The Chief Detective Inspector is dead. I'm now the top police officer in Hong Kong!

Chapter 71 An Outdated Signboard (Seeking monthly votes and recommendations)

At 7:15, Yam Chiu-hung, a senior inspector of the New Territories South Military Uniformed Group, who was parched, had finished a whole cup of tea when Lam Tin-sing's Chevrolet pulled up in front of the door.

He locked the car door, looked up at the old teahouse without a sign, and memories of the past surfaced in his mind. With a smile, he stepped through the door.

Four plainclothes police officers standing guard at the door stood at attention and saluted.

Qiao Jingxing, Huang Qixian, Hong Baolian, Pu Yongshi, An Zhihong, Zeng Xiangrong, Pi Zhibang, Li Jiaxiang, Zhong Zhihui, Ren Chaoxiong, and Du Siye, a total of eleven people, were seated at two square tables on the left and right sides.

In the center of the hall stands a statue of Guan Yu, wearing red boots, golden armor, a long sword, a crescent-shaped blade, a golden helmet, and an official seal.

Two yellow tungsten filament lamps hung from the beam, their light illuminating the faces of the people, making them visible but their expressions indistinct. On the table, nine candles flickered, and in the bronze incense burner, there was only earth, no fragrance.

A large piece of pork is placed on the table, accompanied by melons, fruits, and peanuts, as an offering to the gods.

Lin Tiansheng stepped into the hall, his gaze first falling on the statue of the Second Master, and then he saw a plaque hanging in the air. It was black with red paint, strong and powerful, with four big characters written on it: Loyalty and Righteousness Teahouse!
Below is a line of cursive script: "Loyalty and righteousness bring wealth and glory; disloyalty and unrighteousness are like this lotus flower. Lü Yue."

This is the signboard of the old teahouse.
An outdated old signboard.

Pi Zhibang stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and led the way to the main seat in the hall, which was a grand chair placed in front of the Second Master's altar. He said, "Young Master Sheng, please sit down."

Chief Detective Inspectors Lui Lok and Lam Kong fled overseas, leaving the gang leaderless. Their once immense influence on the front lines was exhausted during the police riots. With a pardon, the Criminal Investigation Department was disbanded, and the remaining officers were either dismissed or imprisoned.

Since they acknowledged Lin Tiansheng as Brother Le's successor, the first thing they did when the remnants of the gang met was to help the successor take over.

It's been three years, but we've already accepted it, and we can't afford to waste a single moment.

Although Lin Tiansheng had made preparations in his mind, he still couldn't hide his excitement. He stepped forward, and the remnants of the gang followed him with burning eyes.

In the short distance of just over ten meters, after experiencing excitement, joy, and pride, he finally settled into responsibility and pressure, which pressed him firmly onto the dragon chair prepared by the remnants of the party.

In the teahouse, there are no positions, no police ranks, no seniority; only one thing matters: can you help them turn their lives around?
Whoever can lead them to a comeback will be the leader of the remnant party; whoever has the ability to lead them to rise again will sit on the leader's chair of the remnant party.

Chief Inspector Qiao Jingxing of the Criminal Investigation Department has status and connections, but has lost the courage to charge into battle. Chief Inspector Pu Yongshi of the Mobile Force is high-ranking and experienced, but has an flamboyant personality and lacks tact.

Hung Po-lien, a female inspector in the Public Relations Department, is shrewd, educated, and daring. She is capable of rising to the top, but in a male-dominated society, she doesn't even have the qualifications to carry the flag.

They all value power, and they all understand that compared to the former Chinese detective chief and chief Chinese detective, what difference does the inspector and chief inspector make?
Not even as good as a peephole!

Lin Tiansheng picked up the prepared teacup, opened the lid and blew on it, rinsed his mouth, calmed his mind, and then said, "I'm back."

Everyone is here.

Huang Qixian's eyes were red, and his voice was choked with emotion: "Young Master Sheng, everyone is here, everyone is here."

Hong Baolian tapped her red fingernails, flicked off some cigarette ash, rested her chin on her left hand, and said lightly, "It's good that you're back." Qiao Jingxing took a deep breath and said, "Young Master Sheng, the teahouse sign should be put up again."

