Break out of the courtyard

Capital, south bank of Houhai Lake.

"It's the courtyard with a black-and-white TV set under the window and many people sitting next to it. The black-and-white TV is placed outside for outsiders to watch, but they watch a large color TV at home!"

"I heard from people nearby that there is a refrigerator and a washing machine in that yard!"

"What does their family do? How come they are so rich?"

"The two working couples on the railway, the man is a train attendant and the woman is an official, their money must be dirty!"

"The flight attendants shouldn't have guns... What's the situation with the one on the left? The gatehouses on both sides are built like bunkers."

"The two are sisters. The couple on the left are also railway workers. I didn't ask what they do specifically."

"Brother Qiang, we heard that the family on the right is going to her husband's house to celebrate the New Year tonight, so they will take back the black and white TV outside in the afternoon. Tonight is an opportunity!"

"Brother Qiang, if we steal the TV, refrigerator, and washing machine tonight and sell them at the Pigeon Market, we can get at least a thousand yuan. We can buy New Year's goods tomorrow and have a prosperous New Year!"

……

Hong Kong Island, Victoria Peak.

Zhang Heping noticed something when his mother Ma Xiuzhen covered him with a blanket, but after he closed his eyes for a while due to the alcohol, he found that Wei Chunqiao and a bodyguard were sitting not far from him.

"Is there something wrong?" Zhang Heping looked at Wei Chunqiao, the head of the umbrella, and asked puzzledly.

Wei Chunqiao stepped forward and whispered something to Zhang Heping.

Zhang Heping frowned and looked at the young bodyguard next to him. He asked softly, "Are you sure it was Tangning who planted the bug?"

"Confirmed!" The young bodyguard leaned in and whispered, "He stood behind your desk in your study for a few seconds, and then the detection equipment in our monitoring room lit up red. After I found out about this, I immediately notified Manager Wei and played back the surveillance video for him to confirm the identity of the person."

Zhang Heping patted the young bodyguard on the shoulder and said, "I'll give you credit for this. Don't tell anyone else."

Then, Zhang Heping climbed onto Wei Chunqiao's shoulders and went to the protective umbrella community below.

"... Remember it?" Zhang Heping said all the way, and after reaching the atrium garden of the Protection Umbrella Community, he withdrew his right hand that was holding Wei Chunqiao's shoulder.

"Well! I'll arrange for someone to monitor his phone calls," Wei Chunqiao said, repeating what Zhang Heping had said. "If Tangning is colluding with outsiders, I'll arrange for an old employee to tell the second master about this. If there are no outsiders involved, I'll arrange for an old employee to tell the first master about this."

"Go! The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. I hope he is just being smart!" Zhang Heping put his hands behind his back and went up the slope and returned to Renheyi Community.

The landline lines were monitored and there were a few more bugs in the villa from time to time. Zhang Heping felt that his family's experience could be made into a movie called "Infernal Affairs".

Back on the plain, Zhang Heping glanced at the three villas on the left, middle and right. He did not hear any voices of Old Zhang and his sons, so he went out and finally saw them at the shooting range. His father-in-law Tang Ming was also there.

Zhang Heping walked to his father-in-law Tang Ming and looked at the guys standing behind the chained guns firing their guns. "Dad, you've been in the meeting in the capital for so long. Are there any latest instructions from the country?"

Tang Ming pulled Zhang Heping back a distance and asked his son-in-law what he had just said. After listening to Zhang Heping's retelling, he replied: "It was mainly discussing the return of Hong Kong Island, the negotiations with the Eagles, and the reduction of military research funds..."

Zhang Heping was stunned for a moment, "Huh? Why do we need to cut military research funding?"

Tang Ming frowned and said, "On paper, they say that the focus in the next few years will be on developing the economy, but in reality, we are short of money."

"Oh..." Zhang Heping responded, and then there was no further news. However, he was thinking in his heart that he would call Sha Zhixiang someday to remind them not to cut the satellite positioning, precision guidance, and cruise missile projects.

"What are your plans?" Tang Ming turned to look at his son-in-law Zhang Heping and asked, "After selling the real estate and land in Dongdu, where are you going to go?"

