Break out of the courtyard

In Zhang Heping's view, his children's businesses were all small-scale operations.

Zhang Heping wouldn't have given him this heads-up if Zhang Bei's personal account hadn't run out of money.

The next morning, Zhang Heping went to the space capsule remote control center as usual.

The system has been changed to 12 assistants working in 3 shifts, and each assistant now mentors five or six young students.

The reason why students, rather than other biology experts, were chosen to assist was Zhang Heping's insistence.

In his own words, if you just summarize a few papers, other experts will understand them. They won't need to follow your lead!

"Teacher Zhang, the buffer solution and reagents in the spacecraft are almost gone!" A gray-haired old man approached Zhang Heping with a teacup in hand and asked hopefully, "When will the No. 2 Shouyuan spacecraft launch?"

With one more space capsule for experiments, the assistants will have more opportunities to use the machines, and the students won't have to crowd together.

"We'll launch after the New Year, so you won't be stuck here during the holiday," Zhang Heping casually replied.

Those who had been eavesdropping nearby felt both regret and excitement upon hearing this answer.

It's a pity I won't have many more opportunities to use the phone recently. I'm excited because the Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and I'll be able to come here and really show my skills after the holiday.

"We'll try to complete the sample storage in the next two days, and then thoroughly clean and disinfect the spacecraft." Noticing the unusual atmosphere around him, Zhang Heping added, "Two days later, I'll take you to Heping Aerospace to familiarize you with the No. 2, 3, and 4 Shouyuan spacecraft."

"If the animal experiments in the No. 2 spacecraft go smoothly, the No. 3 and No. 4 spacecraft will be launched in succession."

"There are quite a lot of tasks this year, so I hope you can spend more time with your families during the Spring Festival holiday."

Upon hearing this arrangement, the four day shift assistants inside the room all pledged to complete the task and then began to check the storage of samples inside the cabin, as well as the samples that were still being cultured and observed.

Biological gene experiments can be quite tedious, and people who lack patience will find it difficult to endure this kind of quiet work.

Especially when a group of men, women, and children gather in one room and don't even crack a joke.

After confirming that there were no problems with the existing experiments in the space capsule, Zhang Heping left the remote control center and took the experts and professors who had been waiting quietly outside downstairs to exchange ideas.

"Phew..." A middle-aged male assistant breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Teacher Zhang is finally gone. With him around, I was really afraid that something else might go wrong."

"How dare you say that!" The gray-haired old assistant frowned and said, "If your student hadn't made a mistake in handling the petri dishes, the chamber wouldn't have been contaminated with bacteria, and so much buffer solution and reagents wouldn't have been wasted."

The middle-aged male assistant hurriedly begged for forgiveness, "Mr. Lü, I know I was wrong, please have mercy on me!"

"Xiao Tang, we're not saying this to criticize you," an elderly woman behind the control panel said distractedly, her eyes glued to the screen. "This is such an important experiment, and the student doesn't understand its gravity? Don't you understand?"

"I really don't know how you fell asleep that night, making your students keep watch for you, which caused the other 11 groups of experiments to be scrapped."

"If Teacher Zhang hadn't held it against you and had even switched you to the day shift and given you a different teacher in charge of your group, do you think he wouldn't have given you a good scolding!"

Seeing that Assistant Tang and the students behind him had lowered their heads and dared not say another word, another old lady couldn't help but speak up to comfort them: "Alright, Xiao Tang had classes during the day those few days, and something happened at home. Teacher Zhang said it was understandable, so why are you still making a fuss about it?"

"Sigh... I won't say anymore!" Old Lu, with his gray hair, sighed. "Let this be a warning to everyone!"

Zhang Heping had considered the possibility of errors in space capsule experiments when designing the Shouyuan space capsule.

So, after the student caused the laboratory contamination, the assistants on duty followed the emergency response manual and released the pollutants into the cold space.

As for whether the bacteria that drift into space will freeze to death, or whether they will be burned to death by high temperatures when they fall into the Earth's atmosphere with other objects, that remains to be seen.

Theoretically, yes!
This is also why Zhang Heping is conducting space capsule experiments!
If the laboratory where the student caused the contamination was on the ground, not to mention the people inside the laboratory would be infected, the consequences would be unimaginable if it leaked to the outside world!
~
After being scolded by his father last night, Zhang Bei was taken by his siblings to Central, Hong Kong Island this morning to visit his Hong Kong Island Technology Company.

Back when they were running a technology company in their hometown in the capital, they didn't make much money, but they never lost money in any year.

So, Zhang Yi, Chang Wen, Zhang Nan, Zhang Nian and the others came along purely to find fault.

Faced with the four young men brought by their boss Zhang Bei, along with a group of bodyguards in black, everyone at Hong Kong Island Technology Company was somewhat bewildered.

