The banks of the Yangtze River Lower were all striving for economic progress, engaging in construction. Building materials like yellow sand and stones were in high demand and short supply.

It's somewhat ironic to say, but I found out this morning that the construction units building roads in the development zone have all been purchasing sand from those shipmen on the river recently, even the yellow sand used in the Jianghai River Harbor construction project was bought directly from the same group.

Han Xiangning, having experienced the first "Eel Fishing War," was well aware that her junior was determined to deal with those sand miners, and was gearing up for a "Sand Mining War."

Whether there were related laws or regulations did not matter; if they waited for the superiors to enact laws and rules, the daylily could turn cold. In any case, if there was a chance to strike, they would strike, and if there wasn't, they would create one. That was the tradition of the Yanjiang Police Station.

She pulled out a chair and sat across from her junior, saying, "I just called our three new neighbors across the river and also phoned a friend from the Zhenjiang Port Supervision Bureau; they face the same situation and are aware of the dangers of such disorderly and frenzied mining. But they have no good way to handle the sand miners; the only thing they can do is to drive them away while reporting to superiors and local governments."

"What's the use of driving them away? If you push them elsewhere, will those guys stop mining?"

Han Yu rubbed his temples and inquired, "As for reporting to local governments and superiors, how long would that take?"

Han Xiangning helplessly responded, "They are not married to members of the police after all, what else can they do besides driving them away? My friend in Zhenjiang is even afraid to drive them away easily, those damn sand miners are like gangsters, threatening that anybody who opposes them will be dealt with."

There was a national crackdown just last year, and those punks still haven't learned their lesson. It seems another serious crackdown on the water is due.

Han Yu put down his arm, clenching his fist, "I'll have Ma Jintao and the others go back to rest later; we have to return to Bailong Port earlier today."

"For what?"

"To let Brother Ma and the others arrange things at home, and we need to talk to our parents too. From tomorrow on, we'll focus our efforts on clearing the sand mining vessels and personnel in Linghai waters. Prepare for a long battle mentally; we won't stop until they are completely cleaned up!"

I knew he wanted to go to war with those sand miners.

Han Xiangning muttered, "I don't want to go back."

"Don't want to go back?"

"Your dad, your brother, and Ji Xiaojun are waiting for my nod. It's not like we can't live our lives. Especially your brother and Ji Xiaojun, they have been doing well in the wholesale business; why on earth do they have to join your dad's excitement and even think about getting on the boat after changing ships?"

This was indeed a very troublesome issue.

Seeing others changing to bigger boats while his was too small to be competitive in transport, dad couldn't help but want to get a larger boat.

Big brother and Ji Xiaojun were caught playing mahjong by the Sanxing Police Station not long ago and have been constantly nagged by their wives. They decided in a fit of anger to get back to their old business, not only supporting dad in changing boats but even considering investing in it.

If you're going to change boats, switch to a thousand-ton one. Many old neighbors from the shipping company did just that together.

Building a thousand-ton steel boat would cost at least two million, dad only had a little over a hundred thousand, and an old small boat wouldn't sell for a good price now. Big brother and Ji Xiaojun combined only had a little over a hundred thousand.

They wanted to change ships, and everyone knew you had tens of thousands in savings.

They did not ask to borrow from you, but if you don't lend it to them, they will borrow from someone else, and people will definitely accuse them. Even if your hard-earned savings of over fifty thousand were lent to them, it wouldn't be enough; they'd still need a bank loan.

Borrow money, change ships.

Then borrow more money, change ships again.

If this continued, when would it ever end!

Mom didn't want to go through days of worrying about loan repayments and was firmly against changing ships.

Sister and brother-in-law were equally frightened by dad and did not support the boat change either.

Han Yu's position was also very clear; it's better to earn less than to take such a big risk. The thought of borrowing nearly two million from the bank scared him. With over a hundred thousand in hand, what couldn't be done? They could even pool more money to buy a commercial house in East Sea, and even get a registered residence...

But dad wouldn't listen to any of it.

As soon as you try to persuade him, he'll reply with clichés that you've heard a million times.

