Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 863 - 586: Binjiang Reserve Group’s Debut

It had been raining off and on for two days. As soon as the sky cleared, the flags of the Binjiang Reserve Group, Linghai Reserve Camp, Binjiang Development Zone Reserve Camp, "Heroic Assault Battalion," and "Red Saber Battalion" fluttered in the wind on the muddy fields inside the levee of the Yangtze River Three Rivers Section.

Leading the way, Xiao Yu operated the excavator with a red flag on it, working from the Yanjiang Road side toward the levee.

Today’s task was still road construction, and the lines had already been set in the field.

Once Xiao Yu cleared the sludge from the work area, he used the excavator tracks to repeatedly press and flatten, then packed down a section of the roadbed. Captain Xia and Political Commissioner Jiao led the staff officers from the regiment’s headquarters, along with pre-assigned reserve officers like Zhang Erxiao, Xiao Jiang, and Wu Heng, and pre-assigned soldiers like Wang Tiejun and Yan Huadong, to rush forward.

Relying entirely on manpower, over twenty officers and soldiers unloaded construction waste that the transport team had hauled from the development zone’s demolition site and gravel provided by the Sanhe Street.

Next up was the bulldozer sent by the Road and Bridge Company.

It pushed the construction waste unloaded by the group from the roadside onto the roadbed Xiao Yu had leveled and compacted, trying to spread it as flat as possible, and then repeatedly rolled over it with the bulldozer tracks.

Once the bulldozer had done enough rolling, Xiao Yu drove the excavator back and used its grapple to spread the freshly unloaded gravel evenly across the road surface.

Today, active-duty officers like Captain Xia and Political Commissioner Jiao, and "boss officers" like Zhang Erxiao and Wu Heng, all became auxiliary construction workers, taking a short break before getting back to work, using the most primitive tools like shovels and rakes for the final smoothing of the gravel leveled by Xiao Yu.

After a morning of hard work, a makeshift gravel road about five meters wide and twenty meters long appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Even though there was still a distance to cover to reach the levee, and relying solely on these two construction machines and these thirty-plus people, it would take at least three days to build the road to the levee, everyone still felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

"Everyone, great work, take a break now. There’s clean water over there, go wash your hands quickly, and lunch will be brought over soon!"

"Captain, is the provincial leadership coming or not?"

"Why do you ask? We’re here to fight floods. Whether the leadership comes or not, our job remains the same!"

"Captain, I’m just curious."

"What’s so curious about that?"

Captain Xia glared at the Major who asked whether the provincial leaders would come for an inspection, then turned to the youngest pre-assigned soldier in the entire Binjiang Reserve Group, smiling as he asked, "Xiao Zhang, are you tired?"

Dongdong, putting aside his studies of the excavator, quickly turned back and replied, "Not very tired."

"Have you gotten any blisters on your hands?"

"No."

"Take off your gloves and let me see."

Dongdong took off his gloves, let Captain Xia and Political Commissioner Jiao have a look, and said with an embarrassed expression, "No blisters, just... it’s just a bit sore."

This kid is only sixteen this year, having just finished his high school entrance exams, reportedly doing well, and in another two years, he would officially become an East Sea person. Although he could have enjoyed a summer vacation like other kids, his parents sent him here to "join the army and serve," expecting him to work like adults.

In the morning, seeing his interest in operating the excavator, they originally planned to have him learn from Xiao Yu. However, he unexpectedly said he could only learn from "Uncle Xiao Yu" in his spare time, or else his parents and Uncle Salted Fish would send him back home.

In short, his family just wanted him to face hardship!

What kind of family nurtures what kind of child.

Captain Xia was full of thoughts and couldn’t help but laugh, "Your parents are something, letting you do such heavy work at sixteen."

Dongdong didn’t know how to explain, but Xiao Yu walked over and laughed, "It’s normal to work at sixteen. When I and his uncle were sixteen, we were already working. Besides, today’s work isn’t hard, work a bit and rest a bit, it’s like playing."

Work a bit, rest a bit!

It’s like playing!

Are you talking about Dongdong or us?

Captain Xia was left speechless for a moment.

Hearing Xiao Yu’s words, Political Commissioner Jiao didn’t dare to rub his old waist again. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The staff officers of the regiment, who seldom engaged in military training aside from marching, found this morning’s work quite high-intensity, leaving them sore and tired, also feeling uneasy because of Xiao Yu.

Yang Jianbo and Zhao Jiang, seeing the embarrassed faces of the captain and political commissioner, quickly made an excuse to check whether lunch had arrived, and went to the road to look toward the camp.

Having gotten used to Xiao Yu’s sharp tongue, "boss officers" like Zhang Erxiao acted as if they hadn’t heard and kept their distance from him.

Unaware of having just offended a large group, including the captain and political commissioner, Xiao Yu put an arm around Dongdong’s shoulder and animatedly said, "When your uncle and I were your age, we did all kinds of work. Not only did we work, but we also had military training. Before dawn, fully armed, we had to run five kilometers along the levee."

Dongdong enjoyed playing with Uncle Xiao Yu because he had shared interests with Uncle Xiao Yu from a young age, and he smiled up and said, "I know, I’ve seen it."

"Oh right, you visited our place when you were little."

Xiao Yu released his arm, thought for a moment, and then laughed, "Your dad used to help us repair ships. He’d take you to Bailong Port in the morning, take you back to the city after work, and you didn’t know about the things at night."

