Break out of the courtyard

"Advisor Zhang!"

Zhang Heping was carrying three packs of cigarettes and alcohol and was seeing off Lao Zhang's comrades at the gate of the courtyard when Lao Li's guard ran over.

Zhang Heping glanced at the car parked at the Yinding Bridge, told the guard to wait a moment, and handed over three packets of cigarettes and alcohol.

"Uncle Li, Uncle Tang, Uncle Huang, this is a small gift from me. Please accept it first. I have something else to do!" After Zhang Heping said this, he put two packs of cigarettes and alcohol into the car, and gave the other pack to Huang Xuemin, who looked a little surprised.

While Huang Xuemin was still thinking about the word "Advisor Zhang", Zhang Heping had already hurried to Yinding Bridge and got into the black car.

Before Zhang Heping could sit up straight, Mr. Li next to him smiled and said, "Heping, the air defense system you provided has passed the test!"

Zhang Heping smiled and said, "You can just give me a call for this matter. There's no need to come here in person."

"It's such an important matter, so I have to tell you in person." Elder Li patted Zhang Heping's thigh and sighed, "Your air defense system has brought us a great surprise, but the credit can only be accumulated for you first..."

Zhang Heping said sternly, "Mr. Li, you and Mr. Hua know that I don't care about those false reputations."

"Yes!" Mr. Li nodded and said with a smile: "The military industry is preparing to study how to break through the air defense system. Do you have any good suggestions?"

"There are many methods. Let's wait for the military industry to conduct their own research for a while and let them master the technology!" Zhang Heping did not plan to spend too much time on military weapons. He had to leave more time for medical research.

By the way, he hasn't been to the Medical Research Institute for a long time!
The two chatted for a few more words in the car before Zhang Heping got out and waved goodbye.

The electric car that Huang Xuemin and Huang Wenli were riding in drove over and just saw the Hongqi sedan with license plate number 003 driving away.

"Uncle Huang, walk slowly! Wenli, drive slowly and be careful!" Zhang Heping waved to the Huang father and daughter, then went home.

After consuming some extra food at noon, mother Ma Xiuzhen wanted to go to the market to see if she could buy some more vegetables and meat, but was stopped by Zhang Heping.

We eat dumplings for the New Year’s Eve dinner. If there is no vegetables, we can go to a restaurant. There is no need to go to the vegetable market to buy leftovers on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve!
Lao Zhang drank a little too much at noon, and as soon as his comrades left, he went to take a nap, so his shoe shop naturally closed.

The clothing store of Zhou Chengwu, the second son of the Zhou family, and the tailor shop of eldest cousin Ma Lili are still open. It’s not that the business is very good, but Chen Liqin doesn’t allow her second son to go upstairs to play mahjong, and Ma Lili still has some custom-made clothes that have not been picked up by customers.

"Stand up the harp!"

Chen Liqin, who was chatting in the tailor shop, was startled and turned to look outside the door. Sure enough, she saw the man she had been thinking about day and night.

Chen Liqin walked out quickly and helped Zhou Jinyi, who was carrying a lot of bags, to share a bag. "Jinyi, have you had lunch? There's some food in the refrigerator. I'll heat it up for you!"

"Dad!" Ma Lili followed him out and helped carry a bag. She smiled and said, "Mom has been guarding the door of the store for many days. She always leaves the window open a little when she goes to bed at night, afraid that you would come back late and she wouldn't hear you knocking on the door."

Zhou Chengchen, the third son of the Zhou family, also came out of the tailor shop, but he stood there like a wooden stick, looking a little strange.

This cannot be blamed on her. When she was very young, her father went to support the construction of western Xinjiang. She could only see her father come back once every two or three years during the Chinese New Year.

"Second brother!" Ma Lili shouted towards the clothing store on the left, "Dad is back, come over and get your bag!"

Following the shout, not only Zhou Chengwu came out, but even Zhang Heping, who was reading a newspaper in the lobby on the second floor, came downstairs to say hello.

"Uncle Zhou!" Zhang Heping saw that Zhou Jinyi's clothes were a little messy, and he thought it must be because of the crowded train, so he smiled faintly and said, "Go home and take a hot bath first, I'll go to the boiler room to add some coal."

