Break out of the courtyard

Secretary Chen, who went to inquire about the expulsion of Yan Bugui's family, brought in a person without an invitation when he entered the banquet hall.

When Zhang Heping saw his third nephew Tang Qiang who had come uninvited, he made two gestures to his eldest son Zhang Bei and asked him to make arrangements for Tang Qiang.

Although Zhang Yi and his friends had come into contact with Tang Qiang when they went to Hong Kong Island before, there was a 20-year age difference between them and Tang Qiang, so they could not play together.

So, he was not invited this time.

To be exact, Tang Xin's family was not invited.

As the piano music "Wedding in a Dream" sounded, the groom Zhang Yi, wearing a black suit, stood in the center of the stage with a bouquet of flowers in his left hand.

The door of the banquet hall slowly opened. Zhang Nuo was holding a flower basket in her left hand and throwing a handful of petals into the air with her right hand.

Then, the bride Roy, wearing a white wedding dress, walked slowly into the venue holding her father's right arm.

Just as everyone was paying attention to the bride, Zhang Heping smiled and glanced at his fourth daughter Zhang Feng who was playing the piano at the side of the stage.

Although it was the first time for these little ones to hold this kind of semi-Western-style wedding, they had clear division of labor and made it look very professional.

However, when the groom went to pick up the bride with the bouquet in his hand, the second daughter Zhang Nan suddenly came over.

"Dad, our wedding preparation team has assigned you an urgent task!" Zhang Nan said, threw down a note, and ran away with a smile.

Facing the curious gazes of Mr. Hua and Mr. Li, Zhang Heping smiled and unfolded the note, which read:

[Before the host called them to the stage, they improvised a blessing song for the bride and groom]

When Mr. Hua and Mr. Li saw the contents on the paper, they couldn't help but smile and told the people next to them about the contents of the paper.

Zhang Heping looked at his second daughter who was running away. The girl and her two mothers were raising their right arms and right fists, making a cheering gesture towards him. It was obvious that the three of them, mother and daughter, were on the same front.

As the groom brought the bride to the center of the stage, the wedding host asked the two newlyweds a few questions for interaction.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, we witnessed the two newlyweds drinking from the wedding cup.

Then, the host invited Grandma Yang to the stage to serve as the host of the wedding.

According to the status of the guests present, the master of ceremonies should be one of Old Lady Zheng, Old Man Hua, and Old Man Li, but second sister Zhang Pandi was not familiar with them, and they came uninvited, which was beyond expectations.

The point is, Zhang Pandi first asked Old Lady Yang to be the master of ceremonies!

Not to mention that Grandpa Zhuang and Grandma Yang had helped Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandi get jobs at the Capital Railway Station. Just the fact that the old couple had been teaching them how to be officials behind the scenes over the years meant that Zhang Pandi could not change the host of the wedding just because Grandma Zheng, Grandma Hua, and Grandma Li were attending the banquet.

Old Mrs. Zheng, Old Mr. Hua, and Old Mr. Li didn't care about it. They were watching with a smile how Zhang Heping would deal with the problem posed by his second daughter.

Unfortunately, this was just a small problem in Zhang Heping's eyes, because he had heard so many love songs in his previous life.

Just as Old Lady Yang was saying her blessings on the stage, Zhang Heping stood up and walked to the piano beside the stage, picked up the guitar on the ground and checked the strings.

Afterwards, he sat down next to his fourth daughter, Zhang Feng, and whispered about the guitar accompaniment.

When Zhang Nan saw her father pick up the guitar, she smiled and said to the two mothers, "My father is so talented. He came up with the song so quickly!"

Tang Xin, who was holding up her phone to record the video, glanced at the battery level and said with a smile, "Your dad is like toothpaste now. If you don't squeeze him, he won't be able to write songs."

Chen Shuting took out her phone from her bag and prepared to record the video later. She also reminded him, "Do you have a microphone stand? Find one for your dad right away. It would be best if you could find a high stool as well."

A microphone stand and a high stool are standard equipment for Zhang Heping when he plays and sings guitar at home. Zhang Nan also remembered this, so she handed the task of finding the stand and stool to her two twin brothers, and she walked over to her cousin Zhou Xiaochun and started whispering.

Old Mrs. Yang’s speech didn’t last long. After she finished her final blessing, she walked off the stage amid applause.

However, before the host Zhou Xiaochun came on stage, the sound of a guitar rang out.

Just when no one else in the audience was paying attention to the melody, Zhang Heping walked onto the stage with a microphone and left the guitar to his fourth daughter who was playing accompaniment next to the piano.

"He will be your bridegroom!"

Zhang Heping's singing attracted many people's attention.

Then, he came to the left side of the eldest nephew Zhang Yi, looking at the bride Roy, and sang:
"From now on, he will be your lifelong companion. Everything about him will be closely related to you. You will share both happiness and misfortune!"

