Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 82 News Broadcast
This was someone else's house after all, and the meal didn't taste as good when the host wasn't there. Yang Jinwen and Zhang Yuanchao both felt a little uncomfortable, so they sat facing each other and drank some more wine before preparing to go home.

But to their surprise, Miao Fuquan returned much faster than they had imagined.

"Why are you back so quickly? Did you get the money back?" Zhang Yuanchao asked.

"Get it back my ass, I saw Mr. Li on the way."

"That Mr. Li?"

"General Manager Li from Zhongyuan Petrochemical."

"Him? Such a high-ranking official? What happened to him?"

"He had a car full of Moutai liquor in his trunk. He went to withdraw money, but was turned away. He told me that even the branch manager of the state-owned enterprise couldn't withdraw the money he had in the bank, let alone me."

Miao Fuquan slumped down, and Yang Jinwen poured him a glass of baijiu, which he picked up and drank in one gulp.

"Then where is your money?" Zhang Yuanchao asked.

"Mr. Li said that all the banks have been frozen now, and the higher-ups are angry. They specifically froze the accounts of the rich. They are also investigating the people who spread the rumors. At the same time, a notice has been posted at the bank entrance saying that the accounts will be unfrozen proportionally, with priority given to the poor."

"I knew it would be like this."

"Well, then I have nothing to worry about. Since even people more capable than me can't withdraw it, I can just relax and live my life. Anyway, I still have a hundred thousand or so in cash savings. If I'm careful, it'll be enough for several years."

Zhang Yuanchao silently picked up a few more peppercorns.

Since the three of them were reunited, the drinking party, which was on the verge of ending, was stabilized again. The Sichuan girl heated up a few dishes that hadn't been touched much in the microwave.

Miao Fuquan asked, "Have you been watching the news lately? Something big has happened."

"Which major event? The exercises two weeks ago? The space elevator? Flying gods? The annihilation of the traitors? The latest developments of the Trisolaran fleet, or something else... Haven't there been plenty of major news events lately? Which one are you talking about?" Yang Jinwen asked.

"None of those. Whether it's the Trisolaran fleet or a spaceship, even a flying immortal like Luo Shenxian wouldn't concoct elixirs for us. For us ordinary folks, the most important thing is about hibernation."

Miao Fuquan lowered his voice and looked at Lao Zhang and Lao Yang: "I'll tell you the truth. Don't you want to go to the future? The hibernation plan will be open to the public soon. When that happens, you can go to Antarctica if you have the money."

Zhang Yuanchao didn't even blink: "I have no money, and I don't want to freeze into an ice cube. I have a son, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson. You're a big boss, so go if you want."

Yang Jinwen said, "I agree with Lao Zhang, and I don't think life will be any better in the future than it is now. Look at what has happened in the last two years."

The conversations between older men are often long and empty, and they tend to steer the conversation toward politics, which is really boring for women. So the Sichuan girl turned on the TV and sat in her recliner to watch.

The familiar music made all three of them turn around at the same time. The Sichuan girl subconsciously switched channels, but the second, third, and fourth channels were all playing the same scene.

She looked up at the time; it was only 6:17, not yet 7 o'clock.

Seeing that CCTV-14, labeled as a children's channel, was also broadcasting the news, the Sichuan girl was already used to it. When she saw that the three old men behind her were attracted to the TV, she didn't turn it off, but left to do other things.

"Old Miao...did you appear on TV?"

"what?"

Yang Jinwen's words immediately made Miao Fuquan's eyes widen. All three of them stopped eating and glued their eyes to the television screen. Important News:

According to our correspondent at the National Energy Administration, a spokesperson for the National Energy Administration announced at a recent press conference that a nationwide pilot program for coal gasification technology will be launched soon. This pilot program, jointly promoted by multiple departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, aims to test the feasibility and economic viability of coal gasification technology through large-scale practical application, establish standardized technical specifications and management systems, and provide solid support for energy structure transformation.

With the deepening of global engineering projects, the continued growth of global energy demand, and the global shortage of oil resources, coupled with the fact that new controlled nuclear fusion technology is still in the experimental demonstration stage, coal gasification technology has emerged. Its core concept is to convert solid coal into clean, efficient gaseous energy through advanced chemical conversion processes. (Note: "Global engineering projects" refers to large-scale global engineering projects led by PDC, including space station construction, space elevators, and Antarctic hibernation bases.)

Regarding the pilot promotion of coal gasification technology, a regional collaborative pilot project has been completed. This project is being conducted at coal mining sites that are rich in coal resources and relatively isolated, such as the No. 0 pilot coal mine under the jurisdiction of Yangqu County, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, by Miao Fuquan, the original person in charge of the mine. The project is now fully verifying the stability and economic efficiency of the technology in actual operation.

In the footage, Miao Fuquan, wearing a safety helmet and sporting a large belly, flashed briefly in CCTV's view. Clearly, Miao Fuquan was unaware of the camera's presence at the time.

"Boss Miao, you're on CCTV!" Yang Jinwen slapped Miao Fuquan hard on the shoulder.

"You were actually on TV..." Zhang Yuanchao said blankly.

"My ancestors, I've made it! I've made it!" Miao Fuquan's lips trembled as he pointed to the people on TV. "So that's why some women kept asking me questions back then—it was an interview..."

...

"What were we talking about just now?"

"Hibernation, hibernation."

"Oh right, Mr. Miao wants to hibernate?"

"No, I just heard that you can hibernate for money now, and there are hibernation commercials on TV, so that's what came to mind."

"What's so good about hibernation? You wake up to find everyone you know is dead."

"When people get old, they'll die when it's their time, don't you think?"

"That makes sense. I just thought about it."

"You old rascal, you're not allowed to hibernate. What will I do if you hibernate?" That was said by the Sichuan girl.

As if following the conversation of the three, the news broadcast coincidentally also jumped to the topic of hibernation.

Dear viewers, we will now take you on a bird's-eye view of humanity's most strategically significant engineering marvel during this crisis era—the Antarctic Pole hibernation base. The commercialization of hibernation technology is a landmark event. Faced with such a crucial technology concerning human survival and development, sharing the results is an undeniable responsibility for research institutions and enterprises. The hibernation commercialization movement has received support from many developing countries and non-governmental organizations, and some international scientific cooperation organizations have also expressed their approval. However, proposals related to hibernation commercialization have also been questioned and rejected by some countries. For example, at the International Life Sciences Industry Forum, it was stated that hibernation technology disrupts the equality of human mortality, and the "equalization of life technologies" movement has revealed, to some extent, the drawbacks of technology commercialization. The "equalization of life technologies" movement arose because of the hibernation project. Only when countries reach a consensus and carefully handle the ethical issues related to hibernation technology can global resources be integrated to accelerate the technological progress of the hibernation project…

In the footage, the satellite view pierces through the thick clouds of Antarctica, revealing a giant silver star embedded in a vast snowfield. Centered on the pole, the base features eight radiating, streamlined buildings that extend towards the horizon like ice crystals, solidifying into a kind of eternal white under the frigid sunlight of the polar day.

Zhang Yuanchao offered the simplest and most accurate assessment of the images of Antarctic hibernation bases shown on television:
"What a huge coffin..."

“It’s still iced,” Yang Jinwen added.

These two sentences instantly extinguished all of Miao Fuquan's thoughts.

Two today and four tomorrow

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(End of this chapter)