Chapter 6: One Red Heart, Two Plans

Returned to the office, washed up, and rested for a while, then went to the small shipyard to find the boss.

The shipyard boss was very accommodating, agreeing to lend the place and repair tools, even offering to help drag the ship ashore.

Back at the station familiarizing myself with the work environment, there are four office rooms on the first floor, one is a reception room, three police officers have one each, Han Yu is now repairing ships, later he'll be operating ships, he doesn't need an office.

There are four dormitory rooms on the second floor, but only three beds.

The instructor said that Four Factory Police Station had surplus beds, Xu Sanye immediately used a walkie-talkie to call Four Factory Police Station, asking them to arrange for two members of the Cooperative Defense Team to bring a bed over.

He's just a chief of a police station, others are also police station chiefs, and moreover, they run a bigger station.

Unexpectedly, Director Qian of Four Factory Police Station was very polite on the walkie-talkie, not only agreeing to arrange for someone to bring a bed but also mentioning that they have spare desks, chairs, and cabinets in the station, asking if he wanted those.

How could Xu Sanye refuse? He had them arrange for someone to deliver those items quickly.

Previously, there were only three people in the station, so there was no cafeteria, making meals a problem.

The small shipyard I just visited was open-air, with only a few offices and storage rooms built with asbestos tiles, without a cafeteria, making it impossible to share meals with them.

Han Yu didn't want to cause them more trouble, he quickly said: "Director Xu, Instructor, I've been cooking by myself since I was six, my sister has a kerosene stove, I'll bring it tomorrow along with pots, pans, ladles, and rice, I'll cook myself."

"Kerosene stove is convenient, but the food it cooks has a kerosene smell."

"Use a coal stove instead, coals are not expensive, available in Bailong Port, it's just a bit troublesome to start a fire."

"It's okay to be a bit troublesome, my family actually has a coal stove, I'll bring it tomorrow."

Fearing that Salted Fish might find it troublesome, Xu Sanye laughed again: "Not only can it cook meals, but it can also boil water, no need for us to always drink tap water."

Li Weiguo emphasized further: "The cost of the coal is covered by the station, you don't need to pay out of your own pocket."

Han Yu didn't dare nor had the right to object; as they chatted, it was already four o'clock.

Xu Sanye kept an eye on the time, and as soon as it struck four, he had Han Yu push his bicycle to the roadside, and they waited for about seven to eight minutes; a bus from Bailong Port to Binjiang City passed by the police station.

Xu Sanye waved from a distance to stop it, greeted the driver and the ticket collector, first got Han Yu on the bus, then helped the ticket collector tie the bicycle to the bus.

There was no need to pay for the bus ticket, but due to too many passengers, there were no seats available, so he was arranged to sit on the engine hood next to the driver's cabin.

Han Yu felt embarrassed and was wondering how to express his gratitude when a person clutching a handbag started complaining.

"Having connections really makes a difference, they stop the bus with just a call, no need to buy a ticket, directly hop on."

"Yes, couldn't get a boat ticket coming back from East Sea, had to buy Black Market Tickets from scalpers. Arrived at Bailong Port and couldn't get a bus ticket either, been waiting since this morning to finally get one, what kind of world is this."

A bespectacled intellectual asked: "Did you also buy a Black Market Ticket?"

The middle-aged man clutching the handbag bitterly replied: "Couldn't get a ticket even after queuing for three days at Sixteen Piers Pier, had no choice but to turn to a scalper."

"How much did you pay for your Black Market Ticket?"

"Fifteen, same as you."

"Which class cabin?"

"Fifth-class cabin, what about you?"

"Same."

A woman joined the conversation: "Tickets are hard to get both ways. I went to the ticket office and asked, and the tickets for the next two days are sold out, even the day after is not available."

The intellectual asked: "You just got back and already planning to leave?"

"I just went to inquire first, whatever the date I need to buy a ticket."

"The tickets here in Bailong Port were also bought up by the scalpers, last time I went to East Sea I couldn't buy one either, had to get from a scalper as well."

"What's the price for a fifth-class cabin from Bailong Port to Sixteen Piers?"

"Same as over there at Sixteen Piers, fifteen."

How much does an ordinary worker make in a month, farmers face the loess back toiled all year only to save so much, a ticket normally costing little over a dollar now being flipped for tens, just thinking about it makes one furious.

A single stone stirred up a thousand layers of waves, as passengers in the bus talked about the difficulty of buying tickets, conversations turned to the unscrupulous scalpers, filled with indignation, they heatedly criticized.

Though tickets at Bailong Port Bus Station are hard to buy, there are several departures a day and you can almost always get one the same day, and there's no price gouging by scalpers.

Comparatively, Han Yu getting on the bus through the back door without paying was nowhere near as bad as those heartless scalpers flipping boat tickets.

Furthermore, the bus driver frequently glanced in the rearview mirror, the ticket collector was also wide-eyed, no one dared to further complain about Han Yu not buying a ticket.

Passengers talked from the difficulties of buying boat tickets to constantly rising prices, expressing various dissatisfactions.

Their focus was no longer on themselves, Han Yu who had been thinking of offering to pay for his ticket finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Traveling by bus is fast; in less than an hour, they had reached the long-distance bus station of Binjiang City.

Han Yu expressed his thanks, got on his bike, and went straight to the Port Authority dormitory.

His brother-in-law, Zhang Jiangkun, was already off work, preparing dinner in the kitchen.

His sister, Han Ning, works as a room attendant at the Sailor Club, didn't have to work the night shift today, got off work early, sitting under the electric fan discontentedly with her child.

"Sis, what's wrong?"

"Took a break at noon to line up at the department store for two hours, didn't manage to buy anything."

