New Year's Day arrived in a blink of an eye, and in a few more months, Hong Kong will be returned, with the whole nation looking forward to it.

The New Year should commence with new developments; starting from New Year's Day, the city leadership has been attending groundbreaking ceremonies in the Port District almost every day.

Groundbreaking for the Linghai Port Engineering began, groundbreaking for the Jianghai River Harbor basin began, several road projects broke ground, and Boss Wu's new shipyard broke ground... Turning on the television, it was all news about Port District construction.

Longgang Rice Industry, run by Huang Jiangsheng and Zhang Erxiao, also held its groundbreaking ceremony. Since the investment wasn't very large, Secretary Ye didn't come, but Deputy Mayor Shen did.

The Spring Festival was approaching, and this year the primary tasks were building walls and digging foundations, so there weren't many people working at the construction site.

Old Zhang is now the Deputy General Manager of Longgang Rice Industry, fully in charge of infrastructure. Huang Jiangsheng and Zhang Erxiao have been friends for so many years; Han Yu and Han Xiangning, no matter how busy, still wanted to come and take a look.

"You guys are also building a small dock?"

"It makes it convenient for grain collection. Without a dock, how would we unload the grain brought over by ships?"

Zhang Erxiao pointed to the river beach to the west, his eyes glittering with excitement as he said, "Director Miao said that the road could be built and open to traffic by the end of next year. We will build the dock once the road is open. If we build it now, the road construction team will definitely use our dock, and they'll be unloading sand and gravel. What if they damage our dock?"

Han Xiangning asked curiously, "Do you need to go through any procedures to build your own dock?"

Zhang Erxiao laughed and said, "We're by the river, not on the Jianghai River. Director Miao said we don't need to do any procedures."

The construction site was large, but there wasn't much work.

Looking at the blueprints, there were only two rows of a total of four large warehouses and workshops, a large expanse of concrete flooring for drying grain, and a two-story building for both the office and the dormitory.

Han Yu looked at the workers building the wall and asked, "Which construction team did you hire?"

Old Zhang smiled before Zhang Erxiao could speak, "A team from Liangzhuang Construction Station, managed by someone with the surname Chen. He isn't here today."

Over the past two years, Huang Jiangsheng and Zhang Erxiao had been major customers of the Liangzhuang Oil Mill; naturally, Secretary Lu would help Liangzhuang Construction Station get business when they wanted to invest in a rice mill.

Han Yu couldn't help but laugh and say, "Such a small project, and Liangzhuang Construction Station is willing to take it on?"

Old Zhang pointed towards the direction of Linghai City District and explained, "Although the projects here are small, Boss Wu's shipyard doesn't have many projects either, but Lin Xiaohui has a significant project. All three sites are managed by Manager Chen, and under him is the only team in Linghai belonging to Liangzhuang Construction Station."

Han Yu asked in astonishment, "Even the construction project of Boss Wu's shipyard is done by Liangzhuang Construction Station?"

Han Xiangning giggled and said, "I helped to make the introduction. President Wang of Liangzhuang Construction Station has even visited."

Old Lu really fought hard to develop Liangzhuang's economy, pulling strings and using back doors everywhere.

Then again, the geographical location of Liangzhuang was not as good as Sanhe's, being in such a corner, the economy could only be boosted this way.

As Han Yu was pondering, Old Zhang suddenly whispered, "Salted Fish, do you remember that Agent Li we met in Liangzhuang while working on a case?"

"I remember, he was suffering from cancer, undergoing radiation therapy at the Tumor Hospital."

"He has already returned to Liangzhuang; he's passed away."

"Passed away?"

"Died. I wouldn't have known if Manager Chen hadn't mentioned it. It's so fake, isn't it? When we went to Liangzhuang for the case, he was fit as a fiddle. It's only been a few years, and now he's gone."

Old Zhang sighed.

Han Xiangning also murmured, "I just found out too. He was transferred from the People's Hospital to the Tumor Hospital, underwent radiation therapy for a year. He suffered a lot, spent a lot of money, and in the end... The illness still couldn't be cured."

Her master passed away young due to cancer; Agent Li too had departed because of the disease.

Han Yu felt a complex mix of emotions and remained silent for a moment before taking out her phone to contact Old Lu.

Just like usual, after waiting for a few minutes, Old Lu called back. As soon as the call connected, Han Yu heard Old Lu's familiar Si Gang Mandarin, "Xiao Han, what made you think of calling me?"

"Secretary Lu, is your Liangzhuang Police Station arresting human traffickers, cracking down on the illegal crimes of trafficking women?"

"How did you know? Did someone from your hometown contact you again?"

"Yes, but that was half a month ago. I can ask for your help with other things, but how could I possibly approach you with this? I'm calling to inquire how you deal with those bachelors who have bought women."

Old Lu asked in confusion, "Why are you asking about this?"

Han Yu hurriedly said, "Secretary Lu, I've been too busy recently and haven't had the chance to talk to you, but I've been reassigned back to the Linghai Police Bureau. In our jurisdiction, there's also the issue of men buying women. We did some groundwork recently and found six cases, and all of them now have children, with two already in elementary school.

This is the first time I've encountered such a situation, and really don't know how to handle it. If I turn a blind eye, it would be condoning the purchase of women. To interfere would mean splitting six families apart. I've asked my bureau's leadership and the township leaders, but they all don't know what to do. It's a real predicament."

So, he was calling to seek advice!

Old Lu was amused, speaking with emphasis, "The nature of trafficking women is very vile; it must be dealt with decisively! I wasn't aware of this situation at first, but after finding out, I required our Liangzhuang Police Station to crack down severely. We've arrested quite a few traffickers, who have already been approved for arrest, and next they'll certainly face execution. Anything less would not appease the public outrage!

Regarding the situation you mentioned, we have it here too. If there's no buying, there'd be no selling. I'm very firm on this; find one, rescue one. To settle and console those rescued women, I assembled a workgroup with members from the Comprehensive Management Office, the Women's Federation, and the Youth League. We arrange for these women to stay in the old party school for temporary accommodation, and then deploy personnel to send them home.

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