Chapter 365: Ten Years

After the usual morning routine and exercise, it was a rare sight to see Miss Bai sitting on the sofa with a glass of warm water, wearing her pajamas. Though she was nearing thirty and a mother of four, her figure remained slender and her beauty undiminished.

"Oh, Miss Bai, why are you up so early today?"

"It's because I was worried about you. Yesterday's events were such a scene; I spent the whole day worrying."

Miss Bai wasn't stupid. When a high-ranking official like Maxwell came to the house yesterday and wouldn't let her or the children go out, it was obvious her man had stirred up trouble. It was only natural to be worried. As for why she was worried yet still slept so early—well, she had been anxious all day, and after the mental exhaustion, sleeping early was normal...

Mostly, while she didn't know the specifics, she had a vague understanding of her husband's capabilities. She knew that while she had never fully seen through him, he never did anything without being certain of the outcome. So far, she hadn't seen a situation spiral out of his control to the point where he would be flustered. Thus, her worry was merely symbolic; waking up so early was simply because she had slept well.

As for why she slept early, it was likely more because she had spent the whole day at home with the children, being driven crazy by them...

Regarding his partner, Wang Yan probably understood her better than she understood herself. He chuckled and poured himself a glass of water: "What was there to worry about? It was all handled long ago. I didn't want to disturb your sweet dreams, so I kept the bed to myself."

"You didn't even think to call and tell me." After a small complaint, Miss Bai asked, "So, how was it finally resolved?"

"A comprehensive investigation into all past cases. Not a single person will be spared."

"Then you must put in the effort. It wouldn't be too much to have those animals put to death."

Wang Yan shook his head: "It's not that easy. They have laws, and many of them haven't reached the point of a death sentence. In the end, it's mainly about compensation for the victims and their families."

"That's good too. Reaching this point isn't bad; at least it gives them some closure." Miss Bai sighed and said, "Why don't we help them further? Give them some money, or provide jobs? Doesn't Long Teng have a dedicated charity arm? It would be perfect to help them out."

"That's not good. This isn't a problem of money, but of justice. Even if we help, have you thought about how they've lived all these years? Their living conditions might even be better than others." Looking at the pouting Miss Bai, Wang Yan changed the subject: "But there are certainly some who are truly poor. We can help those people, provide them with jobs and the like. I'll leave this matter to you. When the time comes, have someone look into their family conditions and understand the situation. Your milk tea, cosmetics, and clothing businesses should be able to accommodate them. See how you want to handle it."

Miss Bai had a great head for business. Over the years, not only had her milk tea shops spread across the bustling areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon, but they had also landed in nearby Taiwan, Japan, and various countries and regions in Southeast Asia. Women understand women; referencing the situation in Europe and America, without needing Wang Yan's guidance, she had found people to launch cosmetics, clothing, bags, and accessories—industries related to women—all positioned as high-end luxury goods.

She had a wide circle of friends and was very proficient in "taita diplomacy," moving freely through the circles of Hong Kong's high-society wives. Naturally, those wives had to give her face and patronize her business. Once it became trendy among the upper class, those aspiring to join that circle would naturally follow. Coupled with a certain level of marketing, her brand was very successful in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, with a high level of prestige.

"Fine, it's settled. Later, have those police officers keep an eye out for anyone in poor conditions, and I'll have people follow up on it."

"Miss Bai is truly kind-hearted. I've decided to give you a reward. Come, let your man have a kiss."

"Oh, you're covered in sweat, stay away from me." Miss Bai reached out to block the stinky man's mouth, her face full of refusal: "Go wash up quickly, then wake the children. Once you've eaten, get out of here. You don't know how they drove me crazy yesterday..."

The impact of yesterday's protest on today was barely visible on the streets. People did what they had to do, rushing to work on crowded buses as usual, sending naughty children to school, no different from any other day. If there was anything to say, it was that everyone was talking about yesterday's events, asking each other if they had participated in the protest, talking about seeing "Wang Sheng," and talking about high-fiving "Wang Sheng." Their faces were filled with satisfied, triumphant smiles for the victory they had achieved together.

But the Hong Kong government was different. They had to provide a written explanation of the cause, process, and results of the "June 25th Grand Protest," and calculate the losses of the day. As for the police force, they were even busier.

At the Kowloon West Regional Police Headquarters, by the time Wang Yan arrived, all the Chinese and foreign detectives in Hong Kong had already arrived. They were clearly divided into two camps; the Chinese detectives were discussing yesterday's events in small groups.

