Break out of the courtyard

"Old Yang, Old Li, haven't you seen those optical concealment devices before?"

"My goodness! With this optical camouflage technology, who can detect our field deployments!"

"Old Qin, you can't generalize. If enemy planes straf the ground randomly, they could damage this kind of optical concealment device. Commander Chu, don't you think so?"

Standing at the entrance of Villa No. 4, Commander Chu replied with a smile, "Old Nie may not have noticed, but under that optical concealment device is our most advanced air defense system."

"With the assistance of space-based early warning systems, even if the United States' most advanced stealth aircraft were to arrive, they would have no chance to fire or drop bombs at close range!"

"Haha! I overlooked the most important air defense system!" Old Nie said, striding into the villa.

When the old men and women who went to the mountaintop to see the rock formations returned, they were surprised to find that Elder Hua, Elder Yang, and Elder Li were not at the villa.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that Elder Hua and Elder Zheng had gone to the underground laboratory, while Elder Yang and Elder Li had gone to the computer room.

The underground laboratory's classified projects were too sensitive, so to avoid suspicion, no one mentioned the idea of ​​going to the underground laboratory.

However, the computer room that attracted Elder Yang and Elder Li also aroused the interest of some elderly men and women.

When they learned that a group of gifted teenagers were receiving special training in the computer room, they all stood up and clamored to go and see.

So, this group of elderly people who had just returned hurriedly dragged Commander Chu and others to the school's computer lab.

When they arrived at the computer room and found Elder Yang and Elder Li standing outside the glass partition, there were hundreds of teenagers wearing large headphones sitting in front of computers inside the room, and dozens of people who looked like teachers and professors walking around.

"Old Yang, what are you looking at here?" Old Qin glanced around but couldn't figure out what was going on inside.

Old Yang gestured towards the server room and casually explained, "Advisor Zhang launched a global recruitment program for gifted youths in Hong Kong. These are young people from various places who passed the first round of online quizzes. They are currently receiving special training to prepare for the second round of assessments next month."

The accompanying elder, Mr. Liu, asked with a smile, "Do we have so many gifted young people passing the first round of assessments?"

"We're considered to have fewer here!" Old Qian frowned and said.

"According to statistics displayed on the Peace Group's official website, 7322 teenagers in the United States passed the first round of assessments, 9566 in Japan, more than 3 in Europe, and there are also teenagers in North Sudan, South Africa, and other places, bringing the total number close to 5!"

"Foreigners are faking it!" Some elderly people didn't believe that there were so many gifted young people in foreign countries.

Vice Dean Deng interjected, "We can't rule out the possibility of it being fake, but we can't completely dismiss it either, because the penetration rate of computers and mobile phones is higher abroad than in China."

"The first round of assessment was quite simple. As long as the teenagers were proficient in using computers and mobile phones and knew where to find the answers when answering questions, most of them could get full marks within the allotted time."

Old Li frowned and said, "In recent years, we have been so focused on exporting computers, mobile phones and other equipment that we have neglected the popularization of information technology in China."

As these words were spoken, people inexplicably wondered if Zhang Heping was using another method to remind the mainland to pay attention to the popularization of communication technology.

Looking at the teenagers in the computer room who were occasionally taking off their headphones and raising their hands to ask questions, Old Nie asked Old Qian, "Have you received the questions for the second round of assessment, or do you know the scope of the exam?"

"No!" Old Qian shook his head slightly. "At present, all we know is that the Hong Kong Peace Academy is renovating a large lecture hall, which may be used as an examination venue or a special classroom for gifted children in the future."

Old Qin frowned and said, "If more than 5 teenagers from various countries really pass the first round of assessments, one large lecture hall is not enough as an examination room. Unless the questions in the first exam are different from those in the later exams, there will be a leak of questions."

……

While outsiders were worried about the venue for the second round of assessments for the genius training camp, Zhang Heping was inspecting the painted iron pipes that had just been laid into the ceiling, walls, and floor of the Hong Kong Peace Academy lecture hall with his eldest son, Zhang Bei.

“Dad!” Zhang Bei, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, frowned slightly and said, “After my mental energy entered these iron pipes, it couldn’t pass through the pipe walls and go out. The protection of the mental energy transmission line should be fine.”

"You can't penetrate the tube because your mental energy isn't at full strength!" Zhang Heping said slowly. "This tube wall thickness can only prevent the mental energy of ordinary people from escaping."

"The reason I didn't use a thicker tube wall was to see if there were any geniuses with extraordinary brainpower."

Zhang Bei didn't respond, but instead frowned and released his mental energy.

A moment later, Zhang Bei found a chair, sat down, took off his gold-rimmed glasses, and began to bend over and rub the bridge of his nose. "Dad, I just tried my best, and I was able to pass a wisp of spiritual energy through the iron wall, but it was too taxing. I'm feeling dizzy, have tinnitus, and blurred vision now."

