Break out of the courtyard

"You can't take it! You can't take it!"

When Director Geng saw his three grandsons accepting the red envelopes handed over by Ma Xiuzhen, he hurried forward to stop them.

"It's just New Year's money. Other children get it, and the amount is the same!" Zhang Heping stopped Director Qi who wanted to refuse and said with a smile: "Director Wang is over there, you guys chat first, I have to go out to pick someone up."

Director Qi looked towards Director Wang's table and saw that it seemed that all the Wang family members had arrived. In addition, there seemed to be some children holding red envelopes in their hands. It seemed that they were really going to give red envelopes to every child.

So, Director Qi began to think about following the crowd.

Ma Xiuzhen and Zhang Bing, who were handing out red envelopes, recalled the scene when those people from Hong Kong Island gave their grandson red envelopes as New Year's money and were rejected by them. They truly experienced the embarrassment of those people who wanted to give red envelopes but were unable to do so at the moment.

Just as Ma Xiuzhen was trying to recall how those people from Hong Kong Island persuaded them to let their children accept the red envelope after being rejected, Director Qi came over to help persuade them:

"Old Geng, this is just New Year's money for children, not for you. It's not a disciplinary issue." Director Qi didn't know the content of the red envelope. He climbed onto Director Geng's shoulder and walked towards Director Wang.

Brother-in-law Chang Sheng followed closely behind, preparing to arrange seats for the two families.

Eldest sister Zhang Zhaodi is living in a long-term rental apartment upstairs with her children. She is not coming down at the moment to avoid the embarrassment of others receiving red envelopes for New Year's money and then not being able to give the red envelopes to Zhang's children in person.

The reason why Chang Sheng was asked to receive guests here was mainly because he still wanted to climb up, unlike Zhang Zhaodi who was content with her current situation.

Zhang Heping organized this dinner today for two main purposes.

One is to introduce some connections to my two sisters, so that they won’t be as panicked as they were on New Year’s Eve when they encounter problems next time, and my eldest brother-in-law Changsheng is just a by-product.

Nowadays, it is actually a good thing to get to know people at the train station, especially the low-level leaders.

Therefore, this dinner can only be said to be a mutual acquaintance, but it cannot be said to be a case of one person trying to curry favor with another.

The second purpose is what Zhang Heping just said at the door, for the hospital and medical research institute in Hong Kong Island.

Therefore, most of the people he invited today are from the medical system, and their family members are just incidental.

Although wages have increased in the past two years, the opportunity to eat in a big restaurant is still rare for ordinary people.

……

Zhang Heping waited at the door until 11:50. Only three researchers who had gone back to pick up their families had not yet arrived. He simply talked to the hotel waitress and asked them to help pick them up. He also called the suite upstairs to ask the eldest sister and children to come down.

Here, Zhang Heping actually had a little idea in mind.

Most of the kids in the restaurant have received red envelopes. When they see the six children from the Zhang family come in, most of them will definitely wonder whether they should return the favor and give red envelopes as New Year's money.

However, the Zhang family’s red envelope was 200 yuan in foreign exchange coupons. How should they return the favor?

Does this mean that we can’t give you a red envelope of equivalent value and can only return the red envelope we received before?

So, after today's thank-you meal, those who came to eat owed the Zhang family a favor.

If you owe them this favor, it will be much smoother to ask them for help in the future.

After a few interactions, the relationship became close.

"Brother!" Seeing Zhang Heping coming over, the second sister Zhang Pandi hurried over and whispered, "There are 15 gift boxes left, 5 of which have been confiscated, including Director Wang and the banker..."

"There are three more on the way." Zhang Heping added, and then said: "Move the gift boxes in first, and deliver them after dinner."

Those who take people have short hands and eat people with soft mouths.

Sometimes, the same thing happens in the other order.

When those people see the chocolates, whiskeys, Marlboros and other rare items in other people’s gift boxes, I believe they will refuse the second gift box after they finish their meal!

