Break out of the courtyard

In the living room of the Hua family, after listening to Secretary Chen's recount, Old Hua shook his head and said, "These people! They really think that Consultant Zhang can't see through their little tricks!"

"They sent four hotheads to the Zhang family to take statements, hoping to force Consultant Zhang to find someone to settle the matter and make Consultant Zhang owe a lot of favors."

"That's great! Consultant Zhang didn't contact anyone and even took a statement!"

Secretary Chen chimed in, "Given Consultant Zhang's personality, he's probably holding a grudge against those people at the Municipal Bureau!"

"May their entire family live to be a hundred years old!" Old Hua said coldly. "This is the greatest hatred that Consultant Zhang harbors towards them!"

"You mean, Consultant Zhang will only give them 100-year lifespan potions, and not 120-year lifespan potions?" Secretary Chen asked doubtfully. "Given Consultant Zhang's vengeful nature, he probably won't even give them 100-year lifespan potions!"

Elder Hua said calmly, "A single word 'blessing' doesn't mean he's going to give me a longevity potion!"

Seeing that Elder Hua had lost interest in talking, Secretary Chen did not continue the conversation and silently waited for the other party's next instructions.

~
Zhangjia, on the north bank of Houhai Lake in the capital.

Even though it was snowing outside, Zhang Heping still took some of his family out after dinner and walked around the already frozen lake.

More than 20 years ago, the two old thugs who rented a room in Courtyard No. 6 were forced to kill each other on this very ice by Zhang Heping.

That night, the old scoundrel Zhang Lin was cunning enough to win with a "monkey steals peach" move, sending Lin Lao Er to his death.

Following the directions of the old hoodlum, Zhang Heping and his gang arrived at Nanguan Hutong, where they found Hu Youde, the Eighth Master who wanted to cause trouble. That very night, they sent the entire gang to hell.

Just as Zhang Heping was lost in thought, his second sister, Zhang Pandi, suddenly asked, "Brother, what are you planning to do about this?"

Zhang Pandi originally wanted to ask if she should find someone to communicate with the Municipal Bureau, but then she thought that Zhang Heping was so close to Old Man Hua and Old Lady Zheng, so there was no need for her to do anything extra.

"Why bother with something that has no evidence!" Zhang Heping said slowly, his hands behind his back, looking at the lights on the opposite bank. "Besides, they're just conducting a routine inquiry today."

What upset Zhang Pandi was this: four young policemen came to take statements, using the pretext of visiting and investigating, to force the Zhang family to cooperate.

Zhang Pandi could accept it if they had actually visited several nearby businesses and taken statements.

The problem is, after those four young policemen left, they didn't bother to visit anyone else; they just drove off!

Zhang Pandi said, somewhat indignantly, "If they cause trouble again, I'll get someone from their department to talk to them!"

"What's the point of finding them?" Zhang Heping turned to look at his second sister and asked indifferently, "Can you strip those people of their positions and kick them out of the system?"

"If you can't, then don't say such hurtful things!" Zhang Heping looked away again and said in a low voice, "If you don't even have this much shrewdness, you'd better resign and go into business as soon as possible."

Zhang Pandi fell silent. From her third brother's words, it seemed he actually wanted to bring those people down!

Holding her youngest son Zhang Hao's hand, Chen Shuting stepped forward and asked, "Honey, should we go back tomorrow?"

"The chip factory on Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen is just starting trial production and needs your inspection!"

“No need!” Zhang Heping said casually, “Chairman He and Chairman Guo will be coming over in the next two days. We’ll go back together after New Year’s Day.”

Chairman He, Chairman Guo, and a group of Hong Kong businessmen came to celebrate Zhang Heping's birthday, not only to strengthen their relationship but also to take the opportunity to investigate the real estate market in the capital.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuting said nothing more.

With Chairman He and Chairman Guo among them, plus the Hong Kong and Macao media controlled by the Peace Group, Chen Shuting didn't believe that people in the capital didn't care about international reputation.

After all, Zhang Heping is now the richest man in Hong Kong. If he were falsely accused of murder in the capital, it would be a very serious matter!

Foreign media outlets will completely ignore the truth and insist that the mainland wants to force Zhang Heping to hand over the Heping Group and the technology for making longevity potions!
The next morning, I was fortunate enough to not have to attend a meeting.

After returning from his morning exercise and having breakfast, Zhang Heping took his mother, wife, and children out shopping.

Chang Sheng, who had been complained about by Zhang Zhaodi for half the night, went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Household Registration Department this morning with a belly full of resentment. As instructed by Zhang Heping, he began to collect the identity information of the criminal investigation team.

Although Chang Sheng didn't know how Zhang Heping would retaliate against these people, judging from Zhang Heping's act of asking for their ID numbers, he probably intended to wipe them all out.