In particular, when Chang Wen and Zhang Nian went to the finance office, and Zhang Yi and Zhang Bei sat in the general manager's office calling on each employee by name, the employees throughout the company couldn't help but make wild guesses.

Zhang Nan, accompanied by a curious Roy, strolled casually through the Hong Kong Island Technology Company.

Seeing that Luo Yi kept looking towards the general manager's office, Zhang Nan couldn't help but laugh and say, "Brother Yi used to be the HR manager at Capital Technology Company!"

"Although they were only small-scale operations a few years ago, the annual profit of Zongheng Chess and Cards and Shenji Games once exceeded 500 million US dollars, which can be considered a small achievement."

"It's a pity that my brother is good at technology, but he's like a primary school student when it comes to managing the company."

"Oh!" Zhang Yi's wife, Luo Yi, asked curiously, "I heard that Capital Technology Company is still operating. Is it no longer making money?"

"After Yi and the others graduated and left, Capital Technology Company couldn't find anyone to operate it for a while, so my brother came to Shenzhen and set up a branch office. He managed to recruit a few people and keep the company afloat," Zhang Nan said with a hint of regret.

"As you know, in China, graduates are assigned jobs, and it's very difficult to recruit talent on the market."

"So my brother went back to Hong Kong Island and started this technology company; he planned to expand the company and then acquire Capital Technology Company, and exchange the company shares he had promised to Yi Ge and the others for money."

“You heard it last night too, my dad even inquired about this company’s business, which means that even my dad can’t stand the problems with this company.”

"Qi Wencai, how dare you!" Zhang Nian's angry voice suddenly rang out from the finance office. "You even dare to embezzle our Zhang family's money! Are you tired of living, or do you want to be reincarnated sooner?"

"Ms. Zhang, it's a misunderstanding! There must be some misunderstanding here! Even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn't dare to embezzle a single penny of the company's money!" A man's voice came from the finance office, attracting the attention of the other employees.

"Then tell me, what kind of coffee can be reimbursed for HK$3500? And a plate of dim sum for HK$5000!" Zhang Nian's voice became sharp. "Tell me, which coffee shop on Hong Kong Island can make such good coffee and dim sum!"

Although there are many luxury stores these days, employee reimbursements don't meet the requirements of those luxury stores.

Even the wealthy and powerful Peace Group doesn't indulge in such extravagance.

The finance office was quiet for a moment, then Zhang Nian said, "Nothing to say, huh!"

"And this taxi fare, how many times did you drive around Hong Kong Island? You dare to print HK$1720 on a single taxi receipt!"

"Hmph! You've probably forgotten that all the taxis on Hong Kong Island belong to the Zhang family!"

"And these crappy games, how much kickback did you guys take... Forget it, I can't be bothered to argue with you!"

"Hand over your phones and leave your workstations. Before the people from Heping Audit and Heping Law Firm arrive, they are not allowed to send any messages to the outside world, nor are they allowed to leave the company!"

Just as Zhang Nan was wondering what big problem Zhang Nian had discovered, the black-clad bodyguards who had come with them sprang into action, herding the employees—some bewildered, some anxious, and some pale-faced—to stand against the wall.

Because Hong Kong Island Technology Company was not far from Peace Audit and Peace Law Firm, and because Zhang Nian directly called her stepmother Chen Shuting to arrange for their services, the professional accountants and lawyers arrived quickly. Then, the talks with Zhang Yi stalled, and the general manager's office and other private offices were vacated and converted into a financial and tax audit room, as well as a room for lawyers to elicit confessions.

Holding a glass of juice, Zhang Nian looked at Zhang Bei, who was walking over with a sheepish expression, and said jokingly, "Brother, you sold a crappy game for 7600 million Hong Kong dollars. What were you thinking when you signed the contract?"

“7600 million?” Zhang Bei was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, “The most expensive game I’ve ever signed was only 360 million Hong Kong dollars. I’ve never signed a game purchase contract for 7600 million!”

"Tch!" Zhang Nian looked helplessly at her second sister, Zhang Nan, "Not only has the finance department been colluded with, but even my brother's secretary has most likely been bribed!"

Looking at the fierce-looking bodyguards and the trembling employees, Chang Wen asked worriedly, "Should we tell Third Uncle about this?"

"Don't!"

"do not want!"

Zhang Bei and Zhang Nan spoke up one after the other.

Zhang Nian shook her head and said, "Forget it, my dad is very busy lately, so I won't bother him with such trivial matters."

What Chang Wen and Zhang Yi didn't know was that if their third uncle were to intervene in this matter, those managers who were the most greedy would likely face ruin and death!

It was 5 p.m. when Chen Shuting arrived at Hong Kong Island Technology Company with two teams of bodyguards.

Chen Shuting approached Zhang Bei and Zhang Nan, smiling slightly, and said, "Go home for dinner. You can leave this to them!"

