Break out of the courtyard

"Engaged?"

After listening to Director Wang's account, Zhang Heping, meeting the questioning gaze of his first wife Tang Xin, smiled into the phone and said:

"Row!"

"I'm free for the next few days... Let's book the Capital Hotel! It'll be convenient for them!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Heping turned to his wife, Tang Xin, who was walking with him on the arm, and said:
"Xiao Wan and Xiao Ting's parents want to arrange a marriage for their children first, and then hold the wedding after Hong Kong Island returns to China."

"I thought they had changed their minds!" Tang Xin said in a complicated tone, "If they were so hesitant, why send their daughter here in the first place!"

Zhang Heping smiled as he looked at the surrounding shops. "They want to take advantage of our influence, and we also want to have another source of support for them. Plus, Xiaolong and Xiaohu are interested, so let them be!"

"I was struggling to choose a gift, but if it's just about getting engaged, then things will be much easier!" Tang Xin pointed to a jewelry store.

Immediately, the bodyguards around them changed their formation. First, four bodyguards entered the jewelry store as the vanguard, followed by another four bodyguards to control the area. By the time Zhang Heping, Tang Xin, Chen Shuting, and the others entered the jewelry store, the four corners, the back door, and the passage leading to the store manager's office had already been occupied by armed bodyguards.

In other words, the news that the Zhang family, the richest man in China, were out shopping had already spread throughout the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, the bodyguards were wearing the uniform black combat uniforms of Umbrella Security Company, which prevented them from scaring the employees in the jewelry store.

Although the bodyguards did not clear the area, the number of bodyguards who followed them in was far too large, scaring away most of the customers in the store.

"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang. I am Xiao Xu, the store manager. It is my honor to serve you!" The middle-aged male store manager of the jewelry store approached excitedly.

Tang Xin released Zhang Heping's hand, and while looking at the jewelry in the display case, said, "Let's take a look at your jade ornaments first!"

……

Given that the Xie family had postponed the wedding until next year, possibly indicating they might have changed their minds, Zhang Heping did not hold a large banquet. Instead, he invited Mr. Hua, Mr. Li, and Mrs. Zheng as witnesses, in addition to Director Wang acting as matchmaker.

The date was set for the tenth day of the lunar month, which is noon on February 28th, an even number that is considered auspicious.

Zhang Heping and his family returned to the capital the day before. As soon as they got off the plane, Zhang Heping was invited to a meeting to discuss the education of children of migrant workers.

Grandma Zheng has already brought up the idea of ​​the Peace Nine-Year Compulsory Education School, hoping to use it as a pilot project to accept a small number of children of migrant workers.

When Zhang Bing and Ma Xiuzhen heard that their two grandsons were getting engaged, they rushed back from their hometown.

Fortunately, Tang Xin and Chen Shuting bought enough gifts for the meeting, even considering the future engagements of unmarried juniors like Chang Le and Zhou Xiaochun, so Ma Xiuzhen and the others didn't have to worry about the gift issue.

In addition, engagement is different from engagement. Engagement is led by parents and elders and is more private. The marriage is limited to the knowledge of relatives and friends of both families.

Engagement, on the other hand, is more public and is basically led by the couple.

On the morning of the 28th, Zhang Heping declined invitations from some research institutes and universities, and arrived at the Capital Hotel ahead of schedule with his parents, wives, Zhang Long, and Zhang Hu.

Director Wang Sumei arrived quite early, mainly to confirm the betrothal gifts prepared by the Zhang family. If they were too expensive, the amount would need to be reduced accordingly.

However, when Wang Sumei opened several gift boxes in succession, she found that inside were jade carvings and gold and jade inlaid jewelry, and she was completely unsure of the value of these items.

"Are these jade pieces and jewelry expensive?" Wang Sumei asked Zhang Heping, who was smiling, with some uncertainty.

Tang Xin said from the side, "Aunt Wang, jade is the hardest thing to value. The same piece of jade can be bought at a high price by those who like it, while those who don't like it will treat it like a roadside stone."

"To silence any outsiders, I've also prepared some appraisal certificates and purchase invoices. The total price of each set of betrothal gifts will not exceed 1 yuan!"

Wang Sumei took the document with some skepticism, pulled out an appraisal certificate and price tag for the "Golden Jade Hall" necklace, studied it carefully for a while, and found that the price was only slightly higher than the gold price of the jewelry, and the value of the jade was less than one-twentieth of the total price.

“If you do it this way…” Wang Sumei thought for a moment, then said, “Forget it, let’s leave it like this for now, and see if the Xie family will accept it later!”

"Aunt Wang, this is a thank you gift for helping you make the connection!" Tang Xin said, handing over a small red silk gift box.

Wang Sumei knew she couldn't avoid this gift, after all, it was a tradition that had lasted for thousands of years, and it was only natural for matchmakers to receive a thank-you gift, so she didn't postpone it. She just gave a heads-up, "Ah Xin, let's make this clear first, if the gift is too expensive, I won't accept it!"

Tang Xin smiled and said, "Open it and take a look first!"

"Aunt Wang, I picked that out for you. It's not expensive, so please accept it!" Zhang Heping interjected with a smile.

