Han Yu didn't stay at a hotel; on the rare occasion he visited Hanwu, of course, he had to stay at Salted Fish's place, otherwise Uncle Liang and Aunt Liang wouldn't be happy.

Before, he only knew that Yu Zhen had bought a commercial apartment, but it was only after arriving that he realized it was located in the most expensive and upscale community in Hanwu, right next to Liberation Avenue, with an elevator in every unit. Salted Fish said the leaders and colleagues at the police academy were all very envious.

Uncle Liang and Aunt Liang spent several hundred thousand reluctantly, saying with their mouths that the same amount of money could build a big building in Bailong Port, but in fact, their pride and joy were evident.

They chatted till after eleven o'clock at night, mainly discussing the upcoming marriage of Salted Fish and Yu Zhen.

After the Spring Festival, both of them would reach the age considered late for marriage. Considering that there weren't many relatives back home and the wholesale business couldn't be too affected, they planned to hold the event in Hanwu. Then, they would buy boat tickets for elders like Old Qian and Old Li and invite everyone to come to celebrate and also spend a few days in Hanwu.

The young couple had been sharing a room for a long time; without getting married, who knows if they might end up having a child out of wedlock, so naturally, Han Yu wouldn't oppose.

After sleeping in the second bedroom for two or three hours, Uncle Liang, Aunt Liang, and Yu Zhen got up to go to the market.

Han Yu had slept for two hours on the flight from the Capital to Hanwu, wasn't really sleepy, and couldn't sleep well in a strange place, so he simply got up to go to the market and join in the hustle and bustle.

It was shocking to see that the Zheng Han Street wholesale market wasn't just one market but several trade buildings.

And it's not just clothes, shoes, and hats they were selling there, but everything from needles and threads to subsidiary food products, little commodities, apparel, footwear, and even home appliances.

There were more than thirteen thousand merchants just operating in the market, and including the merchants' employees, market managers, security guards, cleaning staff, and delivery workers, there were a total of fifty to sixty thousand people, with a daily flow of visitors and shoppers exceeding two hundred thousand.

Compared to this, the previously thought large-scale Sanxing Home Textile Market paled in comparison.

It's worth mentioning that nearly a hundred of the merchants were Linghai people, most of whom arrived earlier than Yu Zhen, and quite a few followed after hearing that it was profitable from Yu Zhen. They mainly wholesaled bedding and some operated industrial sewing machines.

That afternoon, in conversation with Deputy Mayor Shen who was very interested, he even called the person in charge of the Linghai Municipal United Front Department and the Chamber of Commerce, gave them Yu Zhen's mobile number, and suggested they contact Yu Zhen to see if they could help the Linghai people doing business in Hanwu to set up a chamber of commerce, emphasizing that most of their distributed products are from Linghai enterprises.

Leaders are leaders, with a high and far-reaching vision, always thinking about how to further improve Linghai's economic development wherever they go.

The next tasks went smoother than expected.

The person in charge of the waterway shipyard was very enthusiastic upon meeting the new client side, naturally, as it was a business deal of over ten million.

After re-signing the contract for the firefighting and rescue vessels, he visited Huang Yuanchang.

He had thought Huang Yuanchang might be snobbish, but instead of being aloof, he was very enthusiastic. Once the reason for Deputy Mayor Shen's visit was clear across the dining table, he immediately stated that he would take care of the approval matters.

As for the issue of designating three areas as waiting anchorages, inland river cargo ship anchorages, and ocean vessel anchorages, he had friends at the Waterway Bureau. In front of Deputy Mayor Shen, he called his friends, arranging to meet with them for lunch the next day.

Deputy Mayor Shen kept toasting wine, expressing gratitude on behalf of the Linghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

In short, everything in Hanwu was left to him to look after, asking him to unblock what needed unblocking and to take care of any needed arrangements.

Han Yu didn't sleep well last night at Salted Fish's place and tonight excused himself to accompany the city leaders by staying at a hotel.

After seeing off Huang Yuanchang, Han Yu couldn't help but talk about Huang Yuanchang while walking back to the hotel with Deputy Mayor Shen.

"Is there something unexpected?"

Deputy Mayor Shen looked back and laughed, "Actually, I heard about him from Director Zhu long ago. When he was in Binjiang, he wasn't very popular, but he wasn't particularly bad either. Just young and ambitious, feeling unrecognized with talents, even felt that the leaders were incompetent and lacked ability."

Han Yu spoke softly, "He's a bachelor's degree graduate, of course, he has capabilities, it's just... it's just..."

"Just that he's not responsible for his work, right?"

"When he was the Big Commander at Port Supervision Bureau Third Team, we hardly ever saw him."

"But as far as I know, he's done very well in Hanwu. The leaders of the Marine Bureau think highly of him."

Deputy Mayor Shen, looking at the surrounding towers, encouraged gently, "This is Hanwu, the biggest provincial capital in the central region. He went to university here, most of his classmates stayed in Hanwu, and even those who didn't manage to stay went to big cities like East Sea and Jiangcheng. You need to understand that university students back then were truly Heaven's Chosen Sons. If I were sent to Binjiang, I would feel the gap in my heart too."

Han Yu felt that wasn't a valid reason for not working well and looking up, said, "Mayor Shen, you graduated from East Sea Finance University, and yet you were also assigned to Binjiang."

"I graduated from East Sea Finance University, but I also came from the countryside. For me at that time, getting out of the countryside was already a change of fate, what's there to be unsatisfied about being assigned to the Plan Commission in Binjiang?"

"If that's the case, then the job assignment Huang Yuanchang got upon graduation was indeed not very good."

"It's not just not very good, but his job allocation was very unsatisfactory."

