Break out of the courtyard

"Xiao Liang, the big-bellied man who just got off the bus over there is our city bureau chief. He has an invitation!"

Chang Sheng, who was originally waiting for someone at the entrance of the Capital Hotel, decisively pulled a bodyguard inside after seeing the bureau chief and the criminal investigation captain get out of the car in the parking lot.

Chang Sheng, hidden to the side of the door, pointed to the group of people in the parking lot and continued, "The people next to him don't have invitations. Don't let them in, lest..."

Before Chang Sheng could finish speaking, Old Geng took out his phone.

Chang Sheng was a beat slow to react, and then his phone rang.

He took out his phone and saw the caller ID read "Old Geng".

"Remember, don't let them in!" Chang Sheng quickly instructed the young bodyguard while silencing his phone. "They're the guys who framed your boss as a murder suspect!"

After speaking, Chang Sheng quickly left the door and headed towards the Chinese restaurant.

Zhang Heping had Chang Sheng greet their bureau chief at the door, just to show that he was being treated with some respect, since he was, after all, a bureau chief.

If Zhang Heping truly values ​​this, like Elder Hua and Elder Li, he would personally greet them at the door.

Just as Chang Sheng was walking up the stairs, he saw Zhang Heping coming down.

"Brother-in-law, it seems your bureau chief hasn't arrived yet!" Zhang Heping said casually without stopping.

Chang Sheng turned around and hurriedly grabbed his brother-in-law, saying urgently, "I just saw him, but he brought his criminal investigation team with him. I don't want to bring them in, so I had the bodyguards block them at the door."

"Then you can meet him at the bottom of the stairs, so he doesn't go to the Western restaurant at the back!" Zhang Heping replied nonchalantly, then led Chang Sheng downstairs and parted ways at the bottom of the stairs.

Chang Sheng stayed at the stairwell, using a nearby green plant to conceal himself, and watched Zhang Heping walk straight towards the front door.

In the lobby of the Capital Hotel, several low golden pillars and a red ribbon separated two areas: one leading to the lobby service desk and hotel rooms, and the other leading to the Chinese restaurant.

Chang Sheng and his colleagues from the Municipal Public Security Bureau were in the lobby, talking to several bodyguards. Their bureau chief stood to one side, holding a red invitation, without saying a word or leaving.

As Zhang Heping walked over, their bureau chief nodded to him and said something. Zhang Heping, perhaps because of the invitation in the other person's hand, politely nodded back, but did not stop and continued walking towards the door.

Before long, Chang Sheng understood what Zhang Heping had gone out to do.

At this hour, who else could it be but the retired Director Zhao from Xuanwu Hospital who would personally come down to greet Zhang Heping?

After Zhang Heping invited Director Zhao and his family upstairs, Chang Sheng pretended to go downstairs and bumped into the bureau chief who had just walked by, then exchanged insincere pleasantries.

Coincidentally, the ministry ordered the city bureau chief to take away all paper documents related to Zhang Heping from the criminal investigation team and delete the relevant electronic archives.

Therefore, based on Lao Geng's investigation materials, the bureau chief vaguely recognized Director Zhao.

He then tentatively asked Chang Sheng, "Was that old gentleman Dr. Zhao from Xuanwu Hospital?"

"That's him!" Chang Sheng thought the other party felt that Zhang Heping was ignoring him and had a problem with it, so he added, "More than 20 years ago, my father-in-law was injured in the head by the bandits who were stealing factory property when he stopped them, which caused him to fall into a coma."

"Later, my father-in-law was sent to Xuanwu Hospital for treatment. Thanks to the help of Director Zhao, he was able to wake up."

Chang Sheng's statement was brief; he only mentioned that Director Zhao had helped, but didn't specify what that help entailed.

However, after reviewing Lao Geng's investigation materials and learning about the Zhang family's history, the bureau chief began to label Zhang Heping as someone who was grateful and clear about right and wrong.

The reason for adding "clear distinction between gratitude and resentment" is that just now in the hall, Zhang Heping ignored the criminal investigation captain and Section Chief Geng and others he brought with him.

The fact that all of Zhang Heping's information was taken away and that everyone in the Criminal Investigation Brigade was required to sign a confidentiality agreement, prohibiting them from revealing any of Zhang Heping's past, shows that Zhang Heping's identity is far more than just that of Hong Kong's richest man.

