Chapter 836

June 14th, 19:00 in the evening, night gradually fell.

Wan Chai · Convention and Exhibition Center, brightly lit.

A black Chevrolet slowly stopped at the entrance of the brightly lit Convention and Exhibition Center.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu was dressed in a crisp suit, with a tall posture. Beside him, Ruan Mei was in a gorgeous evening dress, and the two walked towards the Convention and Exhibition Center with their arms linked.

Today is the return charity gala, so Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu naturally has to come to participate.

"Mr. Guan, Mrs. Guan, welcome welcome~~~"

"*Sir, you are too polite..."

In the hall, round dining tables covered with red tablecloths were placed, and in the center of each table, an exquisite floral decoration was placed, with red roses and white lilies arranged alternately.

Tonight, celebrities from all walks of life in Hong Kong and wealthy businessmen who dominate the business world attended in grand attire.

The scene was extremely lively, people gathered in groups of three or five, chatting softly, and laughter rose one after another.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu and Ruan Mei walked all the way,

Many political and business celebrities greeted them enthusiastically.

"Mr. Guan, Mrs. Guan~~~" *N

Once they appeared, they were the most eye-catching existence in the audience!

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu and Ruan Mei responded with smiles one by one, nodding slightly to indicate.

Guided by the waiter, Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu and Ruan Mei walked along the red-carpeted aisle towards the front row of tables.

Today's charity gala is an event that brings together political and business celebrities from all walks of life in Hong Kong to create a positive atmosphere on the eve of Hong Kong's return and help the development of charity.

Soon,

The gala began,

On the stage, wonderful performances were staged one after another, with singers singing and dancing.

In the charity auction session, many precious items were displayed one by one, including calligraphy and paintings by famous masters, limited edition artworks, etc., from wealthy businessmen, collectors, or the East.

Guests bid one after another.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu was no exception, spending 50 million to bid for some things.

On the 3rd day, June 16th, Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu put on Superman glasses, sat on a plane, and headed to Thailand.

On June 17th, Soros and other international hot money continued to push international media to release negative reports on the Thai economy, questioning the Thai government's ability to maintain the stability of the Thai baht exchange rate.

After the Thai stock market opened in the morning, a large amount of foreign capital flowed out, and the SET index fell.

Five Star Group used the United States as a springboard to lay out secret funds in places like the Cayman Islands and began to sell off the Thai baht.

June 18th: International hot money, Five Star Group secret funds, etc., sold 3 billion US dollars of Thai baht in the offshore market, and the Bank of Thailand quickly bought Thai baht to stabilize the exchange rate.

June 19th: Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh publicly promised that "the Thai baht will not depreciate" in an attempt to stabilize market confidence.

International speculators sold off the Thai baht in large quantities while increasing public opinion offensives. International media reported extensively that Thailand's foreign exchange reserves were only 8 billion US dollars left, and the Thai baht was about to collapse.

June 20th: Affected by the rapid consumption of foreign exchange reserves, selling orders for Thai baht increased in the foreign exchange market. The Bank of Thailand urgently held a press conference to appease market sentiment, but failed to completely alleviate market panic.

June 21st: Continue to smash...

June 22nd: International rating agencies lowered Thailand's sovereign credit rating, triggering greater panic in the market. The Thai baht continued to plummet...

Then international hot money and Five Star Group funds continued to smash...

June 23rd: Continue to smash...

Thailand's foreign exchange reserves — officially in emergency!

The Bank of Thailand had to raise short-term loan interest rates, hoping to attract foreign capital inflows, but this move caused domestic corporate financing costs to soar.

June 24th: Continue to smash...

The Thai stock market SET index fell by nearly 15% in a single month.

The Bank of Thailand communicated with neighboring central banks to seek the possibility of joint intervention in the foreign exchange market.

June 25th: Continue to smash...

International speculators joined forces with the media to further render the risk of the collapse of Thailand's financial system, and market panic reached its peak.

June 26th: Continue to smash...

The Bank of Thailand desperately repurchased, but foreign exchange reserves were rapidly consumed, with only 3 billion US dollars left.

The Thai government again urgently sought help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Once this signal was released, the whole country was pessimistic, and the speed of foreign capital withdrawal accelerated.

June 27th: Continue to smash...

The Bank of Thailand announced that it would raise the overnight lending rate from 10% to 15%, attempting to attract capital back and curb the sell-off of the Thai baht through high interest rates.

At the same time, neighboring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia came to support and jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market.

June 28th-29th: Continue to smash, at this moment Thailand's foreign exchange reserves have been exhausted.