Seeing Wang Yan enter, whether Chinese or foreign, everyone stood up and saluted in unison: "Msir!"

The foreign detectives were all working under him; without him, they had no money and couldn't command their subordinates. With him, they had money and could moderately command their subordinates. This multiple-choice question was obvious to everyone. So, these foreigners were also his people, and they were even happy about it. Because the money they received was generous, the security in their jurisdictions was quite good, and they had more time and funds to plan their own futures.

Wang Yan returned the salute with a chuckle, waved for them to sit, and went to sit between Lei Luo and Chen Tong at the front.

"Brother Yan, you're the most powerful in Hong Kong and Kowloon right now." Lei Luo affectionately bumped his shoulder against his big brother; everyone present knew that yesterday's grand protest was orchestrated by Wang Yan.

Although their positions were somewhat low and they couldn't understand why Wang Yan would offend the Hong Kong government's top brass so thoroughly to do such a thing, they also personally felt the immense energy of "Brother Yan." Even though yesterday's affair wasn't their own, they clearly knew that their power and profit didn't come from the charity of foreigners, but were fought for by themselves.

Wang Yan looked at him seriously: "Hmm? Who was that powerful before? Did I agree to it?"

Lei Luo was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, saying very quietly: "It used to be the Governor's, but yesterday he was blocked inside and didn't even dare to show his face."

Wang Yan patted his shoulder, and together with Chen Tong, who was nearby and had sharp ears, the three of them laughed heartily.

It was at this very moment that Maxwell, William, and other foreign high-ranking officials walked in, just in time to hear the three of them laughing wildly.

After the three of them saluted along with the others, Maxwell didn't look for trouble, but went straight to the point.

First, he explained the cause, process, and results of yesterday's protest. Although everyone knew full well that the culprit was the figure sitting in front with his legs crossed, they listened very carefully.

After saying all this, Maxwell severely criticized the detectives present, the reason being that they hadn't restrained their subordinates, allowing them to join the protest ranks and stand up for the citizens. Of course, he didn't say the Chinese detectives and Chinese police officers were wrong, because that would be denying the significance of yesterday's grand protest. He only criticized them for not sticking to their posts and maintaining order, and asked what they would do if problems arose, and so on. It was considered a light criticism that glossed over the fact that police officers participated in the protest, meaning it would not be pursued.

Afterwards, he praised Wang Yan, saying he was brave in taking on responsibilities, daring to take charge, a good employee of the government, a good leader of the police force, and a good policeman for the citizens. After a pile of flowery words, he promoted Wang Yan from the rank of Station Sergeant to Inspector. This rank was useless, nothing more than a symbolic expression of gratitude.

Of course, saying it was useless was relative to his actual power as the Chief Chinese Detective. After all, he directly led nearly ten thousand Chinese police officers. If the rank were to match his authority, at the very least he should be a Senior Assistant Commissioner; Deputy Commissioner wouldn't be too much either. Really speaking, promoting him to Inspector now had its historical significance; he was the first Chinese Inspector in the police force, a name that could not be erased.

However, that was a small matter to him. What he was thinking about was whether he could truly sit in the position of the police force's number one. Historically, the first Chinese Commissioner was in 1994, at which time he was 65 years old. The age was indeed a bit high, but with his ability, it wasn't impossible to move up a term or even two, and take the position before retirement. He took power very lightly; whether he could be the Commissioner of Police actually didn't matter. Anyway, whoever was the big brother, as long as he was there, the police force would be run by him. It would just be a more perfect career.

Having said all that, he began to talk about serious business, requiring all police stations to dig out all past crimes committed by soldiers stationed in Hong Kong, and to cooperate with the military, the Department of Justice, and military legal personnel in visiting and investigating. Regardless of size, he was determined to handle every case.

After saying all this, Maxwell left with his people. Yesterday's events were truly too big; otherwise, William alone would have been enough.

After everyone had left, Wang Yan sat in William's office.

"Wang, you went too far this time. You offended everyone. I don't understand why you had to do this."

Looking at the bewildered William, Wang Yan shook his head and chuckled: "William, I reiterate once again, this was not done by me. On the contrary, I am the hero who quelled the protest."

"Fine, Wang, say what you want. Can you tell me what benefit quelling the protest has for you?"

