Chapter 722: 715 Examination Bureau Director: Even if there is a heavy rain, I must visit Zu Ge!

A new day,

Early in the morning, all Hong Kong citizens began to get busy, those who go to work go to work, those who go to school go to school.

And at this time, ATV news began to report:

"Good morning, dear viewers, this is ATV morning news, now continuing to broadcast an important piece of news……"

"Hong Kong Observatory…… the No. 3 typhoon signal has changed, it has strengthened to a No. 8 typhoon, it is accelerating, moving west at 25 kilometers per hour, and will arrive in Hong Kong around 8 PM tonight!"

"The Observatory specially reminds that this No. 8 typhoon is accompanied by continuous heavy rain, and the whole of Hong Kong may experience flooding, residents in low-lying areas please pay attention……"

"Fishermen try not to go out to sea……"

This news started broadcasting at night.

Because the No. 8 typhoon is coming at night, so whatever should be done during the day is still done……

However, the government has already started work, checking sewer manholes, cleaning up leaves and silt, and comprehensively inspecting public facilities such as overpasses, tunnels, and street lights.

And Five Star Property also started building by building, ordering to close doors and windows, etc., to avoid damage caused by strong winds and heavy rain.

……

At 18:00 in the evening, it was originally bright, but with the arrival of the No. 8 typhoon, the sky over Hong Kong had turned completely dark.

Thick dark clouds pressed extremely low, like a black pot ready to be buckled down at any time.

The wind blew harder and harder, blowing trash cans and billboards on the side of the road crooked, and plastic bags at the entrance of convenience stores swirled up into the sky.

The neon lights on the street were still on, but they kept flickering in the wind, flickering on and off.

Pedestrians on the road walked in a hurry, wrapping their clothes tightly and rushing with their heads down. Umbrellas couldn't hold up at all, and many were blown over.

On the distant sea surface, waves smashed toward the shore one after another, splashing water high.

In the residential area, every household closed their doors and windows tightly, and the clothes not collected on the balconies rattled in the wind.

The real No. 8 typhoon hadn't arrived yet, this was just a precursor to the storm.

After 19:00, the rain began to pour down.

A Mercedes-Benz drove into Causeway Bay in the heavy rain.

"Damn it, why is it raining so hard?"

Zheng Jintang drove the car, cursing.

He certainly didn't want to come in such strong winds and heavy rain, but he called that Liang Liang Xiaorou back, and the result was that she directly said Mr. Director Guan's time is precious, and whatever time was set was set. Then the meeting place was changed from Central to Causeway Bay.

What else could Zheng Jintang say?

Of course, be obedient!

So, he drove through the heavy rain to Causeway Bay.

Soon, he arrived at the location.

Yunxiang Tea House.

This is a community project started by a group of old people who have nothing to do, the kind that drinks tea every day.

Zheng Jintang held an umbrella and walked into Yunxiang Tea House.

Someone was blocking the door.

"May I ask if you are Director Zheng?"

"Yes."

"Please go to the second floor, the boss is waiting for you upstairs." The little brother took the umbrella and placed it at the door.

Zheng Jintang thanked him and went upstairs.

The fragrance of Pu'er drifted from the private room on the second floor, and he pushed open the wooden door.

He saw Director Guan Zu dressed in a black suit, sitting in front of the table, his fingers tapping the tea cup, and in the misty heat, the gaze behind the gold-rimmed glasses was as deep as a lake.

Zheng Jintang walked in and said respectfully: "Mr. Director Guan."

"Director Zheng, sit…… I'm really sorry to have Director Zheng come over in this weather." Director Guan Zu didn't get up and signaled to Zheng Jintang.

"Don't dare, don't dare." Zheng Jintang rubbed over with a flattering smile.

Sat down,

At this time, a cup of strong tea had been pushed in front of him, and the dark brown liquid swayed ripples in the white porcelain cup.

Zheng Jintang quickly said: "Thank you."

Director Guan Zu picked up the tea cup, took a sip: "I troubled Director Zheng to come over this time because I want to ask Director Zheng for a favor."

"Please speak clearly, Mr. Director Guan……"

From yesterday to today, Zheng Jintang had been thinking about Director Guan Zu's purpose in finding him. Could it be that he wanted the Examination Bureau to leak questions to the Five Star Education Group? So that the Five Star Education Group could top the list in this year's 'college entrance exam'?

If it was this, he actually had no problem.

"It's about the exams after this year, I hope Director Zheng can……"

Director Guan Zu slowly and methodically stated his request: "Let the answers in history, increase the perspective of the ruled."

Zheng Jintang hesitated: "This……"

Director Guan Zu: "No?"

