Chapter 1363: Chapter 75: Salted Fish’s Dowry

Xu Mingyuan is a cadre who moved out from Binjiang Customs. After being transferred to East Guang, he performed quite well, reflecting in some way the talent nurtured by Binjiang Customs.

Han Yu felt it necessary to report Zhang Lan’s return with her child for the New Year to leaders like Director Zeng and Director Ma.

Director Zeng and Director Ma indeed paid great attention, not only arranging for Xu Haoran to drive them, but even planning a banquet to welcome Zhang Lan and her daughter.

Unfortunately, plans never keep up with changes; early in the morning, Han Yu received successive calls from the Maritime Bureau, Changhang Bureau, and Water Police Station, saying that leaders from the China Water Fire Association were coming to guide the work of the Binjiang Branch.

As the secretary-general of the Binjiang Water Fire Fighting Association, he had to quickly convene the association’s council and prepare report materials. Because there was a panel discussion this afternoon, where they needed to report work to the leaders of the China Water Fire Association, he genuinely couldn’t manage to go to the long-distance bus station to pick up Zhang Lan.

Han Xiangning took half a day off, brought Little Han Han, and took Xu Haoran’s "special car" to the long-distance bus station. They waited at the exit for over half an hour and finally received Zhang Lan and her daughter who had traveled a thousand miles.

Zhang Lan had gained weight; it seemed she was doing well in Shenzhen.

After not seeing her for a year, Yuanyuan had grown taller and turned into a big girl. As soon as she saw Han Xiangning and her son, she ran over, hugged the equally excited Little Han Han, and shouted in surprise.

"What are you doing, acting crazy like a person?"

Zhang Lan complained, listlessly handing her luggage to Xu Haoran, who wanted to help carry it.

Seeing her expression wasn’t good, Han Xiangning asked, holding her arm, "Coming back for the New Year is a joyous occasion, why the frown?"

Before Zhang Lan could speak, Yuanyuan, holding the bouncing Little Han Han, said, "We ran into a thief; the clothes and bag were slashed."

"Ran into a thief?" Xu Haoran exclaimed, instinctively looking back.

The more Zhang Lan thought about it, the more upset she became, angrily saying, "Guangzhou Railway Station was chaotic, but I wasn’t robbed there. Didn’t expect to be robbed in East Sea!"

Han Xiangning was also startled and asked urgently, "What did you lose, was the loss significant?"

"My phone and wallet were stolen. Luckily, I was cautious upon departure, only putting a little pocket money in the wallet, with other money in the suitcase. Otherwise, Yuanyuan and I couldn’t have come back and would have had to call Sister Han Ning." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Where did it happen?"

"East Sea Railway Station. I had just reported my safety to Ming Yuan after getting off the train, and after walking from the railway station to the long-distance bus station, I found the wallet and phone gone when buying a ticket."

The security at East Sea Railway Station is indeed not good.

Last time, my parents took Han Han back to Xichuan through East Sea, and they saw with their own eyes a thief picking the pocket of a sleeping laborer’s bag in the railway station square.

But to be fair, at busy stations and docks, due to high traffic and mixed crowds, security tends not to be optimal.

Han Xiangning couldn’t figure out how to console her when Zhang Lan muttered again, "Losing two hundred yuan is nothing, losing the phone is nothing, but the key is the embarrassment! I used to be police, now a security officer, saying that could make people laugh!"

Mobile phones are considered expensive electronics in Binjiang, but in the Shenzhen Special Zone, they aren’t considered expensive.

Moreover, she works at customs, where the unit almost daily seizes smuggled mobile phones. Due to work requirements, taking one from the tens of thousands of seized phones to use doesn’t cost money.

Thinking of this, Han Xiangning realized there was no need to feel bad for her but was curious and asked, "Sister Zhang Lan, weren’t you in the Finance Department? How did you become a security officer?"

Yuanyuan had brought gifts for Han Han.

Looking at the delighted Little Han Han, Zhang Lan smiled with some embarrassment, "Our unit’s Finance Department isn’t the same as the internal affairs of the Water Police Third Team or the Equipment Finance Department of the Linghai Police Bureau. It’s not just about simple bookkeeping, payroll, and travel reimbursement invoices. The main work is related to customs business.

