Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 589, Section 179: HSBC's Reaction
The Double Flower Red Stick's tone is so bold!
Shen Xian Jin knew that the handsome Sheng in front of him could do it, but he wanted to plant a flag in Yau Ma Tei and couldn't let the handsome Sheng get rid of the "clear suit". In recent years, there have been many underworld bosses who have established companies.

Once a company is established, it becomes an independent entity.

The two red sticks have set up their own business; the water room can't afford to lose face like that.

Therefore, the immortal brocade tries its best to give handsome boy Sheng benefits, status, and financial opportunities, in order to keep him.

"If you do everything, the brothers will become lazy because of you!"

“Since you’ve decided to take action, Ah Sheng, I’ll lend Yan Chanqiang and his men to do the work.”

"how?"

Since the leader has decided to give the four scoundrels, including Yan Chanqiang, a chance to rise to power, he cannot go back on his word. Shenxian Jin does not intend to let Chi Mengli interfere and plans to let Yan Chanqiang and the others do the work.

If Yan Chanqiang and his gang could just take down Hei Ahu and drive Gui Shou, Shao Ji, and Sha Fu out of Temple Street, they could openly and legitimately seize Wenmingli.

The gang still takes a cut of the profits, operating through the Yau Ma Tei branch, but the territory eventually falls into the gang's hands, which can be considered as opening up another avenue for their wealth.

Chi Mengli knew exactly what Shenxian Jin was planning, but Wenmingli was already a piece of fat meat to be thrown away, and he had already seized control of the most profitable streets in Yau Ma Tei.

As long as flags are planted outside the four core streets, and the territory is not adjacent to that of other gangs, even if these scoundrels want to cause trouble, they will have to deal with their own small outposts and fortifications first.

These small groups all belong to people with the "gang" in their names. If something happens, they can only use the gang's name, not their own. It's beneficial and harmless, only a fool wouldn't do that.

"Nothing is bigger than Lao Ding, so you can make the decision, Lao Ding!"

Everyone was getting what they wanted, and Chi Mengli couldn't understand why they shouldn't agree.

Shenxian Jin nodded in satisfaction. Liangzai Sheng's rapid rise to become a hot newcomer in the martial arts world was due to his ability to be pragmatic and turn a passive situation into an active one.

With a ring of fortifications erected around the area, the major triads will only cause trouble for the Shui Fong gang, not for the Handsome Sing gang or the Yau Ma Tei triad. This move is truly brilliant.

But for the water room staff, these grievances were nothing to worry about!
being targeted!

Even if the water houses don't expand, other gangs and organizations will actively cause trouble. Hong Kong's territory is only so big, and there are only so many ways to make money. If the water houses take a bigger bite, other organizations will take a smaller bite.

We've finished discussing the important matters!
Shen Xianjin led Ma Wangjian and Liangzai Sheng out of the office. The huge round table in the conference room was already filled with delicacies. Chi Mengli sat in her seat and began to celebrate the Spring Festival banquet on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Chi Mengli was able to enjoy the spring banquet, but Guo Guohao, who hadn't appeared for a long time, wasn't so lucky. Professor A and his gang revealed a lot of information, and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB), the Narcotics Bureau, the anti-triad squads, the narcotics squads, and the major crimes squads in various districts began a massive crackdown.

There was no holiday during the Lunar New Year. The entire team in the action department was on strategic duty. Every time Professor A dropped a bombshell, they would send out a group of gangsters to handcuff.

Miss White, pork, bath salts, and all sorts of other items filled the entire conference room.

Even when working overtime, the officers in the action department didn't complain, because Professor A became a witness for the prosecution, and with the help of this scoundrel, they solved some of the old cases.

The intelligence division and the criminal intelligence division also cross-referenced Professor A's testimony and reinvestigated the headless drug cases from the past three years.

Everyone was busy, and Guo Guohao was no exception, but he had to see the guests today, no matter how busy he was.

Shapison looked at his trusted and beloved general with great satisfaction. The only thing that made him feel helpless was that, according to the rules, he had to take over in June of this year and complete a two-month probationary period before he could receive his appointment letter from the Governor-General's Office and the Overseas Colonies Department.

However, as the head of the operations department, he was responsible for all the department's achievements. Although he couldn't claim all the credit, he would still have his own performance report on the desk of the Minister of Overseas Colonies.

"Stop staying up all night! You've got dark circles under your eyes! You need to take better care of your health!"

Shapison's Cantonese was becoming more and more fluent. He showed concern for Guo Guohao and then introduced the man behind him: "Guohao, let me introduce you. This is my golf buddy, Mr. Ye Jintian, the deputy head of security at HSBC."