The Thai Royal Palace was brightly lit, and the Thai King and a group of ministers were discussing what to do?

It was on the 29th that Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu boarded a plane and returned to Hong Kong.

On the Hong Kong side,

At 4:00 PM,

Affected by the low pressure in the Pacific, it started to rain in Hong Kong.

Tak International Airport was shrouded in a haze at this time, raindrops pattering on the ground, adding a bit of humidity and coldness to the airport.

At this time, a "British Airways" plane came from the sky.

On the plane,

Prince Charles looked at the weather outside through the porthole and couldn't help but frown slightly.

This weather made his mood even more gloomy.

The plane landed quickly, the tires rubbed against the runway, stirring up circles of water splashes...

Subsequently,

The cabin door opened slowly, Prince Charles was dressed in a crisp military uniform, and the moment he stepped out of the cabin door with an umbrella, the fine raindrops quickly wetted his hair and shoulders...

In his later diary, he wrote: "This trip to Hong Kong was so special and awkward for him."

Besides Prince Charles, there was also the new Prime Minister Tony Blair.

That's right, Major was out.

The Prime Minister was changed.

Besides the Prime Minister, there were also Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and the "Iron Lady" Thatcher who had already left office.

The welcoming ceremony at the airport seemed exceptionally deserted in the drizzle, and the few British personnel holding umbrellas looked a bit thin in the wind and rain.

Prince Charles and his party left in a hurry in this dull and oppressive atmosphere, and the car sped away.

Not long after Prince Charles and the others left, the plane Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu was on arrived in Hong Kong.

"Brother Zu, guess who I saw?" Ah Xing, Xigui, and others who came to pick up Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu saw Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu and started chattering excitedly.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu: "Who?"

Ah Xing: "That group of British people, led by Prince Charles!"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu glanced at the weather.

If he remembered correctly, tomorrow, June 30th, would also be a rainy day.

And the "Last Hong Kong Governor's Departure Ceremony" and the "Farewell Ceremony" symbolizing the end of British rule held on the east side of Tamar were all outdoors.

It was definitely too late to change it.

So, it is estimated that this group of people will all be rained on.

"Puff~~~~~"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu couldn't help laughing.

Ah Xing: "Brother Zu, what are you laughing at?"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu talked about the several ceremonies tomorrow, and everyone sprayed with laughter.

"This is when the plan was formulated, and feng shui was not studied."

"The last report also reported that the handover ceremony was also intended to be held outdoors, but the East side said it would rain. After more than a dozen consultations, it was finally placed in the Convention and Exhibition Center."

"The East insisted that it would rain, but they still felt it wouldn't rain..."

"Haha~~~"

That night, ATV and TVB both previewed the activities on June 30th.

"Dear audience friends, ATV brings you a detailed preview of the major series of activities for Hong Kong's return tomorrow, June 30th!"

"This will be a day remembered by history. Hong Kong will usher in a historic change, and countless wonderful moments are about to be staged."

"Tomorrow afternoon at 4:30, the last Hong Kong Governor Patten will hold a departure ceremony at Government House. This ceremony will witness the curtain falling on the Hong Kong Governor era of British colonial rule in Hong Kong for a century and a half."

"At 6:00 PM, a farewell ceremony symbolizing the end of British rule will be held on the east side of Tamar. British Prince Charles, Prime Minister Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, and other dignitaries will all attend."

"At 7:00 PM, a 'Ten Thousand Hearts Grand Gala' will be held at Happy Valley to celebrate Hong Kong's return..."

"The most important one is the handover ceremony of the Hong Kong government between China and Britain from midnight on June 30th to the early morning of July 1st, located in the Grand Hall on the 5th floor of the new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center."

"Tomorrow, ATV will report on all ceremonies throughout the process..."

At this time,

Wan Chai, a certain hotel.

One of the performances of the "Ten Thousand Hearts Grand Gala" tomorrow night is a gymnastics performance.

And in the gymnastics performance, there is a very special person — gymnastics legend Mo Huilan.

At the 1995 China Cup International Gymnastics Tournament, she relied on her outstanding strength to complete the "tucked front flip over the bar" action, which is known as the "next century action" by the world gymnastics community. Her action was extremely thrilling and amazed the audience and judges.

This action was also named after her surname, called "Mo's Somersault".

Because the difficulty coefficient of this action is particularly large, the International Gymnastics Federation simply modified the scoring rules, disguisedly prohibiting the use of this action.

"Finally can rest..."

After 16-year-old Mo Huilan finished taking a shower,

A group of sisters started chatting.

