Chapter 38 Big Shot
In order to allow the police to appear in front of the dignitaries in neat clothes, the Cape Town Police Department prepared 500 pounds of funds for this security activity. In addition to preparing appropriate clothing for the police on duty, they also hired etiquette teachers to standardize the police's manners and polite language.
"Etiquette means calling someone "sir" or "madam" every time, smiling before speaking, and bowing at every turn." Anton had a lot of complaints. In fact, it was because Anton had just gone to a tailor shop to customize his clothes, but the police station wanted to issue uniforms to the policemen, which made Anton feel very resentful.
It was a full ten pounds. Anton still feels the pain when he thinks about it now.
"Don't say weird things. If you bring your own dress, then the cost of the dress prepared by the bureau will be discounted. You'd better get your hair cut, too worth lingering on? In white society, only women who violate ethics and morals will be shaved into yin-yang haircuts.
"You want a haircut like this? I don't want to be a monk." Rock couldn't stand Anton's hairstyle, and Anton couldn't stand Rock either. In the Qing Dynasty, only monks would shave their heads like Rock.
"If you don't get a haircut, you can't participate in the security operation." Rock smiled. Empty words are not as moving as real money.
"Will I still get a discount if I don't participate in the security operation?" Anton was still thinking about the money.
"What do you think?" Rock smiled even more happily. Of course, he would not get any money if he did not participate in the security operation.
What a good excuse! Rock had wasted countless efforts to persuade Anton and the others to become citizens. Rock could imagine how troublesome it would be to persuade Anton and the others to cut their braids. At least the British had given up on doing so. In fact, the Chinese also had turbans similar to those of the Sikhs in India, and many Chinese would also wrap their braids inside cowboy hats when wearing them, which proved that the Chinese did not like braids on their heads.
But not liking someone is one thing, and cutting off the braid is another. Cutting off the braid means completely severing ties with the Qing Dynasty, which is a capital crime in the Qing Dynasty.
Facts have proved that the charm of money is infinite, or in other words, after becoming Cape Town citizens, Anton and his men were mentally prepared to completely sever ties with the Qing Dynasty. That night, many Chinese policemen cut off their braids, and they didn't even go to the barber shop. The brothers helped each other to cut their braids directly with scissors. Anyway, no one cared whether the hairstyle looked good after cutting off the braids.
So convenient.
A week later, all the commandos received uniform custom-made dresses. This dress was a simplified version of the standard dress customized by Rock. It included a tuxedo, vest, trousers, and leather shoes, but no cane or pocket watch. However, this was not a problem; putting a pocket handkerchief in the chest pocket could also serve as a decoration.
"The dinner will be held on Christmas Eve. Now let's get to know some important people--" In addition to etiquette training, the commandos also have to get to know some important people attending the banquet. They are the commandos' main protection targets, and Henry is responsible for this work.
"First of all, our great Governor, His Excellency Alfred Milner. I believe you are all familiar with him..." The Cape Town Police Department is quite advanced. As Henry spoke, he hung a photo of Alfred Milner on the wall beside him. He also had many other photos in his hands.
"Then there is the new commander-in-chief of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal Sir Frederick Roberts, and the new chief of staff of the expeditionary force, General Horatio Herbert Kitchener - finally, there is our Prime Minister, Mr. William Philip Schreiner. Like you, I don't know why Mr. Schreiner is in Cape Town. I thought he would go to Transvaal to negotiate with Mr. Paul Kruger." Henry didn't seem to respect Prime Minister Schreiner. This was not surprising. Schreiner advocated negotiations with the Boers, while Governor-General Alfred Milner had a tough attitude. If nothing unexpected happened, Schreiner would not stay in the position of Prime Minister for long.
By the time Henry finished his introduction, dozens of photos were already densely hung on the walls, including the photo of Police Chief August Russell. These dozens of people on the wall made up the so-called "upper society" of Cape Town.
It seemed to be a welcome dinner for Sir Frederick Roberts and General Horatio Herbert Kitchener. The failure of the Battle of Ladysmith led to the resignation of Admiral Redvers Buller, commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, and Sir Frederick Roberts became Admiral Buller's successor.
This was good news for the Cape Colony. Sir Frederick Roberts was an experienced colonial general and had served as Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India for a long time. He would become the savior of the Cape Colony.
But this is not necessarily good news for Rock. Although Sir Frederick Roberts is a typical British, he was born in India and may have a better impression of Indians.
Of course not necessarily. The peculiarity of Indians is that people who don’t understand them will have certain expectations of them.
And the more you get to know them, the more you hate them.
"Remember these faces. Each of them is very important. If you accidentally offend someone you shouldn't offend, the chief won't speak for you." Henry was right. Rock and his men couldn't afford to offend any of the people on the wall.
"Locke, I think they all look the same." Rock could still barely recognize them, but Anton was completely dumbfounded. Not only white people have face blindness towards Chinese people, many Chinese people have the same problem towards white people. It's just because they have little contact.
"That's right. They all have red eyebrows and green eyes. All foreigners look the same." Luo Yi has not yet recovered from his injury, but has already started going to work because if he doesn't go to work he won't get any salary. He is truly a cockroach with tenacious vitality.
Being whipped also had some benefits . His crazy performance successfully made everyone in the police station remember him. Many people may still dislike Luo Yi, but when mentioning Luo Yi, even those who don't like him will say that he is a good man.
"Don't talk nonsense, remember them as much as possible, and don't let anything go wrong when the time comes." Rock was focused. For Rock, it was important to remember these people, not just for the security service on Christmas Eve.
Unlike Anton and the others, Rock's goal in life is not just to survive, but to live a better life.
Rock is not British and has no deep background in Cape Town, nor a large ethnic group to provide support. If he wants to stand out, he needs the support of big people. These people on the wall can largely determine Rock's fate. Rock must ensure that he can leave a deep enough impression on them when they need him.