When Wang Sumei opened the gift box, she found two slightly different purple-black Buddhist prayer bead bracelets inside.

Wang Sumei simply picked up the bracelet and smelled it, and immediately knew it was sandalwood from the world of antique collectibles.

In terms of value alone, the value of a sandalwood bracelet is more difficult to estimate than that of jade. The same sandalwood bracelet, when its color leans towards orange-red, would fetch around 50 yuan in the capital city.

However, once its color turns into its current purplish-black hue, that is, after proper handling and the formation of a warm patina, its price becomes unpredictable, ranging from 500 to 5000, depending mainly on whether the person buying the bracelet is willing to spend the money.

The reason Director Wang knew these things was mainly because her husband, after retiring, liked to tinker with these little trinkets, and had previously given her a fake sandalwood bracelet to wear.

Looking back now, Zhang Heping must have realized that the sandalwood bracelet was fake, but the other party didn't point it out on the spot.

Compared to the red envelopes Zhang Heping gave to Wang Sumei, Hua Lao, and Li Lao's grandchildren on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, this sandalwood bracelet, worth over 500 yuan, is not considered particularly valuable.

Wang Sumei hesitated for only a moment before happily putting it into her bag.

Not long after, Elder Hua and Elder Li also arrived.

Tang Xin also gave a gift, a sandalwood bracelet, but each of them only received one.

"Peace!" Old Hua smiled as he put the bracelet on his left wrist. "I heard you and Old Zheng made a pledge over there at the meeting?"

“What kind of military order is that!” Zhang Heping replied helplessly, “It’s just about building a few more Hope Primary Schools.”

"I've discussed it with them, and we'll try to build two-story buildings for the future Hope Primary Schools, so that if there are no more students, we can donate them to the local area to be converted into a nursing home or for other purposes, so as not to waste money."

"Peace, what stage has your plan for biodegradable biomaterial production reached before the Lunar New Year?" Old Li put away the gift box and asked seriously, "How many kilograms of straw can you process in a year? What price are you planning to set for the purchase?"

“The purchase price can only be low, not high!” Zhang Heping patiently explained: “If the purchase price of straw is high, they may collect the straw before the grain has grown, and then force new seedlings to grow. In this way, it is possible to harvest straw five or six times a year.”

Just as Mr. Hua and Mr. Li nodded in approval, Mrs. Zheng and the Xie family arrived.

They only listened for a few moments at the door before the bodyguard knocked on the door of the private room.

When the parents from both sides meet for the first time, there will inevitably be some polite exchanges.

After everyone sat down, Xie Jia couldn't help but ask, "Just now outside the door, I heard Consultant Zhang talking about straw."

“Our country produces about 500 to 600 million tons of straw every year. The biodegradable biomaterials you proposed earlier would probably be difficult to process such a large amount of straw.”

"Furthermore, the sales channels for biodegradable biomaterial products are also a major problem!"

“Indeed, there are many problems here!” Zhang Heping nodded and smiled. “But I think the biggest problem is that people are afraid to think about it! Afraid to do it!”

“Straw has many uses. I only mentioned the production of biodegradable biomaterials, not that it can also be used to produce feed, fertilizer, etc.”

"If I told you that straw can be converted into gasoline, would you believe me, Brother Xie?"

"Huh?" Xie Jia was stunned, entering a blind spot in his knowledge.

In the minds of Mr. Hua, Director Wang, and Chen Shuting, there was no question of whether they believed or not in Zhang Heping's words; rather, they firmly believed that Zhang Heping would not speak without reason.

Old Li asked anxiously, "He Ping, is this really true?"

"Last year, I assigned two research projects to the research institutes below: one was to artificially synthesize starch using carbon dioxide, and the other was to convert carbon dioxide into gasoline," Zhang Heping said, looking at Xie Jia with a smile.
"I'm just throwing out an idea; I don't have the capacity to process hundreds of millions of tons of straw every year."

"As for the sales channels, it depends on how our CEO Chen arranges them."

With just a few words, Zhang Heping demonstrated that his position as the president of the World Advanced Technology Research Institute was well-deserved, while also subtly mentioning that the Heping Group was capable of accomplishing this.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Brother Zhang; it was my lack of knowledge!" Xie Jia quickly changed his form of address. "I didn't expect that while you were promoting the circular economy in agriculture, you also considered low-carbon development."

"Everyone has their own expertise, Brother Xie, there's no need to be modest!" Zhang Heping glanced at the waiter who came in to serve the dishes, and changed the subject with a smile, "Brother Xie and Sister He, if you have time, you must visit Shenzhen, otherwise there are many things we can only say in half, which may easily cause misunderstandings!"

Zhang Heping said this so that Xie Jia and his wife could go to the Shenzhen World Advanced Technology Research Institute to sign a confidentiality agreement.

“I understand!” Xie Jia replied with a smile. “When we ask Xiao Wan and Xiao Ting about their experiences in Shenzhen, they only say how good Grandma Ma, Aunt Xin, and Aunt Shu Ting are to them. They won’t reveal anything else about the college.”

Tang Xin smiled and said, "Everyone in our family treats Xiao Wan and Xiao Ting like family, so naturally we have to treat them well."

...(End of this chapter)