Break out of the courtyard

Chapter 851 Old Classmates Visit

The Zhang family and their group circled around the lake, with bodyguards in front and behind them, looking like a local tycoon inspecting his territory, attracting the attention of passers-by.

It would be hard to say if the neighbors hadn't greeted Ma Xiuzhen, Zhang Bing and others from time to time, showing how popular the Zhang family is in the area.

When they reached the southern edge of Qianhai, at Ma Xiuzhen's suggestion, the group turned into Nanluoguxiang to see her newly purchased three-courtyard house.

It was said to be a purchase, but in fact it was acquired by someone else and then resold to Ma Xiuzhen at a premium.

This little old lady was still as frugal as before when it came to food and clothing, but when it came to buying a house, she seemed to be obsessed and couldn't help but take action.

Zhang Heping doesn't care about it, as long as his old mother is happy.

There were only six families renting the courtyard, all of whom were the ones with whom Ma Xiuzhen had a good relationship when she was working as a clerk in Nanluoguxiang.

Just as Ma Xiuzhen entered the courtyard, Old Lady Wang from the east wing of the front yard pulled Ma Xiuzhen aside to gossip, saying that Yi Zhonghai from Courtyard No. 95 had died last night.

"Yi Zhonghai wanted to be buried in the ground, and he made a will before he died. As long as Sha Zhu buried Yi Zhonghai in a coffin next to the grave of the deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai's west wing in the middle courtyard would belong to Sha Zhu." When Old Lady Wang said this, her eyes suddenly brightened. "Guess what happened in the end?"

Zhang Heping didn't care about this kind of thing at first, but when he heard Old Lady Wang ask this, he inexplicably thought of those people in the courtyard who had been cheated by Yi Zhonghai.

Without waiting for Ma Xiuzhen to ask, the old lady Wang spoke up, "Not long after Yi Zhonghai died, the neighborhood committee received more than a dozen letters of complaint overnight, reporting that Sha Zhu was practicing feudal superstition and occupying farmland, and wanted to bury Yi Zhonghai."

"Then, the neighborhood committee called the funeral home this afternoon and had Yi Zhonghai's body taken away for cremation!"

"That idiot Zhu didn't stop him?" Ma Xiuzhen asked in confusion, "If he hadn't buried Yi Zhonghai, would he have been able to get the west wing?"

"Hey! They were all deceived by Yi Zhonghai!" Old Lady Wang saw Zhang Bing, Zhang Zhaodi, Zhang Pandi and others gathered around her, and she gossiped with a smile: "Two years ago, didn't our area allow tenants to buy the houses they rented?"

"Then Yi Zhonghai told the people in Courtyard No. 95 that he bought the west wing of the middle courtyard."

"But the people from the neighborhood committee said today that Yi Zhonghai never mentioned buying a house to them. He just changed the monthly rent payment to an annual payment, and gave them the long-term rental contract that Yi Zhonghai signed with the neighborhood committee."

"Humph!" Zhang Pandi sneered, "Yi Zhonghai deceived Sha Zhu like this, isn't he afraid that Sha Zhu will dig up his grave?"

Zhang Zhaodi said disdainfully: "Yi Zhonghai didn't even pay for the west wing. I'm afraid he had already thought about his affairs after his death, so he deliberately used the burial to trick the neighborhood committee into coming forward."

While the women were gossiping, Zhang Heping had already returned from a walk in the backyard with the rest of his family.

"Aunt Wang, we'll go back first and won't disturb you anymore!" Zhang Heping greeted Aunt Wang and walked straight out of the yard.

Upon seeing this, Ma Xiuzhen immediately made an appointment to talk again another day and quickly chased after him.

"Aunt Ma, have you heard?"

Not long after the Zhang family came out, a woman waving a palm-leaf fan came over and said to Ma Xiuzhen with a gossipy look on her face, "Yi Zhonghai is dead, and there's not even anyone to set up a mourning hall!"

Several ladies who were gathered around chatting about family matters, seeing that the woman waving the palm-leaf fan was not stopped by the black-clad bodyguards, immediately came over and talked about how tragic Yi Zhonghai's death was and that no one even claimed his ashes.

Neighbors who have lived in Nanluoguxiang for a long time all know that the Zhang family and Yi Zhonghai are not on good terms.

After all, Zhang Heping had often confronted Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu both inside and outside the hospital.

These women were so eager to come forward that it was hard not to be suspected of currying favor.

Zhang Heping felt that the women slowed down their family's walking pace, so when he passed by a store with a freezer, he used a hundred-yuan magnesium bill to buy all the popsicles and ice cream in the freezer.

After each of the Zhang family members and bodyguards had an ice cream, Zhang Heping asked the women to share the remaining popsicles and ice creams in the freezer.

The women were worried that the popsicles and ice creams they had received would melt, so they had no time to chat with Ma Xiuzhen. They agreed to chat another day and went back with the popsicles and ice creams in their pockets.