"Drink some brain-boosting liquid!" Zhang Heping said, using his mental power to levitate a thermos cup off the ground and deliver it to Zhang Bei.

After a while, Zhang Heping used his mental power to check all the iron pipes and confirmed that the renovation team had laid the iron pipe lines according to his requirements. Only then did he leave with his eldest son, Zhang Bei, and asked the college to carry out the second phase of renovation on the lecture hall, namely, to install special chairs and a suspended ceiling.

"Dad, so many teenagers have passed the first round of assessments. We're only preparing one lecture hall as the examination room. Won't that take up too much time?" Zhang Bei asked with some concern.

"If this causes dissatisfaction among test takers and their parents, it could damage the group's international reputation."

"It's alright!" Zhang Heping said nonchalantly, "Just increase the difficulty of the second round of assessments and eliminate more people."

“Uh…” Zhang Bei was stunned for a moment. “I thought this lecture hall was the venue for the second round of assessments, but it turns out to be the third round.”

“So many teenagers passed the first round of assessments, it’s obvious there’s something fishy going on,” Zhang Heping said casually. “I’m too lazy to argue with them. If they all come to participate in the second round of assessments, consider it a contribution to Hong Kong’s economy.”

Zhang Bei asked in confusion, "Dad, if they all really come, how will they eliminate most of them in the second round of assessment?"

"Didn't your grandfather mention at the dinner table when he came back from the US that Tang Lie wanted to expand their Datang mobile phone business here?" Zhang Heping explained calmly to his eldest son.

“I had him sponsor 5 smartphones. We’ll put all the candidates in the stadium and give each one a phone to answer the questions. Regardless of whether they pass the second round of testing, the phones will be given to all the candidates.”

"In this way, we solved the problem of having a large number of test takers, and Tang Lie also gave their Datang mobile phones a global advertisement."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bei suddenly realized that his father had arranged so many things while researching brain-computer interfaces.

After returning to the Yan Wo Yee residential area on Victoria Peak, the father and son briefly greeted their family members who were setting up the venue for tomorrow's birthday party on the flat ground, and then went back into the underground laboratory to continue optimizing and improving the biological brain server.

The first-generation biological brain server had many drawbacks, such as the need to continuously supply nutrients and the inherent fragility of the biological brain itself.

Therefore, finding a biological brain alternative is one of Zhang Heping's top research projects. Other projects include research on improving the strength of the biological brain, brain nutrient fluid circulation equipment, and brain capacity expansion.

These studies were tedious and took up a lot of space, so Zhang Heping had the idea of ​​moving the laboratory again and needed to recruit some people to help him.

Originally, placing these studies in the underground base of the Shenzhen Peace Academy would have been the best option, but due to the previous power company incident and the recent resignation of the eldest sister, Zhang Zhaodi, Zhang Heping did not consider the Shenzhen location.

On the mountain path, Director Wang was still trying to persuade Zhang Zhaodi not to act impulsively. He also called his second sister, Zhang Pandi, to discuss other alternative solutions with them.

“Aunt Wang, we’ve all managed subordinates before!” Zhang Zhaodi looked at the buildings below the mountain and said calmly, “Put yourself in her shoes. If we had a troublemaker like Zhang Zhaodi under our command, who would threaten to resign if things didn’t go her way.”

Even if this matter is over, the thorn in my heart will never be removed!

"Unless this troublemaker resigns and leaves in the first place, at least we can have a calm conversation about the past when we meet again."

Director Wang continued to persuade, "Your situation is different; you have Grandma Zheng, Grandpa Hua, and Grandpa Li supporting you..."

“They’ve all retired!” Zhang Zhaodi interrupted indifferently. “When those opponents tried to stop me, they didn’t care who was backing me up.”

"Aunt Wang, you don't need to persuade me anymore, my mind is made up."

Director Wang looked helplessly at Zhang Pandi, who remained silent, and asked, "Second Sister, what do you think about this?"

Zhang Pandi said calmly, "Aunt Wang, when I applied to go to the western frontier to support the construction, I thought that since only my eldest sister and brother-in-law were in the capital, it would be easier for them to get promoted."

"As a result, I was transferred to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Task Force, and now this kind of thing has happened with my eldest sister. I really can't understand it!"

Director Wang opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

It turns out that these two sisters had been plotting their promotions all along.

Zhang Pandi looked at her eldest sister Zhang Zhaodi and said with a smile, "Actually, it's a good thing that my sister resigned. At least my brother-in-law can stand up straight in front of my sister now."

"Don't joke around!" Zhang Zhaodi glared at her second sister, then continued to Director Wang: "I heard from Shuting that they are planning to charge for the Lifespan 120 drug, but after more than a dozen meetings, they still haven't settled on a unit price for this drug."

