Break out of the courtyard

“When I was little, my family lived in a small side room of a courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang, which was only about 14 square meters.” Zhang Heping glanced at his eldest sister, Zhang Zhaodi, then looked at the other attendees and smiled.
"On New Year's Eve in 62, my two older sisters, my mother, my grandmother, and I squeezed into that small, dilapidated house. Our New Year's Eve dinner consisted of a small bowl of leftover paste from sticking matchboxes together, diluted with some water!"

"The Liu family next door had their stove to the left of our small, dilapidated door. They were steaming cabbage dumplings. I sat on the threshold and smelled the dumpling steam for a long time until the Liu family brought that big tin pot into their house. They didn't give us a single one."

Zhang Heping looked at Director Wang, who was wiping away tears, and said with a smile, "The old man in the courtyard who has been clamoring to take care of the elderly living alone, along with the oldest deaf woman in the courtyard and some other people, are having a family reunion in the main room of the courtyard."

"I still remember the laughter they were having that night."

"After all this rambling, I just want to tell you all that I am only human, and I also have hatred!" Zhang Heping looked at the old man who had just asked the question and smiled.

"Put yourself in the shoes of the victim's family. For example, if it were your father's killer, wouldn't you want to tear him to pieces? Wouldn't you want to wipe out his entire family?"

The attendees gradually frowned, sensing the strong hostility in Zhang Heping's words.

Based on what Zhang Heping just said, most people believe it was caused by his childhood trauma.

The second example changed the minds of everyone present, making them understand why Zhang Heping implicated the criminal's spouse and the spouse's parents.

Zhang Heping first mentioned embezzling charitable funds, then vaguely referred to him as a corrupt official, which made some people in the room deeply worried.

"I've already done my best to control my emotions by not involving their grandparents. If you feel it's inappropriate, you can take it back and discuss it further," Zhang Heping said casually, leaning back in his chair.
"After all, people I dislike can't get longevity potions!"

Few people knew about the blacklist on the application webpage for the Shouyuan 120 medicine. Among those present, only Director Wang, Secretary Chen, and Dean Wang understood Zhang Heping's implication: anyone he disliked was on the blacklist, and he couldn't be bothered with the others.

However, to everyone's surprise, after the matter was reported to the capital, the punishment was upgraded to apply to three generations of the family, but the spouse was exempted from joint liability.

This means that if one person commits a crime, his father, grandparents, mother, maternal grandparents, as well as his children and grandchildren will be implicated and lose their eligibility to use the Lifespan 120 potion.

As for the spouse, the response from the capital was that if the spouse is also suspected of a crime, they will naturally be convicted, and then their parents and grandparents will be implicated.

If the spouse is innocent, they should not be implicated.

Zhang Heping expressed his approval of this.

On the day Zhang Heping nodded, the news that Guangdong Province would pilot the decentralized injection of Shouyuan 120 drug spread throughout the country and even to other countries.

To the surprise of those with many ideas, every box of Life 120 medicine sent from the Shenzhen World Advanced Technology Research Institute was tracked in real time, and SMS notifications were sent for each shipment, arrival, injection invitation, injection verification confirmation, and completion of the injection.

This approach seems to promote the sales of mobile phones and SIM cards, and it is very unfriendly to middle-aged and elderly people who do not know how to use mobile phones, but few people have expressed any objection to it.

Those who have worked so hard to get a free trial of the Lifespan 120 potion don't want their precious potion to have any unexpected problems.

After his eldest sister, Zhang Zhaodi, began promoting the pilot project of dispersive injection of Shouyuan 120 drug, Zhang Heping stopped paying attention to these matters and handed them all over to Secretary Chen for coordination. He continued to focus on the research of the levitation hammer and other domestic research projects.

After Zhang Yi and Zhang Bei returned, they resumed their research on biological brains and regenerative brains. Life seemed to be back on track, but gradually, significant changes began to emerge.

It's normal that my two older sisters are busy with work and don't come home often.