"Mr. Ye is looking for a detective who can solve cases. After thinking it over, I realized that the only detective I have is you, Guohao. So I brought Mr. Ye to your office!"

"Ye Sheng is one of us, you two should have a good talk!"

Of all Shapison's words, only one sentence was useful: the man in front of him, Ye Jintian, was the deputy head of security at HSBC.

The head of security at HSBC is a former head of MI5, stationed in the City of London, since HSBC tycoon Shen Bi has decided to relist the company in the City of London.

The vaults and safe deposit boxes will also be moved to the City of London, with the head of security personally managing these vital assets—there's nothing more to say about that.

HSBC moved its vaults and safe deposit boxes, but not its headquarters. As a result, the deputy head of security in Hong Kong gained power and influence because he was in charge of the security of the headquarters.

"Calling me Ye Sheng is too formal! I should call him Senior Brother!"

“Brother Ye, we are very destined. At Queen’s College, you were two years ahead of me. At HKU, you became one year ahead of me because you were hospitalized for playing football and had to take a leave of absence.”

"When we entered Huangzhukeng, because of my mistake in registering, you were two grades above me."

“When you were promoted to inspector, I had just graduated from PTU and completed the CID course. However, after you became the youngest chief inspector, you went to the Department of Justice, then the Department of Security, and finally resigned to become the security head of HSBC.”

Guo Guohao recognized Ye Jintian, who came from a prominent family that managed HSBC and Huada University. Whether at Queen's College, the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong, or Wong Chuk Hang, he was a prominent figure.

Because he was backed by important figures and was a good player, Lei Luo would always choose to play when Huang Zhuk Hang was not on holiday.

If he had continued working at the police station, given the Ye family's connections with the foreigners, this Mr. Ye would have already risen to the rank of Chief Superintendent.

"Since you two are familiar with each other, I won't bother you any longer. I have a meeting at the Provincial Administration Office, so I won't keep you company."

Shapison dumped the trouble on Guo Guohao and turned to leave. As his subordinate, Guo Guohao was obliged to see him off. It wasn't until the two reached the empty elevator that Shapison reminded Guo Guohao.

“No matter how small, it’s no small matter when it comes to HSBC! Maybe Shen Bi has already made good contact with the Governor.”

“The members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords who represent HSBC’s interests are all big shots, so we should try our best to meet HSBC’s demands to avoid trouble from the Overseas Colonial Department.”

"Whether you continue working as a cop or pursue a political career in the Department of Justice, you will need HSBC's support. Let's establish a good relationship first so that we can work together happily in the future."

The elevator arrived, and Shapison gave Guo Guohao a long, earnest plea, then patted him on the shoulder, telling him to take care of himself, before stepping into the elevator and waving goodbye.

They're all shrewd people! Guo Guohao sighed inwardly. Instead of returning to his office immediately, he went to the break room, made two cups of instant coffee, and carried them into his office.

"Senior brother, you only come to our hall when you have something important to say. Even Shapison is with you. If it weren't for Brother Yi's vacation, he would have come down with you. You really have a lot of influence!"

After placing the coffee in front of Ye Jintian, Guo Guohao did not sit back down in his office chair. Instead, he stood in front of his desk with the cup in his hand, admiring Ye Jintian's grand display.

"Damn it! We're all cops, so stop making fun of me!"

Ye Jintian could tell from the color of the coffee that it was Nestlé instant coffee. He took a sip and reminisced about his youth.

He used to work so hard, relying on coffee to keep going. He used inferior milk powder, inferior saccharin, and inferior coffee beans. Drinking too much of that would definitely give him kidney stones and gallstones.

"I am received at the police station not because I am powerful or have connections, but because I am backed by HSBC! In Hong Kong, disrespecting HSBC is worse than disrespecting the Governor."

"But now someone has touched the tiger's tail and doesn't want to pay."

After the reminiscing about past hardships and appreciating present happiness ended, Ye Jintian put his coffee cup on the table, opened his briefcase, and took out a thick stack of documents and a large Taurus card in a sealed bag.

Guo Guohao's sixth sense told him that it was best not to touch this stack of documents, as it would definitely cause him a lot of trouble that would affect his entire life. So he didn't move a muscle and waited for Ye Jintian to continue speaking.

Anyone who dares to mess with HSBC and then refuses to pay must be no nobody.

"You've been working overtime lately, I wonder if you've heard about the wild animal smuggling case at Wan Chai Ferry Pier?"

Seeing that Guo Guohao was not taking the bait, Ye Jintian had no choice but to continue speaking.