"Stepmother!" Zhang Bei said hesitantly, "Why don't we send those ordinary employees back first? They can't embezzle much money anyway."

Chen Shuting's smile faded, and she asked with a slightly serious expression, "Have you paid them their due wages?"

"It's on!" Zhang Bei lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong.

"That's fine then!" Chen Shuting turned to the anxious employees and said coldly, "We're all adults. If you do something wrong, you should pay the price!"

"Besides, we're already being quite merciful by talking to them about the law!"

Chen Shuting has been in charge of the Peace Group for many years and has attended various events, large and small, in Hong Kong. She is already a well-known and powerful woman in Hong Kong!

In addition to the various dark rumors surrounding the Zhang family in Hong Kong Island, and the intimidating power of their most powerful henchman organization, Umbrella Corporation, the employees of Hong Kong Island Technology Company felt a great deal of pressure!

Sure enough, just as Chen Shuting left a team of bodyguards to assist the accountants and lawyers and turned to leave, some of the employees couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm reporting that our team leader took money from the game development manager and inflated the online player count for all games by 60%!"

"I also reported that our finance manager went to a hotel with the general manager's secretary and then brought the hotel expenses back to the company for reimbursement!"

"I...I'm reporting our operations manager..."

Hearing the constant reports of wrongdoing behind him, Zhang Bei, with a complicated expression, was helplessly led out of the company by Zhang Yi, who had his arm around his shoulder.

"Stepmother, you won't tell my dad about this, will you?" Zhang Nian asked with a smile, linking her arm with Chen Shuting's right arm. She seemed relaxed, but she was actually a little uneasy.

Chen Shuting patted the hand that Sanya was holding, "We should still tell her, but your dad won't interfere in such trivial matters."

"That's good!" Zhang Nian said with a grin, "I was really afraid that my dad would get angry and beat up this stupid older brother!"

Chen Shuting turned to look at Zhang Bei, who was following behind her, and said calmly, "These kinds of things are hard to avoid."

"The 'protective umbrella' companies have also had a lot of cases of embezzlement of public funds. After that, the auditing and risk control of each company were strengthened, and these things have decreased a lot."

Even so, every year some corrupt officials who embezzle public funds are still uncovered.

"So, this isn't your brother's fault; it's all because those people were too greedy!"

Zhang Nan asked from behind, "Stepmother, do you think we should also have an auditing firm check the accounts of my Global Trading Company every year?"

Chen Shuting said seriously, "If you want to grow your company, you should have auditing, risk control, and legal departments, but your company doesn't have these."

With a team of bodyguards clearing the way, Chen Shuting led the younger generation into the car.

The group followed the convoy and drove conspicuously toward the Luohu Port.

The main reason they didn't take the boat back today was for safety reasons.

If you always return by boat, some people will notice the pattern and find an opportunity to take advantage of you.

When Chen Shuting returned home and saw Zhang Heping, she did not immediately tell him about the mess at Zhangbei's company.

It wasn't until dinner that Chen Shuting learned from Zhang Heping that the space capsule experiment was nearing completion and that the second Shouyuan space capsule would be launched after the New Year. Only then did she briefly mention Zhang Bei's company.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heping simply nodded and said, "I had already discovered through the bank's back-end system that a lot of money in their company's account had been diverted to the accounts of several of their employees. I just didn't expect him to be so slow to react!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bei looked at his father, Zhang Heping, in astonishment, only to find his eyes meeting his father's.

The next second, Zhang Bei lowered his head, not daring to meet his father's gaze.

"When you have time, help him find a few professional managers to run the company. Just let him focus on the technology," Zhang Heping casually instructed Chen Shuting, without showing much emotion towards Zhang Bei.

Chen Shuting hesitated and said, "How about we let Xiao Bei become Tang Wei's assistant and learn from him for a few years?"

Chen Shuting's idea was simple: she felt that her children were all grown up and the company would eventually be handed over to them, especially her eldest son, Zhang.

“No need!” Zhang Heping directly rejected the idea. “The Heping Group will not be handed over to them. Letting them receive dividends from the family trust fund is enough to prevent them from having any other ideas.”

Zhang Heping's sudden mention of such a serious family property issue caused Zhang Bei, Zhang Nan, and Zhang Nian to sit up straight.

They didn't have any other thoughts about not being able to inherit the Peace Group.

Because at that time, Zhang Heping looked to be only in his early thirties.

With the longevity potion he's currently developing, who knows how many more years he'll live!

So, they're lucky to get tens of millions of magnesium dollars in dividends every year, since they don't like a luxurious lifestyle anyway.

Ma Xiuzhen listened silently to her children and grandchildren's conversation, sensing that something significant had happened, but she couldn't quite grasp what they were saying... (End of Chapter)