Because a capitalist cannot reach that level of strict secrecy.

However, when the city bureau chief entered the Chinese restaurant and saw the familiar or kind-looking old men and women inside, his heart suddenly tightened.

Although he had learned from his father that Zhang Heping had extensive connections in China, he didn't have a clear understanding of the situation without having seen it with his own eyes, and subconsciously didn't take it too seriously.

However, after today, his views changed, and he began to pay much more attention to Chang Sheng, who was standing next to him.

Chang Sheng didn't notice that their bureau chief was daydreaming, and continued to introduce the event: "Today's banquet is a buffet. You can eat and drink as much as you want in the hall, and you can also take some home to avoid wasting food."

“My wife is over there, and the person next to her is a friend from customs. Do you want to go over and get to know her?”

……

“Director Zhao, you just saw it with your own eyes. The changes in the health of Elder Zheng, Elder Yang, and Elder Zhuang are obvious. You don’t have any doubts anymore, do you?” Zhang Heping said, settling Director Zhao and his family into a small booth next to the stage.

“Peace, it’s not that I have any doubts, but so many people are waiting, and I’m still in good health, so I don’t need it for the time being.” Director Zhao, who has been retired for many years, said with a smile, “You should prioritize those who need it more and let them use it first.”

Zhang Heping shook his head slightly, beckoned a waiter over, and asked him to bring some drinks and snacks before explaining to Director Zhao:

"My No. 3 Life Pod experiment is currently conducting experiments on induced pluripotent stem cells."

"These cells are similar to embryonic stem cells and can differentiate into nerve cells, cardiomyocytes, liver cells, and so on."

"I'm using the computer you gave me to follow medical papers on the World Internet Forum!" Director Zhao interjected. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

Seeing Director Zhao's serious expression, Zhang Heping went straight to the point: "Reconstructing neurons, brain cell biological computers, brain-computer interfaces..."

Just as Zhang Heping was trying to persuade Director Zhao, the others also noticed the unusual situation and began to pay attention to what was happening.

Grandma Zheng looked at Zhang Heping, who was leaning forward and talking to Director Zhao, and asked the old man sitting diagonally opposite her with a smile, "Mr. Qian, how did Consultant Zhang convince you to work for him for 6 years?"

Mr. Qian and Mr. Hua exchanged a smile and replied, "I would be willing to work for him for 10 years for a single dose of the Life-Extending Medicine."

"It seems there's some unspeakable secret involved, one that we can't even tell, haha!" Old Mrs. Zheng smiled and looked at the others beside her. "That Director Zhao must be the second expert to prescribe the medication. I wonder who the other three experts are?"

Meeting the gaze from Old Lady Zheng, Old Hua shook his head and said, "Advisor Zhang didn't say, but he did ask Director Wang to draft a list of recommendations."

Grandma Zheng nodded slightly, knowing that the list of recommendations prepared by Director Wang was a concession by Zhang Heping regarding the longevity medicine.

Instead of handing over the power to allocate the Longevity Elixir to higher authorities, Zhang Heping had Director Wang act as an intermediary to receive information from all parties. Zhang Heping ultimately decided whether to allocate the Longevity Elixir 120 based on the recommended list. While this wasn't exactly acting arbitrarily, it still angered many people.

Grandma Zheng suddenly pointed to several groups of young people who were separated and asked, "Aren't Xiao Bei and Xiao Nan dating anyone yet?"

As Old Hua watched his grandchildren gather with the grandchildren of several old friends, while the children of the Hong Kong businessmen from Zhangbei and Zhangnan were kept far away, he couldn't help but sigh.

“After they came back for a blind date last time, nothing happened.” Grandma Yang responded from the side: “I asked the young people from those families later. Xiao Bei and Xiao Nan left their phone numbers and QQ numbers, but they haven’t contacted them even once.”

"After pressing them, the young people finally told the truth: they felt that the gap between the two families' financial situations was too big. They had never even used a cell phone or a computer, let alone contacted each other afterwards."

"Don't talk about them!" Old Mrs. Zheng stood up and laughed, "Even we hid in the corner and didn't talk to those Hong Kong businessmen, so how could those young people dare to be reckless?" "I'll go talk to them about how the Hope Project fund is being used. You can find any topic to talk to and talk to someone about it."

