Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 812 - 554: Only Mention Linghai, Not Binjiang!

After finishing the "Eel Capture Battle," Han Yu’s next focus is back on the construction of the Reserve Camp, and today he’s at the City Government to ask for money!The funds for the construction of Linghai’s material reserve depot on the riverside are in place, and the warehouse will be completed in another month. But an empty warehouse is useless; it needs to be filled with flood control and emergency materials.

Yesterday, with the prospective Deputy Battalion Commander, Deputy Instructor, Administrator, Engineer, several Company Commanders, Instructors, and the Chief Engineer Old Friend Chen from the Water Resources Bureau, I worked out an urgent procurement list for emergency materials and a budget for the procurement expenses.

This morning, I first went to the Water Resources Bureau Director for approval. Then, with the application materials signed and stamped by the Water Resources Bureau Director, together with Master Chen, I rushed to the City Government. Under the guidance of staff Qiu Xueliang from the Linghai Municipal Government Office and Secretary of the Linghai Reserve Camp Department, I went to the Vice Mayor in charge of water resources, flood control, and drought relief for approval.

The Department Secretary is not the Party Branch Secretary but the Secretary responsible for documenting records.

At the company level, called a clerk, generally undertaken by warriors.

The Department Secretary is a cadre, and in active troops, the Department Secretary is generally a Lieutenant officer. Qiu Xueliang was a regular company transferred, and once the corresponding procedures are completed, he will be a Major Secretary of the Linghai Reserve Camp.

Having a government office worker like him around, there is no worry about not finding city leaders.

Since the amount of financial allocation requested was considerably large, exceeding the authority of the Vice Mayor in charge, it was necessary to get Mayor Qian’s signature.

Actually, this is a matter for the Water Resources Bureau and not much to do with Han Yu.

Because yesterday Qiu Xueliang took the opportunity to report to Mayor Qian, and Mayor Qian instructed Han Yu to come together with Master Chen today.

Han Yu was puzzled, not knowing what Mayor Qian wanted from him.

However, the matter proceeded smoothly. Master Chen submitted the paperwork requesting funding to Mayor Qian. Mayor Qian put on his glasses for a glance and quickly picked up his pen to sign.

Just as Han Yu was thinking that with Mayor Qian’s approval, Master Chen could next head to the Finance Bureau to allocate funds to the Water Resources Bureau, Mayor Qian suddenly looked up and said, "Master Chen, you go ahead. I need to talk to Salted Fish."

"Alright, thank you, Mayor Qian. I’ll take my leave then."

"Hurry back and have lunch; it’s already lunchtime."

This was Han Yu’s first visit to the Mayor’s office, but he didn’t have the mood to take in the surroundings. He thought to himself, you know it’s lunchtime, but I haven’t had breakfast, and I’m really hungry...

Mayor Qian, unaware of how hungry Han Yu was, leaning forward, curiously asked about the construction status of the Reserve Camp.

Han Yu had no choice but to report with a growling stomach.

"Interesting, if you construct it like this, our Linghai Reserve Camp will be a professional water engineering troop! If it comes to long-distance training or anti-aircraft targeting drills, you might not match others. But when it comes to flood control and emergency response, I reckon even the Boat Bridge troops may not surpass you."

"So both Mayor Qin and Mayor Shen jokingly say that we’re forming an engineering team."

"An engineering team is good; what’s needed in disaster relief is an engineering team. Last year, when the typhoon, rainstorm, and tidal surge hit together, I commanded at the Lingzhuang Car Ferry to heighten and solidify river embankments, organized so many Party cadres and Basic Civilian Soldiers, and eventually sought military assistance, with thousands working all night against the storm, yet only got so little done."

Mayor Qian, recalling last summer’s shocking scene, tapped the desk with lingering fear, saying, "If we had mechanical construction equipment back then, with a professional emergency force like your Reserve Camp, we could have done the work of thousands in just three hours!"

"Wasn’t construction equipment requisitioned back then?"

