Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 1507 - 279: Making Money While Working

The city leaders visit the Binjiang Ship every year and are very familiar with it. There was really nothing new for them to see, so after accompanying the provincial leaders on a tour of the ship, they left.The old revolutionaries and veteran comrades were quite interested. Once on the ship, they asked questions non-stop. Being older, they had trouble hearing, so the soldiers responsible for explanations had to repeat themselves several times for each question. Additionally, with their not-so-agile legs, they even needed help from the staff at the retirement home to walk on the ship, so they couldn’t move fast.

They are valuable assets to our party and army; no matter how slow, you can’t rush them.

Just receiving them took an entire hour.

Fortunately, those responsible for on-site coordination were adaptable. Taking advantage of the veterans touring the ship, they first invited NPC deputies, Political Consultative Conference members, and industry elites from Binjiang to take photos in a specially designated area.

After individual photos, the participating organizations had to invite the relevant personnel for a group photo with the warship.

For example, the NPC delegation, Political Consultative Conference delegation, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office delegation, and garrison troops delegation, one after another, keeping busy with joy.

The photographers were their own staff, and the cameras were their own. Not satisfied with their shots, they even asked reporters from the Binjiang Daily and other media for help. Even the bottled water they drank when thirsty was provided for free by the "organizers"; there’s no hope of doing business with them or earning their money.

The crowd waiting outside to come in for a tour was growing larger, and Han Yu, after walking around, became increasingly displeased. Seeing the partners selling Binjiang Ship models anxiously pacing, he simply allowed the model sellers to come inside and set up their stalls first.

The partner was not an official unit but Boss Wu, who runs a small shop directly opposite the Navy Retirement Home.

Boss Wu, along with his wife and children, quickly set up a stall not far from the photo area.

Old Yang, the administrator of the Navy Retirement Home and good friends with Boss Wu, enthusiastically helped out by holding a portable loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Binjiang Ship is a battle-hardened vessel that upholds our national sovereignty. Its return to Binjiang is a day worth commemorating! For this occasion, we’ve prepared meaningful souvenirs for all the distinguished guests!"

"Here is a model of the Binjiang Ship, crafted from fiberglass to scale. There are three sizes available: small models are 65 yuan, medium models are 95 yuan, and large ones are 160 yuan. We welcome everyone to visit and make a purchase!"

"Comrade, do we need to pay?"

"Leader, these models were specially ordered from the manufacturer with approval from the superiors. Look at the quality, the packaging, and most importantly, their special significance. I guarantee that you can only buy them today; they can’t be bought elsewhere. Once this chance passes, it’s gone forever."

Before the central government banned the military from engaging in business, Old Yang was in charge of running businesses at the retirement home. At the peak, he managed a gas station, a car repair shop, and seven or eight affiliated companies, so helping the "partner" sell warship models was a breeze for him.

Holding a large warship model, he animatedly told a few leaders of unknown units: "Look at this base—you can set it up on your desk. Did you take a photo with the Binjiang Ship? If you did, develop the photo and place it beside the model for added significance!"

"Interesting, Director Zhang, how about getting one?"

"The large one is 160 yuan, seems a bit pricey."

"This is not your typical souvenir; it’s a model of the Binjiang Ship!"

The leader with glasses was hesitating when a man looking like a secretary squeezed in, picked up a model sample, and whispered, "Comrade, can we get an invoice for this?"

Almost forgot—they can get reimbursed!

Old Yang realized he had overlooked this and quickly smiled, saying, "Of course, but due to the rush, we didn’t bring any blank invoices. We can issue a receipt first, and you can later collect the invoice with the receipt."

"Where should we go to collect it?" the young man resembling a secretary pressed on.

"At the gatehouse of our Navy Retirement Home."

"Alright, give me thirty small ones, ten medium ones, and five large ones."

Old Yang was stunned, unable to believe the other party was so generous.

Boss Wu was completely dumbfounded, unable to believe his ears.