"Brother Heping, I'll go add more coal!" Zhou Laoer said, and put down the four bags he had brought in.

"It's okay, just carry your bag up first!" Zhang Heping said, and walked to the right side of the dining room.

"Thank you Heping!" Zhou Jinyi thanked him, then looked at Ma Xiuzhen and others who had stuck their heads out from the third floor and greeted them.

After saying this, Zhou Jinyi took his children up the stairs on the left.

Needless to say, the Zhou family reunited in the bedroom on the second floor. When Zhang Heping came out of the boiler room, he happened to see his eldest cousin Ma Lili changing coal at the west stove to prepare some food.

Zhang Heping walked over to take a look, then walked to the refrigerator, "Didn't I leave an untouched dish for your father-in-law at noon?"

"Did you stay?" Ma Lili didn't pay attention at noon.

Zhang Heping took out two aluminum lunch boxes, walked to the west stove, and said with a smile: "You were not active in eating lunch at noon. You were called to the tailor shop halfway through your meal. It's fine if you didn't save any food. But when you opened the refrigerator just now, didn't you check what was in these two lunch boxes?"

The dishes cooked for lunch were neatly arranged in the lunch box. One could tell from the appearance that they were the essence that had been picked out in advance, rather than the leftover scraps and leftovers on the plate.

Zhang Heping put down his lunch box and went back to the second floor lobby to read the newspaper. He happened to see Old Zhang who was called up.

Zhou Jinyi went home, took a shower, changed into a grey cotton jacket, cotton pants, black fur shoes, and came out with two suitcases in his hands.

"Brother Zhang Bing, Sister Xiuzhen, Heping, I brought back some specialties from Western Xinjiang, you can try them." Zhou Jinyi placed two suitcases on the coffee table in front of the TV and unzipped them, revealing walnuts, raisins, dates and other items.

Zhang Heping didn't hesitate to take two walnuts and crush them with just a squeeze.

After Zhang Heping distributed walnuts to his parents, he casually asked, "Uncle Zhou, are you going to Western Xinjiang after the New Year?"

The two families, who were originally being polite, suddenly became quiet.

Zhou Jinyi is 62 years old this year. He should have retired and gone home the year before last, but for some unknown reason, he was re-hired.

"Yes!" Zhou Jinyi said, and then he held his wife Chen Liqin's hand with some guilt. Because of the confidentiality regulations, he didn't know how to explain it.

"Uncle Zhou, I remember that the airport in Xijiang was upgraded to an international airport last year." Zhang Heping pointed at Ma Lili and Zhou Chengwu and said with a smile:
"They both run shops, so if they give you a little bit of money, you won't have to take the crowded train to save money. This way, you can go home earlier, and Aunt Chen won't have to wait for you at the door every day."

Ma Lili quickly responded, "Dad, when you go back, I'll book a plane ticket for you!"

Zhou Chengwu was a little slow. Although he was worried about the high airfare, he thought about his sister-in-law's contribution and Zhang Heping's suggestion, so he quickly said, "Dad, let's take a plane instead of taking a train!"

"Is there an airport in Xijiang?" Chen Liqin looked at Zhou Jinyi in confusion, feeling a little sorry for her husband who had to squeeze into the train at such an old age.

Zhou Jinyi smiled awkwardly and said, "Let's talk about this when we get back."

"It's not as troublesome to take a plane now!" Zhang Heping said with a smile, "Besides, shipping the specialties from Western Xinjiang to the capital to sell is also a good business, Chengwu, don't you think so?"

Zhou Chengwu looked at the walnuts, raisins and other things on the table, and suddenly realized what was going on. He slapped his forehead and said, "Oh my! I have a stupid brain. I ate so many walnuts my dad brought back before, why didn't I think of this business!"

Seeing that this guy was on the right track and didn't bother about the plane ticket, Zhang Heping reminded him, "If you want to do business in this area, you'd better get a food business license. If you want to do it, do it in a formal way and don't let it be considered speculation." "Thank you for your advice, Brother Heping!" Zhou Chengwu smiled and said, "After the New Year, my dad and I will fly to Xijiang to investigate the dry goods market there."