However, Zhang Nian, the third daughter, would occasionally stay overnight at their home on Hong Kong Island under the pretext of working overtime, which made Tang Xin and Chen Shuting somewhat uncomfortable. Fortunately, they had other children by their side.

Furthermore, after the second sister, Zhang Pandi, attended the first plenary meeting of the Hong Kong Island Personnel Preparatory Committee in the capital as a committee member, the Xie sisters, Xie Wan and Xie Ting, suddenly invited Zhang Long and Zhang Hu to their home for the Lunar New Year.

Xie Wan and Xie Ting's parents hold positions in the capital, and their current rank is one or two levels higher than Zhang Zhaodi's.

They have two older brothers who are already married, and a younger sister who has just started college.

The Xie family has some connections, but they are not complicated and are easy to find out.

After Xie Wan and Xie Ting confirmed their romantic relationships with Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, they received gifts from Ma Xiuzhen and Tang Xin, which can be considered as initial acceptance of their relationships.

However, their parents had some ideas. They had asked Director Wang to convey that they wanted to wait until Hong Kong returned to China before formally meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Heping to discuss their children's marriage.

The reason they took such action was mainly because the Zhang family had previously shown signs of emigrating abroad, and some people in the capital were deliberately spreading rumors, which slowed things down.

The reason they are having their two daughters invite Zhang Long and Zhang Hu to their Xie family home for the New Year is simply to pave the way for the next meeting between their parents.

The intricacies of the situation were quite complex, but Zhang Long and Zhang Hu didn't give it much thought.

Therefore, when the Xie sisters extended the invitation, Zhang Long and Zhang Hu declined, citing the time they had spent setting up the brain-computer interface equipment.

If Director Wang hadn't noticed the unusual expressions on the two Xie girls' faces and asked them a few more questions, no one would have known about the change in the Xie family's attitude.

That afternoon, Director Wang took Xie Wan and Xie Ting to the Zhang family and told Ma Xiuzhen and Tang Xin about the matter.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law decided on the spot to return to the capital for the Chinese New Year this year.

After they made their decision, they realized they needed to ask Zhang Heping if he was available, since there were so many research projects that required his coordination.

Then there's whether Zhang Zhaodi, Zhang Pandi, and Zhang Nian are free, because they've been very busy with work lately and rarely come home.

The result was obvious: Zhang Heping and Zhang Zhaodi couldn't leave their jobs. They could only take a day or two to go home for the New Year's Eve dinner before returning to work.

However, during dinner that evening, Zhang Heping personally made the decision to have Zhang Long and Zhang Hu take gifts to the Xie family in the capital to pay their respects in advance, and then go back to Shenzhen with their uncle Chang Sheng and the others to celebrate the New Year.

The Xie family was just paving the way for the next meeting between the two sets of parents. They didn't really want Zhang Long and Zhang Hu to spend the New Year at the Xie family's house. After all, the four boys hadn't gotten their marriage certificate yet, and it wouldn't sound good if word got out.

Even the Zhang family wouldn't feel comfortable letting the two Xie girls spend the New Year here.

Ma Xiuzhen and Tang Xin were actually somewhat disappointed by this. They were thinking that after Zhang Long and Zhang Hu visited the Xie family, they could ask Director Wang to facilitate a meeting between the two sets of parents after the New Year, and then finalize the marriage arrangements for Zhang Long and Zhang Hu.

Tang Xin had previously planned to wait until her eldest son, Zhang Bei, got married before letting Zhang Long and Zhang Hu get married.

But Zhang Bei still hasn't had a girlfriend, which really frustrates Tang Xin.

Back then, Zhang Heping was 16 years old when Tang Xin became pregnant with Zhang Bei and Zhang Nan.

Zhang Bei is 29 years old now and hasn't even had a girlfriend yet. He really can't compare to his father.

Thinking of Zhangbei naturally brings to mind the three girls, Zhang Nan, Zhang Nian, and Zhang Feng. A single word can hardly describe the sorrow.

After learning from Director Wang that the Zhang family would be staying in Shenzhen for the Spring Festival again, Mr. Hua and Mr. Li brought their families to Shenzhen, ostensibly because the south was warm.