"Why don't we go out to play after it ends tomorrow."

"Yes, after we came to Hong Kong, we haven't been out to play, and we don't even know what it looks like."

A group of sisters said they wanted to go out to play together. After their gymnastics team came to Hong Kong, they were rehearsing except for rehearsing.

The next day,

At 4:30 PM, Government House.

The last Hong Kong Governor's departure ceremony was held first at Government House in Hong Kong.

Sure enough, just as Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu expected.

It continued to rain.

Fine rain was falling all over the sky in Hong Kong.

Inside Government House, Patten locked himself in his office, wrote a "report letter" to the Queen according to convention, and then wrote "Governor Patten" at the signature.

Every word was full of loyalty to the Queen.

Power is gone!

After returning to the UK, the future is bleak.

However, Patten had money in his hands, so he didn't panic.

After all — he sold out a lot of interests and got more than 50 million US dollars from Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu.

Then,

Patten walked onto the high platform in the rain, the British national anthem played, he lowered his head silently, his brows locked, and two words were engraved on his forehead: Loyalty!

The bugler blew the bugle, the British flag slowly fell, and the adjutant folded the flag and handed it to Patten.

This rain...

It's really annoying!

Patten felt his clothes were wet not long after.

Very uncomfortable.

Originally, they wanted a decent and festive atmosphere to withdraw from Hong Kong.

But this rain made them unable to be festive no matter what.

At this time, Patten's wife, daughter, and son cried.

Patten's wife cried, firstly because the power was gone and the big villa was gone, and secondly because Patten was too useless, and she failed to sell Patten to get money from Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu.

Afterwards, Patten and his family boarded the car, and the car circled the lawn in front of Government House three times according to tradition, and drove away slowly. This is a "fixed program" for every Hong Kong Governor to express nostalgia when leaving office.

At this moment,

Citizens across Hong Kong watched the entire ceremony through the live broadcast of TVB and ATV.

Almost all TVs in Hong Kong were turned on.

More than 5 million citizens in Hong Kong were watching.

"The Governor is gone..."

Some were happy, some were sad, some were reluctant, some laughed loudly...

At this time,

A plane came from Beijing and arrived at Kai Tak Airport.

At 6:00 PM, on the military island, a farewell ceremony symbolizing the end of British rule was about to be held here.

In the sky, fine rain was still falling, wetting the entire venue.

It was originally supposed to be festive and decent.

But now it was rained on, plus the mood of fleeing Hong Kong, many "pro-British people" cried.

At the scene, there were a total of more than 5,000 spectators, of which more than 1,000 were drawn by citizens, and 4,000 were invited by the British side.

Now, they were directly rained into drowned rats.

So embarrassed!

And Prince Charles, Prime Minister Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, "Iron Lady" Thatcher, and others... got out of the car and walked to the only platform with shelter from the rain.

Finally, it was a bit decent.

Soon, with an order, the performance officially began.

Music, dance movements, solo singing and chorus were performed one after another, and there were military drills, trying to show the style of the UK.

However, the constantly falling rain made this style become very... embarrassed.

Prince Charles and others really wanted to scold their mothers, but they had to maintain their demeanor and decency, after all, the media cameras were aimed at them.

Prince Charles walked slowly towards the podium in the eyes of everyone.

With an umbrella.

Then Patten also stepped forward and delivered a brief speech.

Many British people at the scene looked lonely, and their eyes revealed reluctance and helplessness.

At 7:30, in the melodious melody of the "Sunset" bugle call, the British Union Jack slowly descended in the blowing wind and rain.

At 8:00 PM, amidst the "Finale" sung by the band and performers, this farewell ceremony came to an end.

The whole process, one word —

Miserable!

Prince Charles felt it would be better not to come.

And at this time,

On the Happy Valley side, a "Ten Thousand Hearts Grand Gala" was being held.

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu, Ruan Mei, and others sat in the guest seats.

In addition, there were tens of thousands of citizen spectators in the venue.

On the stage, N Hua was singing "Chinese".

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu looked at the sky, although it was dark clouds, the gala had been going on for more than an hour, but it just didn't rain.

If Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu remembered correctly, this gala would rain, and it would be quite embarrassed.

Now it didn't rain at all.

Wong Tai Sin and Mazu are really powerful!

Then,

ATV and TVB live reports:

"The British withdrawal farewell ceremony, the whole square is soaked in wet embarrassment..."

"Ten Thousand Hearts Grand Gala, the night sky is clear, the stage lights are like day, the actors' skirts are flying, and the audience's applause is thunderous..."

"This seems to indicate..."

(End of chapter)