As Old Mrs. Zheng walked toward Tang Xin's Hong Kong businessman's wife, Old Mr. Hua, Old Mr. Li, and others dispersed and approached Tang Ming, Bao Chuanwang, and others.

Grandma Yang and Grandpa Zhuang, who were not familiar with Hong Kong businessmen, approached the sisters Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandi to see if any of their recent acquaintances were descendants of their old friends.

Director Wang and Liu Yuan arrived a little late. When they entered the restaurant, they happened to see Elder Hua, Elder Li, Elder Zheng, and others talking to a group of Hong Kong businessmen.

Just then, Zhang Heping walked onto the makeshift stage and cleared his throat into the microphone standing upright on the stage.

"Thank you all for coming!" Zhang Heping said, and only after attracting everyone's attention did he continue:
"I will briefly explain the Lifespan 120 potion here."

"This medicine is indeed better than the Lifespan 100 potion. There is also the Lifespan 160 potion that can be used in conjunction with it. Theoretically, it can extend human lifespan to between 160 and 192 years."

wow...

When the audience first heard this, more than half of them couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, and some even asked the Zhang family members if it was true or not.

"Ahem!" Zhang Heping coughed, and after everyone quieted down, he continued:

"Personally, I think that the Lifespan 120 and 160 drugs are not good enough. First, they cannot be mass-produced; second, the two drugs need to be used in sequence; third, blood products are too risky; and fourth..."

After listing the drawbacks, Zhang Heping then said, "Compared to the uncertain lifespan extension, the only thing I'm satisfied with about these two medicines is that they can significantly slow down aging."

"As you can see, after using the Longevity 120 medicine, Mr. Zheng, Mr. Yang, Mr. Zhuang, as well as my father-in-law and mother-in-law, their appearance and physical functions have all improved significantly."

As Zhang Heping spoke, the five elderly people who had just been mentioned immediately became the focus of attention.

Zhang Heping's voice rang out again, "As I just said, neither of these two drugs can be mass-produced."

"The main problem is that there is too little blood available for pharmaceutical production. Blood donors can only donate blood twice a year; any more than that would harm their health."

"As for the manufacturing techniques of these two drugs, I don't care much, but I am worried about the technology being leaked."

"If it were to fall into the hands of someone with malicious intent, it wouldn't be impossible for them to raise thousands or tens of thousands of people to supply blood for the production of the Lifespan 120 potion."

"If such an inhumane thing really happens, then my sins will be immense!"

"Therefore, I propose to users of the Life 120 drug that, apart from the mandatory blood test one month after taking the drug, whether or not to donate blood for drug production in the future is entirely voluntary."

Just as everyone was wondering if relying solely on voluntary blood donations would slow down the production of the Lifespan 120 potion, Zhang Heping said:
“Everyone here is a friend or family member, and I won’t lie to you,” Zhang Heping said with a smile. “Except for the two Longevity 120 potions sold to the Middle Easterners, which were to recoup some research funding.”

"For other people who use the Lifespan 120 drug, I will give priority to experts who are helpful in the development of the Lifespan 200 drug, or the elderly in their families, to conduct free drug trials."

"The recommended age for using the Longevity 120 medicine is still 90 years old, which is why my parents, Mr. Hua, and Mr. Li have not used the Longevity 120 medicine yet."

"Of course, if the physical functions of the elderly in your family decline and affect their normal life, such as difficulty in movement, medication can be used in advance to improve their physical functions and ensure their quality of life."

“So…” Zhang Heping paused here, looked around, and after noticing that everyone’s eyes were on him, he changed the subject, “If it’s a medical issue, please go to the hospital for treatment first, or you can have me take your pulse and prescribe medicine.”

Zhang Heping did not specify what to do if the Lifespan 120 potion was indeed needed!
We're all adults; when we really have a need, we'll naturally come to you for help.

Moreover, Zhang Heping has already made it clear enough that the free drug trials come with conditions!
What factors are beneficial to the development of the Lifespan 200 drug?
Would helping the Zhang family resolve their troubles and allowing Zhang He'an to conduct the Lifespan 200 potion experiment in peace be considered beneficial to the research?
The people from the mainland were alright; they simply provided the Zhang family with assistance in terms of power and influence.

