In the early morning, a dense fog rose over the river.

The fog spread to the shore, enveloping Bailong Port, as if trying to keep the "Jiang Shen" passenger liner, serving the East Sea for decades, from halting its operations.

For most travelers, taking a ferry to the East Sea is both slow and inconvenient.

But for the villagers of Bailong Port, it would be quite inconvenient to go to the East Sea once the ferry stops running. After all, the passenger terminal is right at their doorstep; they can buy a ticket, board the ship, and arrive at the East Sea after a nap, and taking the ferry is cheaper than long-distance buses.

Principal Gao arrived, Zhang Erxiao arrived.

The former Director Chen of Bailong Port Health Center also came.

The village party secretary, the village director, and cadres and workers from the Bailong Port Lock Management Office came; almost everyone who could come did.

Many villagers who are nostalgic and have relatives in the East Sea bought tickets three days earlier, planning to take the last ferry trip.

Seeing Principal Gao, Director Chen, and other veterans taking pictures in front of the ferry, Han Yu couldn't help but recall the scene when he first started working at the Yanjiang Police Station.

Back then, Bailong Port was bustling, with Bai Shen, Bai Liu, Bai Zhuang, Bai Wu, along with the Bainiu Line's car ferry, over a dozen sailings a day, with boats running from morning till night.

The Bai Shen Line and Bai Liu Line carried the most passengers; tickets were hard to come by during normal times and even harder during the Spring Festival, giving rise to many scalpers.

But with the development of road transportation, waterway passenger transport has declined year after year.

Even with so many villagers taking the ferry today, the total passenger count is still less than five hundred. The Yangtze River Passenger Transport Company will definitely lose money, barely recovering the cost of fuel, so halting operations is unavoidable.

Xiao Yu wrapped up the handover with the Passenger Ferry Police Team, clutched a folder, ran to the shore, turned back to look at the onboard police, and said tearfully, "Salted Fish, Sister Ningning, if we had known Bai Shen was halting operations due to losses, we shouldn't have taken advantage and traveled for free."

Han Yu paused, rubbed his neck, and smiled wryly, "We rarely bought tickets when boarding, but we didn't ride much either."

Han Xiangning also felt reluctant for Bai Shen halting operations, muttering, "I heard the railways are losing money too; why don't they halt operations?"

"Now the land matters more than the water."

"The country is really something, spending so much on railways and roads, yet unwilling to spend on dredging waterways."

"Xiao Yu, the country isn't as wealthy as you think."

Just then, Chen Zikun and Zhang Ping approached.

Chen Zikun lit a cigarette and said heavily, "Secretary Han, I just asked Captain Yao. Captain Yao said after completing this trip, the ferry would be sold off to a ship-breaking company for dismantling."

It was expected. If it's not sold, maintenance costs will incur.

Han Yu remained silent for a moment and said with mixed emotions, "The ship can be sold, but what about so many personnel? If there's no accident, the halting of Bai Shen Line is just the beginning; Jiang Shen and Jiang Han won't last long either, halting operations is a matter of time."

Zhang Ping, having already experienced it once, felt increasingly upset as he thought about it and muttered, "Yes, with thousands of staff in the Changhang Passenger Transport system, how should they be arranged?"

"Salted Fish, the Marine Bureau also has several routes halted, how are the personnel arranged?" Xiao Yu asked curiously.

"The Marine Bureau is long gone, now it's called Zhonghai Group."

Han Yu took a deep breath and continued, "Zhonghai not only halted passenger liners but also several old cargo ships. As for ferry attendants and crew, some are transferred, others laid off; there's no help for it."

Xiao Yu pursued further, "Must they be laid off; can't they not be?"

"Some crew don't want to be laid off, but there are fewer ships now, and they are increasingly advanced; there's no need for so many crew on a ship. The superiors just let them wait at home, wait for rotation to board."

"Do they get paid while waiting at home?"

"No work onboard means no job, just a little living allowance seems to be given. Many crew can't afford to wait and have started seeking their own ways, otherwise, where would Zhang Asheng's couple find so many crew?"

... 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Old Qian also came, carrying a plastic bag full of tea eggs and greeted, "Salted Fish, Ningning, you came so early, must have skipped breakfast, have some tea eggs."

"Uncle Qian, did you cook these?"

"I raise native chickens, the eggs from them are smaller than these, these are from chickens fed with feed." Old Qian turned and pointed east towards the river embankment, added, "I bought these from Sister Liu, after selling all the eggs she boiled today, she'll be laid off. With no ferry, even if she sells them cheaply, no one will buy."

"It's not just Sister Liu affected."

"If we're talking about being affected, those doing business in Bailong Port started feeling it four or five years ago; folks are used to it and expected this day."

As soon as Old Qian finished speaking, Chen Zikun smiled bitterly and said, "The surrounding stores, probably within a month, will close, Boss Wu has prepared banners saying 'Store Closing Clearance', 'Low Price Handling', 'Discount Sales'. Those little stalls outside will pack up once the ferry leaves, and once packed up, they won't be back."

A century-old port halts operations.

From today, Bailong Port will truly become Bailong Port Village.

Han Xiangning felt particularly heavy-hearted, asking softly, "Captain Chen, what about you all?"

"The main force is moving to Sanhe, Xiao Yu and Xiao Chen are temporarily staying here."

"What about the dock?"

"At the dock, only one person will stay to watch the door, everyone else will go to Linghai Port."