However, not long after they left with the ice cream, Ma Xiuzhen was harassed by a few women again.

When they finally walked out of Nanluoguxiang, Tang Xin couldn't help but smile at Zhang Heping and said, "No wonder my parents don't live with us. They know a lot of people here, so they can always find someone to talk to wherever they go."

Zhang Heping hummed without commenting and didn't pay much attention to the matter.

"Organizational committee member!"

Just as Zhang Heping walked to the door of his house, the middle-aged woman in a white lotus leaf collar dress next to Zhou Xiaochun called Zhang Heping.

"Director Ye! How come you have time to come here today?"

Zhang Heping recognized the woman, Ye Juan, who had become much darker and thinner.

Ye Juan said with a smile: "I heard from Liu Yuan that you returned to the capital today, and I came here specifically to ask you for investment!"

This old classmate was very close to Liu Yuan when he was in school, and went to CCTV after retiring from the army.

In the past few years, I was doing record and publicity for poverty alleviation work, and I only saw her a few times throughout the year.

Otherwise, Zhou Xiaochun could have approached her directly to get a job at CCTV, and Zhang Pandi wouldn't have to go through roundabout ways to get favors.

"Come in and talk slowly!" Zhang Heping led the old classmate to the door and into the yard.

Walking around the patio, Zhang Heping took Ye Juan to the second floor and sat down in the rest area.

Because it involved investment, Chen Shuting also followed.

Zhou Xiaochun took over the job of pouring tea, and the others went about their own business.

Zhang Heping pushed the fruit plate on the coffee table in front of Ye Juan, "Fruits, melon seeds, snacks, whatever you like!"

"Let's talk business first!" Ye Juan sat upright on the sofa, leaning forward, looking at Zhang Heping and said, "You should have heard that I have been making promotional videos for poverty alleviation work in recent years."

"Not long ago, I heard in the northwest that you proposed a model of building photovoltaic panels on farmers' roofs to generate electricity, and using the commissions from the electricity generated to ask farmers to clean and maintain the photovoltaic panels."

"That's true!" Zhang Heping nodded. "However, this model needs the support of the State Grid to ensure long-term effectiveness."

Ye Juan's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "I asked the people at the State Grid, and they support this poverty alleviation model in principle, but they don't have the budget for it right now."

"Can you invest some money to set up a pilot project in the northwest to promote this model?"

“As long as this model is successfully piloted, it will be easy to apply for a budget from the State Grid!”

Zhang Heping picked up two White Rabbit milk candies from the fruit plate, handed one to his concubine Chen Shuting, and then carefully unwrapped the candy wrapper.

After he took a bite of the White Rabbit candy, Zhang Heping said slowly, "The technology of the solar photovoltaic power generation project is derived from the solar panels of satellites. The relevant technology is very mature, so there is no problem in mass producing those devices."

"This project has two models. One is what you just said, covering the roofs of farmers with photovoltaic panels; the other is to build photovoltaic panel power generation equipment on a large scale in the Gobi Desert."

"You've heard of the Southern Power Company that built a thorium-based molten salt reactor nuclear power plant, right?" Zhang Heping saw the other party nod, and continued:

"The current electricity generation cost of nuclear power plants is 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the purchase price of the State Grid has been reduced to 1 cent per kilowatt-hour."

"Because the nuclear power plant has a large power generation capacity, the Southern Power Company's benefits are acceptable."

"But..." Zhang Heping saw Zhou Xiaochun coming over with a water bottle and a teacup, so he changed his tone and said, "Xiaochun, peel an apple for your Director Ye. In the future, learn more from Director Ye at work."

"What Director Ye! Xiaochun calls me sister at the studio!" Ye Juan said with a hint of complaint, not sure if she blamed Zhang Heping for keeping her in suspense.

However, Ye Juan did not let Zhou Xiaochun peel the apple. She directly reached out and took one, put it in her hand and said, "Organization Committee member, you continue!"

Zhang Heping then continued: "The design life of photovoltaic panels is 20 to 30 years. According to the 30-year standard, excluding rainy days when electricity cannot be generated, the cost of photovoltaic panels on farmers' roofs is about 3 yuan per kilowatt-hour!"

"Wait!" Ye Juan held the apple tightly in both hands and frowned, "You just said that the purchase price of the State Grid is 1 cent per kilowatt-hour?"

Zhang Heping nodded, ignoring Ye Juan's worried expression, and continued: "The model of building photovoltaic panels for power generation equipment on a large scale involves manual cleaning and long-distance pumping and cleaning, and the cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour is about 2 cents."

"No wonder you said that this project needs the support of the State Grid!" After listening to Zhang Heping's story, Ye Juan has already done some calculations from the perspective of the State Grid.

Zhang Heping smiled and said, "Do you think the cost is too high and the State Grid will not agree?"

Ye Juan remained silent. This was indeed what she thought in her heart. She was now worrying about how to reply to the people in the northwest.