First, he said the Han family were shipmen, and the boat was the basis of their livelihood; they could lack anything but not a boat. You three siblings were all raised by my earnings from running the boat; you can't forget your roots just because you've made some success!

Then he mentioned how others had changed boats by taking loans; they all did, why can't we? How many individual boats on the river don't have loans?

Big brother is probably scared by sister-in-law's management, and wants to return to the freewheeling boat life. Ji Xiaojun's situation is similar to big brother's.

In short, now the family is divided into two factions, deadlocked on whether to change the ship or not.

But what sets us apart from other families is having a sister like you, a Port Supervisor, who not only has a say in the matter of changing ships but even has a veto vote!

Thinking that dad and big brother wouldn't dare to disobey his sister, Han Yu smiled and said, "What nodding? If you disagree, you just disagree, what's so hard about that?"

Han Xiangning sighed and said, "You say it as if it's easy."

"It's indeed a very simple matter, you just have to disagree, and dad wouldn't dare to make a fuss. Besides, me, mom, sister, and brother-in-law, we all support you."

"But that would offend dad and your brother."

"They are not strangers; is there really such a thing as offending within a family?"

"Because we're family, we can't afford to offend, would I be this troubled if it were someone else?"

"Ningning, think about it, if we really let them change ships, we will be handing over the money!"

"You think I want to lend them money? I've saved a bit through tight budgeting, and it's a fixed deposit; withdrawing now can only be calculated as a demand deposit."

"So you're saying let them change!"

"Your dad is obsessed with changing boats; your master's wife said he sits by the river and watches other people's big boats for hours on end. If we don't let him, he surely won't say anything out loud, but I can't imagine how he might blame me in his heart."

It's not easy to be a leader, and it's the same with managing a family.

Han Yu could understand his senior's dilemma and mused, "Just say mom won't let you agree."

Han Xiangning glared at him, "Blaming it on your mom, what a joke!"

"That won't do?"

"Of course not, you know your dad's temper as well as I do. If I push the blame on your mom, he's definitely going to argue with her."

"So you're saying if we don't let him change boats, this household will never know peace again."

"Do you need to ask? You're his son, you should know it in your heart."

"There are good days to live, yet he insists on causing trouble, making all of us nervous and scared. How did I end up with such a dad that's so worrisome?"

His old man used to be the party secretary of the Seaman team and the captain of a motor sailing ship, truly a man whose word was law. These years, he's been cursing daily over high-frequency radio on the ship, and his temper has not only failed to improve but has actually got worse. The more Han Yu thought about it, the more he felt a headache coming on, sighing while looking at the river.

Han Xiangning snickered and said, "Yeah, how did I end up with such a father-in-law that's so troubling."

Han Yu was amused and laughed, "How about we fake a divorce, Han Han comes with me, and the savings go to you. That way, we don't have to lend him money for a new boat. If he loses money later on, we won't have any losses."

"A fake divorce, I can't believe you'd come up with that!"

"So, what do we do? If you agree to let him change boats, you'll have to lend him the money."

"Old Qian also supports him changing boats. Your Master's wife said that Old Qian even flipped through his passbook yesterday, planning on lending money for it. If we don't lend the money, people will talk behind our backs."

"Why is Old Qian butting in? It's none of his business!"

"He gets along well with your dad, so naturally, he'll help when your dad's in trouble. He has his pension, and usually doesn't have much to spend on, plus Xiao Yu and Yu Zhen send him money every now and then."

Han Xiangning let out a soft sigh and continued, "I've talked to your sister-in-law on the phone, although she can't bear the thought of your brother working on ships, she's worried that he and Ji Xiaojun might pick up bad habits from the bosses in the market. Last time she visited Bailong Port, she said she wasn't supportive, but in fact, she is."

"My sister-in-law is worried my brother will pick up bad habits?" Han Yu was shocked.

Han Xiangning suddenly realized that her junior, like Xiao Yu, was a bit carefree, at least not very concerned about family, and could only patiently explain, "Business in the market isn't that busy. After helping to deliver goods, your brother and Ji Xiaojun have nothing to do and idle around."

