Break out of the courtyard

"This is the space technology laboratory!" Xie Wan, holding her father's left arm, whispered as she introduced, "Space technology is a cutting-edge technology globally. The Americans sent over a hundred experts here to learn from Uncle Zhang in order to study this technology!"

Even though Xie Jia had seen many new technologies at the academy today, he couldn't help but be surprised, "Do we really have this kind of technology?"

"Dad!" Xie Wan pointed to the combination display screen in the laboratory, "Look at those surveillance videos, the first one in the top left shows the hovering hammer!"

"Uncle Zhang deduced the space locking technology by using some of the research data on this levitating hammer from the Americans."

"Afterwards, Uncle Zhang shared this technology with many experts and received their approval."

"If Uncle Zhang hadn't publicly disclosed this technology internally beforehand, we wouldn't have had the authority to come here and observe!"

Xie Jia watched for a while, but couldn't understand anything. However, he saw many young people who looked like students come over and ask questions to the researchers inside through the glass wall.

The researchers in the space technology laboratory don't answer every question. Most of the time, they tell the students who ask questions to read a certain book or learn a certain formula.

Leaving the lab, Xie Wan led her father to the playground and pointed to a tunnel at the foot of Nanshan Mountain from a distance. "Dad, that's the entrance to the underground base. Zhang Bei, Zhang Long, and Zhang Hu are in there right now, controlling engineering robots to build the lunar base!"

"My sister and I were originally allowed to go in, but since the beginning of this month, the underground base has been under strict control. People with a security clearance level below 5 are temporarily not allowed to enter!"

Xie Jia frowned and looked at the tunnel entrance with two sentry posts on the left and right. "What level of clearance do you two have?"

“My sister and I have Level 3 Assistant privileges.” Xie Wan looked in another direction and said, “Dad, I’ll take you to the hospital. The medical technology there is very advanced.”

……

Underground base on Dapeng Peninsula, Lunar Engineering Department.

Beneath the 8-meter-high dome, 600 men and women dressed in white coats stood quietly in front of 600 black capsule game pods.

chi...

A burst of mechanical sounds rang out, and the hatches of 600 neatly arranged capsule game pods opened simultaneously.

The next second, a cacophony of voices erupted from the underground building.

"The excavation task is still yours!"

"Good luck with the brick-making task!"

"There's something wrong with the robot's right joint. Since it was almost time to go home, I didn't have time to go back and have it checked. You can request a repair later!"

"I'm installing wireless charging devices, and there are still 15 left to install!"

"Hey! Zhang Bei, Zhang Long, Zhang Hu, please note, the Dean wants you to go home!" The black speakers on the surrounding walls suddenly spoke, drowning out all other sounds in the long cavern building.

"Brother Long, let's go back quickly!" A young man in his twenties said with a smile, "We will carefully record all the problems that occurred with those engineering robots, ensuring that nothing is overlooked, no matter how small."

Standing beside the capsule gaming pod, Zhang Long said solemnly to the man who had just lay down inside, "From now on, I'll be working hard for you!"

"What's so hard about this? It's just like playing a virtual dream!" the young man inside the cabin laughed. "Brother Long, I'm going to close the cabin door now!"

After he finished speaking, the man inside the pod touched a red button next to him with his right hand, and the game pod lid closed.

Zhang Long, however, did not leave immediately, but stood quietly in front of the capsule game pod.

Before long, the underground cave structure quieted down again, and 600 men and women in white coats stood neatly in front of each black capsule game pod.

As the cave entrance opened to the left and right, rows of people who had just finished get off work walked out in an orderly and quiet manner until only 600 game pods and the people inside remained in the cave before the cave entrance closed again.

Zhang Bei, Zhang Long, and Zhang Hu did not join the crowds leaving work on the bus. Instead, they took an off-road vehicle to the underground transportation hub, transferred to the maglev train, returned to the Nanshan underground base, and finally transferred to another off-road vehicle to return to the surface.

After Zhang Bei got out of the car, he saw his mother, Tang Xin, sitting under a parasol outside the villa, drinking tea with a strange woman. He then said to his two twin brothers, "You two will probably have to stay and keep your future father-in-law and mother-in-law company."

Zhang Long and Zhang Hu did not respond, but merely frowned and glanced around, not finding their future father-in-law.

Zhang Bei took his two younger brothers to greet the people under the parasol, exchanged a few polite words, and then left them to train his mental strength in the basement.

"Xiaolong, Xiaohu, I heard from your mother that you've been building a lunar base recently?" He Fang asked casually.