I’m just a small unit accountant; I don’t understand those accounts, and my educational background isn’t as high as others. When I first went there, I was dizzy from the work. Later, the Security Section needed staff, and the leader knew I used to be police, so they shifted me to the Organizational Party Committee."

"Organizational Party Committee?"

"The Security Section is subordinate to the Organizational Party Committee," Zhang Lan explained patiently as she got into the Intelligence Department’s Santana, "similar to the Political Office of the Police Bureau, with subordinate General Affairs, Organization, Publicity, Party Style and Discipline Inspection, Public Affairs, and Security Sections, where our Security Section is the last."

How much security work is there at Customs?

Han Xiangning could imagine how relaxed her current job is and couldn’t help but smile and ask, "What about the Finance Department you worked in before? How many sections are there?"

"The Finance Department is large, with General Affairs, Budget, National Treasury Concentration Payment, First Accounting, Second Accounting, Third Accounting, Fourth Accounting, Tax and Fee Accounting, Confiscation Financial, Government Procurement, Audit, Infrastructure, Equipment, and Assets Sections."

"So your customs has a lot of accountants!"

"Customs is about collecting tariffs; if you don’t understand finance, how do you collect taxes, so there are naturally many accountants."

Zhang Lan didn’t want to talk about work anymore and curiously asked, "Haoran, where are Xiao Qin and Junjun? I brought gifts for them too."

"Xiao Qin is cooking at home, and Junjun is doing his winter homework," Xu Haoran smiled and added while holding the steering wheel, "Don’t go back to Linghai today; come eat at my place. Also, stay at my place tonight. You probably can’t return tomorrow either, Directors Zeng, Ma, and Political Commissioner Zhou will host a dinner for you and your daughter."

"Host a dinner for us? Are you kidding? I’m not a leader!"

"Ming Yuan is the pride of our Binjiang Customs system; now that you’re back, Directors Zeng and Ma will certainly want to host you."

Zhang Lan thought for a moment, then turned and asked, "Ningning, where’s Salted Fish?"

Han Xiangning smiled and said, "He was planning to pick you up, but then the leaders of the China Water Fire Fighting Association came to inspect the work, so he had to attend the reception and report on the work."

The Binjiang Water Fire Fighting Association was initiated by the Water Police Division; Zhang Lan had worked at the Water Police Station and had even helped Han Yu manage the association’s accounts for a while, so she was quite familiar with its situation.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she got, and she asked puzzled, "The Binjiang Water Fire Fighting Association is a non-profit private organization supervised by the Binjiang Fire Department and the Water Police Station. It’s not subordinate to the China Water Fire Fighting Association, so what is the China Water Fire Fighting Association inspecting?"

"I don’t know about that, I just know that Sister Zhu is also attending the reception, and Director Xu will be hosting a dinner for the leaders of the China Fire Protection Association tonight."

"The association is not a superior unit, and what does this have to do with your Maritime Bureau?"

"Yeah, what does it have to do with you?" Xu Haoran also found it very strange.

The events of today were so unexpected that Han Xiangning couldn’t make sense of it all for a moment.

Seeing both of them asking, she patiently explained, "The China Water Fire Fighting Association was founded in 1986 and is one of the 24 social organizations under the Ministry of Transport’s supervision. It initially relied on the Port and Shipping Police, forming horizontal alliances, developing group and individual members.

After sixteen years of development and growth, it now has over five hundred members. The Ministry of Transport Maritime, Ship Inspection, Navigation Engineering, Research Institutes, Ports, Shipping Enterprises, Fire Equipment Manufacturers, and even the Navy are group members of the association."

Xu Haoran exclaimed, "That’s impressive!"

"The Deputy Minister Yuan of the Ministry of Transport serves as the president of the association. Do you think this association is powerful?"

Han Xiangning asked rhetorically, then continued, "The association has three liaison offices in Tianjin, Ningbo, and Shekou, with three professional committees for port, ship fire prevention, and water firefighting. San’er has contributed many articles to ’Water Firefighting’ over the years."

Zhang Lan was not interested in these details and cut to the chase, "So the China Water Fire Fighting Association is under the Ministry of Transport, and there’s no hierarchical relationship with the Binjiang Water Fire Fighting Association, nor are they part of the same system?"