With the accompaniment of guitar, Zhang Heping suddenly ran to the right of the bride Roy and stood there, causing laughter from the audience.

Then, Zhang Heping looked at the groom Zhang Yi and sang:

"She will be your bride!"

"She was entrusted to you with love. You must take extra care of her throughout your life and share the joys and sorrows with her!"

At this point, Zhang Heping turned to the front of the stage, looked at the guests, and continued to sing with the accompaniment of the guitar:
"It must be a special fate!"

"Only then can we come all the way together and become a family!"

"The more he loves you, the more you should give him back, and you will find the possibility of happiness!"

"From now on, you are no longer alone. The ones you think about all the time are us!"

……

"The more you give, the more complete your love will be!"

Zhang Heping sang a few lines of lyrics two or three times, and then he sang from the stage to the audience, returning the stage to the bride and groom.

"I wonder if you noticed it just now!" Host Zhou Xiaochun walked onto the stage and smiled at Zhang Heping who was walking back to his booth. "The song my cousin sang only had six sentences over and over again."

"The first sentence is to tell the bride that she will share both good and bad fortunes in her life!"

"The second sentence tells the groom to take extra care of the bride throughout his life, sharing both the joys and sorrows!"

"The third sentence tells the bride and groom that from today on, we are a family!"

"The last three sentences are telling the bride and groom that love is mutual, happiness requires our joint efforts, and hard work will be rewarded."

While Zhou Xiaochun was speaking, the little girl Zhang Nuo came to the edge of the stage carrying a flower basket and a jewelry box containing rings.

Zhou Xiaochun took the microphone, stood next to the bride, and asked, "Roy, are you willing to accompany Zhang Yi for the rest of your life and share his good and bad times?"

The bride Roy shyly answered the microphone that Zhou Xiaochun held out to her: "I do!"

Zhou Xiaochun walked around to the groom and asked, "Zhang Yi, are you willing to spend your whole life loving and caring for Roy and sharing her joys and sorrows?"

"I do!" Zhang Yi shouted into the microphone, which drew applause. "Please exchange rings!" Zhou Xiaochun said, and then looked at her little cousin Zhang Nuo.

After Zhang Nuo presented the rings and the bride and groom put the rings on each other's fingers, Zhou Xiaochun announced the end of the ceremony and began inviting unmarried men and women to come over and take the bouquets and grab red envelopes.

At the same time, the restaurant waiters began to serve the food and other people started to move around.

Because it is a buffet, there is no need to bother with toasting at each table.

However, Zhang Heping still had to introduce those old men and women who came uninvited to his two sisters and eldest brother-in-law.

In addition, we also need to get to know the bride Roy's family members so that we won't be unable to recognize their names if we meet them on the street.

"Advisor Zhang, I heard you are in Dapeng, Shenzhen..."

Zhang Heping raised his hand to interrupt Roy's father and said with a smile: "Brother Luo, just call me Heping. Calling me consultant makes us seem distant!"

Zhang Pandi smiled and said, "My dear relatives, we are a family from now on, so we have to change the way we address each other!"

The bride's father, Luo Wen, nodded and said uncomfortably, "Heping, can you really build that controlled nuclear fusion device you built on the Dapeng Peninsula?"

"I heard that Brother Luo is a professor in the Department of Physics. If you are interested in controlled nuclear fusion, you can come with me to the Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen during the National Day holiday. There should be a lot of people you know there." Zhang Heping said casually, but did not directly answer the other party's question.

Luo Wen thought that there was too little time during the National Day holiday. Even if he flew there, he would only be able to take a quick look at the scene in a short period of time, so he refused and said, "Let's wait until the winter or summer vacation! When you are free, I will come to bother you again!"

"That's fine!" Zhang Heping said with a smile, "Zhang Yi and his friends often go to Shenzhen and Hong Kong Island during the winter and summer vacations. Brother Luo can go with them."

Zhang Heping said, and then looked at his second sister Zhang Pandi next to him and said, "Second sister, when you are free, help Luo Ge and Luo Yi to apply for passports. Then, we can go to Hong Kong Island together for a few days."

The bride's mother has passed away, and Luo Wen has not remarried in these years. There was no third member of the Luo family here today. Only a few of Luo Wen's colleagues came with their families.

After leaving Luo Wen's place, the second sister Zhang Pandi gossiped to Zhang Heping: "Two of my in-laws' brothers are abroad and have lost contact."

Zhang Heping hummed casually and didn't care about Luo Wen's family relationships.

A young man saw that Zhang Heping had stopped talking to the others, so he approached him hesitantly and expectantly. "Advisor Zhang, I heard that Shenzhen has built a smart city system. Can our capital also build one?"