Zhang Long responded with a smile: "Our drone company sponsored 100 engineering robots to go to the moon. Our job is to maintain those robots, design for the next generation of engineering robots, and collect relevant optimization data."

Worried that asking about confidential information might cause unnecessary trouble, He Fang changed the subject and started talking to Tang Xin about daily skin care.

Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, sitting to the side bored, each took out their phones and sent messages to Xie Wan and Xie Ting, asking where they were. Then they started looking at the information on their phones.

Xie Ting went back to the apartment to put her parents' luggage away. After tidying up her room, she returned to Villa No. 1 and saw Zhang Long and Zhang Hu sitting under a parasol. She ran over excitedly.

Meanwhile, Xie Wan was still in the hospital, helping her father find an acquaintance who was hospitalized, completely forgetting that the original purpose of coming here was to see the advanced medical technology!
When the father and daughter returned to the Zhang family villa, Zhang Heping, Chen Shuting, Zhang Pandi, and others were already waiting at home.

Xie Jia and He Fang came here mainly because they were stimulated by the recent high frequency of rocket launches by Peace Aerospace Company, which marked the start of the construction project for the Moon Palace Base.

The first use of the Tiangong space station in China and the start of construction of a lunar base were both major events that were met with little attention at the World Academy of Advanced Technology. This was because the workload there had increased several times over, leaving little energy for discussion, and there were also restrictions imposed by confidentiality regulations.

But in other parts of the country, it was portrayed by the media as exceptionally exciting, arousing a strong sense of pride.

Many people make their own astronaut models, engineering robot models, rocket models, etc., and show them off on the street.

However, the domestic media focused on the event itself, rather than on Zhang Heping as the commander-in-chief, so it did not lead to blind worship of Zhang Heping.

However, when Xie Jia and He Fang were working in the capital, they could clearly feel that their superiors spoke to them much more kindly.

Even if they were slow to realize it, they could understand that these changes were very likely related to the engagement between the Xie and Zhang families.

Of course, it could also be related to the construction of a lunar base.

Therefore, Xie Jia and He Fang took advantage of their weekend holiday to come to Shenzhen to see for themselves how influential Zhang Heping really was.

"Brother, would you mind telling me how the construction of this lunar base is progressing?" Xie Jia asked tentatively after sitting down at the dining table.

Zhang Heping replied with a smile, "Those engineering robots work 24 hours a day without stopping, and I believe the first phase of the project will be completed soon." This statement was vague, without explaining the six shifts of robot operators or the scale of the underground base construction, clearly indicating that it was inconvenient to disclose this information.

Xie Jia understood the implication in the other person's words and immediately changed the subject, "I just went to the hospital next door and saw a lot of former leaders in the inpatient wards."

"I didn't feel comfortable asking about their condition at the time. I wonder if my brother understands?"

Zhang Heping glanced at his watch and smiled, "Brother Xie, eat quickly. Before 19:20 PM, I can accompany you to see their medical records."

"I have to go to a video conference if I'm late!"

Xie Jia's words were ambiguous; he wanted to ask Zhang Heping to go to the hospital to examine the old leader he mentioned, but he was also afraid of delaying Zhang Heping's important business.

Zhang Heping, having spent some time in officialdom, and possessing a good understanding of things, naturally grasped Xie Jia's implied meaning.

To save time, Zhang Heping did not engage in cryptic conversation with the other party.

"How can you treat your guests like this!" Ma Xiuzhen, oblivious to the underlying meaning, said to Xie Jia, "Xiao Wan's dad, take your time eating! Their hospital has electronic medical records; you can check them on the computer in the study on the second floor later."

Tang Xin winked at Ma Xiuzhen a few times, then shook her head slightly and said with a smile, "Heping, go to the hospital to see her and say hello to the doctors and nurses."

Although Ma Xiuzhen didn't fully understand, she realized something was amiss and didn't interrupt.

After receiving Zhang Heping's reply, Xie Jia lost all appetite.

After finishing his soup, he kept looking at Zhang Heping, as if asking Zhang Heping if he had finished eating.

Zhang Heping waited until the specially arranged northern-style steamed buns and mantou were served before putting down his chopsticks. "Brother Xie, take a few steamed buns and mantou to eat on the way. We're going to the hospital now."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jia was overjoyed. He quickly picked up a steamed bun with his chopsticks, stood up, and said, "Please enjoy your meal, everyone. Excuse me!"

"Take a couple more, don't be shy!" Zhang Heping left the table, not taking any steamed buns, but instead taking two cartons of milk and two packs of compressed biscuits from the cabinet next to him. "I might be back late tonight, you guys get some rest."