"To Linghai Port?"

"Yes, going to Linghai Port for what?"

Han Yu and Han Xiangning were baffled.

Chen Zikun was momentarily stunned and asked back, "You don't know?"

"Know what? We know nothing!"

"It seems you really don't know."

Chen Zikun took a deep breath and explained, "Linghai Port has a major shareholder from Shenzhen, who lost money in the tourism and real estate investments and got entangled in lawsuits. Secretary Qian and Mayor Shen are worried that his debt disputes might affect the development of Linghai Port. So, under the coordination of Binjiang City leaders, they asked the Port Authority to purchase the shares of that shareholder."

Han Yu asked in shock, "President Xu from Shenzhen is out of money?"

"Yes, not only is he out of money, but he also owes tens of millions in foreign debt."

"So he transferred his shares to the Port Authority, meaning Linghai Port is now owned by the Port Authority!"

"Not just Linghai Port, Gaoru Port will also soon be under the Port Authority. It's said that the superiors are calculating the throughput of each port. Binjiang Port, as the largest port on the Yangtze River, doesn't have impressive throughput. The city leaders decided to merge and restructure, turning the Port Authority into Binjiang Port Group, with Linghai Port and Gaoru Port becoming subsidiaries."

"Are they using Gaoru Port and the soon-to-open Linghai Port to make up for the insufficient throughput of Binjiang Port's several docks?"

"Pretty much."

"So the Port Authority is about to become history too?"

Chen Zikun, being the Linghai Police Station Chief of the Changhang Branch, had a better understanding of the port and dock reforms than Han Yu, who had been busy combating smuggling and training water-based anti-smuggling teams, and explained, "The Port Authority will still exist but will separate government from enterprise, becoming a government department responsible for overall coordination, planning, and management of ports and docks."

Xiao Yu, who also knew some of this, couldn't help but interject, "As long as Linghai has a port, who governs the port doesn't matter. I heard that the Linghai State-owned Assets Office also sold Linghai Port's shares to Binjiang Port, so Linghai Port will have nothing to do with Linghai."

Let the professionals handle professional matters, and be able to cash out.

Han Yu was very familiar with Mayor Shen's tactics, having previously reacquired and sold the dock invested by two local companies. Now as mayor, he not only had to consider the development of the development zone but also the overall development of Linghai.

To improve Linghai's economic construction, money cannot be lacking.

Since the Binjiang Municipal Committee and Municipal Government wanted to make Binjiang Port bigger and stronger, he and Secretary Qian would certainly not miss this opportunity. Selling the well-constructed Linghai Port to the city could earn a big sum. Having a large sum of money could accomplish many things.

Han Yu realized that Xiao Yu wasn't just making idle talk and sighed, "Ningning, your senior brother really knows how to do business."

"He and Secretary Qian just know how to sell, sell, sell. I heard they've sold off all the sellable enterprises in Linghai, even the Road and Bridge Company is being restructured."

"What about the shipping company?"

"It's also restructured. They say it's restructuring, but it's really just selling."

So many people have been laid off in recent years; I didn't expect it to even affect Linghai.

Han Xiangning's evaluation of Mayor Shen was much lower than before, feeling that Mayor Shen only knew how to "sell off," unlike Secretary Ye, who had racked his brains for construction.

As everyone was chatting in low voices, a dredger sailed in from the western river surface.

Chen Zikun leaned over to take a look and smiled wryly, "The brothers from the Waterway Section are here. It looks like they're here to remove the buoys and navigational lights."

Stopping the ferry is one thing, but why would they need to remove the buoys and navigational lights?

Old Qian didn't know that removing the buoys and navigational lights meant that the North Branch Channel would no longer be maintained and would become a "natural waterway," so he simply changed the topic, "Salted Fish, Ningning, you rarely come back, stay for lunch at my place later."

"OK."

"Old Qian, don't bother, everyone come to my place for lunch!"

Boss Wu from the Linghai Shipbuilding Factory squeezed in and said excitedly, "Salted Fish, the first power boat is launched, you arrived just in time, come take a look later."

"It's launched so quickly?" Han Yu asked instinctively.

"A power boat isn't a big ship, just a little bigger than an iron dinghy. You'll know when you see it later."

"President Wu, how many have you built here?"

"I have three here, and President Wang also has three over there. We've built a total of six."

...

According to the ferry schedule, the Bai Shen should set sail promptly at eight-thirty.

However, the North Branch Channel was too heavily silted, and the water wasn't deep enough, so they could only wait for the tide. Finally, at nine-thirty, the ferry sounded its whistle and, spewing black smoke amidst great roaring noises, slowly left the Dunship.

For Han Yu, the departure of the Bai Shen Passenger Liner was akin to the end of an era.

He quickly adjusted his police uniform and shouted, "All present, salute Bai Shen, bid farewell to Bai Shen!"

At his command, Chen Zikun, Zhang Ping, Xiao Yu, and other Changhang Public Security Police officers, along with Han Xiangning and other marine law enforcement officers, all raised their arms and saluted the departing ferry.

Captain Yao saw it clearly and sounded the horn again in acknowledgment.

The entire Bai Shen Passenger Ship Police Team stood by the ship's side, returning the salute to those on shore.

The scene brought tears to the eyes.

Han Yu was in tears, Han Xiangning was sobbing.

Xiao Yu, Chen Zikun, and Zhang Ping were the same.