"What were you trying to buy?" Han Yu picked up his little nephew and sat down to ask.

Han Ning muttered, "Salt, soy sauce, soap, sugar, matches, didn't expect so many people in line, couldn't even get close to the counter."

"We have those things at home, we should be fine for a month, right?"

"Prices are going up, not going to, they already have!"

Han Ning took out the money and various tickets he had prepared in advance, sighing as he counted them.

"Our club's retail price for Moutai jumped from a few twenties per bottle to two-hundred-ninety-one per bottle. The price of Zhonghua cigarettes rose from two yuan per pack to twelve yuan per pack!"

Both their salaries were not low, but the money they saved over the years was either lent to Han Shen for his marriage or used to help his brother-in-law's two younger brothers.

In reality, their lives were tight; they had no savings and very little cash on hand.

Even if they could line up and buy something, they couldn't buy much.

Han Yu comforted her, "Sister, even if the prices of Moutai and Zhonghua cigarettes didn't rise, we wouldn't buy them."

Zhang Jiangkun laughed, turning back and saying, "Han Ning, San'er is right, even if the prices soar to the skies, it doesn't much affect us. My hometown doesn't lack fields. We don't have to spend money on rice or oil, and hardly need to buy vegetables."

Han Yu joked, "This is what they call having one worker and one farmer surpasses a wealthy farmer."

Having one worker and one farmer in the family was most advantageous.

But in reality, nobody wanted to be a farmer if there was an opportunity to change their household registration.

Specifically, in this family, only the mother-in-law had about 1.2 mu of land and a small plot for personal use, while the father-in-law was a shipman with an urban household registration and had no land.

A plot of 1.2 mu couldn't produce enough grain for so many people, as they also needed to contribute their share of public grain, and the remaining was hardly sufficient.

Luckily, they had many relatives, and two uncles would send over some rice every now and then, generally avoiding the need to buy from the food station, allowing them to exchange their monthly ration for food coupons and swap for other goods.

Despite waiting in long queues, they couldn't buy much supplemental food, Han Ning simply gave up thinking about it and asked, "San'er, what's the status of your job? It's almost September, and both university graduates assigned to the Port Authority have already been working for over a month."

"Have you met with any leaders?"

That was an important issue, and Zhang Jiangkun asked as he came out after covering the pot.

Han Yu quickly talked about the job but didn't mention the close call with almost being "returned" by Xu Sanye, as that would worry her sister and brother-in-law.

"Working at the Police Station is okay, but Bailong Port is too far. It would be better if it were in the county."

"Who wouldn't want to work in the county, but the grassroots level can't be left unmanned."

"The first year's salary is only fifty-three yuan a month; it's too low."

"That's just how it is in the county, even in the city, not many departments can compare to your Port Authority."

"Alright, I'll go help you pack your things."

Elder sister acts like a mother.

Learning that her brother would start his official job tomorrow, Han Ning hurried to help him pack bedding, matting, clothes, and a mosquito net.

Zhang Jiangkun then pressed for details: "What exactly will you be doing at the Police Station?"

Han Yu laughed, "Our Police Station maintains waterborne security; we have a tugboat that the Brick and Tile Factory owed to our shipping company. I'm the only police officer who can operate the boat, but I have to repair it before I can start."

"The Brick and Tile Factory's tugboat has become the property of the Police Bureau!"

"Yes, now it's our Law Enforcement Boat."

"Are you fixing it alone?"

"Others don't understand; I'm the only one who can operate and repair it. It's a good opportunity to practice. Once it's fixed and I've run it for a while, I'll ask the station to give me a proof of service so I can sit for the promotion exam."

With so many classmates, who could own their own boat right after graduating?

Wouldn't every graduate from the Shipping School dream of becoming a Captain?

Han Yu didn't think repairing and operating a boat was bad; he was actually very happy and excited.

Zhang Jiangkun, working in the port, knew how important the promotion exam was and hoped his brother-in-law could have a skill. He smiled, "You start fixing it, and I'll come help you check it on Sunday when I'm free."

"Brother-in-law, with your strong support, I won't worry about not being able to fix it."

"The main engine is the 6135 model; fixing a 6135 shouldn't be hard for you."

"I'm not very familiar with the ship's electronics."

"You fix the main engine, and I'll handle the electronics."

Han Ning, listening from inside the room, asked with confusion, "San'er, you're in the police now, why do you still need to operate a boat, take an exam?"

Brother-in-law knew about this, but the sister didn't.

He hadn't told her before because he worried it would concern her.

Now that the job was confirmed, there was no need to hide it from her anymore.

Han Yu looked up and explained, "I was worried about the job not being secured, so I visited Master Wu at the school. Master Wu has many friends and connections, and he has sent several of our school-trained crew members to large ships. The salary is very high, more than a thousand a month, making ten thousand a year."

Han Ning was shocked and stepped out to ask, "What company is it, with such good salary and benefits?"

Before Han Yu could answer, Zhang Jiangkun smiled and said, "The East Sea Shipping Company; they work on sea-going ships."

Han Ning came over and asked, "If boating pays as much as a year onshore in just one month, why not go?"

"They think I'm too young; they only recruit those over eighteen," Han Yu said helplessly.

Working in the police wasn't promising, the salary was so low, and it was far from "home."

Zhang Jiangkun felt his brother-in-law should prepare for both possibilities, smiling, "Work at the Police Bureau for a few years. Although the inland river Competence Certificate isn't valid on sea-going ships, there are still large vessels on inland rivers.

Once you accumulate enough service time on board, you can sit for the promotion exam. If there's a chance in the future, you could switch departments, working as a third or even second officer on a large ship."

…

PS: New book uploaded, request for rewards.

They don't ask for much, just fill the fan list to make it look good.