"William, this matter requires you to think for yourself, rather than getting the answer from me."

"You Chinese are always so fond of selling suspense." William shook his head, looking at the man opposite him who was crossing his legs and smoking, and even fucking pretending to blow smoke rings: "Wang, whatever benefits you get are yours; I don't get a single bit. Thinking is useless. But I have to remind you that you are now in danger, very dangerous."

"Of course, I certainly know. I offended Blackwood, I offended the Hong Kong government, I offended your country's government, and perhaps I even offended the Queen, but that is my business." Wang Yan looked at him with a chuckle: "I know what you are worried about, William, my friend, relax. There won't be a single accident in your promotion to Senior Assistant Commissioner. Maxwell is already going to retire; he can't decide anything. Even if you are transferred because of me, it doesn't matter. What should be given, I will still give; my promise is always valid."

"Fine, Wang, since you are so confident, let's just let nature take its course."

"Don't worry, William, my life is very tough." Wang Yan stood up and said: "I have other things to do, I'm leaving first."

Watching Wang Yan's departing back, William opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he didn't say it, turning it into a sigh of discouragement. What he wanted to say was that how long Wang Yan could live was a problem. He really didn't know where his confidence came from, speaking so decisively, as if it were true...

The entire process of clearing up past cases of stationed soldiers lasted for nearly half a year. The reason it took so long was mainly due to investigations, visits, and evidence collection. Moreover, many soldiers had already returned to the UK for many years, and others had retired for a long time. Arresting these people was also a time-consuming job. And the most critical point was that the "June 25th Grand Protest" was too big, world-famous, and many retired soldiers who had committed crimes before, after knowing the cause and final result of the grand protest, ran away directly. That escalated into a diplomatic dispute, and extradition and so on, which was quite strenuous.

It was also in view of this that, although it was said to be a full investigation, in reality, it was not possible to try all the criminals. A considerable number of victims only received financial compensation. This was also helpless, and the victims' families could understand it, so that was that. But the case of Luo Xiufen's daughter was indeed over, and the two wicked soldiers were also hanged.

It should have been that someone strongly opposed it, because in recent years, the issue of whether to abolish the death penalty was rampant. But this time, the two direct culprits who caused the grand protest in Hong Kong, no one cared about them, and it was even passed unanimously. This was one of the few cases where the death penalty was sentenced this time; others were mostly punished by imprisonment for many years and compensation.

And the place of detention was in Stanley. This was to avoid another riot by Hong Kong citizens because they couldn't see the criminals being tried, so the Hong Kong government and the British government decided to try them in Hong Kong and detain them in Stanley. It was considered straightforward; since it was decided, it was done thoroughly, leaving no handle. The final result was that most people were satisfied.

However, after half a year passed, the garrison in Hong Kong also rose straight from less than 20,000 to 50,000...

The reward Blackwood mentioned before was also realized, reducing the taxes and fees of Long Teng, and at the same time reducing the tariffs on some product exports. Adding these two together, for Long Teng's scale, it was not a small number, and it was indeed a generous reward. Although Long Teng had always relied on debt to develop, the reduction of the two taxes also helped development to a certain extent.

And with the previous grand protest, Wang Yan's influence was undoubtedly revealed. In any aspect, he was already able to keep the gold mine. So in 1959, he brought out the Strengthening Pill again, and the pricing was still the average wage of two months, which was a very reasonable price for wool-gathering. Through Hong Kong's high society, it opened the market little by little, and finally flowed to Europe and America.

However, because of the development of computers, it was impossible to achieve rapid collection and query of networked identity information, so it was impossible to control individual purchase volume. It could only be verified that the ID card belonged to a Hong Kong resident, and then the value was increased by controlling the shipment volume.

It was also for this reason that the difficulty of buying goods was reduced, leading to his ability to earn US dollars being much worse. Of course, the ability to make money was not bad, but his shipment volume was small.

This situation was not completely resolved until mid-1964. Because in early 1963, the small "Chaos" computer with large-scale integrated circuits was successfully developed, and in mid-1963, assembly line production was realized. The first customer was the Hong Kong government, the second was the mainland, the third was Hong Kong businessmen, and the fourth was various companies in Southeast Asian countries that had business dealings with Long Teng. These four customers were all friendly purchases, and these orders had already exploded Long Teng's production capacity, and it was a big profit once it was listed.