Deputy Mayor Shen smiled, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Salted Fish, you passed the self-study exam for the public administration major at Public University, do you know about the job placement situation of Public University graduates?"

Han Yu replied without hesitation, "I don't know."

"Have you ever seen a Public University graduate?"

"No, there isn't a single Public University graduate in Linghai Police Bureau."

"In fact, not only does your bureau lack it, but the entire police system of Binjiang City also doesn't have it."

"No way!"

"I'm not kidding you. You can check for yourself when you go back."

"Then where do the graduates of Public University go?"

"Public University only recruits so many students each year. After graduation, these students either stay on with the department or are allocated to various Provincial Police Departments, or they continue with postgraduate studies. They hardly ever make it to the city-level Police Bureaus, seldom even to provincial capital Police Bureaus, let alone being assigned to District County Police Departments."

Deputy Mayor Shen, while doing chest expansion exercises, continued, "Huang Yuanchang's alma mater is the equivalent of Public University in the Changhang System. If looked at purely from a job distribution perspective, it was indeed hard on him to be sent to Binjiang back then."

Yesterday, it wasn't only Director He who came to Hanwu. Zhao Hongxing from the Water Police Station also came along. They agreed to visit the patrol boat under construction tomorrow morning.

Zhao Hongxing is no longer the Big Commander of the Water Police First Team; he was promoted to Deputy Director of the Water Police Station last month. The former Deputy Captain took over as the Captain, while Luo Wenjiang is now the Deputy Captain and also the squad leader of the Water Police Fourth Squad.

Compared to his own position as the Director of the Port District Bureau, Luo Wenjiang's promotion was truly meteoric.

He became a squad leader as soon as his internship ended, and he was promoted to Deputy Captain in less than two years. The reason why he climbed the ranks so quickly is that he is both a university graduate from a regular institution and a selected candidate jointly recruited by the Provincial Party Organization Department and the Provincial Department.

This just goes to show how important education is for an officer.

It's hard to compare between people. Back in the day, I thought having a job was good enough, but from Huang Yuanchang's perspective, even the decent job at Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau didn't seem to count as good…

Han Yu was quietly reflecting when Deputy Mayor Shen changed the subject, "Although we've only had one meal together, it's apparent that Huang is quite obsessed with being an official. But such officers often thrive in the office environment. We'll definitively need his help in the future, so you need to learn how to interact with all kinds of people."

"Mayor Shen, there are some things I really can't learn."

"For the construction of the Port District, you have to learn, even if it's difficult. Besides, Huang hasn't offended you and, as far as I know, he hasn't offended your spouse either."

"It's not about whether he has offended someone or not."

"So, you have a prejudice?"

"It's not exactly a prejudice."

Han Yu glanced back and muttered, "Regardless, he was the Third Team Leader in the Port Supervision Bureau for a year. Although he rarely went to Bailong Port, every time he did, Xiao Yu treated him with great respect, after all, he was the leader. Later he transferred to Hanwu, and Xiao Yu also went to Hanwu.

Mayor Shen, you know what kind of person Xiao Yu is. Xiao Yu regarded him as a leader, a fellow Linghai person, and even eagerly went to seek him out. Yet, Huang Yuanchang wouldn't even properly look at Xiao Yu, acting as if knowing Xiao Yu was embarrassing for him."

Why would someone who doesn't like Binjiang and doesn't treat Binjiang as a second hometown recognize Xiao Yu as a fellow Linghai person?

Besides, someone like him who only cares about leaders and useful people, how would he bother with Xiao Yu, a police school instructor, who knows his shameful past?

Knowing full well how utilitarian Huang is, yet still trying to connect with him as a fellow hometown resident is just a joke.

Deputy Mayor Shen didn't want to explain any further, thinking it would only spoil Salted Fish. He simply patted Han Yu on the arm and said, "Salted Fish, Director Zhu is right, you don't need to be transferred elsewhere, just work within the police system. Just stay by the river, guarding the boats and that's a good life."

Han Yu is no longer the naïve child of a few years ago. With an embarrassed face, he asked, "Mayor Shen, did I disappoint you?"

"No."

"Really didn't?"

"Really didn't," Deputy Mayor Shen took out a cigarette and sighed, "Your master trained you guys well; being a bit simple is good."

"I'm not that simple," Han Yu scratched his neck and grinned, "If I were that simple, I wouldn't have asked you for leave recently because of my uncle and my brother's issues."

"That's a different matter."

Deputy Mayor Shen flicked ash from his cigarette and casually said, "Li Guangming really acted poorly. Even if he hadn't targeted you, the Disciplinary Committee would have investigated him sooner or later."

Han Yu couldn't help asking, "Does he really have financial issues?"

"From what I know, there are quite a few problems. But Secretary Ye also has his difficulties. You've seen how hard it is for the city to get things done on this trip I've taken you on. Therefore, the outcome of the investigation and especially the results of the disposition might disappoint you."

"Mayor Shen, what are you saying…"

"These past few days, many people with significant influence have been calling to greet Secretary Ye and Mayor Qian. However, don't worry, he won't be serving as the Director anymore, and he won't be putting on a police uniform again."

"I'm not afraid of him."

"I know, I'm telling you this to prepare you emotionally."

Deputy Mayor Shen fell silent for a moment before speaking with profound meaning, "The reason why he was subjected to the 'Double Rules' so quickly is because the Disciplinary Committee has been keeping accounts on him one after another.

This time, for the overall consideration of economic development, we are giving him a chance to reform. But that does not mean the previous issues are simply wiped clean. Should he dare cause any trouble again, we'll settle the accounts with him after the harvest season!"

...

PS: The whole family tested positive, showing mild symptoms. Sorry for the late update. Please understand, brothers and sisters.

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