Zheng Jintang wiped his sweat and explained: "I think Mr. Director Guan should know that education has always been controlled by the government, and these ghosts naturally don't want to smear them. Although the Examination Bureau is financially independent, we are subject to the attention of the Governor. If the Governor doesn't agree, we have no way."

Director Guan Zu's voice was indifferent: "I'll handle the Governor."

Zheng Jintang's muscles trembled: "…………"

"Sorry, Mr. Director Guan, this is a bit difficult to handle."

He decided to insist on himself again.

Because if he really did this, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to continue as the Director of the Examination Bureau next year.

"Hmm? Difficult to handle?"

Director Guan Zu didn't know why, but he subconsciously thought of Crow Brother, wondering if he was still okay in prison.

Director Guan Zu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Really can't handle it?"

"I heard Director Zheng has been very busy lately? Met a bunch of tycoons, leaked questions for the advanced level exams, and gave the green light to 'special candidates'……"

Then played a recording.

Zheng Jintang's smile instantly froze, cold sweat oozing from his back, soaking his shirt mixed with rainwater.

Outside the window, lightning flashed outside,

"Thunder rumble~~~~"

The heavy rain beat against the window glass.

Zheng Jintang's hand holding the tea cup trembled slightly, the scalding tea burning his tongue numb.

Zheng Jintang finally lowered his head: "Mr. Director Guan's will is my will!"

"Very good."

Director Guan Zu smiled, picked up the tea cup: "Drink tea!"

Zheng Jintang quickly picked up the tea cup, clinked cups with Director Guan Zu in the air, and drank the tea.

At this moment, he felt the tea was a bit bitter.

Drinking this tea, he drank away his position as the Director of the Examination Bureau.

Director Guan Zu said slowly: "There are still 10 days until the exam, no problem, right?"

Zheng Jintang nodded: "No problem!"

The Examination Bureau is his one-man show, everyone up and down takes money together, whatever he wants to do, those below dare not oppose, so there will be no problem.

Director Guan Zu: "Tomorrow I will let citizens start sending complaint letters to your Examination Bureau, and will let the media follow up…… you just need to go with the flow……"

Zheng Jintang lowered his head bitterly: "Yes."

Director Guan Zu smiled, picked up the tea, and sent the guest away.

Zheng Jintang got up, bowed after saluting, went downstairs, took the umbrella and went out the door. Outside, the strong wind howled and the rain danced.

He stepped into the accumulated water, suddenly, he was in a trance, slipped under his feet, and the whole person fell to the wet ground, in a mess. Zheng Jintang struggled to climb up, covered in rainwater……

He got into the car in a mess and drove away.

……

……

The rain fell all night,

The next morning, it was still raining in Hong Kong, the rain curtain was like pouring, without any sign of stopping.

The Hong Kong government urgently issued a warning: "In view of the No. 8 typhoon 'Haiyan' continuing to rage, the whole of Hong Kong is still in…… to ensure the safety of citizens' lives and property, all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and special schools in Hong Kong are closed today, and all non-emergency government departments and public service agencies are suspended."

"If you are in low-lying areas or areas prone to landslides, evacuate to a safe place immediately. Passing vehicles should park on safe high ground and wait for the weather to improve. Please tell each other and get through the difficulties together."

ATV news: "Dear viewers, the northern New Territories, Sheung Shui, and Fanling areas are the most severely affected, with water depth exceeding one meter at one point, and many cars were submerged by floods, leaving only the car roofs barely exposed……"

"In the Kowloon City district, the streets around Prince Edward Road West and Mong Kok have become a vast expanse of water, with water depth exceeding the knees……"

TVB news: "And at the Wong Tai Sin MTR station, rainwater poured in like a waterfall, the entire platform was submerged…… the entire railway line was forced to stop running……"

"In addition, the water level of the Shing Mun River in Sha Tin rose sharply, the river water overflowed the embankment, submerging the surrounding walkways and parking lots……"

"Currently, staff from the Highways Department and Drainage Services Department……"

"Please continue to pay attention to the latest weather and road conditions, safety first!"

Because of the sudden heavy rain,

The whole of Hong Kong fell into a state of suspension.

All citizens were at home, watching television, or visiting neighbors.

"Why did this No. 8 typhoon rain so hard?"

"Exactly, the rain is too big."

"The MTR was submerged……"

"The sewer system in Hong Kong is too bad……"

……

Director Guan Zu's home.

At this time, it had been occupied by a group of wives.

Such heavy rain made it impossible to go to work, so they just rested.

What to do?

Play mahjong.

At one mahjong table, Le Huizhen, Yuan Ke'er, Ah E, and Ah Hong were playing.

"Hu! Hahaha~~~"

Le Huizhen was already 4 months pregnant, her belly starting to get big, but she was aggressive when playing mahjong, not at all like someone who was pregnant.

