Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 1088 - 709: The Grand Operation!

September 1st, the kids start school.

Zhang Lan has been eagerly awaiting this day with great anticipation, and is beside herself with joy, feeling a great sense of relief.

In the morning, she assisted Zhao Hongxing and other colleagues in catching some long-time VCD sellers at the ferry terminal. After having lunch at the Lingda Car Ferry canteen, she rushed to the Port Supervision Department on her light motorcycle, as usual, using the lunch break as an opportunity to hang out with Han Xiangning.

"Wouldn't it be better to take a nap at noon? You come with our car in the morning, return with our car to the city in the evening, and always come here at noon; you're practically becoming one of our unofficial employees."

"Did you know that taking naps at noon makes you gain weight?"

"Really?"

"I'm not kidding; I read about it in a magazine."

Being already twenty-eight and approaching thirty, Han Xiangning is now terrified of gaining weight, so she immediately sat up straight: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Starting today, I'm not taking naps anymore!"

Like Zhang Lan, she fears turning into an auntie. She stood up and looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the corner, twisting like a model to confirm that her tummy wasn't too big and her figure hadn't gone awry, and said with a smile: "I haven't eaten meat for many days, even though I want to, I'm too afraid to."

"You can't eat it; eating makes you fat. Sister Ling has told me many times, her previous experience is right there, and we should learn from it."

"Yes, let's persist, persist, and persist!"

The slogan sounds all too familiar.

Han Xiangning couldn't help but think of her junior colleagues, father, and sister far away at Beihu fighting the floods, and sighed: "This flood just won't stop. San'er and the others have finally sent away the seventh flood peak, and yesterday they're already starting to battle the eighth. Is Heaven really amused by all this, never stopping as the saying goes?"

The flood struggle has indeed been fierce. The news over the past half month has continually reported the heroic sacrifices of the liberation army, places flooded, and how many people have lost their homes.

A few days ago, a phone call to Director Ge revealed that the Linghai Reserve Camp had a dozen Reserve Soldiers sick, even Xiao Yu who seldom gets sick had a high fever for two days. Guo Weitao was even scarier, having contracted schistosomiasis which hasn't appeared in Linghai for years!

Zhang Lan was equally worried and asked as she sat down: "Have you called your dad?"

"I have."

"What did your dad say, will it rain upstream?"

"He said the rain upstream has stopped, but further observation is needed to see if it will rain again, and the water level at Jingjiang remains high. Even if it doesn't rain further upstream and Changyi doesn't experience new flood peaks, San'er and the others have to wait for the floodwaters to recede before they can return."

"How long will that take?"

"At least a week; the Yangtze River embankment over there is earthen and has been soaked in floodwater for two months, it's almost like papier-mâché. It's likely to collapse when the water rises or recedes. Also, the Hanwu Yangtze River Bridge is too low, its clearance isn't enough, even if the teams can return now, they can't pass under the bridge."

A week is a week then, at least there's hope.

Zhang Lan was both pleased and worried, and couldn't help but say: "Ningning, why not call Director Ge and have him buy your dad a train ticket to come back early, otherwise he'll say it's going to rain again just like in July."

"I'd like him to come back, but he won't listen to me."

"School started today, has Dongdong returned to East Sea?"

"No." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"He's not going to school?"

"It's not that he's not going to school; the principal asked him to continue fighting the flood, saying that tasks should be completed, to win the flood fight before returning to school."

Zhang Lan pressed: "He's going to start high school next; high school studies are stressful, what if he falls behind?"

While tidying up the desk, Han Xiangning said helplessly: "My sister said yesterday on the phone that the principal promised they'll arrange the best teachers to make up for any missing coursework when he returns. If he still can't catch up, they'll let him follow the class and treat this semester as a leave of absence. He'll continue with high school next year, and by then he'll surely catch up."

"Taking a leave is delaying Dongdong for a year, isn't it?"

"They said if he can't catch up even with tutoring, then they'll process the leave. They also mentioned the school has recommendation slots. As long as Dongdong studies well and his grades are decent, he can be recommended and will surely get into university."

"That's great!"

"Dongdong has earned third-level merit; have you seen any high schooler earn third-level merit?"

"Indeed."

Zhang Lan nodded, and then chuckled while asking: "I saw Director Ge's large scooter in the shed downstairs earlier; when did you ride it here?"

"I rode it here the day before yesterday; I went to Bailong Port to see Master's wife, remember?"

"Now I recall. Speaking of which, we shouldn't call him Director Ge anymore but respectfully address him as Mayor Ge!"

Talking about Old Ge, Han Xiangning emotionally said: "He worked for decades without being promoted to deputy director, and after retiring and going to fight the flood with San'er, he got the deputy director role. It highlights how opportunities are crucial in someone's life, but he doesn't seem to care much about the promotion."

"He doesn't care? How is that possible? Haven't you seen the city leadership's division of labor? Even though he isn't the Vice Mayor, what he oversees is more important than what most Vice Mayors handle!"

"I've seen it, I even called to congratulate him. You know what he said?"

"What did he say?"

"He said despite overseeing so many units, seeming to have great authority, the reality is unit heads only listen to the city head. In fact, the heads of departments like Transportation Bureau, Cultural Bureau, and Tourism Bureau only listen to Secretary Ye and Mayor Qian. If he took division seriously, organizing a meeting would only gather the deputy heads, while the main heads likely wouldn't attend."