Of course, Long Teng had already sent them prototypes in advance, otherwise, no matter how friendly they were, they couldn't spend money to buy garbage. The product was reliable.

It was also like this, by mid-1964, including stores in overseas countries, all adopted a real-name purchase system. It was also at this time that the Strengthening Pill revealed the true face of the gold mine, and the people of Hong Kong truly felt the joy of wool-gathering. Of course, the biggest dealer was the several major societies. After all, they had many subordinates and channels, and they did a big job. After all, they had asked Wang Yan for instructions before, and the price was considered fair. They imported white powder and exported Strengthening Pills, which was considered playing import and export, which was quite good.

As for the problem of jealousy caused by the good sales of Strengthening Pills, anyway, he was not afraid. After developing for more than ten years, the only thing he relied on foreigners for was raw materials. And except for a very few scarce resources, they were sold everywhere, and he was not afraid of any sanctions at all. It was impossible for the whole world to sanction and isolate Long Teng together, so basically there was no big problem.

As for assassinations and the like, he had experienced three times in the past few years, submachine guns, grenades, and the most excessive one was RPG. This could not be called an assassination, but a strong attack. They were all shot on some roads with few people and relatively hidden. Fortunately, he was vigilant at all times and had many people to guard against it. Otherwise, looking at this meaning, if conditions allowed, shelling his house would be the first choice.

However, although he was assassinated to such a degree, he did not investigate, after all, this firepower, at first glance, was the retribution from before. It was only after the third assassination that he went directly to the Governor's Mansion, and after that, there was no such activity at all. The people who came were of course killed by him, and he personally pursued and abused them on the street. The impact was of course very bad, the interval between the three times was long and short, it was a psychological game, and it took a long time to pass.

It was not that he did not fight back, but that the counterattack he really wanted was to engage in autonomy, but that was obviously not allowed by many parties. So he could only make some moves to scare people, and then the mainland came forward. After all, he only suffered some light and heavy injuries, and if he suffered some grievances, he would suffer some grievances, so he returned to the situation where you are good and I am good and everyone is good.

As for the Governor, Blackwood was still affected, and he only worked until 1961 before leaving. And the assassinations against him all happened when this old boy was in office. The third time was exactly 1961, and then this old boy retired...

Because Blackwood's early resignation did affect the next Governor's candidate, it was changed to a name that had not appeared in Hong Kong in history. This change had an impact on history, but it was not as big as imagined. After all, social development was just those few major aspects, but the rulers had different focuses, and basically followed the historical process, so there was no big problem.

In terms of the police force, nothing big happened during this period. If there was, it was because the Daquan Gang from the mainland affected social order, and robbery and murder cases occurred from time to time. However, under the wise leadership of Chief Chinese Detective Wang, under the active actions of Chinese detectives and Chinese police officers, and with the help of enthusiastic citizens of various rogue groups, so far, all rogue cases had been solved.

Wang Yan was really prestigious in the police force, and it was also because his power was too strong. After all, facing the demand for public security, a large number of Chinese would join the job every year, and as long as they were Chinese, after graduating from the police academy, they were labeled with Wang Mou's label. Because at that time, as long as their families took the certificate signed and stamped by the police academy instructor, they could go directly to Long Teng's headquarters, branches, etc. to find someone to arrange work. As such, his power was stronger year by year.

The rank of the police force was really useless to him, after all, his power had reached that point, and the Commissioner's words were not as useful as his. It was also like this, the foreigners were more willing to relax the restrictions on the Chinese. After all, Hong Kong's public security was good, and the case solving rate was high, making it one of the safest cities in the world. Coupled with his status, it was really unreasonable not to express it to him. There was nothing to express, so just promote a police rank that was useless.

So his rank reached the Chief Inspector by 1968. Compared with Lei Luo, who was originally in history and only reached the Inspector until he was cleaned up, he was not even worthy of carrying his shoes. After all, Lei Luo was now mixing with his subordinates and had reached the Senior Inspector.

As for Lan Gang, Han Sen, and Li Yiwen, who were originally going to share his power, they were also Senior Inspectors, and their positions had not changed, but they had just rotated normally several times. From beginning to end, they were honest and basically asked nothing about anything, just doing things honestly for money.

And regarding the matter of arranging work for police families, considering the problem of industrial upgrading, the current batch of people certainly could not be competent. Even to a certain extent, these people dragged down Long Teng's development. But that was also helpless, this was Wang Yan's foundation, and the backward industry should be retained or retained.