"This also delayed production in Shenzhen."

When Director Wang first heard this, he didn't understand what Zhang Zhaodi was trying to say.

When Zhang Zhaodi said she was going to register a pharmaceutical company on Hong Kong Island and then apply to her brother for the authorization of Shouyuan Pharmaceutical technology, Director Wang's eyes widened suddenly, and he immediately understood what Zhang Zhaodi was planning to do!

Previously, some people said that Hua Lao and Zhang Heping wanted to use the Lifespan 120 potion to form cliques, but Hua Lao worked hard to balance the relationships between the parties and gradually suppressed those voices.

Furthermore, as the production of Lifespan 120 potion increased month by month, that kind of sound could hardly reach Shenzhen.

However, Zhang Zhaodi is now saying that she wants to open a pharmaceutical company and master the technology related to Shouyuan Pharmaceutical. Isn't this just a way of kicking Hua Lao aside and then openly forming cliques?
"Zhao Di, listen to my advice!" Director Wang said anxiously, "Anyone can open this pharmaceutical company, but no one from your Zhang family can!"

"Otherwise, it would be a clear sign of Sima Zhao's intentions!"

"So what if everyone knows?" Zhang Zhaodi said with a faint smile. "If anyone objects, we can simply stop selling longevity potions to the mainland for the next fifty years. That way, no one will say that our family is forming cliques. Aunt Wang, don't you agree?"

Director Wang frowned as he looked at Zhang Zhaodi, suddenly feeling that the woman was becoming more and more unfamiliar. "I won't argue with you about this. Even if Heping really wants to license the Longevity Elixir technology to others, I will persuade him to license the technology to the Tang family, not to you!"

"Let me finish!" Director Wang raised his hand to interrupt Zhang Zhaodi. "I know you've been preparing for the tax department for a long time, and you're upset that you weren't transferred there this time."

"But one thing is another. Your third brother can throw a tantrum, and Elder Hua and Elder Li can tolerate him like they're coaxing a child, because peace has indeed brought a lot of advanced technology to the country, which is an indisputable fact."

"So, I'm saying that your resignation and transfer request is no big deal because it doesn't affect the interests of most people."

"However, your attempt to tamper with the longevity potion not only puts Elder Hua and us in a very passive position, but it also gives the opposition ammunition to criticize you and your Zhang family, making you and your Zhang family the target of public criticism!"

"Not only domestically, but also with foreign powers eyeing us covetously, what do you think a 120 billion dose of Lifespan 120 serum is?"

"Do you think the technology for the Longevity Elixir is so easy to obtain?" Director Wang looked at Zhang Zhaodi and said sternly, "Zhang Zhaodi, because you still call me 'Auntie,' I'm going to make things clear to you today!"

"Whether you resign or start another business, you and no one else in your family are allowed to touch the Life-Extending Medicine business!"

"If you touch it, someone will die!"

Director Wang made a harsh statement and then turned around to go back to the residential area to find Zhang Heping, leaving the Zhang sisters to be watched by several bodyguards.

Zhang Zhaodi thought for a long time before looking at Zhang Pandi, who seemed lost in thought, and asked, "Second sister, do you really think it's that serious? Why didn't third brother stop me from having this idea?"

Zhang Pandi looked down at Hong Kong City and suddenly laughed, "Perhaps he wanted to trick you into coming to Hong Kong Island!"

"Instead of letting our imaginations run wild here, let's go back and talk to Third Brother and Shuting about the Longevity Potion later, and hear how they've planned to handle it."

Zhang Zhaodi was intimidated by Director Wang's imposing manner just now, and the more she thought about it, the more something seemed wrong.

However, after they finished dinner and told Zhang Heping about their conversation with Director Wang that afternoon, Zhang Heping just smiled and told them to talk about it again tomorrow.

The following day, New Year's Day, 1994, Zhang Heping celebrated his 44th birthday.

It's no exaggeration to say that before dawn, the entrance to Taiping Mountain was blocked by rows of Heping brand cars.

Most of the people who came early to give gifts had not received invitations and were all stopped by bodyguards at the road intersection, who prevented them from going up the mountain.

The bodyguards weren't aggressive; they all used the same line:
We don't accept gifts today. If you're interested, you can donate some money to the Peace Charity Foundation to help those in need. If you need any help in the future, you can bring your donation receipt to try it out!
Although these words were not a promise from Zhang Heping and Chen Shuting, they gave those who couldn't find a way to offer gifts a glimmer of hope for climbing the social ladder.

Even a small amount prompted many people to drive straight to Heping Hospital and donate their heartfelt wishes at the Heping Charity Foundation office next to the payment window.

Although the intention wasn't entirely pure, the Peace Charity Foundation's transparent and open financial statements ultimately helped those in need... (End of Chapter)