"Indeed, they’re not part of the same system. After all, the Binjiang Water Fire Fighting Association was initiated by the Water Police Station, and it was established with the approval of the Binjiang Civil Affairs Bureau."

"Then why does Salted Fish need to report work to the China Water Fire Fighting Association?"

"No matter what, they are superior leaders, and besides, they’re not just in Binjiang to understand water firefighting work, but also commissioned by the Ministry of Transport leadership to visit the Linghai Reserve Camp."

...

Meanwhile, Han Yu was sitting in the meeting room on the second floor of the Water Police Station, flipping through the freshly prepared report materials while listening to Director Qi and Director Zhu advise Wang Wenhong.

"Old Wang, the water firefighting work has always been managed by the transportation system. You initiated the Water Fire Fighting Association for work-related needs without considering these factors. Now the situation has changed, and some relationships need to be clarified."

"Take down the association’s sign and hang it at your place?"

"What do I need a sign for? Even if I have it, the superior leaders would just commend me a bit and would not promote me because of it. I just think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

In terms of the ’division of labor’ between the Water Police Station and the Changhang Bureau, their superiors had already agreed on this during the 1998 flood control.

The Changhang Bureau was mainly responsible for port security and water firefighting, while the Water Police Station was mainly responsible for security outside the port area and maritime security outside the port. Since it’s clear that firefighting belongs under their responsibility, the leadership of the Water Fire Fighting Association should logically be handed over to the Changhang Bureau.

However, the Water Fire Fighting Association is not just a society focusing on firefighting; it has expanded horizontally over the years, absorbing numerous members. Almost all enterprises and business units associated with the Yangtze River are group members.

In other words, losing the Water Fire Fighting Association would significantly reduce the influence of the Water Police Division.

Wang Wenhong was indecisive, and Political Commissioner Ma seemed eager to speak but remained silent.

Sister Zhu, feeling somewhat impatient, plainly said, "Director Wang, Political Commissioner Ma, the current situation is quite clear. The China Water Fire Fighting Association is interested in our Binjiang Water Fire Fighting Association. If we can take this opportunity to let the China Water Fire Fighting Association incorporate us, becoming the Binjiang Branch of the China Water Fire Fighting Association, we as a member unit will definitely have someone join the council, as well as have the opportunity to recommend members to various professional committees."

That association doesn’t have any authority and is just a social group, but the president is a leader concurrently from the Ministry of Transport. Becoming a member unit means we can recommend someone to become a director, who can meet the leaders of the Ministry of Transport!

Thinking further, the China Water Fire Fighting Association developed relying on the Port and Shipping Police, which is essentially the Ministry of Transport Police. Wang Wenhong suddenly realized the good intentions of Director Qi and Sister Zhu, and couldn’t help but ask with a smile, "Director Qi, Sister Zhu, are you really planning to transfer Salted Fish back to the transportation system?"

"It’s not our plan; it’s the superior’s intent."

Sister Zhu didn’t want to beat around the bush and smiled, "I’ve communicated with Director Zeng, talked with Director Zhou, and sought the opinions of Secretary Qian from Linghai and Mayor Shen. They all agreed that this is a rare opportunity not to be missed. As long as there is a position at the Changhang Bureau, Salted Fish should be transferred there."

"Would Zeng Xiang agree?"

"What reason would he have to disagree? It was said back then when Salted Fish was transferred over to form the anti-smuggling team."

"What about Secretary Qian from Linghai?" Wang Wenhong couldn’t help asking.

"He and Shen Fan are the happiest," Sister Zhu said, bursting into laughter. "When the transformation of Changhang Police is completed and Salted Fish is officially transferred back to the Changhang Bureau, at the very least, he will be appointed as a deputy director. By then, he will be in charge of the Fire Brigade and the Dongqi Police Station in Linghai, which means Salted Fish will have returned to Linghai."

"You’ve even thought about Salted Fish’s future assignments?"

"What do you think? You think we’re joking with you."

"Alright, I’ll consider the Water Fire Fighting Association as a dowry for Salted Fish. From now on, it will belong to the Changhang Bureau. We’ll convene a council meeting later; I’ll resign as president and let Salted Fish become president."