, it’s firefighting police."

...

As the deputy head of the fire department at the branch, one must be familiar with the situation in the Port District.

Director Tong thought it necessary to take two "fish" around the Port District. There being no other engagements in the afternoon, Han Yu happily went along.

These past two years, Binjiang Port had seen changes every year, with more berths and increasingly larger docks. Along the way, they encountered many new faces.

Director Tong, in order to deepen the Port Authority staff’s impression of Salted Fish, always added "Zhang Jiangkun’s brother-in-law" when introducing him.

People suddenly realized and exclaimed that he was one of their own.

When they turned to a crane at No.3 Pier, they happened upon the brother-in-law busy maintaining the crane.

Seeing that his brother-in-law had indeed been transferred over and had become a deputy head upon arrival, Zhang Jiangkun was very pleased and proud, introducing him to his colleagues.

A dockworker asked with a smile: "Director Tong, Salted Fish must be our youngest deputy head at the Port Authority, right?"

In their eyes, the Changhang Bureau was also part of the Port Authority, and even the Port Supervision Bureau was included, which had indeed been the case until a few years ago when the Changhang Bureau and Port Supervision Bureau became separate from the Port Authority amid the "government-enterprise separation" reform.

Director Tong was used to this and laughed: "If we talk about age, Salted Fish is indeed our youngest deputy head at Binjiang Port. But if we talk about time in service, Salted Fish has not been the fastest to rise to deputy head."

Zhang Jiangkun thought for a moment and then laughed: "That’s true, San’er has been working for six years now, six years to become a deputy head isn’t rocket-like promotion. Those university graduates who were divided here used to rise to deputy head within just one or two years."

That’s the advantage of having a high administrative level at the unit.

Previously, the Port Authority was a provincial-level unit; department-level officials were not considered leadership here, and their status at the port wasn’t even as high as that of a technical backbone like the brother-in-law, nor was their salary and benefits as good as the frontline workers.

Previously, Binjiang Port Police Station, now Changhang Police Binjiang Branch, is a standard department-level unit. Although it has to accept dual leadership in terms of business from Changhang Police Bureau and Binjiang City Police Department, its administrative level is the same as that of the City Bureau.

Heads of departments, station chiefs, and instructors are all at the department level with no sub-departments.

Now several departments have added signs of the brigade; only squad units are set under the brigade, not battalions; squad leaders who perform well are directly promoted to deputy brigade commander, without the role of battalion commander or battalion instructor.

If one stayed in the Linghai Police Bureau, no matter how well they performed, they would have to progress step-by-step, and it would be good to rise to deputy head before retirement; rising to deputy head before thirty was impossible.

But being a deputy head is not so easy; once appointed, one must take responsibility and even prepare mentally to face life and death!

Han Yu thought about his college mentor, his parents, and his in-laws. Looking back at Xiao Yu, who was grinning foolishly, he thought of Yu Zhen and Xiao Yu’s parents...

He looked towards the cargo ships anchored in the river, then turned to look at the distant oil tanks, silently reminding himself about firefighting—prioritize prevention first, then extinguishing.

Both he and Xiao Yu were very young; they both had parents and girlfriends.

He must do his job well in the future, minimize the risk of fire in his jurisdiction, and never play with his own life; better to live poorly than die gloriously if it can be helped.

Zhang Jiangkun, unaware of his brother-in-law’s precarious position and happy about his promotion, put his arm around his shoulder and asked: "Are you going to your father-in-law’s tonight, or returning to Bailong Port?"

"After dinner, we’ll head back to Bailong Port. Xiao Yu and I both came out; there’s no one there to operate the boats."

"What about tomorrow? Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve!"

"Tomorrow I’m on duty."

"Your sister is on duty tomorrow too; since you both joined the police, you haven’t had many family reunions during New Year." While Zhang Jiangkun said this, his face beamed with pride.

Having two family members joining the police and one soon-to-be sister-in-law at the Port Supervision, dockworkers envied them, teasing Zhang Jiangkun for being the most unaccomplished brother-in-law.

Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience