Binjiang Police Affairs

"When we confiscated your boat this morning, why didn't you say anything?"

"In the morning, there were so many people on the river, you were checking not only our boats but others as well. We didn't dare speak out in front of outsiders, afraid it might make things difficult for you."

Thinking about my well-being... what is this all about...

Han Yu couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration as he checked their fisherman's licenses again.

Li Shuisheng used to get along well with Xiao Yu's family and had even eaten at Xiao Yu's house. He was braver than the other two; turning to look at Ma Jintao, who was trying so hard not to laugh, Li Shuisheng couldn't resist asking, "Director Han, I know you and Chief Han are a couple. Can you please talk to Chief Han on our behalf? We accept the fine and are willing to pay. Can you have it processed a bit faster?"

"You guys have something going on?"

"We spent over three hundred thousand to switch boats, and we don't have that much money. We couldn't secure a loan, so we borrowed from relatives and friends. We promised to borrow only for three months; we can't afford any delay!"

"You want to settle this quickly so you can go back to sand mining on the river to make money?"

"Yeah."

"..."

"Director Han, Captain Ma, we won't let your help go unrewarded."

Li Shuisheng and his two partners had agreed on their plan early on. Seeing that there were no outsiders in the duty room, he hurriedly opened an old leather bag, took out a stack of money—roughly five to six thousand by the looks of it—stood up, walked over to Han Yu, and, with a sycophantic smile, tried to stuff the money into Han Yu's pocket.

Three honest and simple fishermen had learned to offer bribes, and their first attempt was a hefty sum of five to six thousand; it was evident how profitable sand mining could be.

Han Yu had enough, pushing him away with one hand, "Li Shuisheng, what do you think you're doing?"

"Just a small token of appreciation."

"There's no one else here, Director Han. Besides, with so many people from Port Supervision on the neighboring boats, you can't just help us out without receiving something in return, surely?"

"Director Han, this is for this month, and there'll be more next month."

"More next month? Paying protection money, huh? Who did you learn this from?"

"We haven't learned it from anyone. Director Han, you have so many subordinates, and Chief Han also seems to have quite a few people. If it's not enough, I've got another three thousand here!"

Han Yu had seen people offering bribes before, but never anyone doing it so righteously and with such generous donations. This was a first for him.

Even three fishermen with little exposure to the world were capable of this, making Han Yu realize how difficult it would be to combat illegal sand mining.

"Li Shuisheng, since you know Xiao Yu, you should have heard about what kind of person I am. Let's not even mention that I would never accept your money; even if Xiao Yu were here, he wouldn't take it either."

Han Yu took a deep breath and continued, "Thinking of paying your way out of trouble, expecting us to turn a blind eye—it's just not possible! Now that you've switched to sand mining, I guess you must have done your fair share of illegal eel fry fishing before. You should know that there is no such thing as compromises with me."

"It's not the same as eel fry fishing."

"What's the difference?"

"Eel fry fishing is not allowed by the state, but the state hasn't forbidden sand mining. If you don't believe me, go upstream and look around Zhangjia Port, Jiangyin, Zhenjiang, and Yangzhou; there are lots of sand mining boats there."

"Who told you that the state allows you to mine sand?"

"That's what the Bosses on the river all say."

They didn't just lack legal knowledge; they could barely read.

Han Yu didn't have the patience to educate them on the law and, out of curiosity, asked, "How did you come up with the idea to pool money together to buy a boat for sand mining?"

Li Shuisheng looked back at his two partners, hesitated for a moment, then said, "There are fewer and fewer fish in the river, and the inland river doesn't have much either. Many rivers have been contracted out. We couldn't survive just by fishing, so we worked on other boats and saw how profitable sand mining could be. That's why we pooled our money together and got a sand mining boat."

"When did you get the boat and start sand mining?"

"We just got the boat ready last month and started mining for less than a month."

"Have you made back the investment?"

"No, but as long as we can safely mine enough to cover our costs, that's soon enough."

"So you're saying that sand mining makes money quickly."

Li Shuisheng grinned and said: "The risks are also high, anyway, making a living on the river is never easy."

Han Yu pressed further: "What risks?"

"Port Supervision inspections, but actually Port Supervision isn't really the issue, at most they fine you, the fear is encountering the black society."

"Is there a black society on the river?"

"We Linghai people don't have one, your Yanjiang Police Station has cracked down several times, who would dare to engage in black society activities in Linghai? Upstream they have it, the sand upstream is more abundant and of better quality than here in Linghai. We dare not mine there, worried about encountering the black society."

"Knowing that sand mining bears risks, why do you insist on doing it? Wouldn't doing something else be better?"

"We've always made our living on the river, we don't know anything else, we're uneducated, fishing doesn't make much money, and neither does labor work, what else can we do besides this?"

Han Yu picked up the money he had placed on the table, walked over, and stuffed it into his old leather bag, then addressed the three men: "You treat me as one of your own and share these things with me. I do the same and want to speak frankly to you.

Legal sand mining requires permission from the relevant departments. Our Linghai authorities have neither the power nor the possibility to approve it, meaning you definitely won't get a mining permit, so you should forget about mining sand in Linghai in the future. The same goes for Dongqi and Changzhou – a ban on mining is only a matter of time."

Li Shuisheng asked with a bitter face: "Not allowed to mine?"

"Don't believe me? Just wait and see, it doesn't matter who it is, mine once and see if I don't arrest you each time!"

Han Yu knocked on the table, then abruptly changed the topic: "Listen to my advice, change professions sooner rather than later. At least in Binjiang, sand mining is impossible. If you really must mine, you can only go upstream. As you just said, mining upstream is riskier, and even if you're lucky enough not to be caught by Port Supervision, you'll still encounter the black society."

"But we spent over three hundred thousand just on the boat!"

"Director Han, if we listen to you and sell the boat to someone else, they will still mine."

"Yes, Director Han, sand mining isn't like committing murder or arson. Besides, they're building roads and houses everywhere onshore. As long as there is construction, they need sand. If nobody mines, what will they use for construction?"

They've already tasted the sweetness of quick money, and no matter what you tell them now, it won't persuade them.

But Han Yu still felt that they were different from that Wang Xingchang he had just met; they were terrified of poverty and indeed had few alternatives.

In dealing with the issue of sand mining, both blockage and relief are necessary.

Han Yu weighed his options and then pulled out a chair to sit in front of them: "You just said that you can't live without sand mining. Considering your large investment, I can suggest another path for you."

"What path?"

"The city is currently constructing Linghai Port, and this Dunship right here is part of the Linghai Port Engineering Construction Command. There are filling projects for building docks and dredging projects for dedicated waterways. Even the shipyards being built in several Cha Ports need dredging; they want to convert the Cha Ports into dry docks."

Han Yu paused then continued: "If you're interested, I could help you contact the Waterway Engineering Bureau, the Marine Engineering Bureau, and the shipyards. Your sand mining vessels could easily be converted into construction vessels to participate in the construction. Later on, they'll settle with you based on the volume of dredging and filling. Although it's not as profitable as mining sand, it's legitimate and legal, and you won't have to live in constant fear."

Having found a lucrative path, it was not easy for Li Shuisheng to listen to persuasion. He pondered for a moment before saying: "What do we do once the Linghai Port project is finished?"

"There are plenty of dredging projects on inland rivers, too. You were undocumented before, but now you're Linghai people. I believe the City Committee and Municipal Government will certainly take good care of a special group like you."

"Director Han, it's not that we fail to appreciate your kindness, but we know our own capabilities. People like us, how can we handle construction projects?"

As soon as Li Shuisheng finished speaking, the other two looked up and said: "I know about construction work, the work may be easy but getting paid is hard."

"Especially for government projects, the money is hardest to get."

"Without pay and having to cover fuel costs, no amount of money is enough to keep pouring in."

"..."

Han Yu realized that talking further was futile; once someone has tasted the fast money, who would willingly go back to earning hard money.

Ma Jintao also realized that Xiao Yu's three "neighbors" were determined to continue sand mining, so he simply knocked on the door: "We've said all the good and bad to you. Since you're stubborn, go back to your boat and wait for the consequences."