Chapter 842: Side Story: Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Huang Sir Huang Bingyao's Police Force Return Chapter

PS: Side story (not part of the monthly ticket count), feel free to skip; it does not affect the main text.

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Half a year ago,

8:00 AM, December 26, 1996,

26th Floor, Asia Pacific Finance Tower, 95 Queensway.

Inside the temporary office of the Preparatory Committee.

The heater was blowing hard, making the air in the office dry.

The Chief Executive sat at a desk piled high with documents.

Just 10 days ago, on December 16, the Imperial Capital had officially appointed him as the Chief Executive for the period after July 1, 1997.

Having just been appointed 10 days ago, he had already plunged into his work.

He had spent the last nine days constantly meeting various people, screening candidates for his leadership team.

With a fountain pen in his left hand and flipping pages with his right, he reviewed the "Draft List of Principal Officials," his gaze passing over titles like "Chief Secretary for Administration" and "Financial Secretary" one by one...

At 10:30 AM, the secretary pushed the door open, carrying a stack of documents waiting to be signed.

The Chief Executive reviewed them one by one.

Half an hour later, some were signed, while others were left pending.

He looked up and asked, "By the way, where do you think is a suitable location for our office after the handover?"

The secretary was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Government House? The environment there is good, and it's a ready-made official residence; it could be used with just a little tidying up."

"Government House won't do."

The Chief Executive shook his head directly.

"That is a symbol of the colonial era. We are a new government; our office location must have a new atmosphere, and it must be convenient for various departments to work in coordination."

He pointed toward the Central District in the distance outside the window.

"I think the site of the former Central Government Offices is quite good. It was originally the core government office area, with various departments concentrated there... What do you think?"

(Image: Jin Zhong location; on the left is the Government Headquarters (former Central Government Offices building), on the right in yellow is the barracks building.)

Live in Government House?

He wouldn't dare; he still had that much political awareness.

Upon hearing this, the secretary nodded immediately: "I will have someone go to inspect the site right away and come up with a plan."

The secretary noted his words and stepped out quietly.

Over the next five-plus hours, the office door was almost never closed.

First, the candidate for Secretary for Justice came in to report on the progress of establishing the Court of Final Appeal;

Next, members of the Financial Secretary's preparatory group came with a list of foreign exchange reserves to discuss how to stabilize the financial market after the handover;

In between, there were two meetings with relevant departments from the mainland to finalize livelihood matters such as cross-border transportation and water and electricity supply.

At 3:00 PM, the last person to enter was the head of the Security Bureau preparatory group,

Li Qing.

If there were no surprises, he would serve as the Secretary for Security on July 1.

Li Qing held an "Assessment Report on Candidates for Commissioner of Police" in his hands.

"Chief, this is the list of candidates for Commissioner of Police after multi-party investigation. There are three candidates in total, and all the information is here."

The Chief Executive took the report and flipped through it page by page.

Three people...

His gaze suddenly stopped on one name—Gao Jin.

Data: "Started from the front lines, experienced in patrol, Major Crimes Unit, Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner, head of Department B... and a series of other key positions. Familiar with the security situation in Hong Kong, has a clear understanding of maintaining national security, and holds high prestige within the police force."

Data is just data,

But his inner understanding of Gao Jin was more comprehensive than this data.

He was absolutely the leader of the Chinese police in Hong Kong.

The Chief Executive waved his hand, and after Li Qing left,

He called the secretary: "Call Deputy Commissioner of Police Gao Jin and invite him to the office tomorrow morning for an interview..."

Secretary: "Yes!!"

After the secretary left,

The Chief Executive looked at the calendar: "There are still nearly seven months left..."

He whispered, then picked up the next document, on the cover of which was written "Guidelines for the Use of the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem of Hong Kong."

……

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Evening.

Causeway Bay, a late-night barbecue stall.