In the past, the Zhongyi Police Station was the stronghold of the triads. When the officers finished work, they would come to the station for tea. If someone had a wedding or funeral, they would hold a banquet at the station, and the street in front of the station would become a continuous feast. Gang leaders and powerful figures would come with boxes of cash to settle their debts. On the fifteenth of each month, Piggy would hand out red envelopes to the officers. Everyone received one, and everyone benefited from it.

Loyalty lies with the superior, righteousness with brothers!
Chan Tai, known as the "Emperor of Wan Chai," once said: "A cup of 'Loyalty and Righteousness Tea' is better than fate." This means that in Hong Kong, as long as the Criminal Investigation Department is willing to take action, even the foreigners' influence is useless.

However, the more arrogant they were back then, the more miserable they became later. With the downfall of the corrupt police gang, the teahouse closed down, the signboard was removed, and that cup of loyalty tea became worthless.

The remnants of the regime desperately wanted to restore their former glory, but did hanging up a sign mean they had regained power? Lin Tiansheng put down his teacup, unconvinced, and asked, "Qiao sir, are we going to make people laugh by hanging up a sign?"

Qiao Jingxing, who had been excited and solemn, suddenly frowned and asked in confusion, "Young Master Sheng, how will anyone know I'm back if there's no sign up?"

Huang Qixian and the others also changed their expressions slightly. Everyone present was a shrewd person who could understand his intentions and immediately realized that he wanted to rewrite the brand!

The signboard of the Loyal and Righteous Police Station represents continuity, inheritance, and the political ideal that everyone can get promoted, make money, seize power, and enjoy a life of glory and happiness.

Rewriting the signboard signifies a change in political ideology. To initiate reforms so soon after taking office, before even having a firm grasp on power, is undoubtedly a huge political gamble. Perhaps, the very first gathering of the remnants will lead to their disintegration and the complete destruction of everything.

For Lin Tiansheng, the situation was already urgent. The words "loyalty and righteousness" were outdated. Holding up the signboard of the Loyalty and Righteousness Teahouse was nothing more than working as a black glove for the foreigners for two more years. Could he hold out until 97 or 90?
Lin Tiansheng crossed his legs, wearing a denim jacket, his hair slicked back with oil, and his expression was solemn: "Of course the signboard needs to be hung, but it needs to be a new one. I've been guarding the pond for three years, and every day I've been thinking about one thing: why did I lose?"

"Why should those foreigners dare to touch us!"

Huang Qixian, Hong Baolian, Li Jiaxiang and others fell silent and stared at Lin Tiansheng. Over the past three years, everyone had certainly reflected on their actions, but apart from feeling resentful, most people felt that police reform had led to the elite faction taking away the position of the triad police.

I'm sorry, I can't figure it out on a deeper level.

It's true that corrupt police officers are daring and hard-working, but they lack political talent, such as Qiao Jingxing and Huang Qixian, whose only redeeming qualities are their professional abilities.

Perhaps the most politically astute person among the corrupt police was Lui Lok, who wrote the words "loyalty and righteousness." However, due to the limitations of the era, Lui Lok's political views quickly became outdated and he never adjusted them.

Seeing that no one answered, Lin Tiansheng raised his voice and said, "Because Hong Kong was poor in the past, it only had military and political value, but no economic value. So the foreigners didn't care about the opinions of the lower-class citizens, those poor devils. As long as Brother Le and his men served the foreigners well and paid enough money, how they squeezed the poor devils dry was none of the foreigners' business."

"The foreigners only care about two things: using Hong Kong Island as a naval base and using Hong Kong Island as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the North. The remaining shipping, finance and land have been monopolized by foreign firms for decades."

"But after the reform and opening up in the north, the value of Hong Kong Island as a trade window has become prominent, and it is obvious that it will usher in a period of rapid development."

"If foreigners want to do business in the mainland, they will impose tariffs, so of course they will need to free up labor and improve the business environment. The first thing they will do is eliminate us."

"You all know the consequences. We took the blame, we ate prison food, while the foreigners easily got out of prison, bought land, collected taxes, and became good guys. Even the old foxes in the police force just changed their ways to make money. How unfair it was to us! We lost back then because we were short-sighted. If we want to turn things around today, we have to adapt to the times and start over."

"You don't want to get trampled by those foreigners again, do you?"

(End of this chapter)