Grandma Zheng also came along, accompanied by her grandniece Zhou Xirou.

Accompanying Elder Hua and Elder Li were some elderly men and women who came to learn about the progress of the pilot program for the decentralized injection of Shouyuan 120 medicine in Guangdong Province.

Although online news is not yet fully open, there are many posts online and all kinds of messages are emerging in an explosive manner. However, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false information, and many things need to be seen in person to determine their authenticity.

Like Huadu People's Hospital, which is the third hospital after Shenzhen Hospital to pilot the injection of Shouyuan 120, it has good reviews online. However, when I visited it in person, I found it to be chaotic. It wasn't that people coming to get the Shouyuan 120 injection weren't queuing in an orderly manner, but rather that the hospital had too few security guards, and the presence of many onlookers disrupted normal medical work.

With some buildings under construction here, the overall look is somewhat chaotic.

When Hua Lao and his group found Zhang Zhaodi, she was leading a team at the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University to inspect the pilot injection preparations.

“Twelve of you have participated in the injection of Shouyuan 120 at Shenzhen Peace Hospital. I hope that you will take the lead in the upcoming pilot injection work, help your hospital obtain the pilot qualification for Shouyuan 120, and strive for more injection slots for Shouyuan 120.”

"There are 5 minutes left before the official drill. You can take your positions!"

Although Zhang Zhaodi saw that Elder Hua and the others had arrived, she still arranged the work before leading a few of her subordinates to greet them.

After exchanging pleasantries and introducing the people behind them, the two sides walked to the side to watch the simulated injection drill.

First, there was the security check at the entrance. Although Zhang Zhaodi only brought 20 people who were simulating patients and their families, they made quite a commotion.

Why won't you let our wheelchairs in?

"I'm sorry, this is hospital policy! If a patient has difficulty moving around, we can carry him in on a wooden stretcher and then use our wheelchairs free of charge!"

"What about my wheelchair? Won't it be stolen if I leave it outside?"

"Shouyuan 120 Pharmacy Injection Department only allows one family member to accompany the patient. You can have your family member watch the wheelchair, or you can put it in the temporary storage area on the left. If you have any further questions, we can talk to you over there. Please don't delay the people behind you."

"Can the Lifespan 120 medicine really cure my cancer?"

"Excuse me, ma'am! If you have any questions, you can ask the doctor later. We are just conducting a security check here and cannot answer medical questions."

"Which of your doctors is the best? Can I make an appointment with him?"

"Excuse me, in order not to delay the people behind you from entering, please come to the side and I will have the guide explain to you slowly."

……

After observing the commotion at the entrance for a while, Hua noticed Zhang Zhaodi constantly checking her wristwatch and couldn't help but ask, "Is she checking the entry efficiency?"

"Hmm!" Zhang Zhaodi responded, then looked at the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University next to her and said, "There is a problem with the way you are dealing with this. You will be doing a lot of useless work."

"The staff in charge of facial recognition should proactively approach and screen out unqualified people in advance, reduce the number of people in line, and identify those with problems."

The president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University glanced at Elder Hua, Elder Li and others next to Zhang Zhaodi, and hurriedly asked the vice president next to him to go to the front to communicate. Then he said with a smile, "Director Zhang, it was our oversight. We forgot that both Heping Hospital and Shenzhen City Hospital have implemented facial recognition outside the gate."

"It's alright, just correct the problem as soon as it's discovered!" Zhang Zhaodi looked at the entrance and said slowly, "We also hope that your hospital can secure more injection slots, since the production of Lifespan 120 will increase over time."

Just then, Zhang Zhaodi's phone rang.

After Zhang Zhaodi finished the phone call, she turned to the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and smiled, "The Focheng People's Hospital has come up with a solution: patients who pass facial recognition are given a blue surgical cap and only one family member is allowed to accompany them while they queue. This makes it easier for staff around them to identify them."

After speaking, Zhang Zhaodi tapped on her phone for a while, sharing the experience of Focheng People's Hospital in the work group.

