Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 1549 - 309: Looks Familiar! (Part 2)

"Alright, I’m heading out first.""Go ahead."

Han Xiangning saw off the Boss Lady and her cousin’s girlfriend, then quickly greeted her in-laws.

She used to work for Port Supervision, which made Old Han and his wife a bit scared of her.

Now, as the Standing Vice Mayor of Changzhou, they were even more on edge around her, feeling uneasy sitting next to their in-laws and hurriedly "reporting" the "work" from the past half-year.

"Last month, I made a trip to Huaiyin, and it felt like passing through many trials. We were fined the entire way. The local marine along the canal has become increasingly unruly, even fining our Linghai ships!"

"Dad, did you overload again?"

"No!" Old Han dared not smoke in front of his daughter-in-law, but when nervous or anxious, he had the urge to smoke. He said somewhat helplessly, "With the canal water level so low in the fall, our ship is large and has a deep draft. Even if we wanted to overload, we couldn’t."

Han Xiangning gave a stern look at Little Han Han, who was about to reach for food without following dining etiquette, and asked, "Then why did they fine our ship?"

"They’re nitpicking. If they can’t find any faults, they make us line up. With so many locks along the canal, if we don’t pay, they can make us wait five to six days at one lock. With three or four locks, that’s a month. They can afford to waste time; we can’t."

Local marine is a self-funded entity.

The local counterparts rely on fines for their salaries and even have revenue targets.

Han Xiangning disapproved of some local marine departments’ practices, but disapproval didn’t help. Just as she was unsure what to say, Master Han quickly changed the topic, "Ningning, can’t San’er make it?"

"No, there’s been a murder case in their precinct. He’s the Deputy Director in charge of Criminal Investigation and has to organize the investigation."

"Even busy, he should have time to at least eat a meal."

"He’s the Deputy Leader of the Special Task Force, and their superiors take murder cases very seriously. He can’t leave at this crucial time."

The in-laws go out at the beginning of the year and return at the year’s end.

They often pass by Binjiang, but to make more money, they had to just pass by.

Dayu only bypassed his home thrice. The in-laws did it so many times throughout the year, even needing to dock at some Binjiang ports for unloading, yet they never had the time to go ashore and visit their son.

Master Han knew the in-laws missed their son, laughing, "Why don’t you call and ask? He might have time."

"In-laws, don’t let Xiangning call. Since San’er is busy, just let it be; work is important after all."

Just as Old Han finished speaking, Mrs. Han anxiously added, "Xiangning, let’s enjoy our meal. We aren’t in any rush to leave this time; we’re waiting until after the New Year."

"Mom, I’ll call and ask first. If he really can’t make it, then so be it." Han Xiangning also realized her in-laws hadn’t seen San’er for a long time. She pulled out her phone to dial her junior’s number and said with a smile, "Dad, Mom, there’s still a month until the New Year. You don’t have much to do at home, so why not stay in the East Sea for a while?"

"Great idea!" Little Han Han immediately got excited and joyfully shook Old Han’s arm, saying, "Grandpa to East Sea, Grandpa to East Sea!"

"What are we going to do in the East Sea?"

"Help take care of Han Han, and we could also visit Sister Han Ning. The call is connected; I’ll take it."

Han Xiangning smiled, holding up her phone and asked, "Where are you? Can you come out for a meal?"

"I’m out interviewing for information, and I’ve just eaten."

"Where are you interviewing?"

"Ningning, where are you?"

"I’m at Chuanfu, and Dad and Mom are here, just waiting for you."

Han Yu, following a lead just discovered by Major General Jiang from the garment outsourcing company investigation, had just finished interviewing and leaving a store that specialized in selling export surplus clothes. Leaning against the police car door, he said, "You’re at Chuanfu, right? I’m not far. I’ll stop by to greet my parents."

"Alright, we’ll wait for you." Han Xiangning put down her phone, smiling, "Dad, Mom, San’er will be here soon."

"Why is he coming when he’s so busy?"

"Daddy, Daddy, I want Daddy!"

"Han Han, you’re being naughty again?"

"Mom’s mean!" Though there were many people at home, Little Han Han feared her mother the most. But with her grandparents back today, she was fearless, climbing from Grandpa’s lap to Grandma’s arms, hugging her neck and complaining about her mom.

Mrs. Han laughed heartily, and even Old Han couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing her daughter about to discipline Han Han, Master Han quickly mediated, saying today was a day for family reunion, with no need to be so strict.

...

Two manufacturers outsourcing for a Hong Kong clothing company; the person in charge of one has already been identified.

As previously suspected, the coats entering the mainland market were returned due to quality issues and redirected for domestic sale. The batch from the Gaoru manufacturer was small, only thirty-two pieces.

They opened a direct store selling off-sizes or export-returned products in the Gaoru District. The store took twenty pieces, sold six, with fourteen pieces remaining in the store.

As for who bought those six items, the store manager couldn’t recall, and the sales clerk couldn’t be reached for the time being; they’d only be reachable tomorrow.

An additional twelve pieces were wholesaled to a city foreign trade clothing store, selling eight, leaving four. Few customers were willing to buy such expensive garments. The Boss Lady carefully examined the victim’s photo for a while, confidently stating she hadn’t seen her before.

The Shuzhou outfit manufacturing enterprise is being investigated by Liu Guixiang. Liu had just arrived at the factory and had yet to meet the person in charge.

Progress was slow, and Han Yu was becoming quite anxious.

The police car arrived at the "Chuanfu Old Chen" entrance. He was in such a rush to greet his parents and in-laws before continuing with the case that he forgot to unfasten his seatbelt.

"Director Han, your seatbelt."

"Oh."

Han Yu realized his haste, quickly unbuckled the seatbelt, and left a "I’ll be right back" before getting out and heading into the restaurant.

"Brother-in-law, Uncle and Aunt, and Sister are all inside, and Han Han too!" Zhang Hongmei had been waiting, immediately approaching when she saw the police car.

"In a private room?"

"Yes, Sister called me yesterday to reserve it."

"You go about your business; I’ll just greet them and be off."

"Brother-in-law, wait, you’ve dropped something!"

"Dropped what?" Han Yu instinctively turned around.

Zhang Hongmei picked up the item, glanced at it, and smiled, "A photo."

"I’m so busy I’m always dropping things."

Just as Han Yu was about to reach out for the photo, Zhang Hongmei leaned closer to the lightbox to examine it and asked, "Brother-in-law, is this woman sick? Why does she look like this?"

"Not sick, she’s dead. Don’t look, hand it over; it’s bad luck to see."

"Dead!" Zhang Hongmei was taken aback and quickly returned the photo to her brother-in-law. Then, after thinking about it, she mumbled, "She looks familiar, like I’ve seen her somewhere."

Han Yu took the photo, walked a few steps, then suddenly turned back, "Hongmei, have you seen this woman in the photo?"

"I think so, not think, I’m sure I’ve seen her!"

"Where did you see her?"

"I can’t remember."

"Think hard, it’s crucial for Brother-in-law!" Han Yu couldn’t be bothered to greet his parents and in-laws. He immediately turned and led his little cousin’s girlfriend to the side of the police car.