I've already eaten the meal, and if I refuse the gift box, it would seem pretentious!

In later generations, this kind of thank-you gift is usually given after a meal; if it is given to a leader, it should be hidden in the trunk and given as a local specialty; if it is given in person, it would be a slap in the face!

The reason why the Zhang family gave gifts before dinner today was because Zhang Heping did not know some of the people who helped the night before, and in order to avoid someone refusing to accept the gifts after dinner, they put them before the meal.

Even if you refuse once before a meal, under the influence of other people's gift boxes, the success rate of giving it again after the meal will be much higher.

Because, their families have also come, and just because they themselves don’t want to be accepted doesn’t mean their families don’t want to either.

After the eldest sister and nephews came down, the family moved the 15 gift boxes at the door into the restaurant and temporarily piled them next to the door.

Then, Zhang Heping took his six nephews to a vacant space in the middle.

"Dear friends, since our three partners from the Cancer Treatment Research Institute have not arrived yet, let's wait for two more songs, and then we can have dinner." Zhang Heping said, taking out a stack of red envelopes from his pocket, looking at the little ones around him, and said with a smile:

"The first song is Young China! If you are a kid who can sing, come and sing along. We will give each of you a red envelope!"

After he finished speaking, Zhang Heping gave one to each of his six nephews.

After seeing the money in the red envelopes, a greedy parent saw that the six little ones in the scene had all received red envelopes, and immediately encouraged their own children to go over and whispered some pocket money benefits.

Some of those shy and reserved families gave up the thought of receiving red envelopes when Zhang Heping counted down 54321.

"If the youth are wise, the country will be wise; if the youth are wealthy, the country will be wealthy; if the youth are strong, the country will be strong; if the youth are free, the country will be free..."

After the song was over, applause broke out all around. Just as the eight unknown little guys who had received the red envelopes were about to go back, Zhang Heping stopped them, took out a handful of fan-shaped red envelopes, and asked with a smile: "Can you sing this song in the field of hope?"

"I can!"

"I can do it too!"

Five or six little hands were raised one after another. Zhang Heping distributed the second round of red envelopes to them while saying to the people around him: "If there are any children who can sing this song, come over quickly to get the red envelopes and sing along. There will be no more red envelopes later!"

As the saying goes, money moves people’s hearts!

The families who had been hesitant before now released their own children, secretly sighing in their hearts that they had missed out on a round of red envelopes.

For this second song, 21 new little ones of different heights were added. Together with the little ones who sang the first song, they were less than half of the total number of children in the hall.

I can only say that before the family planning policy was implemented last year, Chinese people were too good at having children!

Amid the singing on the field of hope, another wave of people came into the restaurant and sat at three tables arranged by my brother-in-law Changsheng.

Facing the look from his mother Ma Xiuzhen, Zhang Heping shook his head slightly and did not let them go over to give out the red envelopes.

The singing stopped and the little ones dispersed. Zhang Heping announced the start of the dinner and the waiter who was waiting on the side came to hand out chopsticks.

The practice of serving chopsticks last is a clichéd method used in banquets in later generations. This is because people are afraid that the guests will not listen to what the host says and eat their own food.

Although it is winter now, greenhouse vegetable sheds near the capital have been developed for more than 20 years and are beginning to take shape.

Therefore, the ingredients prepared by foreign-related restaurants such as the Capital Hotel are richer than those in the Capital’s vegetable markets.

However, the people at the Capital Hotel did not expect that a guest with a Hong Kong ID card would suddenly treat more than 30 tables of guests.

The business came suddenly, but it was still within their tolerance.

After everyone had taken a few bites of the food and the waiter had opened bottles of Moutai and Beibingyang soda for each table, Zhang Heping glanced at the other tables, then stood up, raised his glass, and said loudly:

"On this Chinese New Year, this first glass of wine wishes all my relatives and friends a successful career! Good health! Everything goes well! Family happiness!"

As everyone stood up, raised their glasses and echoed the voices, everyone, young or old, male or female present drank a glass.