The Hong Kong businessmen were somewhat helpless, because even their combined wealth couldn't compare to that of the Zhang family!

Fortunately, these people were also shrewd. From Zhang Heping's last sentence, "You can also come to me for a pulse diagnosis and prescription," they understood the implication: a face-to-face meeting was possible.

That's how the adult world is. Zhang Heping said he would explain it simply, but in the end, he made it all very confusing, leaving many young people with little experience unable to understand.

Elder Hua, Elder Li, Elder Zheng, and Director Wang understood that Zhang Heping was subtly winning over the people present, and had already raised their priority for medication significantly.

Of course, there is a major prerequisite: they must be Zhang's relatives and friends!
After Zhang Heping finished speaking, he went offstage to socialize.

After Zhang Bei, Zhang Nan, and other younger generation members took turns singing on stage, other talented people also went up to show off their skills in hopes of making a deeper impression on Zhang Heping.

"Advisor Zhang, how is the construction of the controlled nuclear fusion device on the Dapeng Peninsula progressing?"

When Zhang Heping walked near Qian Lao's group of people, Professor Luo Wen, the father-in-law of Zhang Yi, Zhang's eldest nephew, finally seized the opportunity to speak with Zhang Heping.

This summer, Professor Luo Wen was unable to visit Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen due to flooding.

Because of the confidentiality regulations of the controlled nuclear fusion device project team, Luo Wen was unable to inquire about the progress by phone.

In the few days since Zhang Heping returned, he has either been in meetings until very late or Luo Wen has been teaching at the school, so the two of them haven't been able to get together to talk about this matter.

"It's alright. Professor Luo is on winter break, so we can go and visit him." With so many outsiders present, Zhang Heping didn't want to set an example by violating confidentiality regulations, lest he add burden to the other staff.

Professor Rowan paused briefly upon hearing the answer before realizing he had been too hasty and shouldn't have asked such a confidential question in public.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Qian walked over and said with a smile, "I've wanted to visit Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen for a long time, but my health didn't allow it recently."

"Fortunately, Consultant Zhang prescribed two doses of traditional Chinese medicine to regulate my body, otherwise I would still be lying in the hospital today."

Zhang Heping said helplessly, "You have the nerve to say that? If you had gone to the hospital earlier, you wouldn't have had to wait until I came to prescribe your medicine."

"My mistake!" Old Qian chuckled. "I wanted to save some resources for the country, but who would have thought that Chinese medicinal herbs are now being grown on a large scale and are already being exported to earn foreign exchange."

As they were talking, the people from the telecommunications company and the State Grid who had been chatting with Mr. Qian earlier also came over with their wine glasses, standing aside waiting to toast Zhang Heping.

"Oh, right!" Seeing Zhang Heping looking at the State Grid personnel, Old Qian hurriedly said to Zhang Heping, "The photovoltaic power generation plan you mentioned to the State Grid comrades has been submitted for subsidy application."

"Could you set up a joint venture to develop photovoltaic power generation and set an example for others?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heping immediately understood that they were worried that after the subsidy application was approved, no companies or factories would respond. He then smiled at the State Grid employees and said:
“These are minor matters. You can come up with a plan and submit it to the Shenzhen branch of Heping Investment. Together, we can support a few units or factories to carry out photovoltaic power generation pilot projects.”

The State Grid employees were overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly offered their compliments and praise.

Zhang Heping exchanged a few polite words with them, then said seriously, "I also have something to ask you all. What progress have you made in your research on the Three Gorges Project?"

"In addition, have you considered building a water conservancy project in Altash, western Xinjiang?"

As Zhang Heping spoke, he took out his phone, pulled up satellite images, and said to the people in front of him, "If we build a water conservancy project in Altash in western Xinjiang, it will not only stabilize the local water supply, but also provide clean water for the maintenance of subsequent photovoltaic power stations."

Looking at the satellite images and dam blueprints displayed on Zhang Heping's phone, Qian Lao was both amazed by the young man's boldness and knowledge, and somewhat helpless, lamenting that he couldn't bring the young man into the national team to research those extraterrestrial technologies... (End of this chapter)