Zhang Heping looked at Zhou Jinyi who hadn't reacted yet and said with a smile: "It's best to ask Uncle Zhou's acquaintances to help contact him, don't get cheated!"

Zhou Jinyi said in embarrassment: "Heping, I'm afraid this won't work. Reselling..."

Before Zhou Jinyi could finish, the second son Zhou Chengwu, who already had some plans in mind, interrupted and said, "Dad! The current policy is much more relaxed. The news at noon today also reported that our country has resumed its status as a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. We will develop a market economy in the future!"

"Uncle Zhou, you should go out shopping more recently. When you return to Xinjiang, you can decide whether Chengwu can do this business." After Zhang Heping finished speaking, he went to get a few bamboo plates and put some walnuts, raisins and dates on them.

Ma Xiuzhen chatted for a while, then started asking the women upstairs and downstairs to prepare dumplings.

My father-in-law Tang Ming went out for a meeting early in the morning and didn't come back until 6: in the evening.

Then I saw men, women, young and old were busy, mixing dough, kneading dough, peeling garlic, chopping onions, chopping meat...

...

"Second brother, are you sure you want me to come here with you to give gifts tomorrow?" Lou Xiao'e brought her second brother Lou Wenjun to the door of Zhang's house, where two white energy-saving lamps were on but the door was closed.

"Wealth and honor are sought in danger!" Lou Wenjun looked at the two red lacquered doors, listened to the faint laughter coming from behind the door, and frowned, "How can we know if it will work if we don't try it?"

Lou Xiao'e walked forward a few steps and stood in the shade of the tree. "Second brother, if it were our Lou family back then, and we encountered those people who normally don't send gifts but suddenly come to our door with gifts, what would you do?"

Lou Wenjun remained silent. With his temper back then, he would never have wanted to meet such a person.

However, when his father Lou Bancheng meets such people, as long as the request is not excessive, his father will consider helping. This is also the reason why hundreds of members of their Lou family can gather together.

This is also the reason why Lou Wenjun wanted to take a chance!

In his opinion, if he gave the other party a gift on New Year's Day, the worst result would be that he would not see him. Would he be beaten up?
If the Zhang family was really so arrogant and domineering, Lou Xiao'e could not have been unaware of it.

Therefore, Lou Wenjun was gambling that as long as the Zhang family accepted his gift, even if he couldn't ask about the stocks this time, he could still get in touch with the Zhang family!
However, when Lou Wenjun made up his mind to give gifts, he and Lou Xiaoe came to the Zhang family to pay New Year's greetings and give gifts early the next morning, but they were surprised by a long line of cars at the door.

Not to mention the Lou brothers and sisters were surprised, Zhang Heping was also surprised by the people who came to pay New Year's greetings one after another.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he had planned to distribute red envelopes to the younger generations as usual, and then take his family out to visit the families of the old company commander Zhao Ziliang, Uncle Zhuang, and Director Wang to wish them a happy new year. However, when he went out to set off firecrackers in the morning, he found someone waiting outside the door.

The first ones to arrive were the Aso couple!
No need to guess, everyone knows why they are here.

Guests from afar are welcome, and the funds of Heping Investment Company and Stepmother Investment Company have not been withdrawn from Ri Island yet. It is impossible for Zhang Heping to leave them out.

Just as Zhang Heping finished lighting the firecrackers and invited the Aso couple to come into the yard for breakfast,
Wang Qin, the apprentice of my second sister Zhang Pandi, is the publicity officer of the Seventh Bureau of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. She has been interning at newspapers and television stations in Hong Kong Island for more than three months. She came to pay New Year's greetings with bags of gifts.

Then, people who came to the Zhang family to pay New Year's greetings came one after another.

Among them, the majority are from the medical system. Most of them are the first batch of medical staff who returned from exchange and study at Heping Hospital. The rest are medical staff that Zhang Heping has come into contact with when he was teaching in the capital.