"Everyone, eat and drink well. If you can't finish what you eat or drink, find a way to take it away. Don't waste it anyway!"

After he finished speaking, Zhang Heping brought his entire family, young and old, a total of 13 people, out, holding wine bottles, wine glasses, and drinks, and began to toast at each table.

"Grandma Yang, Grandpa Zhuang, let me introduce you. This is my eldest brother-in-law Chang Sheng and my second brother-in-law Zhang Yong." Zhang Heping said, and let his two sisters stand in front, smiling:

"I've been hanging around in the south these years, and these two sisters are hanging around at the train station. Grandma Yang and Grandpa Zhuang need to give them some pointers when they have time."

Grandma Yang smiled and said, "Don't give me that. Your Grandpa Zhuang and I have just retired. We want to enjoy a few more years of peace and quiet!"

Zhang Heping looked at his two sisters and said with a smile, "Did you hear that? Grandma Yang agreed. However, you should focus on asking for advice on important matters and don't go over to disturb her too often!"

Immediately, Zhang Heping looked at Grandma Yang and Grandpa Zhuang with a smile, raised his glass and said, "I wish you two a happy marriage and a long life together!"

"You little rascal, you're becoming more and more talkative!" Grandma Yang reached out and hit Zhang Heping's left arm.

Zhang Heping smiled and extended his glass to the little girl Zhou Zhou beside him, "Diplomat, keep studying!"

"Study committee member, work hard on your studies!" Niece Zhang Ting suddenly said, and clinked the Arctic Ocean soda bottle with Zhou Zhou.

"You are classmates!" Zhang Heping touched his niece Zhang Ting's head, "You should learn from each other and help each other in the future."

"Chang Xing is also in our class!" Zhou Zhou pointed at the boy hiding behind the crowd.

After Zhang Heping met Grandma Yang and Grandpa Zhuang and exchanged a few polite words with his mother Ma Xiuzhen and father Zhang Bing, he and his family toasted them with a glass of wine.

Then, still at the same table, Zhang Heping raised his glass and looked at Director Wang Sumei.

"Auntie Wang, thank you for your hard work last year!"

Director Wang stood up with his family and angrily blamed: "If you, a stinky boy, don't make me angry, maybe I can live a few more years!"

Zhang Heping smiled half-concealedly and said, "In order to ensure your health, I plan to enter the medical industry next. It's best to let Lao Sha take care of the computers in the south, since he's stationed there anyway."

"Medical?" Director Wang frowned and looked at other tables. From the information she had received, she knew who was sitting there.

"We are still short of manpower and the cooperation plan has not been decided yet. Let's inform them today and discuss it slowly later." Zhang Heping said, looking at the Song family members next to him.

Director Wang’s husband’s surname was Song. He died on the battlefield before liberation, leaving behind two sons and one daughter.

After Zhang Heping greeted Director Wang’s son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and son-in-law, he drank a glass and went to the next table.

Director Wang brought his entire family with him, including 13 grandchildren and grandsons-in-law, big and small.

Because their mother Ma Xiuzhen works at the neighborhood office, the Zhang family all know Director Wang, but they are not familiar with her children. It was only today that they officially met.

Next, it was the table where Director Qi and Director Geng sat, and then the table where the presidents and directors of the Harmonious Hospital, Xuanwu Hospital, and the three hospitals gathered.

"Director Zhang has arrived just in time!" Dean Lu of the Harmonious Hospital saw Zhang Heping and his family coming over and said in a very unkind way: "The 3.0T MRI machine was obtained by Director Zhang for our imaging department. You can ask him!"

Zhang Heping looked at the former director of the Harmonious Hospital next to him and said with a smile: "Director Dai, your disciple is so dishonest that he actually betrayed me!"

"Xiao Zhang, don't blame him." Dean Dai pointed at the deans of Xuanwu Hospital and the Third Hospital and said with a smile, "For that MRI machine, they, along with the deans of other hospitals and some department heads, have come to our hospital for physical examinations several times. The key is that they won't pay for the examinations!"