A young woman carrying a brown notebook jogged up to Zhang Zhaodi and whispered, "Director Zhang, the five simulated patients waiting for injections took 16 minutes!"

Zhang Zhaodi was replying to a work group message on her phone when she casually asked without looking up, "Did you write down the question?"

The young woman replied, "They wrote it all down; they spent too much time answering questions."

Zhang Zhaodi put away her phone and said to the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University next to her, "President Liu, the test results at the entrance are not up to standard. Have them adjust them, and we will test it again later. Now go to the nurses' station."

“3分钟检查完1个病人和家属，1个小时也才20个。你们这么大的医院，难道一个月只想要5千个寿元120药剂注射名额？”

Hua Lao, Li Lao, and others silently watched Zhang Zhaodi's every move, then went upstairs to the nurses' station and watched the triage and admission drills.

This was followed by an injection drill and a related inspection of the wards.

It was three hours later when this was all done.

After going through all that, Zhang Zhaodi didn't make a decision immediately. Instead, she asked in a consultative tone, "Dean Liu, I'll first allocate 1 slots for the Lifespan 120 injection to your hospital. We'll adjust the allocation next month based on your efficiency. Do you have any questions about that?"

"Director Zhang, aren't 1 injection slots a bit too few?" Dean Liu of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University glanced at Elder Hua and his group again, not wanting to openly engage in underhanded tactics, so he had to lower his tone and plead:
"Could you order more? If we can't complete the task, we'll work in three shifts to make sure we don't hold the whole province back!"

Zhang Zhaodi pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'll reserve another 5 flexible spots for you."

"If you complete the task quickly, the system will allocate another 1 slots to you. Once you complete these 1 slots, the system will allocate another 1, and so on, until all 5 floating slots are used up."

"However, you should be aware that these floating spots may be allocated to surrounding hospitals. If you are too slow, you may not even get one floating spot in the end."

"Thank you, Director Zhang, for your trust in our hospital. We will do our utmost to complete the pilot injection of Shouyuan 120!" the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University said with a beaming smile.
"It's almost lunchtime. Our hospital has prepared a small feast; please accept our invitation, leaders..."

"I won't go!" Zhang Zhaodi turned to Hua Lao and his group, and said apologetically, "Hua Lao, Li Lao, Zheng Lao, why don't you stay for a meal?"

"I have to take some people to the next hospital now, so I really can't accompany you today. Please forgive me!"

Old Hua waved his hand and laughed, "You go about your business, don't worry about us, we'll be going back to Shenzhen later."

"Why are you saying such formal things!" Old Mrs. Zheng laughed. "Go and attend to your business first, but don't forget to eat."

Zhang Zhaodi exchanged a few polite words, then instructed the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, "President Liu, please be prepared. If all goes well, the first batch of Lifespan 120 medication for your hospital will be shipped tonight. Please pay attention to system notifications!"

After speaking, Zhang Zhaodi took her leave with her men.

After Zhang Zhaodi got into the car, the young assistant assigned to her couldn't help but ask, "Director, are you very familiar with Elder Hua, Elder Li, and Grandma Zheng?"

Mr. Hua and Mr. Li came to Huadu today and made a special trip to see Zhang Zhaodi, which made Zhang Zhaodi wonder about their purpose in coming.

There were still quite a few people gossiping behind her back about how she got promoted through the pilot program of dispersing injections of the Shouyuan 120 drug.

At the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, if Professor Hua and Professor Li hadn't come today, Zhang Zhaodi estimated that she would be lucky to get 8 places for them. She would also have to be wary of them being outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.

The reason for this is that Zhang Heping and his superiors provided full guidance and monitoring for the dispersive injection of Shouyuan 120, allowing no room for error.

As a result, what was originally a profitable opportunity suddenly became a useless thing.

The pilot injection of Shouyuan 120 drug was done well. It was done according to the procedure, which was helpful but not very significant, and had little added value.

But if something goes wrong, the consequences of holding them accountable... wow... (End of Chapter)