Three in the afternoon, Changyu Shipbuilding Factory.

The open-air yard was a shower of sparks, filled with smoke and dust, and roaring noise.

The Water Anti-Smuggling Department didn't have other work for the moment, and Han Yu wasn't comfortable letting others refit his own anti-smuggling boat, so these past few days he rushed to the yard at first light, worked together with the workers, and by the end of the day his mask was pitch-black, his clothes blotched, and his hands greasy.

There weren't many refit items on paper, but the amount of work was anything but small.

When they did the design earlier, the ship design experts had drawn on foreign experience and fully considered the crew's comfort while sailing at sea, and the endurance requirement proposed by the General Administration of Customs hadn't been very high, so the fuel tanks, fresh-water tanks, and the compartments for storing food weren't large.

Practice proved that being able to sustain only seven days at sea was far from enough; Boat 825's self-sufficiency at sea could not be less than half a month. So under the premise of not affecting the hull structure and balance, they had to add two fuel tanks and two fresh-water tanks. That meant performing "major surgery" on the compartments below deck!

The bulkhead steel plates that needed cutting had to be cut out, and every bit of usable space had to be used.

When President Wang heard that Han Yu had come again and had worked a full day on the boat, he immediately changed into work clothes, put on a safety helmet, and came aboard.

"Secretary Han, why are you doing it yourself?"

"What's this 'doing it yourself' talk? You make me sound like some big leader."

"It's not like the yard has no workers; there's no need for you to personally take the field."

"I'd be idle otherwise. Besides, I'm only at ease with welds I laid myself."

The air in the compartment was bad, and Han Yu didn't want President Wang to stay inside. He took off the welding mask, set down the welding torch, handed the remaining work over to the yard's two welders, and climbed up to the aft deck with President Wang to get some air.

"Secretary Han, where are Guo Weitao and Xiao Gong? How come it's just you alone?" President Wang looked around and asked.

"Guo Weitao has something going on at home. Xiao Gong went to Binjiang with Xiao Yu to buy something; they said they were going to buy some things, but I was down on shore cutting stock at the time, the noise was loud and I didn't hear clearly what exactly they were going to buy."

Han Yu chuckled, took off his mask, unscrewed his military canteen, and took a big swig of water.

President Wang asked curiously, "What about Captain Jiang and the others?"

"They're on leave. Their hometowns are all out of town, so they're taking the chance to go back home for a visit. Once Boat 825's refit is done it'll be going on water anti-smuggling patrols, and by then they won't even have the chance to go home if they want to."

"With a leader as considerate of his subordinates as you, they're really lucky."

"President Wang, I'm not as good as you make me sound; I just put myself in their shoes."

"What about the Armed Police who assist you on duty?"

"They're like a revolutionary brick—get moved wherever they're needed. The Supervision Department transferred them to guard the warehouse at Berth No. 7 of Binjiang Port."

President Wang really missed the days last year when he and Han Yu went to Beihu for flood fighting and emergency rescue, and he laughed: "Secretary Han, let's eat together later."

"I can't. Once Xiao Qian and the others finish welding, and once Xiao Gong gets back from Binjiang with what he went to buy, I'm heading back downtown. I promised the kid I'd go home tonight."

"Go back after dinner. Let's go to Veteran Fast Food."

Go to "Veteran Fast Food"!

Han Yu also felt a bit of nostalgia for his old comrades. He weighed it for a moment and then smiled, "Alright, we'll grab a fast meal and drop by to see Uncle Ding and Uncle Liu while we're at it."

An anti-smuggling boat is not an ordinary civilian vessel; even when it's in a small dock someone has to stay aboard.

If Xiao Gong didn't come back, the two of them couldn't leave.

Han Yu went ashore first to call his mother-in-law and tell her he wouldn't be home for dinner, then went to the yard's bathhouse to shower and change.

There was oil embedded under his fingernails, and no matter how he scrubbed it wouldn't come clean.

Han Yu didn't want to keep President Wang waiting, so he simply stopped scrubbing, pulled on clean clothes, and went to the general manager's office, where he drank tea and chatted with President Wang while waiting for Xiao Gong to come back.

President Wang was very interested in the Yangtze River Bridge project and asked in puzzlement, "Secretary Han, your Chief Han has already taken office. A few days ago I ran into Chief Ding, and he said Chief Han was transferred to the Changzhou Maritime Office precisely because of the plan to build the Yangtze River Bridge. She's been in her new post almost twenty days now, but there's no sign of groundbreaking, and they don't seem to have held a foundation-laying ceremony either."

