Break out of the courtyard

Governor's House, Central, Hong Kong Island.

In the conference room on the second floor, a group of Eagle Americans and a few Magnesium Americans were silently watching Huifeng Bank Chairman Shen Bi making a phone call.

Shen Bi raised his left hand and glanced at the watch on his left wrist. He put down the phone next to his ear with his right hand and shook his head, "He still hasn't answered it! At this time, Mr. Zhang might still be at the celebration banquet."

Everyone withdrew their gazes. The smokers were puffing away smoke, while the coffee drinkers were holding their cups for a long time without moving. A few magnesium guys were sitting in the corner, their faces looking very gloomy.

There was silence in the meeting room for a while before the Governor spoke up, "I heard that quite a few people from the Chinese Merchants Association went there this afternoon. When you go back, try to ask those businessmen about the situation."

"Please ask Mr. Shen to go to Shenzhen tomorrow morning and ask Mr. Zhang's Peace Aerospace Company whether it will be open to the outside world for exchange and learning in the future, and by the way, learn more about rocket recovery."

"That's it, let's break up the meeting!"

"Mr. Governor!" Curator Tom, who was sitting in the corner, finally couldn't help but stood up.

Facing the gazes of the Eagle Country guys, Tom, the head of the Magnesium Embassy in Hong Kong, stepped forward and frowned, saying, "Peace Aerospace Company will definitely keep it secret like Tingmei Health Care Factory and Peace Photonic Card Factory. If we don't join forces, it will be difficult to obtain information on rocket recovery technology!"

The Governor of Hong Kong responded calmly: "Mr. Tom, you should understand that the ones who are most anxious about this information are the space agencies of various countries, not us!"

Director Tom really wanted to say that he was anxious because the water and power outages at the embassy had not been resolved and had affected his career.

If he can get the rocket recovery technology this time, the Magnesium side will not remove him from his position as director even if the embassy in Hong Kong is cut off from water and electricity.

Just when Director Tom wanted to wait until the other American hawks left before discussing cooperation in detail with the Governor, the Governor also got up and left, not taking him seriously at all.

This made Director Tom very upset, but he had to follow like a follower because his superiors were waiting for his report.

...

Huadu, Magnesium Country, 9: am.

After being awakened by a phone call at 5:15 in the morning, the Grand Chamberlain sat in his large office and waited for a group of think tanks and some department heads to arrive.

What seemed strange to ordinary people was elevated to the level of a national strategic issue after this group of Chinese people discussed it.

If the rocket can be recovered, it means that it can be reused, which means that the cost of satellite launch will be greatly reduced. The mainland is likely to become the world's fourth largest aerospace power, and it is even possible that it will surpass the world's number one!

How can the magnesium people not be anxious about this!
With pressure from the giant Northern Sudan above and mainlanders chasing closely below, the international status of Magnesium is shaky!

When the chief steward thought that this reusable rocket was led by the richest man in Hong Kong, he felt a headache and discomfort all over his body, and he didn't want to bother with these good-for-nothings in the office.

Boom!
The chief steward suddenly pounded the desk with his fist to vent his nameless anger.

Then, he stood up and walked to the window behind him, and said to the people behind him in a cold voice: "Where is the director of the Special Intelligence Bureau? Did he take drugs and get so dizzy that he even forgot the meeting time?"

"Mr. Manager!" The female secretary next to him approached and reminded him in a low voice: "At 6 o'clock this morning, you asked him to go to Hong Kong Island to investigate the intelligence there in person. He has already flown away on a special plane for 2 hours!"

The butler raised his right hand and smoothed his hair with his fingers to hide the fleeting embarrassment on his face.

This morning's events were a bit awful, and he had actually forgotten about the incident with the Director of the Special Intelligence Agency.

The director of the Special Intelligence Bureau is also a good-for-nothing. The chief steward learned about the recovery of the rocket in Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen at 5:15, but the director of the Special Intelligence Bureau was clueless about anything he asked.