"I really didn't know about this; I always thought he was busy,"

"What do you know?"

Han Xiangning retorted, then continued, "There's some truth to the saying 'men become bad when they have money.' Those market bosses have some cash in their pockets, and some of the bad ones indulge in eating, drinking, and gambling all day. Your brother always hangs out with those people, do you think he could be any good?"

In terms of security cases like gambling and prostitution, Sanxing Police Station has more cases than Southern City Police Station.

Han Yu realized and grimaced, "If that's the case, having my brother and Ji Xiaojun return to ship work might not be a bad thing."

"So we can only support your dad in changing boats."

"So, do we lend him the money for it?"

"Isn't that a silly question?"

"Alright, you call the shots anyway; you have all the money, so it's up to you to lend it or not."

"No sense of responsibility!"

"Who lacks responsibility?"

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

Despite having disciplined him for so many years, she had brought him up this way, and now it was too late to say anything—Han Xiangning secretly chuckled.

She got up and walked to the door, then turned back and said, "San'er, there are two things I almost forgot to tell you. Our bureau just received a notification this morning, saying that next month the Ministry of Transport is going to organize experts to carry out the completion inspection of the Binliu VTS System from the Yangtze River mainline between Jiangcheng and Liuhe Port."

Rome wasn't built in a day, and the massive investment in a VTS system was likewise.

From Jiangcheng to Liuhe Port, a 364-kilometer stretch of the Yangtze River Lower, a total of twelve radar monitoring stations and two relay stations have been built over the years.

Each monitoring station has a radius of control of ten nautical miles and can track, video record, and process data simultaneously, providing effective radar traffic control for ships on the river between Jiangcheng and Liuhe Port. The VTS system of Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau is part of this larger system.

As Han Yu was thinking that the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau could have their VTS system up before others, and that his senior had made a significant contribution, Han Xiangning continued, "Also, the segmental pilotage you've been talking about will soon be a reality. The superiors want to establish the Yangtze River Pilot Center in Liuhe, with pilot stations in Hanwu, Jiujiu, Wuhu, Jiangcheng, Zhenjiang, Jiangyin, Zhangjia Port, Shuzhou, Dacang, and here at our Binjiang.

Moving forward, all pilotage services will fall under the jurisdiction of the Yangtze River Pilot Center. Any foreign vessel coming to Binjiang or Jiangcheng, Hanwu, will be arranged by the Pilot Center to be piloted by a pilot for each segment, similar to a train driver's role. This is a big deal, and when the Pilot Center is established, the superiors will definitely visit."

With such an extensive stretch of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, even the most experienced pilot could not be familiar with the entire waterway and hydrological conditions, so segmental pilotage is the most scientific approach, ensuring the highest degree of navigation safety.

But Han Yu was well aware that his senior wasn't just talking about these two matters and chuckled, "When the expert group from the Ministry of Transport comes to inspect the VTS system and when the superiors come to Liuhe to inaugurate the Pilot Center, we can seize the opportunity to report on the sand mining situation on the river to the experts from the Ministry of Transport and the leaders of the Yangtze Navigation Bureau."

Han Xiangning nodded then shook her head, "It's not us who will report, but you."

"What do you mean?"

"Please, I'm just a small fry in the Changhang System. If I went running to the experts from the Ministry of Transport and the leaders of the Marine Bureau to report, how many levels would that be bypassing! If I really did that, how would my leaders and colleagues see me?"

"I'm just a small fry too."

"But you're not from our system, whatever you say doesn't matter."

His senior was about to become the Port Director and certainly needs to be mindful of her influence in whatever she says or does.

Han Yu laughed and stood up, "Got it."

Han Xiangning smiled and watched him, "Got what?"

Han Yu blurted out without hesitation, "Whether or not there's an opportunity to report to the superiors is one thing; whether it can catch their attention is another. I need to make use of the time to contact experts in water conservation, fishery administration, environmental protection, and also consult legal experts. We must present a solid report before the superiors arrive!"

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