The secretary-looking person didn’t want to waste time and didn’t want a large crowd watching, prompting him to impatiently ask, "Do you have enough stock?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Quickly help me load up. My car is parked outside, and it’s a bit far from here."

"No worries, no worries, I’ll arrange to deliver them to your car."

...

Once the ball started rolling, there was no stopping it.

Today, it wasn’t just leaders attending the welcome ceremony; many of their escorts were there too.

After seeing what the secretary-like person had done, they hurriedly went to report to and seek instructions from their respective leaders, quickly returning for a large purchase.

What started as retail turned into "government procurement," and in large quantities too.

Boss Wu was both excited and anxious, quickly pulling Old Yang aside: "Administrator, we don’t have that much stock. If we sell it all to them, I’ll have to close up my stall in a while!"

"How much did you stock up?"

"A thousand units."

"Didn’t I tell you to stock up more?"

"I didn’t dare. What if they don’t sell?"

Looks like from now on, the partners we choose must be capable ones!

Old Yang muttered quietly, pondering for a moment: "Quickly call the manufacturer to restock. Act fast. As for here, I’ll think of something."

"What are you going to do?"

"You’ll find out soon enough."

Old Yang didn’t bother explaining, quickly running over to negotiate with the "customers" with deep pockets, to see if they could take a "sample" back first. The rest, along with the invoices, would be delivered door-to-door by the retirement home.

There were too many people on site; buying so many models and spending so much money at once might not leave the best impression.

A few "customers" weighed their options and thought the plan was feasible, thus easing the inventory issue.

Many of the Political Consultative Conference Members are entrepreneurs; they are truly wealthy and feel that buying a model to put on their desk is very nice. So they are eager to purchase, but each person buys one or two at most, unlike the government clients who make bulk purchases.

Mr. Bao, however, is different. Mr. Bao wants to bring souvenirs for the chairman of the board and colleagues on the Binjiang management team, so he bought more than a dozen at once.

Because Boss Wu was short on stock, he could only provide a small model first, leaving contact details and address, then wait to receive the goods later.

Old Ge didn’t want to join this fuss; he had to accompany Mr. Bao and couldn’t leave first, so he simply took Mr. Bao up onto the 825 boat, sat in the cockpit, and drank tea while waiting for the call to tour the Binjiang Ship.

The ship captain and colleagues who once served on Binjiang Ship went to help on board, while the third officer, Liu Wei, was on duty on the boat.

Liu Wei is not only a Linghai person, but also a child of the Linghai Shipping Company; he even worked there before joining the Linghai Port Tug Team through recruitment. Later, he followed Han Yu to the Smuggling Crime Investigation Branch’s Water Anti-Smuggling Department.

Old Ge served as Linghai Transportation Bureau Director for many years, and in Liu Wei’s mind, he’s the true former leader. Standing aside, he smiled and asked, "Ge Diao, how’s this tea you’re drinking?"

"Not bad, very fragrant!"

"This tea was bought when we returned from rotation duty. We bought three boxes in total, one was given to my dad, one to my father-in-law, and this one was kept for guests. I didn’t expect to use it today."

"Knowing to prepare good tea for guests shows you’ve made progress!" Old Ge laughed heartily and remarked, "The Shipping Company has produced quite a few talents, first there’s Salted Fish, then the ’Three Golden Flowers’, and now you!"

"Ge Diao, how can I compare with Secretary Han and President Lin? I’ve gotten to this point all thanks to Secretary Han’s help."

"Well said; we mustn’t forget where we came from."

Just then, Gunner Director Wang Zhixin came in with two large plastic bags, chuckling as he said, "Ge Diao, Mr. Bao, time to eat!"

Mr. Ge is highly respected and felt right at home on the Customs Anti-Smuggling boat.

Mr. Bao was a bit embarrassed, but Old Ge laughed and asked, "Do we have some too?"