However, considering the future, Long Teng strongly encouraged employees to study and progress on their own. As long as they could be competent for a higher level of advanced production, they would directly raise wages and give learning subsidies to ensure that they could earn money. At the same time, it also strongly supported the studies of the next generation of police officers and specially opened scholarships. And directly promised that as long as they achieved academic success and were willing to work for Long Teng, they could get Long Teng's grants, and studying abroad was not a problem. After formal work, they would also be given a certain degree of entry rewards, which could not be better.

Correspondingly, Long Teng strongly infiltrated several famous schools in Hong Kong, throwing a large amount of funds, just to buy the future. In order to help the next generation of police officers become useful pillars of talent.

And after another sale of Strengthening Pills, Long Teng had a large amount of funds in hand, and began to improve the welfare and treatment of police officers. Build buildings, provide discounts. Open banks, provide interest-free and low-interest loans. Build hospitals, provide basically free medical care. Build a comprehensive place integrating shooting ranges, gyms, and other leisure and entertainment, exclusively for police officers to entertain. People live in the world, most people seek nothing more than food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and Long Teng can do all these aspects of welfare.

In the hearts of police officers, "Brother Yan" was a living Bodhisattva in the world. Even beneficiaries like them felt that Wang Yan was too good to them, a really good big brother. Loyalty was not enough to explain Wang Yan's status among police officers. It was not an exaggeration to go through fire and water. Because they believed that after they died, Wang Yan would really take care of their families much better than when they were alive. It was not that police officers had not died over the years, and what kind of treatment they had was seen, absolutely at ease.

It was also like this, Wang Yan held supreme power in the police force, and no one could move him.

And these few years were also the best relationship between police and bandits, and the most stable feeling for citizens. Because rogues disturbed the people, the police force really fought, and as long as the rogues did not disturb the people and honestly operated their industries, then no one would care about them. With the rise of Hong Kong's economy, one year was better than another, and the money in people's hands was more than one year, and the rogue's business was better than one year, and the money in the hands of police officers at all levels was also thicker year by year. Everyone developed harmoniously and benefited each other. Police officers, rogues, and even various people who often lingered in illegal places all hoped that this kind of day would continue.

But unfortunately, this kind of thing was impossible. Facing this kind of smoky atmosphere, and he was still the biggest umbrella, Wang Yan had exhausted his greatest patience. Even if the Hong Kong government did not take action, he would not be able to hold back in another two years.

It is worth mentioning that because of the mainland, the left wing in Hong Kong was very radical, and there was a riot incident caused by driving foreigners out of Hong Kong. But Wang Yan was there, he did not riot, so no one could riot.

Because of the influence of Wang Yan personally and Long Teng, the unions and chambers of commerce in Hong Kong were originally dominated by Long Teng. The cruise ship price increase incident was nipped in the bud, and the dismissal of employees and labor disputes that were the fuse could not happen at all. Because Long Teng stood on the side of the workers, as long as the workers found Long Teng and found out the reason, Long Teng would really take the lead to do it.

Moreover, the police force's maintenance of public security and suppression of rogues determined that they could not turn over. Indeed, there were some small disturbances, but they were quickly quelled.

It was also because this riot did not become a climate that the police force, which should have been crowned with the word "Royal", was still the original name. In fact, being crowned with the word "Royal" was not something to be proud of, and no one would be proud of it if it was not there.

In 1968, a big event happened. The Governor of Hong Kong, MacLehose, who had the longest term of office and was originally going to come to Hong Kong in 1971, came to Hong Kong three years early. This was Wang Mou's credit, because Blackwood only worked for three years and left.

Why was the arrival of this Governor a big event?

It was very simple, he established the ICAC, which was personally related to the interests of the police force up and down. It was also related to the interests of rogue groups, and related to the separation of police and bandits.

Originally, the establishment of the ICAC was because the streets were not clean, everyone was greedy, the bureaucratic style was serious, and there was a runaway named Godber. Now, except for the streets being a little cleaner, there was no difference. As for Godber, he was just a Chief Superintendent, really not worth mentioning, and there were many people who were more greedy than him. It was like William, who was already the Deputy Commissioner of Operations, how many prize-winning activities of Long Teng did he participate in? It was just a pretext, when the time came, what should be there would still be there.

Wang Yan was of course not afraid, after all, he was clean... ===== CHAPTER 366 =====