novelraw Chapter 29: The Rise of the Gossip Paparazzi
Chapter 29: The Rise of the Gossip Paparazzi
"What are you doing here?"
Zhou Zhanqiao's blood pressure not only dropped, but his body temperature also dropped.
Chen Guanjiang didn't give him the impression of forming a paparazzi team at all, but rather of an organization with a tight structure.
If Zhou Zhanqiao hadn't investigated Chen Guanjiang's upbringing, family background, and sources of income, he would have even suspected that this guy was sent from the north to cause trouble.
"Zhong Weiming?"
Chen Guanjiang had no choice but to bring up the topic directly: "The power of the criminal investigation team is the administrative power granted to you by the police station, which can be taken away; the power of reporters is the right to know granted by law, which cannot be taken away."
"A share swap means the Hong Kong government tacitly approves of the forced takeover of Dairy Farm, and your Chow Wing-tai family is destined to lose this cash cow."
"Without the support of wealth, it's only a matter of time before they lose their seats on the Jockey Club board, and then it will be your descendants next."
"To prevent you from rising again and having the ability to retaliate, they will also suppress the possibility of your descendants rising again."
"In this situation, if you're still unwilling to break the rules and take risks, then there's nothing more to say between us."
When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; when a tree falls, the monkeys scatter.
The influence they gained through their uncles was taken away with the passing of Zhou Junnian and the downfall of Zhou Xinian.
Chen Guanjiang didn't care about the downfall of Zhou Yongtai's family, nor did he care about Zhou Zhanqiao being stripped of power; he only wanted to benefit from the downfall and loss of power.
Chen Guanjiang has a platform and development opportunities, while Zhou Zhanqiao has technology and talent. It can be described as a win-win situation that hits the mark immediately. If the other party still harbors illusions, then they are hopeless.
The words have been spoken!
This was like tearing off the last fig leaf, deeply wounding Zhou Zhanqiao's heart, forcing him to confront reality.
Last year, the position of Chief Detective Inspector was abolished, and this year the Anti-Corruption Department was separated from the police force and personnel were sent from England and Canaan to take over and restructure the department.
Next year... nothing stays secret forever!
There are already rumors circulating within the police station that the Criminal Investigation Team will be merged into the military system next year, under the Operations Department, and police ranks will also be merged into military ranks.
Zhou Zhanqiao is the head of the Criminal Investigation Department in Kowloon District at the police station. Even the so-called four major Chinese detectives have to call themselves inferior in front of him. However, if his military rank were included, he would be at most a major.
If his authority is taken away and his family's backing collapses, and his past actions in the 60s are investigated and stripped bare, he will truly be nothing more than a rabbit.
More importantly, his father passed away last year, and the main and branch branches of the family are engaged in infighting, leaving them with neither the energy nor the ability to support him.
With his uncle from a branch family being targeted by the Jardine Matheson Group, the eldest brother Zhou Zhanlin was able to take control of the family as he wished, while Zhou Zhanqiao, the third brother, would also be reduced to a branch family, and his branch would never rise again.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zhanqiao softened his tone and said, "I won't resign, at least not right now, but we can try to cooperate."
"Some people in the criminal investigation team are preparing to leave. I can persuade them to switch careers and become journalists. I hope you keep your word."
"Yes!" Chen Guanjiang readily agreed.
The criminal investigation team was recruited, not Zhou Zhanqiao, so whether he joined the gossip department or not didn't make much difference.
It's okay to have your cake and eat it too, the key question is if one boat capsizes, is there still room on the other?
Criminal Investigation Team:
The monitoring team is responsible for monitoring, contacting, and recruiting informants;
The intelligence team is responsible for collecting, analyzing, filtering, and verifying information;
The support team is responsible for vehicle and equipment management and maintenance;
The action team is responsible for operations, tracking, negotiation, and support;
The technical team is responsible for data, optics, training, medical care, instruction, wiretapping, and long-distance tracking;
If each department could recruit one person, the Gossip Department would immediately evolve from a makeshift operation into a well-organized structure.
Chen Guanjiang immediately summoned Tang Yufei and Hao Yuze, explained the responsibilities of each department in the Gossip Department, and determined what kind of talent each department should recruit.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhanqiao felt a chill run down his spine. If his family hadn't fallen to such a state, he would never have agreed to cooperate with this mad dog. This gossip department was simply recklessly testing the limits of their own survival.
Tang Yufei and Hao Yuze were also stunned. The boss was attacking Zhou Xinian while cooperating with the Zhou Yongtai family. It was simply unbelievable.
Chen Guanjiang knew that a snake couldn't swallow an elephant, and besides, no one would watch him devour the criminal investigation team; he'd be lucky to even swallow a single tusk.
Even if MacLehose were to demolish the police station, or even bring in the military to dismantle it into pieces, the restructuring would ultimately disrupt the entire department without completely losing it. And the prerequisite for restructuring is having people.
During the discussion, the receptionist knocked on the door and whispered in Chen Guanjiang's ear, "Boss, there are two people outside who say they are your family members and want to see you..."
"Family." Chen Guanjiang savored these two words.
For the past two months, apart from his third sister, his family had ignored him. He had just published an advertisement claiming to have earned tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars when they came knocking on his door. Of course, he knew what his family was up to.
Chen Guanjiang asked the receptionist to take his family to the meeting room. He talked with the three of them for a while before heading to the meeting room.
"Dog Bro, Dog Bro~"
Chen Jiagang, the younger sister, had been eagerly waiting in the reception room. Through the glass window, she saw Chen Guanjiang rushing over and jumping around him.
"Hong Kong girl, craving some chocolate or Swiss candy?"
Chen Guanjiang grabbed his little sister's pigtails and turned around to order, "Bring me some of your snacks."
"Okay, boss!"
The receptionist immediately rushed to the office area to scavenge the snacks from her colleagues, while Chen Guanjiang asked her how she had been doing for the past two months, ignoring his mother, Du Huiying, who had come with him.
Feeling awkward at such a cold reception, Du Huiying awkwardly approached and asked with a forced smile, "You've lost weight? It must be tough?"
"Better than being a nobody," Chen Guanjiang said without looking up.
For the past two months, I've been living a life of luxury, without being forced by my family to practice swordplay, break tiles, apply makeup, play musical instruments, or sing and dance. I also don't have to scatter paper money all the way up the cemetery under the scorching sun.
Spending all day dealing with newspaper affairs, either staring at stocks and reading books and newspapers, or studying management finance to fill in knowledge gaps, I neglected exercise and gained weight. Saying I'm thin is just making excuses.
While it's true that the improvement of interpersonal relationships largely depends on how much small talk is involved, Chen Guanjiang is unwilling to build emotional connections and doesn't bother to say a single pointless word.
"Ah Jiang, go back home!"
Du Huiying, revealing her true intentions, continued to strike up a conversation: "Haven't you been eating properly while you're out? Mom will cook you something delicious when we get home to help you recover..."
"Didn't you tell me last time that once I stepped out of this door, I shouldn't come back?" Chen Guanjiang's mocking gaze swept over them, as if he could see through all their tricks.
"You child, we gave birth to you and raised you, how can you hold a grudge against your parents?"
Du Huiying immediately scolded, "How can people be so heartless? How difficult it was to raise you all! Now that you're all grown up, you can't bear to say such things to your parents?"