"Of course I know. It's a huge case that shocked the Governor's Office. I heard that the goods in Warehouse No. 15 were worth 200 million Hong Kong dollars. There were more than 10,000 venomous snakes of various kinds just by counting them."

"Even if all the citizens of Hong Kong who love snake soup worked together, it would still take them a month to eat it all."

Guo Guohao has been paying close attention to the wild animal smuggling case at Wan Chai Ferry Pier because it involves Chi Meng-li. The combined number of detectives with law enforcement authority in the entire Guanlou area is less than one hundred.

This kind of big case can't be handled by Guan Lou alone; there must be a deal behind the scenes.

However, Guanlou has independent law enforcement power, and the police cannot conduct a second investigation into cases they have filed.

As I always say, we shouldn't turn against our own people!

"Look at this banknote!"

Seeing that Guo Guohao was observant and attentive, Ye Jintian didn't beat around the bush any longer. He tossed the transparent bag containing the large golden bull to Guo Guohao so that he could take a good look at it.

Guo Guohao didn't pick up the bag immediately. Instead, he put on his glasses and gloves before picking it up and carefully examining the patterns and anti-counterfeiting codes.

But after looking at it over and over again, he couldn't find any problems. If his judgment was correct, this should be a genuine golden bull.

"I feel fine!"

"Unless counterfeiters achieve new technological breakthroughs and produce counterfeit banknotes that we can distinguish with the naked eye."

Guo Guohao put down the transparent bag in his hand and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"These are definitely real banknotes! No doubt about it!"

"Back then, a minting group in Southern Europe won the minting rights for HSBC for a year, producing a giant golden bull worth 1.5 billion for HSBC."

"This is Hong Kong's annual usage, and it was obtained by HSBC from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for £80 million. However, this batch of banknotes was snatched up by the Big Circle Boys as soon as it landed at Kai Tak Airport."

After Ye Jintian finished speaking, he also expressed his feelings, because this batch of gold bulls had caused a storm within HSBC. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority directly withheld £80 million of the funds and did not grant HSBC new minting rights.

HSBC repatriated funds from Europe as reserves, and then printed a large gold bull at its own mint to stabilize market circulation.

As a result, Hua Daban, the deputy head who facilitated the business deal with the Southern European Mint Group, submitted his resignation, had all his shares confiscated, and was forced to step down in disgrace.

HSBC's performance that year was severely impacted by the loss of £80 million. If it weren't for other businesses supporting it, it would have achieved the remarkable feat of incurring a loss during a peaceful year.

Even so, the HSBC board seized the opportunity to demand that all employees' dividends be halved in order to compensate shareholders for their losses.

Because the transaction was cross-border, the insurance company was Lloyd's of London. Lloyd's of London believed that HSBC was suspected of insurance fraud and refused to pay out, leading to a lawsuit between the two parties in the City of London.

The International Court of Justice ruled against HSBC on the grounds that none of the stolen banknotes had appeared in circulation, which raised serious questions. Lloyd's insurance investigators believed that HSBC had staged the entire incident.

HSBC also pressured the police officers to close the case as soon as possible so that they could apply for compensation from Lloyd's of London and unfreeze the £80 million in the HKMA's accounts.

Guo Guohao knew about this case because it was the largest robbery in Hong Kong to date. A 1.5 billion dollar golden bull was stolen. When the police received the report, they immediately set up an operation, but they didn't see a single person.

He understood the implication behind Ye Jintian's words. He picked up the transparent bag again, examined it carefully, and hesitated before saying, "Is this the stolen golden bull?"

"Yes! This is it!"

"The tycoon was on vacation in Spain. Upon hearing the news, he immediately took his private jet back to Hong Kong and should have landed by now."

Ye Jintian raised his wrist, glanced at the Patek Philippe watch on it, and seeing that the private jet hadn't landed yet, continued, "This batch of banknotes was found in warehouse number fifteen."

"Along with it came a batch of counterfeit British pounds, printing equipment, and color-changing ink, but the circuit boards were nowhere to be found."

“Deputy Chief Executive, the Chinese Chief Executive has already met with the Secretary for Justice. They will have the Secretary for Justice sign the documents in the joint investigation. At the latest tonight, you will become the deputy head of the joint investigation team.”

“This is a chance to get ahead. I don’t know what Guan Lou is up to, and even if I did, I wouldn’t care. But HSBC has the right to apply for Justice of the Peace from the Overseas Colonies Department this year. As long as the report is submitted, the Overseas Colonies Department will approve it.”

"Congratulations, Officer Guo! You can now use the abbreviation JP on your business card, your personal business card!"

Tim Yip congratulates Guo Guohao in advance, as he has taken another step closer to the end of his professional career!
(End of this chapter)