The most infuriating thing was that the chief steward gave him an hour to investigate, but he still didn't find any decent intelligence.

A brown-haired, white-skinned man spoke dully, "The Chinese have already surpassed our chip technology. If our space technology is also surpassed by them, what technological advantages do we have?"

"Plane!" A short, fat, white-skinned man squeezed on a long sofa with two tall men and said in a deep voice, "If we want to get the mainland's rocket recovery technology, we can try to exchange it with aircraft manufacturing technology!"

A white-skinned man in a suit and tie shook his head and said, "That's the aerospace company of the Peace Group. They won't exchange technology with us! Besides, they haven't given us the large aircraft technology we promised them before. They won't believe us."

Someone else chimed in: "Are there any rocket-related instructional videos posted on the World Internet Forum?"

"Our IP cannot access the World Internet Forum. We need to ask people in Hong Kong Island." A young man leaning against the door replied, and then said, "I want to know, have you sent agents to assassinate Mr. Zhang, the boss behind the Peace Group?"

A man in a blue military uniform said, "There is no point in asking this at this time!"

"No! It makes sense!" The young man at the door said firmly, "If they really sent agents to carry out the assassination mission, then we must find a way to eliminate the impact and reduce the other party's hatred."

"Otherwise, we can only rely on stealing, cheating, bribing and other means to obtain intelligence related to the Peace Group. The consequence of doing so will only make the Peace Group more and more hostile to us!"

The chief steward turned back to his seat, propped his right temple with his right fist, frowned and asked, "You want us to apologize to the Peace Group and take the initiative to ease the relationship?"

The young man did not answer directly, but continued to express his opinion, "Last year, there were two stock market crashes, but the Peace Group, which has huge cash flow, did not take the opportunity to short magnesium stocks."

"Humph! That's because they don't dare!" The man in the blue military uniform said disdainfully: "If they dare to invest money to short magnesium stocks, we can directly freeze all their funds and let them not get a single cent back!"

"If they buy magnesium stocks, can you really find out which accounts belong to them?" The young man at the door folded his hands over his chest and said in the same disdainful tone: "With your limited computer skills, you can't even defend against me, let alone defend against Mr. Zhang from Hong Kong Island!"

The chief steward waved his left hand at the man in military uniform, signaling him to step back and not disturb the young think tank.

"You high-ranking officials think about how to attack your opponents and enemies all day long, and have never considered the importance of the World Internet Forum and how much influence it has now." The young man at the door leaned against the wall, his face showing nostalgia, and said:

"I lived in Hong Kong Island for 5 days in May and June, just to exchange ideas on the World Internet Forum and learn the latest computer technology."

"I have consulted the Hong Kong Island Peace Vocational Training College. As long as I am not a Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese or Indian citizen, I can apply to study at this college as an exchange student if I hold the citizenship of any other country."

While the others frowned and looked impatient, the young man at the door finally got to the point.

"I recently joined an immigrant chat group, and there are Chinese people of all ages in it!" The young man at the door said slowly:

"These people have one thing in common: they are very interested in the technologies at the World Internet Forum, but are unable to log in to the World Internet Forum or join the Hong Kong Island Peace Vocational Training College due to the restrictions in the country of Magnesium."

"I'm not saying all this to tell you that I plan to immigrate to Eagle Country. I'm saying this to tell you that you've prevented the elites of Magnesium Country from logging into the World Internet Forum and have blocked advanced technology abroad."

...

Capital, No. 95, Nanluoguxiang.

In the east wing of the front yard, a thin-screen color TV was placed under the window of Zhou Laoer's house.

The 22 p.m. evening news was playing on TV, repeatedly reporting the news of Shenzhen Peace Aerospace Company launching a recoverable rocket.

"Did you see that?" The second son Zhou Chengwu said loudly to the people watching the show in front of the TV, "My niece Zhou Xiaochun and nephew Zhou Xiaopeng are standing in the back row, and there are people from the Zhang family next to them. Who of you dares to say that this Heping Aerospace Company is not my brother Heping's company!"