Therefore, when Chang Sheng was copying those names and ID numbers, he was particularly careful to see if anyone was approaching.

Just as he was about to finish copying, he caught a glimpse of the bureau chief approaching out of the corner of his eye.

The bureau chief wanted to see Chang Sheng last night, but considering his position as bureau chief and the fact that he hadn't had time to learn about He Yuzhu's death, he held back until this morning.

"Good morning, Chief!" shouted the young police officer who was keeping watch for Chang Sheng. His voice was loud and clear, and he looked very energetic.

Chang Sheng casually closed his notebook, then stood up, looked at the bureau chief who had entered, and greeted him with "Good morning, bureau chief."

"Is Deputy Director Chang finished with his work?" the director asked with a smile. "Yes, I'm done. Let's go for a walk. I have something to tell you."

"Please wait a moment, Director, I'll turn off the computer." Chang Sheng said, and started using the mouse.

Finally, he casually picked up the notebook and pen on the table.

Seeing this, the bureau chief waved his hand and spoke up to stop them, "There's no work to assign, no need to bring paper and pen to take notes!"

Upon hearing this, Chang Sheng promptly locked the notebook and pen in the drawer.

The two left the office and, without taking a car, walked out of the city bureau gate and onto the street.

They walked in silence for a short while before Chang Sheng spoke first, asking, "Director, do Section Chief Geng and the others have any objections to my position as deputy director?"

"Why do you ask that?" The bureau chief instinctively brushed the question away.

"I know Section Chief Geng is very experienced, but it's an undeniable fact that he's not computer literate and can't keep up with the information technology reforms in the household registration office." Chang Sheng first belittled Old Geng, then added, "..."
"However, in order to get rid of me from this deputy director position, they did not hesitate to falsely accuse my brother-in-law, Consultant Zhang, of murder, and even sent people to our house to take statements one by one!"

“I could understand them conducting interviews, investigations, and taking statements; after all, it's a matter of life and death,” Chang Sheng said, frowning.

"However, they went to Houhai in a big way and only took statements from our family, making the neighbors think that we had committed some serious crime. They don't dare to come near our house today!"

Chang Sheng's words were an exaggeration, because the four young policemen who went to the Zhang family to take statements never mentioned it to outsiders before or after. How could ordinary people in Houhai know that the Zhang family members had been questioned by the police and had their statements taken!
At most, I saw a police car parked outside Zhang's house, and that was it.

"It's a minor issue that the shops on the first floor can't do business because of this. The main problem is that our family's hard-earned reputation has been ruined by Section Chief Geng and his gang!"

……

The restaurant on the second floor of the Capital Hotel.

Since Chairman Guo and his family had arrived in the capital, Zhang Heping arranged for lunch at the Capital Hotel.

Just as Zhang Heping and Chairman Guo were sitting in the restaurant discussing whether the Japanese real estate market had hit rock bottom, Zhang Pandi arrived with five people. "Chairman Guo, I heard from my brother that you are interested in investing in real estate in the capital, so I invited a few friends over. They know more about the policies on attracting investment, land approval, and demolition than I do!"

As Zhang Pandi spoke, she arranged for the five men and women she had brought to sit at Zhang Heping's table.

Over the years, Chairman Guo had honed his Mandarin to effectively communicate with Zhang Heping, so he had no problem communicating with these five local bullies.

However, Chairman Guo did not rush to discuss business. After briefly introducing himself to the five people, he smiled and said, "We still have some friends who haven't arrived yet. We'll talk about investment when they arrive, so you won't have to explain the policies here to us repeatedly."

These five people belong to different departments, and they came here today to expand their network.

It would be best if the investment here could be finalized, but if not, consider it as coming here to meet new friends.

Of course, the person they most wanted to meet on this trip was the legendary Consultant Zhang.

Therefore, the five of them had no objections and, following Zhang Heping's casual suggestion about food, began to chat about famous dishes from all over the capital.

Before long, the conversation between the younger generation of the Guo family and Zhang Bei and his group at the next table attracted the attention of others.

"If casinos are not allowed in mainland China, what will happen to the casinos on Macau after its return to China?"

"Didn't we say it? The 'two systems' policy will remain unchanged for at least 50 years!"

"That's what you say, but how can you guarantee what will happen in the future?"

Disgusted by the interrogation yesterday, Zhang Bei and Zhang Nan didn't argue much, leading the Guo family to believe that the Zhang family wasn't optimistic about the Macau casino business either.

This concern has always existed in Hong Kong business circles. Even though many Hong Kong businessmen, including the Zhang family, have made large investments in the mainland, they are still constantly on guard against changes in mainland policies.

Zhang Heping naturally knew that 92 was a year of great change, but he couldn't explain the source of the information and was unwilling to argue with the younger generation.

My brother-in-law, Chang Sheng, arrived very late. He arrived just as most people had finished eating and started discussing where to go in the capital that afternoon.