Zhang Heping guessed that some big-mouthed sister-in-law had told Tang Ming that he did not use Dongdu as a retreat plan.

"I plan to build a hospital and a medical research institute in Hong Kong Island, and then set up a vocational training school. I may also build a nuclear power plant in the future." Zhang Heping said with a smile: "The world is so small. You can either go to northern Jiangsu, go to Magnesium, or stay in Hong Kong Island and wait for the return."

"Bei Su, you won't go!" Tang Ming turned around and looked at the people shooting at the shooting range, and said with a smile: "If you go there, they will nationalize your property!"

"The Magnesium Country is a bit of a possibility, but you have to find an official agent before going there, otherwise you won't be able to beat those big capitalists."

Zhang Heping nodded, "Dad is still very insightful."

After Tang Ming understood that Zhang Heping would stay in Hong Kong Island, he changed the subject and talked about other things in the country.

It was not until dinner time that Zhang Heping asked everyone to go back.

……

"Sister Zhang, please leave the TV outside!" A young man turned off the TV when he saw Zhang Zhaodi just came back, and begged, "I heard that the Spring Festival Gala will be broadcast live tonight, please let us watch it!"

"Yes! Sister Zhang, please leave the TV outside. We will wait for you to come back after dinner before we leave. We guarantee that the TV will not be lost." Another neighbor echoed.

Seeing her elder sister's hesitation, Zhang Pandi pushed her bicycle back to her yard and said, "It's so cold, you're sitting there motionless, what if someone freezes to death?"

Zhang Zhaodi heard this, glanced at the people who stood up, and said embarrassedly: "How about I move it to one of your houses and give it back to me tomorrow morning."

This proposal immediately attracted everyone.

But you looked at me and I looked at you, and we all felt that our own places were not spacious enough, so we didn't dare to agree.

As for the open space in the courtyard where they lived, it had long been occupied by privately built wooden and brick houses, making it impossible for so many people to sit and watch TV.

An old lady with red sleeves stood up and suggested, "How about we move to the street office to have a look?"

"This is a good idea!" someone agreed, and then everyone looked at Zhang Zhaodi.

"As long as Director Qi of the Street Office agrees, I have no objection." Zhang Zhaodi said with a smile: "However, someone has to be responsible for moving the TV over and returning it tomorrow."

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent for a while. They were all afraid that they might accidentally break the TV and would not be able to afford the compensation of several hundred dollars.

Otherwise, in those days when black-and-white televisions were already sold out, would they have sat by the lake in the middle of winter to watch TV?

Zhang Zhaodi shook her head secretly and said with a smile: "Don't worry, as long as the damage is not intentional, I won't ask anyone to compensate."

"I'll take responsibility!" Aunt Hongxiu stepped forward and said, "Since I was the one who suggested going to the street office, I should take responsibility. Everyone knows that if this TV is broken, there will be no TV to watch."

"We can't let Aunt Li be responsible alone!" A middle-aged man shrank his neck, hid his hands in his sleeves, walked to the front and said to everyone:

"Everyone who wants to watch the Spring Festival Gala tonight has the responsibility to protect this TV. If it is damaged, everyone can pool money to pay for it. If everyone disagrees, then don't lend the TV."

The group of people discussed it noisily for a while, and Chang Shengdu went to the gatehouse to take down the TV antenna. Only then did they reluctantly reach a decision to take responsibility together.

It happened that the person who had gone to the Sub-district Office to ask questions had also returned, and Director Qi agreed to let them borrow the Sub-district Office's venue to watch TV.

After everyone happily moved away the black-and-white TV and antenna, Zhang Zhaodi said hello to her second sister Zhang Pandidi and borrowed her second brother-in-law Zhang Yong's 28-inch bicycle.

Then, she and her husband Changsheng each rode a 28-inch bicycle, with a son and a daughter on the front bar and a son on the back seat, and the family of six rode towards Changsheng's parents' yard.

What they didn't notice was that just as they left, a black-faced, bearded man wearing a torn blue and black cotton jacket appeared from behind a tree beside the lake.

Then, I saw the bearded man running into the public toilet...