Yan Jiecheng sat on a small stool and retorted with a smile: "Zhou Laoer, the news said it was a joint venture between the military and the civilians. Can Zhang Heping, the big capitalist, be considered a citizen of the people?"

Yan Bugui, who was sitting next to him, nodded and said, "If Zhang Heping really invested in this aerospace company, it should be called a Sino-foreign joint venture. The "foreign" in "foreign capital" should be clearly distinguished. If you don't believe me, just look at the wording in the newspaper."

"Forget it! I can't make you talk, you just can't stand my brother Heping living better than you!" Zhou Chengwu said, and raised the remote control to turn off the TV. "Zhou Laoer, the news hasn't finished yet, why did you turn off the TV?" Yan Bugui was not happy. In order not to waste electricity watching his small black and white TV at home, he quickly changed the subject, "Turn on the TV quickly, I think I saw Zhang Heping on it just now!"

Zhou Chengwu did not suspect anything and immediately turned on the TV.

When he was watching the news in the afternoon, it was already coming to an end. It was only through the oral narration of Ma Xiuzhen, Zhang Zhaodi and others that he took half of it back to his yard to show off.

As a result, when the TV was turned on, only Lu Zhongsheng, general manager of Peace Aerospace Co., Ltd., was left answering reporters' questions.

"I clearly saw Zhang Heping just now, how come he disappeared all of a sudden?" Yan Bugui said while winking at his son.

Then, Yan Jiecheng chimed in, "It should be Zhang Heping. I saw him just now. Right? Jiefang?"

The second brother, Yan Jiefang, was eating melon seeds and said "oh" casually.

The third brother Yan Jiekuang in the back asked, "Zhou Laoer, I heard that after the news was over, there was a recruitment advertisement for Heping Aerospace Company. Is it true?"

Seeing that the Yan family father and son no longer argued with him, Zhou Laoer stopped turning off the TV and replied casually, "They are recruiting people to conduct research on space stations, lunar bases, and Mars bases. Your academic qualifications are not enough!"

"I heard that there is no academic requirement. As long as you are in good health and can stay in a closed space for a long time to undergo experiments, you can be fine." Yan Jiekuang was obviously interested in this recruitment.

"Do you think it's so easy to get a monthly salary of 1000? And all you need is good health!" Zhou Laoer said disdainfully: "If you really want good health, my aunt Ma's relatives are plenty. At worst, there are plenty of retired soldiers to recruit!"

Seeing Yan Jiekuang's face full of dissatisfaction, Zhou Chengwu jokingly said, "If you don't believe me, take a good look at that recruitment ad later. Isn't there a sentence at the end saying veterans are preferred?"

...

Capital, north bank of Houhai Lake.

Ma Xiuzhen, who was busy buying a courtyard house, did not go to Shenzhen with her children this summer vacation.

Now, because of a job advertisement on TV, her house was surrounded by people!
Fortunately, the evening news repeated the news of the rocket recovery. Zhang Zhaodi moved the color TV outside the door to play the program so that everyone could watch the last advertisement carefully first.

The news was over very quickly. No one, young or old, male or female, present cared about the advanced technology represented by launching six satellites with one rocket and recycling rockets. They were all watching the recruitment on the TV screen in silence.

"The message about giving priority to veterans is about to come out!" Zhang Zhaodi hurriedly reminded.

Within two seconds, the host stated the final recruitment conditions in standard Mandarin, which indeed included giving priority to veterans.

After the commercial ended, Zhang Zhaodi immediately turned off the TV and asked her husband Changsheng to move the TV away. At the same time, Zhang Zhaodi said loudly to the people around her: "Neighbors, I understand your feelings, but this recruitment is really not something we can decide. After all, it is related to space research."

"Foreigners not only have a space station, but the Chinese have also landed on the moon. What do we have?"

"The key is that foreigners don't allow our people to go to their space station. They think our space technology is backward and want to block our space technology development!"