The three Southern Three Counties of Binjiang had extensive economic exchanges with cities like East Sea and Guzhou across the river, and many residents even had relatives on the opposite bank.

Right now everyone was concerned about the bridge's construction and hoped it would be completed and open to traffic as soon as possible.

President Wang's younger sister had married into Shuzhou on the opposite bank, so it was natural for him to care.

Han Yu didn't want to dampen his spirits, but as an old comrade-in-arms from the Linghai Reserve Camp he couldn't not tell the truth. He could only smile wryly and say, "Building a bridge is nowhere near that simple. At the start I also thought work would begin soon, but it wasn't until I went to a meeting at the 'Bridge Office' a few days ago that I learned the 'approval' the city talks about is only that the National Development and Reform Commission has approved the project proposal for the Yangtze River Highway Bridge."

President Wang half understood and half didn't, and asked, "Does that basically mean the project has been formally registered with the National Development and Reform Commission?"

"I don't really understand either. I only know that once the National Development and Reform Commission approves the project proposal, the next step is to organize bidding for the design, and to commission technically capable entities to handle things like design consulting and review."

"Once the drawings are ready, doesn't that mean you can start construction?"

"It's not that simple."

Han Yu thought about what the city leaders had said at the meeting, and smiled: "Designing the Yangtze River Bridge is not like ship design; there's no way it'll be fast. After the design is finished, you have to have China International Engineering Consulting Corporation review the project feasibility study report, and only after it passes can it be submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval."

Building the Yangtze River Bridge at Binjiang was different from building one at Jiangcheng.

The river span at Binjiang was wide, and the bridge would be very long.

The Yangtze River waterfront section at Binjiang is part of the Yangtze River's golden waterway, and building a bridge across the river has to take into account the navigation of large cargo ships. That means the bridge will not only be very long, but also very high.

President Wang realized that you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry; construction of the Yangtze River Bridge was not something that could be done overnight. He smiled bitterly and asked, "So you're saying the design alone will probably take a year or two?"

"It's possible."

"Once the feasibility report is cleared and the National Development and Reform Commission's approval is in place, then you can start work, right?"

"No."

"There are still more procedures?" President Wang asked in astonishment.

Han Yu smiled as he confirmed, "Having the feasibility report approved by the National Development and Reform Commission is only the beginning. It still has to get passed at an executive meeting of the National Council. According to the timetable the city has set, once the National Council gives its approval, Yangtze River Bridge Co., Ltd will be established. Once all that is in place, the Ministry of Transport and the EPA still have to carry out all sorts of reviews and approvals on the bridge's engineering design drawings."

"You need an environmental impact assessment to build a bridge too?"

"Seems so."

"So it's still a long way from breaking ground!"

"I've heard the funding hasn't been secured yet either."

"For a while there the TV, newspapers, and radio were talking every day about building the bridge, but after all that fuss it still hasn't entered a substantive phase. Got my hopes up for nothing."

"Not for nothing. Ningning says it's already entered the substantive phase."

"Isn't the design not even done yet?"

Han Yu smiled as he explained, "You have to do a geological survey before you put up a high-rise; building the Yangtze River Bridge needs surveying even more. If the design institute doesn't have survey data on geology, water flow, and so on, how are they supposed to design it?"

President Wang asked instinctively, "You're starting the survey right away?"

"Yeah. The survey team will enter the site in a few days. They won't need Ningning for the onshore work, but once they go out on the river she has to keep an eye on it—she has to make sure they're safe, and also make sure navigation stays safe."

"No wonder the Maritime Bureau transferred your Han so early to Changzhou. Turns out even the early-stage work can't do without Maritime support."

"Protecting the bridge construction is mainly the job of Maritime and police. On the police side, the Water Police Station is in charge of security; the Changhang Bureau works with Maritime to handle navigation safety and water firefighting."

...

While they were talking, the sound of a car engine came from outside.

He poked his head out and saw that it was Xiao Yu and Xiao Gong coming back, driving the old jeep that the Changhang Bureau had assigned to the Linghai Police Station Bailong Port Police Station.

"You two sneaking around like that, what did you go buy in town?"

"A computer!"

"Who bought a computer?"

"Me!" Xiao Yu jumped out of the driver's seat, pulled open the back door, pointed at the three boxes piled on the back seat, and asked proudly, "Salted Fish, want to take a look?"

"Yu Zhen asked you to go buy it?"

"What do you mean she asked me to buy it, I bought it myself!"

Was this for real?