At Gao Jin's house,

Director Guan Zu, Gao Jin, and several other men were sitting around several mahjong tables.

The rain outside the window showed no signs of decreasing, bean-sized raindrops pattering against the glass window, the strong wind howling, as if it wanted to overturn the entire city.

"This rain is too outrageous, it feels like it's about to drown the whole of Hong Kong." Gao Jin looked out the window while playing cards, full of helplessness.

Director Guan Zu: "Your wife still has to go to work today, it's really hard for her."

Wei Yingzi is a police officer, although she has been promoted to Chief Inspector, she is more likely to charge to the front line at such times.

Gao Jin was helpless: "No way."

"Looking at the news this morning, everywhere is flooded, many people are trapped." Gao Qiu said, while playing a card, "Nine of bamboo."

Chen Yongren picked up a card, pondered for a moment, then put it down, saying: "It's like this every typhoon season, it floods as soon as it rains heavily, the drainage system in Hong Kong is really rotten."

"Yeah, aging drainage pipes, unreasonable design, and various clogging problems. Every heavy rain exposes a bunch of problems, the relevant departments repair them every year, but they never see improvement." Gao Jin complained while eating a card.

"I heard that in some places, the slope and depth of the pipes don't meet the standards at all. When it rains, the water flow is not smooth, and the accumulation is naturally serious. And there are many pipe joints that are not sealed well, leaking everywhere, not only affecting the drainage effect but also polluting the environment." Hua Di at the next table added.

Director Guan Zu put down the cards in his hand, leaned back in his chair, and suddenly said:

"Since the government can't handle it, should we do a livelihood project and redo this sewer system?"

As soon as this was said, everyone was stunned.

"This is not a small project."

"Seems possible……"

"At least 1 billion, right?"

"We pay for most of it, citizens donate some money, it's not impossible……"

"Looking at the situation today, it happened last year too. I think it's necessary to have a new sewer project."

Director Guan Zu nodded: "I'm serious. Look, every typhoon and heavy rain, citizens suffer, and merchants also suffer heavy losses. If we can get this done, it will improve people's livelihood and can be considered a great merit."

Here, I have to mention the "Harbour Area Treatment Scheme" proposed by Chris Patten in the original history.

After 1978, the cross-harbour swim was suspended because of poor water quality in Victoria Harbour.

In 1989, the Hong Kong government planned to collect, concentrate, treat, and purify all sewage in Hong Kong, and discharge the treated sewage into the open sea. This plan was then called the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme.

Finally, after Chris Patten took office, he officially made the decision and set the "Harbour Area Treatment Scheme," with the first phase of the project starting in 1994.

Proposing this plan at that time had its necessity.

First: With Hong Kong's economic development and population growth, the volume of urban sewage discharge is increasing, and untreated sewage is discharged directly into the harbour, leading to serious seawater pollution and water quality deterioration.

Second: Hong Kong has limited land resources, a dense population, and a developed industrial and commercial sector, and a large amount of domestic and industrial sewage puts huge pressure on the drainage system. The original sewage facilities may not be able to meet actual needs.

Finally, it's environmental protection. With the development of the times, environmental requirements are also getting higher and higher.

However,

Chris Patten's plan also carried his political purpose.

Since before he took office, the previous Governor had been planning how to move Hong Kong's finances out of Hong Kong before 1997.

So, a new airport was created, and this drainage project was created.

These projects require a large amount of funds, and then can be built by foreign engineering companies, logically transferring money abroad.

The "Harbour Area Treatment Scheme" that Chris Patten engaged in had its first phase starting in 1994, priced at 8.2 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Then, something went wrong halfway, and it stopped.

According to government documents from the Drainage Services Department of Hong Kong: It was because the contractor finally believed that it was "impossible to complete the tunnel project according to natural laws" and gave up further attempts to continue the project.

So this is a bit ridiculous.

The plan is set, and halfway through construction, you say you can't handle it? How to calculate the invested money?

Director Guan Zu doesn't know the inside story, but judging from the statement of the Drainage Services Department, there won't be few things inside.

Finally, the government took over all the projects of the contractor in December 1996. After Hong Kong's return, the Hong Kong government redistributed the project into 3 parts, and the tunnel project was restarted in July 1997 and January 1998 respectively.

After several twists and turns,

Finally, the first phase was completed in December 2001.

Of course, this project did not involve the widening of sewers inside the urban area, only sewage collection for coastal sewers.

(Image: First phase tunnel route)

And now, because of Director Guan Zu and the Five Star Group, Chris Patten is obedient and did not propose this plan in the end.

……

The heavy rain fell until night.

Finally stopped.

The evening news continued to report on the heavy rain today, with news of disasters everywhere in Hong Kong,

Among which was another piece of news: parents complaining about textbooks and exams……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 723 =====