"You don't think so!" Zhang Heping said with a faint smile: "My original intention of proposing solar photovoltaic power generation was to fix sand and plant trees on the edge of the Gobi Desert."

"At the same time, it can also develop a photovoltaic industry in the country, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and generate related tax revenues."

“Now, do you still think the cost is high?”

Hearing Zhang Heping say this, Ye Juan's eyes lit up again, "Have you told Mr. Hua about this?"

"They know about this, but they are waiting for the decision of the State Grid and Northwest China." Zhang Heping said with a smile: "Since you have contact with them, you might as well tell them what I just said and see if they have the overall view and courage."

"This...isn't that too bad?" Ye Juan suddenly hesitated again, wondering whether she should avoid suspicion in this matter.

"If this can be accomplished, it will be good for the farmers who can earn commissions, good for the afforestation in the northwest, good for the unemployed, and good for the national tax revenue." Zhang Heping persuaded:

“The only downside is that it might put a strain on the State Grid’s budget!”

"I understand!" Ye Juan now really understood what Zhang Heping meant to her.

Zhang Heping wanted Ye Juan to tell her acquaintances in the State Grid to use the state's money to carry out a political achievement project in the northwest that would benefit the country and the people.

Seeing that Ye Juan was still thinking about something, Zhang Heping added, "I told them before that I would license the relevant technology to them for free."

"So, whether they set up their own factories to produce photovoltaic power generation equipment or outsource the production to others, it will be profitable!"

Ye Juan pondered for a while and asked, "Don't you plan to invest in this project?"

"With ready-made technology, it can be started with a small amount of money, and then a loan can be taken to expand production." Zhang Heping shook his head slightly, "It's not about whether I plan to invest, but whether this project can be carried out."

Ye Juan stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go ask them if they are willing to do this project!"

Zhang Heping replied casually, then stood up and walked his old classmate out the door.

As a result, the two met an old classmate, Tang Weiguo, at the door!

When classmate Tang was in school, he was just the political class representative in the class and did not show anything special.

Even now, Tang's rank is only average, and he is not even in the top ten among his classmates.

However, this guy's future is now the most promising one because he recently broke into the central office.

"Advisor Zhang, there is a meeting tomorrow morning. Do you think it would be convenient for us to pick you up at 6 o'clock?"

Zhang Heping looked at Ye Juan and smiled, "We haven't had any class reunions in recent years, so our relationships have become estranged."

"Of course!" Ye Juan said with a smile, "Director Ye called me like a stranger."

"I forgot to ask you just now, why didn't the entertainment committee member register a QQ account?" Zhang Heping said with a smile: "After you register a QQ account, ask Liu Yuan to add you to our classmates group."

"Got it! You can talk to Secretary Tang about business! I'm leaving first!" Ye Juan said, waving to Zhang Heping, Chen Shuting, Zhou Xiaochun and others, then pushed a ladies' bicycle and left.

Zhang Heping retracted his gaze, glanced at the young guard behind Tang Weiguo, frowned and said, "I have something else to do tomorrow."

Tang Weiguo joined the class QQ group, and everyone communicated with each other regularly, so they were not strangers.

Therefore, when Tang Weiguo saw Zhang Heping, even if he had to address him, he would use the two titles "Heping" or "Organization Committee Member".

Hearing Tang Weiguo calling Consultant Zhang at this time, it must be that there are some issues in this meeting that are not convenient to talk about openly.

Thinking of the three 3-year longevity potions that he had used up not long ago, as well as the 120-year longevity potion that was left with Old Hua in Shenzhen, Zhang Heping couldn't help but speculate in this direction.

Tang Weiguo did not reply immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the young guard behind him and just stared at him without saying a word, as if waiting for the other person to speak.

However, before the young guard came over, he received instructions from his superiors and only listened but did not speak.

Tang Weiguo didn't wait for the young guard to speak, so he turned around and said to Zhang Heping, "I wonder if Consultant Zhang has something to do tomorrow. Can we handle it for him?"

"It's just some personal matters, so I won't bother you two!" When Zhang Heping replied, his eyes fell on the young guard again. He secretly wondered who this guy belonged to, and why he forced Old Tang to speak in official language with him.

"Well then! I can only report what Consultant Zhang said truthfully! Sorry for bothering you!" After saying this, Tang Weiguo left first, causing the young guard to be stunned for two seconds before he followed him.

"What are they doing..." Chen Shuting didn't know Tang Weiguo, so she didn't understand the implication.

"An old classmate. There were outsiders here just now, so it was inconvenient to talk." Zhang Heping explained casually, then looked at the night market stalls around him.

The roadside stalls on the Houhai coast have not been regulated yet. There are many people visiting the night market, and with the addition of light bulbs lit by flying wires, it seems quite lively.

Zhang Heping waited at the door for a while, and saw Tang Weiguo coming back alone. He thought that the person behind the young guard had compromised.

"Heping, something happened!"

……