You didn't even finish primary school; whichever way he looked at you, you didn't seem like someone who used a computer.

Han Yu found it unbelievable, like the sun had risen in the west. He couldn't help laughing as he asked, "You bought it yourself—where'd you get the money?"

"My salary. How could I not have money?"

"You don't hand in your salary?"

"I used to give my pay to Yu Zhen. Later she got so busy she stopped asking me for it, so I stopped giving it to her. Besides, things are different now—now they pay salary directly to the card, I don't even need to go to the bank to deposit it."

Yu Zhen definitely didn't forget because she was busy; she just didn't think that little bit of his salary was worth bothering about.

Other people rely on their salary to support their family, and some even have to use it to pay off a mortgage.

He'd gotten lucky and married a wife who could really make money—his salary had actually become pocket money!

Han Yu was honestly a little envious. He asked sourly, "Does Yu Zhen know you bought a computer?"

"She knows. She doesn't care what I do."

"Then what're you buying a computer for? Croc is still so little. Isn't it a bit early to be teaching Croc how to use a computer?"

"I didn't buy it for Croc, I bought it for myself. I'm going to use it."

"You're going to use a computer?"

"Yeah." Xiao Yu glanced back at Xiao Gong, grinned, and said, "I've already called the telecom company. They'll send someone to my place tomorrow to install a modem."

"Install what modem?"

"The modem for going online!"

"Go online for what? And what does going online have to do with a modem?"

His immediate superior was behind the times—he didn't even know what a "modem" was for…

Xiao Gong held back a laugh and explained, "Secretary Han, a modem is what you use to get on the international Internet. One end plugs into the phone line, the other end goes into the computer, and then the computer can connect to the international Internet."

Han Yu froze for a moment, then stared at the buddy he'd grown up playing with and asked in astonishment, "Xiao Yu, you're going to get on the international Internet?"

"What's wrong with going online? In a few days it'll be the 21st century. If you can't use a computer and can't get online, you'll fall behind and be eliminated by the times!" Xiao Yu said it with a clear conscience, face full of pride.

This time Han Yu really felt like the sun had risen in the west. He couldn't help asking, "You really know how to get online?"

"Sure. I've got more than a dozen online friends."

"You make friends on the Internet?"

"What's wrong with making friends? Xiao Gong's got online friends, Old Guo does too. Almost forgot—me, Xiao Gong, and Old Guo are online friends with each other as well."

This was too far-fetched.

If Xiao Gong said he could go online and make friends on the Internet, Han Yu believed it—after all, he'd been into computers early on, even spending so much money to subscribe to China Computer News.

But Xiao Yu saying he could go online and had made a dozen friends there—Han Yu would never believe that. He looked at him with a smile and asked, "So how do you make friends with people? How do you communicate with them?"

"Typing, chatting. As long as there's chat software on the computer, you can add friends and talk to people!"

"You know how to type?"

"I didn't go to school, but it's not like I'm illiterate. Typing is easy—'Wang pang qing tou jian wu yi, tu shi er gan shi cun yu'… Salted Fish, don't tell me you don't even know how to type?"

Fuck, I really don't.

When did this kid learn it, and how the hell did he even manage to learn?

Han Yu didn't know what to say, and Xiao Yu chuckled, "You can't get on the Internet here at President Wang's, but you can at Qian San's place. Salted Fish, if you don't believe me, I can go to the computer room Qian San just opened and get online, type a bit, and show you."

Xiao Yu, who'd never even been to primary school, and Guo Weitao, who'd gone to a performing troupe to train as an acrobat at the age of five, had actually learned to type, and could even get on the Internet to make friends and chat with people from all over the country!

Han Yu was shaken. He really felt like he'd been eliminated by the times. Half skeptical, he followed them to the computer room that Qian San's wife had just opened and watched Xiao Yu in action.

He hadn't known before, but once he saw it, he couldn't help laughing.

He really could type, and he really could get online—but he was even better at gaming!

His computer skills weren't learned by studying; they were learned by playing.

There were three guys in the computer room playing a war game called Red Alert. Xiao Yu's interest was immediately piqued; he "allied" with one of the young workers from a nearby factory and played two-on-two, having a blast. It did look pretty fun.

"Secretary Han, Xiao Yu's not bad—he really can do it, hahaha." After watching for a while, President Wang couldn't help laughing.

Han Yu scratched his neck and said, with a bit of awkwardness, a bit of envy, and a bit of admiration, "Looks like interest really is the best teacher—you play and play, and you end up playing your way into it."