Learning to think ahead, to consider more than others, to repeatedly scrutinize and analyze, and to make decisions carefully—these are the most fundamental skills for being a good leader.
While sitting in Brother Yue’s jeep, Jiayi was still pondering how to be a good Sergeant.
There’s an old saying: only when you become a mother do you realize how hard it is to raise a child. Now Jiayi is about to be a Sergeant, and only now does she realize Brother Yue’s difficulties.
He has been managing as a Sergeant for so long, keeping Team B so well-organized, with everyone actively willing to work and such strong team cohesion; it really hasn’t been easy for him.
As they approached the sharp turn on Shixun Road, Fang Zhenyue stopped the car to greet the military police blocking the road and exchanged nods with Uncle Jiu and Jiaming. Jiayi also nodded at Ah Wei, who had been sent from the Central District Police Station Forensic Department to conduct a re-examination.
Only then did Fang Zhenyue release the brake, turn the corner, and head uphill towards the first villa area they would pass.
The earliest batch of tycoons in Hong Kong recognized the most expensive lands to be in areas like the southern Victoria Bay, the Racecourse, and The Peak.
Thus, although areas like Mid-Levels are clearly not as conducive to building as flat lands, businessmen still tackle the difficulties and build high-rises clinging to the hillside. Relying on the mountain and facing the water—this is considered a location of great fortune and auspicious feng shui.
The view from The Peak is, of course, superior, but it’s also harder to find suitable areas to build houses. Hence, despite the businessmen’s hard efforts, these villas are built somewhat irregularly and not too densely.
As Jiayi followed Fang Zhenyue on visits, she gained a more systematic understanding of these luxurious residences in Mid-Levels and The Peak.
In the 90s, The Peak was not as well-developed as in later years. Many roads were potholed and not yet repaired. The old villas at The Peak had high maintenance costs, and the reality was not as glamorous and luxurious as imagined.
Many villas fully displayed what’s called ‘barely managing to build.’ Despite bearing the name of ultra-expensive villas, they occupied only about 200 square meters of land, squeezing in a small garden—an achievement not easily attained.
Perhaps because it was a weekday morning, some villas were unoccupied, and some were tended only by Filipino maids who could hardly speak Cantonese or English. In such cases where recordings couldn’t be made, they could only register the house numbers and come back in the evening.
Only occasionally, when the lady of the house was at home, or even more rarely, the whole family was at home, were they invited inside for more comprehensive inquiries.
After visiting more than a dozen homes, Fang Zhenyue and Jiayi had consumed many cups of black tea brewed by the maids, but they hadn’t collected a single useful clue.
As they walked out from the last villa in the Yiluan Villa Community, Jiayi asked Fang Zhenyue as they walked:
“Brother Yue, did you hear a splashing sound?”
“What?” Fang Zhenyue asked.
“The sound of the tea sloshing in my stomach, splashing around as I walk,” Jiayi said, shaking a little.
“Haha, you’ll probably need to use the restroom soon.”
“It’s such a hassle, if the next house offers me tea, I’ll just take a sip,” Jiayi made a pretend tea-drinking gesture.
“There are many more houses to visit, let’s take it slow,” Fang Zhenyue led Jiayi out of the Yiluan Villa Community.
“Understood, sir,” Jiayi nodded, trying to boost her own morale.
Throughout her journey, she felt like a census officer, checking up on everyone.
In Yiluan, there’s a villa owned by the Rubber King, another bought by the wealthy Liu for his new girlfriend, and one that’s a secret love nest for a celebrity couple… She knew everything about them by now.
Now, if she were to switch careers to a paparazzi, she felt absolutely qualified. At least she wouldn’t stake out the wrong place while hunting for gossip.
Returning to Shixun Road, ready to take the big Jeep up the mountain road to visit the Shixun Road Villa Community, she suddenly saw another car parked by the Jeep, surrounded by several people.
Uncle Jiu, Liu Jiaming, a military police officer, and—what?—Madam Qiu Sushan too.
“Madam!” Fang Zhenyue approached and nodded his head.
“Madam!” Jiayi saluted.
Qiu Sushan nodded, “I needed to speak with you, so I came over, and thought I’d check in on you as well.”
She then pointed to the military police officer standing behind her and introduced him to Fang Zhenyue:
“This is Xu Shaowei from the Central District Police Station. He was just assisting colleagues from the forensic department with a survey, along with Uncle Jiu and Jiaming. The survey has just finished, so I brought him along to join you in your visit.”