"Who wouldn’t want to requisition, but you know at the time the situation in Jiangnan was critical! All of Linghai had just three excavators; the large excavator from the Road and Bridge Company had long been requisitioned by the Binjiang City Flood Control Command, and the other two were sent to support the seaside. Secretary Ye was commanding flood control at the seaside, and they needed the excavator more than I did."

At the end of the day, it boils down to lack of money.

If there were financial resources, more modern construction equipment could be procured.

Thinking of Zhangjia Port’s better economic development compared to Linghai, yet during typhoons and floods, what they lacked most was still large construction equipment, Han Yu couldn’t help but nod.

Mayor Qian didn’t mention Han Yu just idly, and now that it’s lunchtime, not having Han Yu leave wasn’t just for idle chatter. Suddenly, he changed the topic: "Salted Fish, once your camp is built, you’ll be the stationed troops in Linghai. If Linghai encounters another flood disaster like last year’s, I believe you will definitely be the first to engage in disaster relief."

"Mayor Qian, the document says provincial military district approval is needed."

"I know, procedurally it requires an application to the Provincial Defense Command, which will then request provincial troops from the Provincial Military District. In the event of last year’s level of typhoon or flood disaster, the Provincial Defense Command and Provincial Military District would definitely agree, but such opportunities are probably rare.

After months of intensive renovation, with so much financial input, I have confidence in our Linghai’s Jianghai Flood Control. Even if faced with last year’s triple-threat of typhoon, rainstorm, and tidal surge again, our Jianghai Flood Control will stand solid as a fortress, and we can handle it calmly."

Boasting isn’t making it happen, and trains aren’t pushed.

Though late, mending the fold prevented more losses, with all of Linghai working tirelessly for several months, pouring in manpower and resources. The Jianghai Flood Control now isn’t like it was last year.

Along the riverside and coastline, it’s not just about heightening and reinforcing; main risky sections and harbor embankments, gate levees, and river passages are all permanently solidified with reinforced concrete, and stone bank protection covers two-thirds of the total coastline. As of today, 001 is still assisting the shipping company with transporting stone material fleets.

The Yanjiang Road built behind the river embankment is mainly gravel road, but it allows rescue and relief personnel and materials to be promptly transported to critical engineering sections, unlike last year’s muddy paths where emergency supplies couldn’t be delivered, and personnel had to struggle even to get to the river embankment.

The same is true for the shoreline of Changzhou, the development zone, and the urban area.

On the opposite side of the river, Dacang, Shuzhou, and Zhangjia Port, which suffered significant disasters last year, have been repaired to a higher standard than this side of the river. They can calmly cope with floods like last year.

Han Yu sighed, feeling that although their camp was well-prepared, it might not be needed in the future. Mayor Qian smiled with deep meaning and said, "What I really want to say is that if the superior calls you to support the brother cities like last year, you must raise the Linghai flag. You shouldn’t let everyone think you were sent by Binjiang like before."

"Raise the Linghai flag?"

"You are the Linghai Reserve Camp, and most of the officers and soldiers come from Linghai. Of course, you should raise the Linghai flag. What’s the use of using the Binjiang banner? Binjiang has seven districts and counties; who knows where you’re from in Binjiang?"

We are Linghai people, do we have a connection with Binjiang?

Han Yu realized and grinned, "Understood, Mayor Qian. Rest assured, if the superior indeed sends us to perform disaster relief elsewhere, we’ll only mention Linghai and not Binjiang."

"That’s right. The ones who constantly talk about Binjiang are definitely not Linghai people."

"I get it. Once I get back, I’ll find someone to carve the words; it’s like carving words on a cardboard, attaching it to the ship, brushing it with paint, and once the cardboard is removed, you can see various names and numbers of Linghai elements."

"Isn’t the Water Resources Bureau supposed to help you purchase life jackets? The life jackets should also bear the Linghai name. Details are important; we must let Linghai elements be visible everywhere. You’re a cadre in the development zone, and you should know the importance of external image. We need to take every opportunity to promote Linghai."