Seeing Zhang Heping with compressed biscuits, Tang Xin realized her husband hadn't eaten enough, and immediately asked, "Honey, do you want me to save you a midnight snack?"

"No need!" Zhang Heping strode outside. "If the meeting goes on too late, the cafeteria will prepare a late-night snack."

Those who managed to secure a bed in the inpatient ward of Heping Hospital during this period must have had some connections.

Zhang Heping didn't know the details of those patients' backgrounds. Unless someone he knew asked him to help take care of them, he generally wouldn't pay attention to those patients and would leave the care entirely to his medical staff.

Xie Jia had just mentioned that a former leader was staying here, and Zhang Heping immediately understood the other party's intention: to consolidate and expand their network of contacts.

By helping Xie Jia at this moment, Zhang Heping might actually be helping the Zhang family's future!
Therefore, Zhang Heping readily agreed.

"Thank you, Brother Xie!" Zhang Heping got into the back seat of the car and handed a carton of milk to Xie Jia on his left, casually asking, "Are there many people?"

"I know 15 former leaders, but there's no guarantee that the other patients in their wards won't..." Xie Jia gave a specific number, but left it open at the end, presumably because he had foreseen something.

"Brother Xie, you'd better confirm the number of people so we can arrange the time and response accordingly." Zhang Heping unpacked a compressed biscuit. "If we miss a few, it might strain our relationship."

As the saying goes, it is not scarcity that is to be feared, but inequality!

Zhang Heping may not care about the patients' opinions, but Xie Jia obviously cannot!
As long as Xie Jia wants to advance his career, he must be careful in dealing with these old leaders, because he has no idea who can speak up for him for the next promotion opportunity, or who will be asked during the review process!
As the convoy passed through the hospital's back gate, Xie Jia finally figured out how many people there were. He rattled off a long explanation to Zhang Heping, implying there might be 32 people.

Zhang Heping asked about their department, then took out his phone and called the hospital director.

At this time, most patients, medical staff, and hospital leaders are eating. Even the doctors on duty are relatively relaxed at this time, either reading or looking at their phones.

So when Zhang Heping arrived at the urology ward with his men, the nurses on duty at the station were stunned for a while before they realized who it was.

Zhang Heping sent a bodyguard to fetch the on-duty doctor, while he went directly to the ward.

As Zhang Heping visited each ward, the number and variety of medical staff around him kept changing.

When they arrived at the oncology department, Xie Jia realized from the reactions of patients, their families, and medical staff that Zhang Heping's influence in the medical field was no joke.

The following day was Sunday.

Influenced by Zhang Heping's personal treatment last night, the patients and their families who benefited from the treatment were able to arrange lunch with Zhang Heping through Xie Jia at the Peace Hotel across the street.

For this dinner, Zhang Heping brought his elder sister Zhang Zhaodi, while Xie Jia did not bring his soon-to-retire wife He Fang.

This can be considered a reward; Xie Jia consolidated and expanded his network of contacts, and then expanded Zhang Zhaodi's network of contacts.

Logically, with these patients staying at Heping Hospital, Zhang Zhaodi should have been able to easily expand her network.

But as mentioned before, Zhang Heping didn't bother with them until he knew their background.

When they can't get through to Zhang Heping, they'll try to get help from Zhang Zhaodi.

Sure enough, at the dinner, seven or eight patients' family members said that they were able to be admitted to Heping Hospital thanks to Zhang Zhaodi's help.

Because they had to go to work next week, Xie Jia and He Fang took a plane back to the capital at 4 p.m.

To Zhang Heping's surprise, Xie Jia and He Fang came again a week later on Saturday.

However, this time they did not have Xie Wan and Xie Ting notify the Zhang family in advance. It wasn't until Xie Jia and He Fang lost their Level 1 temporary privileges that they called Tang Xin at the intersection.

Xie Jia came over for a simple reason: an old leader at the Peace Hospital wanted to eat douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) from the capital, so he brought it over.

In addition, they brought local specialties for the other hospitalized senior leaders, saying it was to make up for the mistake of visiting them empty-handed last time.

For this reason, Zhang Heping even joked with his older sister, saying that it was no wonder Xie Jia's rank was higher than Zhang Zhaodi's!
That being said, if Xie Jia didn't have such a positive attitude and thick skin, how could he have agreed to let his two daughters come to Shenzhen?

Once there's one, then two, then three. For the three weekends following April, Xie Jia and He Fang arrived in Shenzhen on time.

Anyone who didn't know better would think the Xie family was trying to get closer to the Zhang family... (End of Chapter)