“Sir Fang,” Xu Shaowei stepped forward when named, respectfully saluting Fang Zhenyue.
Fang Zhenyue appraised him; the young man was about 178 cm tall, which was above average height for Hong Kong at that time. His side-parted short hair was flattened by his cap, and with a long face, medium-sized nose, two short saber-like eyebrows over round, elongated eyes, he was quite handsome.
His beard was neatly shaven, and the hair at his temples and the ends sticking out from under his cap were trim, showing he was a tidy young man.
After Xu Shaowei saluted and dropped his hand, Fang Zhenyue quickly glanced at his palm.
The knuckles were thick, his palms large and somewhat flat with thick calluses at the bases of the fingers, likely from regular exercise, suggesting considerable arm strength.
His gaze moved down to Xu’s large feet, slightly splayed out when standing, indicating a very stable stance.
Returning his gaze, although Xu’s posture and expression were respectful, his eyes were sharp and cold, likely not someone easy to talk to.
Fang Zhenyue nodded, looked back at Qiu Sushan, saw her nod as if she had received some signal, and after a few seconds of thought, he made his decision.
“Detective Yi Jiayi, you and Xu Shaowei will visit the villas from number 1 to 6 on Shixun Road. Uncle Jiu, you take Jiaming to visit from number 7 to 12. I’ll stay here and talk with madam for a while. Once you have finished visiting the villas on Shixun Road, meet up on the street outside the villa community. I will drive the jeep there as our meeting point.”
“Yes, sir,” all four responded in unison.
Jiayi and her group split up to start their visits. Uncle Jiu, with Liu Jiaming, took a winding uphill path directly to villa number 7, diverging from Jiayi and Xu Shaowei’s route. When parting ways, Uncle Jiu looked back at Xu Shaowei, pressing his brow slightly, his glance carrying a subtle intimidating presence.
Xu Shaowei paused, then nodded at Uncle Jiu to show his goodwill.
Uncle Jiu then turned away, leading Liu Jiaming in another direction.
Once Jiayi and Xu Shaowei were out of sight, Liu Jiaming asked, “Why did madam bring a military policeman to join our visits? If the workload is really heavy, shouldn’t we call for more military police instead of just one? Does this signify something special?”
“Team B is short one person since Eleven got promoted, and wouldn’t it be one less again when I retire? Wouldn’t madam need to gradually fill the vacancies of two detectives in Team B? She’s chosen one to show Brother Yue. You should keep in mind everything that happens around you,” Uncle Jiu patted Liu Jiaming’s shoulder and instructed, “Go knock on the door now.”
“Oh.” After Liu Jiaming pressed the villa’s doorbell, he turned and asked, “Did Brother Yue assign Xu Shaowei to team eleven to let eleven establish authority?”
Uncle Jiu nodded, “You’re not entirely clueless, quite sharp indeed. It’s not certain about establishing authority, but the intent of leading one’s own newcomer is clear. When eleven gets promoted to sergeant, she’ll need to lead all of us. If Xu Shaowei wants to join Team B, he definitely needs to show respect to eleven. Don’t underestimate eleven’s youthfulness; he must understand the respect he owes, knowing that eleven could likely be the next Team B sergeant.”
“…” Liu Jiaming peeked into the villa, pondering Uncle Jiu’s words for a while before saying, “I do believe in eleven. She’s usually very approachable, but when it comes to work, she turns into a real workaholic. She’s stubborn and knows how to argue her point. Seeing such a side of eleven makes me want to call her ‘Sister Eleven.’ Xu Shaowei has always been a uniformed policeman; he’ll surely be impressed. Maybe after we finish visiting and regroup, Xu Shaowei will start addressing eleven as ‘Madam Yi.’”
“Let’s hope Xu Shaowei is smart,” Uncle Jiu nodded just as there was movement inside.
A Filipino maid came to open the door, confirmed their identities as detectives, and informed them that the lady of the house was home, inviting them to wait in the living room.
Once the maid went upstairs, Uncle Jiu stood up from the sofa and leisurely paced the living room, habitually gathering all the information he could access.
As he glanced out the window at the courtyard, he thought again of Yi Jiayi.
Eight words spontaneously emerged in his mind, capturing a flash of insight that seemed to vividly depict Yi Jiayi:
[Fragile yet not weak, strong yet not aggressive.]
Uncle Jiu then pursed his lips and chuckled. Initially worried that Xu Shaowei might overstep and bully Eleven, he now, like Liu Jiaming, cast aside his concerns with full confidence and focused on his own tasks.