"Director Chang, we've saved you a seat here!" The middle-aged man from the Housing Management Bureau was very enthusiastic, clearly having a good relationship with Chang Sheng.

"I'm sorry!" Chang Sheng sat down next to his father-in-law Zhang Bing and said to everyone with a slightly apologetic tone, "I went out to run errands this morning and forgot to drive. I even forgot to take my phone. I only realized I was eating here when I got back to the office. I'll punish myself with three drinks first!"

"Director Chang, you're too kind. You've just been transferred to the Municipal Bureau; you must have a lot to do." The middle-aged man from the Housing Management Bureau said, pouring Chang Sheng a cup of tea from the teapot, and smiled.
"We had to go to work in the afternoon, so we didn't drink."

"However, I can remember these three penalty drinks for you, and you'll have to pay them back next time we drink together."

Seeing that his brother-in-law Chang Sheng didn't seem bothered, Zhang Heping casually replied, "Don't do it again next time. Let's have dinner here too. You can come over after get off work and he can pay you back."

“Alright! Let’s drink again tonight!” Chang Sheng agreed, then looked at the old man next to Zhang Heping, “Chairman Guo, it’s been a long time! I’ll offer you your family tea instead of wine as a welcome to the capital.”

Chairman Guo raised his teacup and said with a smile, "We were just talking about Director Chang, and I didn't expect you to come. Congratulations on your promotion to the Municipal Bureau, Director Chang."

After exchanging pleasantries, the others resumed their earlier conversation, discussing where to go to enjoy the sights in the capital during winter.

After the meal, everyone dispersed.

Chang Sheng pulled Zhang Heping aside and whispered, "Heping, our bureau chief talked to me for a long time this morning..."

Zhang Heping interrupted, saying, "There's no need for us to beat around the bush; let's get straight to the point."

Chang Sheng organized his thoughts for a moment before continuing, "He said he would cover it up."

"Furthermore, he was completely unaware of this matter beforehand, otherwise he would never have allowed those people to act recklessly."

"Finally, he wants to treat you to a meal so that he can apologize to you in person on behalf of the Municipal Bureau!"

"That's roughly the gist of it. Do you think you should agree to his proposal?"

Zhang Heping looked at his brother-in-law Chang Sheng, frowned, and asked, "Did he say what would happen to those people?"

"Yes!" Chang Sheng said seriously, "His idea is to first transfer that deputy director, the captain, and Section Chief Geng to subordinate units to supervise work and improve the case-handling capabilities of the subordinate units."

"As for how to deal with them in the future, it depends on whether the three of them have made any mistakes."

Zhang Heping made no comment on this marginalized approach, but simply put his hand on his brother-in-law Chang Sheng's shoulder, looked at Chairman Guo who was still waiting at the restaurant entrance, and whispered to Chang Sheng:

"Observe them for the next couple of days. If they don't cause any more trouble, tell your bureau chief that I'll invite him to dinner at the Capital Hotel's Western restaurant on New Year's Day."

"When the time comes, please greet your bureau chief at the door."

"Okay!" Chang Sheng nodded solemnly, secretly relieved.

Chang Sheng was assigned to the municipal bureau by that bureau chief, and he really didn't want to have a conflict with that bureau chief unless absolutely necessary.

At the same time, we don't want Zhang Heping to break his promise about the 120-life-extending potion!

In the afternoon, Chairman He called to say that I had already boarded the plane.

Instead of going out for a stroll, Zhang Heping and Chairman Guo took Chairman Guo's family to the Zhang Family Compound on the north bank of Houhai Lake at their request.

The shipowner and his entourage arrived later, on the afternoon of the 31st.

During this period, Zhang Heping sent invitations to some acquaintances, inviting them to a lunch gathering on New Year's Day.

Because the roads were slippery due to the snow, and considering that many elderly people would be coming to eat, Zhang Heping decided to schedule the gathering for noon.

After Zhang Heping was wrongly accused, Chang Sheng, Zhang Zhaodi, and Zhang Pandi all realized the importance of personal connections.

Taking advantage of Zhang Heping's 42nd birthday party, they discussed it with Zhang Heping and invited many friends over.

As a result, the Western restaurant at the Capital Hotel appears small.

January 1, 1992, New Year’s Day.

After Zhang Heping met Mr. Hua, Mr. Li, and Mrs. Zheng at the entrance of the Capital Hotel in the morning, he asked his eldest son, Zhang Bei, to greet the guests at the entrance on his behalf.

"Didn't you say it was a Western restaurant?" Grandma Zheng asked in confusion, "Why are we eating Chinese food now? Won't we be wasting too much food?"

Zhang Heping replied with a smile, "Don't worry, it's still a buffet; take only what you can eat, so there won't be much waste."

...(End of chapter)