Curious, Dongdong asked, "Uncle Xiao Yu, did you and my uncle train at night too?"

"Three sets of a hundred and not one less. Missing one meant no sleep."

"What are the three hundreds?"

"One hundred pull-ups, one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups."

"Does my uncle have to do the three hundreds too?"

"Yes, but he couldn’t do it at first. It took a long time before he got used to it."

"Can you still do that many now?"

"Of course I can. I’m a physical training instructor at the police academy. If I couldn’t do that many, how could I teach the trainees!"

In terms of physical fitness and military qualities, the active-duty officers in the regiment weren’t as good as Xiao Yu, not even Salted Fish, because they had been office workers for too long.

If you can’t do it yourself, how can you lead the soldiers?

Captain Xia was contemplating strengthening physical and military training when suddenly Han Xiangning’s voice came over the intercom: "Captain Xia, Captain Xia, this is Han Xiangning. Please respond."

"Received, received. Please speak."

"The provincial leaders didn’t come ashore. They just inspected from the river and left."

"Where are they now?"

"Salted Fish said they’ve entered the Dongqi Waters. The provincial leaders will disembark at Dongqi Port and take a car back to Binjiang."

"If they don’t come, they don’t. We’ll go about our business."

...

Many places are experiencing significant flooding, and a flood peak has appeared in the upper Yangtze River!

For more than half a month, as long as you turn on the TV, you can see news about floods and rescues involving the liberation army and reserve soldiers.

Binjiang is located at the end of the Yangtze River, where the river widens before reaching the sea.

Even if the Yangtze River embankment isn’t fully repaired, there’s no major concern regardless of the floodwaters upstream. The real concern is inland flooding, typhoons, and tidal waves.

In fact, the current flood control focus in various districts and counties of Binjiang isn’t the Yangtze River levees, but rather inland flooding caused by continuous rain. Due to inadequate drainage, many low-lying areas are flooded, and everyone is busy draining water, with the water management floodgates along the river working non-stop to discharge water into the river 24/7.

However, the higher-ups emphasize Yangtze River flood control. Since provincial leaders are coming to inspect the Yangtze River levees in Binjiang, you must show that Binjiang is taking the higher-ups’ requirements seriously.

Moreover, many troops are involved in flood control, and the Binjiang Reserve Group can’t just stand by and do nothing.

The active-duty troops can volunteer for tasks. If the news reports say that this unit "moves at the sound of the flood," or that unit "fights at the sound of the flood," it puts the reserve forces in an awkward position.

You have no troops or funds. If you volunteer like the active troops, it’s like being generous with someone else’s resources!

The leadership might think you’re trying to achieve something, or even seeking commendation, at the expense of others’ manpower, resources, or money...

In short, the regiment is in a dilemma about whether or not to volunteer or get involved in the floodfight.

Han Yu noticed that the captain and the political commissioner often made indirect inquiries over the phone, clearly understanding the regiment wanted to take action but couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

Seeing that the provincial leader was coming for an inspection, he had to undertake another water security mission.

Thinking about how Director Ge had more than once complained that the city only knew how to build roads and dikes, but didn’t know to build a road between the Yanjiang Road and the dike likely to encounter hazards. This left him walking muddy roads during inspections, and in case of real danger, it would be difficult to deliver machinery and materials for rescue efforts to the dike.

Han Yu decided to go with the flow, and, in his capacity as Vice Chief of Staff of the Binjiang Reserve Team, volunteered to Deputy Mayor Shen, gathering reserve officers and pre-compiled soldiers who had nothing to do to form a small flood defense team using existing equipment to build gravel roads to hazardous sections of the dike.

Deputy Mayor Shen, being both a local leader and the Deputy Political Commissioner of the Binjiang Reserve Group and the first secretary of the Linghai Reserve Camp, recognized the need for the reserve forces to make some noise. He agreed immediately and directed the Management Committee to arrange the gravel materials required for road construction.

Organize existing personnel and utilize existing equipment.

It wouldn’t affect the normal work of "main forces," nor the normal production and operations of units like the Port Authority, Lingda Car Ferry, Cosco Shipyard, and Linghai Road and Bridge Company, which Vice Mayor Qin also supported and helped communicate with the media.

Even though not many troops were deployed, at least it allowed them to show their presence.

Captain Xia and Political Commissioner Jiao were very pleased, leading to today’s scene.

Lunch arrived on time.

Today’s meal was good, with two meat dishes and one vegetable, including stewed pork and chicken drumsticks. The bottled water they drank in the morning was sponsored by a "boss officer" from the development zone.

After eating and drinking their fill, they continued working.

Around 3:30 PM, reporters from Binjiang TV Station, Binjiang Radio Station, and Binjiang Daily arrived. Captain Xia put down his shovel to be interviewed, introducing, with cadence and emphasis, the Binjiang Reserve Group’s involvement in flood control.

The reporters, as "crownless kings," noted the small number of soldiers participating in the flood defense and asked several pointed questions.

Captain Xia was well-prepared and replied firmly: "There are not many soldiers participating in flood control today, mainly because two of our regiment’s main battalions are the strategic reserve team for flood control and rescue, as designated by the City Committee, Municipal Government, and Military District. They must remain on standby 24/7, under the direct command of the City Committee, Municipal Government, and Military District, only to be deployed if there’s a major emergency!"