Of course, the first group returning from exchange and study at the Heping Vocational Training School included not only medical staff, but also experts and scholars in economics, computers, journalism, transportation, communications and other fields.

In addition, there is my eldest brother-in-law Tang Ren and his family, as well as the Hong Kong businessmen he brought with him and those who followed him.

Some of these Hong Kong businessmen came here because they were worried that the Heping Group would swallow up their companies, while others were speculators like Lou Wenjun who wanted to make a fortune in the Hong Kong stock market.

Among them, there were also some foreigners who wanted to follow the crowd into the courtyard.

But they were intercepted by 8 bodyguards at the gate of the hospital and were prevented from succeeding!
The Zhang family's courtyard on the north bank of Houhai is not very large, and there is a patio in the middle.

Therefore, when the old company commander Zhao Ziliang and his wife brought their youngest son Zhao Jianguo and his wife to Zhang's house to pay New Year's greetings, they were led in from the right and passed by the crowd going out from the left.

"Uncle Zhao, Aunt, Lao Liu, Sister-in-law, please go to the second floor lobby and sit for a while!" Zhang Heping greeted them and then continued to deal with the people who followed behind to pay New Year's greetings.

Seeing that there were too many people, Zhao Ziliang, Zhao Jianguo and others did not want to add to the congestion on the first floor and went to the second floor on their own. Then they saw that quite a few people were already sitting there.

"Company commander, please sit here!" When Lao Zhang saw Zhao Ziliang and his group, he hurriedly stood up to greet them.

Zhao Ziliang held Zhang Bing's right hand and said with a smile, "Old Zhang, your family is becoming more and more lively!"

"Hey! So many people suddenly came today, and we were not prepared at all!" Zhang Bing said helplessly, "I heard from Heping that many of the people who came to pay New Year's greetings today are experts and scholars who returned to China after studying in Hong Kong Island last year."

“By the way, the president of Harmonious Hospital and the director of the burn department are also here.” Zhang Bing said, and led Zhao Ziliang over.

For Zhao Jianguo and other burned soldiers, the prescriptions and treatment methods prescribed by Zhang Heping are very important, and the medical staff of Harmonious Hospital are also very important in caring for them; neither can be missing!

Therefore, it was only natural for Zhao Ziliang and Zhao Jianguo to say hello and exchange pleasantries.

Zhang Heping didn't want to meet those unknown small Hong Kong businessmen. After the bodyguard came in and reported several times, Zhang Heping asked his eldest son Zhang Bei to go to the door. He let in the acquaintances Zhang Bei knew, but did not see any Hong Kong people he was not familiar with!
The people Zhang Bei could get to know were naturally Chairman He, Chairman Guo, Mr. Rong and other big Hong Kong businessmen, as well as the senior managers of the Heping Group.

When others came to the Zhang family to pay New Year's greetings, it was not convenient for Zhang Heping to greet the guests and accept gifts at the door and then send them off directly at the door, so he had to let his eldest son Zhang Bei go to the door alone.

After finally dealing with the people who came to pay New Year's greetings, Zhang Heping's eldest wife Tang Xin, who was accompanying him, said helplessly: "I originally wanted to have a leisurely New Year, but I didn't expect to have so many social events."

Zhang Heping and his family returned to the capital to celebrate the New Year, actually wanting to avoid the employees and their families who came to the community to pay New Year's greetings.

Before, only people from Renheyi Community came to pay New Year's greetings. Later, the following protective umbrella community came into being. Now, there is another protective umbrella community phase 2. Considering the number of people there, Zhang Heping's family has returned to the capital to celebrate the New Year for several years in a row.

But now, Zhang’s courtyard on the north bank of Houhai is no longer in trouble!

After finishing his work in the yard, Zhang Heping took a few packs of Zhonghua cigarettes to the door and asked a bodyguard to take them out and distribute them to the police officers and red-sleeved aunties who were maintaining traffic order outside.

After finishing all these trivial matters, Zhang Heping finally had time to go upstairs and chat with his acquaintances on the second floor.

"Dean Lu, you two came together this morning. Wasn't that what we discussed in advance?"

...(End of chapter)