It was past 8:00 PM, the place was bustling with noise, and the oily, meaty aroma of the barbecue mixed with the pungent scent of minced garlic swirled in the air, giving the place a lot of life.

"Brother Zu, come on, let's have a drink!"

"Cheers!"

At one of the tables, Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu, Gao Jin, and Cao Cao Dahua were eating late-night barbecue.

The beer bottles clinked together with a crisp sound.

The skewers on the table were still steaming...

Ah Bu picked up a piece of charred, fragrant charcoal-grilled pork neck and took a bite...

In front of Gao Jin were two garlic-grilled oysters, the vermicelli having soaked up all the garlic sauce...

Cao Cao Dahua was gnawing on spicy grilled chicken wings, his fingertips stained with red oil...

On the edge of the iron plate were piles of black pepper grilled chicken steaks, lemongrass grilled squid, and grilled corn and eggplant sprinkled with Bai Chi Li powder...

They were all brothers, not outsiders, so there was no need to worry about maintaining a "refined" image.

Eating meat in big mouthfuls, drinking in big gulps—it was satisfying!

Gao Jin said while eating: "Today, the Chief Executive's office called me, asking me to go over for an interview with the Chief..."

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu smiled: "It seems I should congratulate you."

Gao Jin chuckled, picked up his beer bottle, and clinked it against Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu's: "It's all thanks to Brother Zu's might. If it weren't for Brother Zu, I'm afraid I'd still have to compete with others."

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu laughed: "Can't help it, who says we hit it off, right?"

Gao Jin chuckled: "That's right!"

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu: "By the way, is the Secretary for Security that Li Qing? Is it confirmed?"

When he saw the list last time, he was stunned.

He didn't expect it to still be him.

This Li Qing was no good... his background was unclear, and he was very fond of the Western way of doing things. He was the type who would eat from this bowl but still curse the mother. Then in '98, he resigned, saying he wanted to go to Australia to live with his family; later he returned to Hong Kong specifically to stir up trouble.

In 1973, Li Qingning was hired by the British Hong Kong government as an Administrative Officer, in 1975 he became Assistant Secretary for Security, in 1979 he became Principal Assistant Secretary for Security, in 1990 he was promoted to Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service, and in February 1995, he became Secretary for Security.

So his position remained unchanged.

Gao Jin said seriously: "Yes, it's basically confirmed to be him."

According to the rules, the Secretary for Security was his superior.

However, in actual work, the Commissioner of Police still held the real power. The Secretary for Security could only grasp the power of the police force by influencing Gao Jin.

Therefore, if Gao Jin was strong enough and had enough backing, he could ignore him.

And Li Qing?

He didn't come from the police system, and his connections in the police force were too weak; he couldn't compare to Gao Jin at all.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu chuckled and patted Gao Jin: "Take your time, don't rush. You're in charge of the police force; I've got your back."

Once Li Qing left, Gao Jin could be promoted to Secretary for Security.

With his roots in the police force, Gao Jin could hold the position of Secretary for Security while firmly controlling the police force.

Gao Jin chuckled and picked up his beer bottle: "Thanks, Brother Zu, I'll finish this!"

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu: "Let's drink together!"

Cheers!

After drinking, Gao Jin sighed again: "It's a pity, ever since I became Assistant Commissioner, I haven't had white-cut chicken again..."

One phrase: Never forget the original intention!

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu laughed: "Why not stop being Commissioner and resign?"

Gao Jin quickly said: "That won't do. Women are only temporary; power is a man's hormone."

……

……

The next day,

The sun rose, shining on Hong Kong.

Asia Pacific Finance Tower.

Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Huang Sir Huang Bingyao, dressed in a crisply ironed police uniform, stepped out of the car and, accompanied by his secretary, walked with steady strides toward the interior of the building.

The elevator rose slowly, the floor numbers flickering one by one.

Arriving before the door of the Chief Executive's office, he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on the office door:

"Sir! Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Huang Sir Huang Bingyao of the Police Force is here to report!"