"Yes!"

The young lad didn’t know last year that whether he went to Zhangjia Port to assist in disaster relief or escort provincial leaders to inspect the disaster area, it was all done in the name of Binjiang, with no mention of Linghai.

What did Binjiang do? Binjiang did nothing and just took the credit!

The young lad knows now and will undoubtedly avoid last year’s mistakes.

Mayor Qian nodded in satisfaction and smiled while pointing at the phone on the table: "Also, let me share some good news with you. Just two hours ago, a large private shipbuilding company from Zhehai signed an agreement with Mayor Shen to invest and build a factory in our Linghai Development Zone."

Han Yu asked instinctively, "Is it the shipbuilding company that inspected the dock last month?"

"Yes, that’s the one. They built a 12,000-ton freighter on the beach without even having a dock. Now that they have a 100,000-ton dock, they can certainly build even larger freighters. It can be said that once they come over, they become a key enterprise for us in Linghai. You are the ’Binjiang Water Army Commander’ and are familiar with Port Supervision, Customs, and other units, so you should leverage your advantages to serve them well and attend to their needs."

"Does that shipyard want to buy our dock?"

"They don’t want to; they already did. The investment agreement was signed this morning, and they promised that the land use fee and funds for the dock purchase will be in the account no later than the day after tomorrow."

This is the largest income Linghai has received since spring.

Mayor Qian was increasingly pleased and couldn’t help but laugh: "As a member of the Development Zone Party Working Committee, you should know some situations. Introducing Cosco Shipyard to invest and build a factory in Linghai can be said to be making a loss to earn praise. The land was almost half-sold and half-gifted, and who knows when we’ll see profits or taxes.

But we can’t do without introducing large enterprises like Cosco. Our aim to develop the shipbuilding and ship parts manufacturing industries and port economy requires representative enterprises like Cosco.

With Cosco here, we can attract more related enterprises to invest. For example, this Zhehai private shipbuilding company is spending real money to buy industrial land and docks, and next, they will invest in large equipment needed for shipbuilding."

Selling land half-free to invite Cosco as a "patron", and subsequent merchants will have to pay real money for industrial land...

Han Yu was thoroughly impressed and couldn’t help but ask, "Mayor Qian, how much was the dock sold for?"

"Along with over 300 acres of industrial land on both sides of the dock, it was sold for a total of 23 million." Mayor Qian smiled and added, with a hint of regret, "Actually, we wanted to use the dock and land as equity shares, but the merchants were financially strong and insisted on buying without wanting to partner."

What industrial land? The sides of the dock were clearly river beaches, merely leveled, and the land hadn’t even been reinforced with concrete.

The only things that felt industrial were perhaps the colored steel fences used during last year’s foreign ship repair and a few temporary houses left behind.

The dock was repurchased from Boss Wang and Boss Wu for less than 10 million, and including a stretch of riverbank, it was sold for 23 million!

The city made a huge profit this time.

The two small shipyard owners will soon hear this news, and as Han Yu wondered how they might feel, Mayor Qian continued, "If I remember correctly, it seems it’s a retired police officer from the Police Bureau in charge of the dock. Since the dock will soon be handed over to Zhehai merchants, that old officer will no longer be needed there.

Considering that the officer, though retired, has continued to contribute along the riverbank, we can’t just send him away like that. Didn’t the Water Resources Bureau build an emergency supplies storage at your reserve camp, which is also in your camp area?

Once you return, ask the old officer if he’s willing to continue contributing by becoming the director of the Water Resources Bureau and Development Zone’s flood control and emergency supplies storage. The development zone could pay him a salary. If he isn’t willing, help figure out how to settle him."

It turns out city leaders are still humane, at least thinking about what Old Ding will do once the dock is sold.

Han Yu immediately responded, "Yes, I’ll talk to Chief Ding once I return."