"Little Zeng!" Zhang Heping looked at Zeng Lao's grandson and said with a smile, "Shenzhen's smart city system is just a model."

"Whether the capital is willing to build it or not, you have to ask the relevant departments for their opinions. I can't decide."

"Uncle Zhang!" Song Zhixue, the eldest grandson of Director Wang, who had been with Tang Qiang for some time, came to Zhang Heping and looked in the direction of his grandmother with some trepidation, then whispered to Zhang Heping:
"I heard from Brother Qiang that there is a great shortage of mobile phone accessories such as charging cables, mobile phone cases, and screen protectors in the market. Doesn't your Peace Group do these businesses?"

Zhang Heping glanced at Tang Qiang next to him, and smiled at Song Zhixue, who was only 7 years younger than him, "Those things don't have much technical content, so we didn't waste our energy on them."

"Uncle!" Tang Qiang had a lot of things to say, such as why Zhang Yi didn't tell him about his marriage.

However, there were so many people around that all the words turned into a greeting.

"Please do as you please!" Zhang Heping patted Tang Qiang on the shoulder and walked towards the booth where Director Zhao of Xuanwu Hospital was sitting.

There are quite a lot of people coming today, and fortunately the wedding hall is not small, so it doesn’t seem too crowded.

As Zhang Heping walked around the venue, looking for acquaintances in the capital to exchange pleasantries, there were always some young people coming up to him to ask him questions.

Perhaps because their elders were present, they asked rather politely.

However, Zhang Heping still sensed from the few words of these young people their inner restlessness to start a business.

As for the younger generation such as Zhang Bei, Chang Wen, Zhou Xiaochun, etc., some young people also went over to chat with them, but it was just a superficial acquaintance and they were far less able to chat than the old classmates who were invited over.

Zhang Heping just walked around and before he knew it, it was two o'clock in the afternoon and people started to say goodbye and leave.

Under the persuasion of Ma Xiuzhen, Zhang Pandi, Zhang Yi and others, many people left with their take-away boxes.

Those who did not leave went to the chess and card room on the 8th floor of the hotel to rest.

Zhang Heping also went upstairs to play bridge with Mr. Hua, Mr. Li and others, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Old Zhang, his old company commander Zhao Ziliang, and his two comrades Liu and Zhou sat by the window reminiscing about the past.

The relatives from both Zhang and Ma's hometowns were very quiet at this moment, silently eating melon seeds and drinking tea, and there was not even anyone playing cards.

Ma Xiuzhen was currently sitting with Old Lady Zheng, Old Lady Yang, and Director Wang, discussing the recent physical changes of Old Lady Zheng and Old Man Zhuang.

Tang Xin and a few girls were composing the song that Zhang Heping sang based on the previously recorded video.

Chen Shuting sat beside her with her youngest son Zhang Hao, checking emails on her mobile phone and handling company matters.

……

When Tang Qiang played cards with a group of young people including Zhang Bei and Chang Le, they often went to the toilet after winning.

After doing this seven or eight times, Zhang Bei couldn't help but ask Tang Qiang if he was sick and whether he wanted to ask his father Zhang Heping to take a look.

It was fake that Tang Qiang ran to the toilet. The real reason was that he passed by Zhang Heping's card table and peeked at Zhang Heping.

Hearing Zhang Bei's question, Tang Qiang simply didn't waste time with this group of young people. He made way and went to Zhang Heping, standing behind the two old men and watching Zhang Heping play cards.

While looking at the cards, Mr. Li said slowly, "The Magnesium people have more than 50 troops in the Middle East, but they still want us and other countries to send troops to the Middle East. What do you think the Magnesium people's intention is to do this?"

"They probably want to show off their weapons and equipment." Zhang Heping replied casually, "It would be great if Iran and Iraq had a few sets of Eye of God defense systems. We can test their actual combat effects against magnesium."

"Your name is Heping, but you always think about war!" Old Hua sighed.

"Although the country is big, it will perish if it loves war; although the world is peaceful, it will be in danger if it forgets war!" Zhang Heping said disapprovingly: "Our current peace was bought with countless blood, and my father even lost a leg for it!"

"I don't want to fight a war. If there is a war, there will be no business! But the necessary competition and game are inevitable!"

"Take the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which are currently under preparation, for example. What if the Magnesium people attack our stock market like they did the Japanese stock market?"

"After we have a stock market, we will definitely establish foreign exchange, futures and other financial markets. Will we be targeted by foreign capital at that time?"

"Uncle!" Tang Qiang suddenly interrupted, "I received news that the Japanese Ministry of Finance is about to raise interest rates for the fifth time! Is the Japanese stock market going to plummet soon?"

Zhang Heping sneered: "You wish, it's time for them to rebound!"

...(End of chapter)