"Tell me, in such a severe international situation, who would dare to recruit people through the back door to fill the numbers? Recruitment must be fair and open, so as not to slow down the space research project."

"However, I just called my brother to ask about this. The recruitment of Peace Aerospace Company is mainly to assess endurance, and good health is a basic requirement."

"The job content is to be locked up in a closed simulated space station or simulated alien base for a long time, ranging from one month to 1 years."

As soon as Zhang Zhaodi said this, noisy conversations immediately broke out around them.

"One month is tolerable, but if it's 1 years, what's the difference between that and imprisonment?"

"Give me 1000 yuan a month and I can be locked up for 20 years!"

"Lei Lao San, if you are imprisoned for 20 years, aren't you afraid that your wife will take your 1000 yuan salary every month and keep an illegitimate man at home?"

After Chang Sheng and Zhang Yong took the TV, table, power strip and other items back home, Zhang Zhaodi raised her hands to the crowd and said loudly:

"If you really want to apply, you can go to Shenzhen to apply according to the recruitment address."

"In addition, our railway is recruiting workers recently. If any family has unemployed young people, they can bring their ID card, household registration booklet, and education certificate to the railway station to sign up."

"Chief Zhang, we..."

"Don't talk nonsense, Zhaodi is now the deputy director!"

"Director Zhang, can we bring the children to the train station to meet you tomorrow?"

"That's right! Director Zhang, you have to help us neighbors! Prices are high now, and we really have no other choice but to come to your door for help. You have to take care of us old neighbors!"

"Neighbors!" Zhang Zhaodi took back her hand and said with a smile, "Even if I can't remember the names of the children in our neighborhood, they look familiar to me. How can I not take care of them?"

"If you bring your children to the train station to find me, I will avoid suspicion and not participate in the recruitment. Don't you think this makes sense?"

"Right, right, right!" A middle-aged woman with red sleeves gave a thumbs up and said with a smile, "Director Zhang is right. We can't let outsiders think that our children are using a backdoor. That will be detrimental to their future interactions with colleagues, and it will also be difficult for Director Zhang to report to the higher-ups."

"Everyone, go away!" Another red-sleeved lady who was maintaining order said, "Go back and discuss with your children whether to go to Shenzhen to sign up and try your luck, or go to the station to sign up to be a railway worker."

A smart person in the crowd asked loudly, "Director Zhang, can we sign up for both?"

Zhang Zhaodi, who had already stepped into her own home, retracted her foot and turned around to respond: "It's best not to sign up for both!"

Seeing that everyone had stopped, Zhang Zhaodi explained loudly, "Peace Aerospace Company's recruitment has assessments, physical examinations, long-distance running, push-ups and other simple projects, which can be completed in three or four days."

"However, they have an endurance test where they divide the recruits into groups and lock them in a small room. Only the 60 people who stay in the room the longest will be hired."

"Do you think that applicants from all over the country can stick to working in a small room for two or three months for a monthly salary of 1000 yuan?"

At this time, a young man raised his hand and asked, "Aunt Zhang, can the applicant watch TV or read novels in the small room?"

"Sure!" Zhang Zhaodi nodded and said, "The room is equipped with a TV, computer, surveillance camera, and fitness equipment. Three meals a day are provided, and men and women live together."

"Wow! Men and women live together!" The young people in the crowd were suddenly excited, and they all looked very excited.

Judging from the attitude of those young people, it seems that recruitment in Shenzhen is more attractive.

Zhang Zhaodi didn't care about it. The railway recruitment had already started for 6 days, but due to various reasons, it had been suppressed and not widely promoted.

There are not many unemployed young people near Haizi, and the railway has a lot of job vacancies this time. Zhang Zhaodi believes that she can recruit all the unemployed young people in the vicinity, so she dared to say this in front of so many people.

However, judging by the excited expressions of those young people and the arguments they had with their parents, I'm afraid that not many young people here would go to the train station to sign up.

After all, the wages of railway workers are less than one-eighth of those in the Shenzhen Peace Aerospace recruitment advertisement.

...(End of chapter)