Zhang Heping asked in confusion, "I remember that the 3.0T MRI machine has been mass-produced. Can't the two deans just apply to the higher-ups?"

"I can't apply for it!" Director Li of Xuanwu Hospital, who had met Zhang Heping several times, pointed at Director Zhao of their neurosurgery department and said, "If you don't believe me, ask Lao Zhao!"

Dean Xie of the Third People's Hospital held up a glass of wine and asked, "Director Zhang, I'm Xie Weiguo from the Third Hospital. Excuse me, how did you apply for that 3.0T MRI machine?"

"I'll come back and tell you more about this matter after I finish toasting everyone!" Zhang Heping quickly introduced his parents, two sisters, and two brothers-in-law, and then introduced his own family members:

"Let me introduce you to Dean Dai from Harmony Hospital. I first met Dean Dai during the earthquake relief work in 66."

"This is Dean Dai's eldest disciple, Dean Lu from the Harmonious Hospital. This is Director Cao from the Oncology Department of the Harmonious Hospital. You all met Director Cao when Grandpa was in the hospital."

"President Li and Director Zhao of Xuanwu Hospital are both old acquaintances. This is Director Xie of the Third Hospital, and Director Hou of the Emergency Department. Thanks to the two of them, the two thieves were able to save their lives the night before yesterday."

"That's too serious!" Dean Xie smiled and waved his hand, "Those two people just had their bellies scratched by ricochets, so they bled a little too much."

"Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you all with a holiday the night before yesterday. Let me offer you a drink first! I'll come over later and we'll talk about the MRI machine. I'm also confused as to why you can't apply for the machine. As it happens, an elder of mine is familiar with the person in charge of production there, so I'll ask him later."

The elder that Zhang Heping was referring to was naturally Director Wang who took away the engineering drawings of the 3.0T nuclear magnetic resonance equipment.

After the hospital's main leaders toasted, the rest were the middle and low-level management and medical staff who were responsible for daily affairs, as well as people from the Cancer Treatment Research Institute.

After a round of toasts, Old Zhang and his two sons-in-law all blushed. Only Zhang Heping remained calm and went to Director Wang's table. He invited Director Wang to the side and asked him about the MRI equipment.

"The production of that equipment is low, and all the orders for this year have been signed, so there are no plans to equip domestic hospitals." Director Wang explained a little embarrassedly.

"The yield is low, so we can improve production..." Zhang Heping thought of the key to the problem halfway through his speech!

If the equipment is provided to domestic hospitals, once the capital is opened, provincial hospitals such as Shanghai and Huadu will definitely apply for it. The key is that they don't pay!

This will become a financial burden!

"What the above means is that we should first earn foreign exchange while foreign countries have not yet cracked our MRI equipment technology, and then equip domestic hospitals with it," Director Wang explained.

"It's a good idea, but many patients in China can't wait until that day." Zhang Heping looked at Director Wang and said, "As a businessman, I can think of earning foreign exchange first and then consider domestic hospitals."

"But you can't do that. You have to consider the domestic situation first, then the foreign situation. You have to put people first!"

Director Wang nodded and said, "I will call the higher-ups to report your suggestion when I get home later."

"Public hospitals are now a huge financial burden. The country needs to study the establishment of a basic medical security system, which involves the capital preservation and appreciation investment of medical insurance premiums, which is related to capital..." Zhang Heping shook his head and said, "This reform and opening up involves many aspects, and there is a long way to go!"

"Auntie Wang, please give feedback to the higher-ups and come up with a compromise. I will get some more medical equipment manufacturing drawings. It just so happens that the new hospital and medical research institute I'm planning will also need those equipment."

"Okay! I'll give you feedback when I get back." Director Wang nodded and agreed to this matter, and did not forget to ask: "When can I get the new drawings?"

"Please call me and urge me in the next few months. I'm afraid I'll be delayed by other things." Zhang Heping said with a smile and went to the table of the three deans.

……