"Secretary Han just saw you and Mr. Bao and specifically instructed to grab two extra meals. Ge Diao, these are hotel-prepared lunches, not the ’veteran fast food’ type. Look, there’s fish, meat, shrimp, vegetables, and even fruit!"

"Is there soup?"

"Yes."

"Alright, since it’s all here, let’s eat."

Others waited on the shore for the chance to tour the ship and didn’t even know when they’d get to go.

But we followed Mr. Ge onto the China Customs’ 825 boat, sitting in its cockpit enjoying premium treatment, in air-conditioning, looking at the Binjiang Ship ahead, eating while waiting.

Mr. Bao still felt like he was dreaming and wanted desperately to call Xu Sheng to tell him everything that happened today.

...

At this rate, the public opening may be delayed until four in the afternoon.

The crowd waiting outside was growing, but it’s not under the Changhang Bureau’s jurisdiction outside, so Director Fan couldn’t even stop for lunch, personally rushing to the dock gate to coordinate the Port District Bureau, Water Police Station, and police and auxiliary police teams to maintain order.

Han Yu directed staff to quickly rearrange the venue, confirmed everyone was busy, and then headed over to a square not far from the entrance.

Director Qi and Deputy Director Li Mingsheng were there, one busy directing police and auxiliary police to move tables and chairs, the other hands-on helping to set up the shade.

"Salted Fish, how’s it going up front?"

"The old cadres just finished touring; now it’s the schoolkids who attended the morning welcome ceremony taking turns to tour the ship. Kids are curious about everything, so it’s slow going."

"After the kids, who else will tour?"

"Representatives from various sectors haven’t gone yet. Just now, President Xu called Minister Yang, saying their Binjiang Port Group wants to organize staff for the tour too. Since the Binjiang Ship is docked at their pier, the public opening must utilize their space, so they get priority access; otherwise, it wouldn’t be reasonable."

"Salted Fish, I have some friends here..."

"Director Qi, they’ll have to wait; we really can’t fit them in today."

"Alright then."

Unable to use connections, Director Qi could only watch the setup of the security check passage, jokingly asking, "Salted Fish, do you think we’ll have any luck checking IDs this time?"

Money must be earned, work must be done.

The superior issued a bunch of fugitive pursuit discs, causing the bureau to purchase several computers, but not much can be found on water. With fewer and fewer passengers at the ferry terminal, nothing substantial can be discovered there either.

With so many people coming to the Port District, Han Yu wasn’t going to miss this chance, confidently saying, "The long-distance bus hub has less than ten thousand passengers a day, and they can catch one or two fugitives every few days. In the next few days, we’ll have over twenty thousand people per day, so there’ll definitely be results."

Li Mingsheng, who oversees security as deputy director, didn’t want to miss this chance either, pointing to a small door on the left, laughing, "Director Qi, Director Han, I’ve instructed the comrades to take suspicious persons directly through the small door, not lingering on-site to avoid alerting anyone."

"What about outside?"

"The security check area is several meters from the entrance. This is like traffic police checks; we’ve set up a pocket formation. Once a fugitive enters, they surely can’t escape!"

When there are a lot of people, fugitives finding out there are ID checks ahead will find it difficult to turn back.

Han Yu pondered and added, "Director Qi, Director Li, we not only need to catch fugitives but also prevent thieves from sneaking in to commit crimes. Pickpockets love crowded spots, the more people there are, the more chaotic the scene, the easier for them to strike or succeed."

"Leave thieves to Jiang Youwei and Liu Guixiang, let them wear plain clothes."

"The Criminal Investigation Team has too few investigators; they surely can’t handle it."

"Then what do we do?"

"Request support from the City Bureau; ask Director Fan to deploy the City Bureau’s plainclothes squad here. They’re pros at handling pickpockets."

"The dock is our jurisdiction!"

"I know, but we can’t afford to worry about that now. Remember, this is a city-organized event. If the public keeps getting stolen from during their visit, Secretary Lu and Mayor Wang certainly won’t be pleased."

"Alright, contact Director Fan."