Chapter 467: Millennium 2.0

The next day, Zhang Ping'an and Zhang Weimin went one after another to the town government departments, the Forestry Bureau, and other relevant offices to handle the land-use approval and filing procedures.

After running around for the whole morning, all the procedures were finally completed; from this day on, for the next fifty years, this stretch of forest in the Zhang Family Village Back Mountain belonged to Zhang Ping'an.

Zhang Ping'an did not forbid the villagers from entering, only having the village put up a sign at the Back Mountain to explain the situation.

Having secured the Back Mountain, Zhang Ping'an began planning the medicinal herb cultivation areas; there was no one more familiar with the Back Mountain than he was, and he had recorded one by one which areas were suitable for which medicinal herbs to grow.

After sowing the corresponding medicinal herb seeds in the ground, he sprayed some diluted Space Water and left them alone, letting them grow wild.

He kept these medicinal herbs as a safeguard, and at the same time, as a smokescreen; he did not want interested parties to take notice of this place.

Afterwards, Zhang Ping'an also used Space Bamboo to build two "38th Parallel" lines at the border of the two villages, putting up signs to explain and mark them off.

By the time he finished everything in his hometown, it was already more than two months later, and the solar calendar year of '94 was drawing to a close.

Returning to the Zhang Jia Zhaiyuan in Sijiucheng, the grandmother and grandfather had already become well-acquainted with the old men and women at the entrance of the hutong.

Especially after learning their ages, everyone wanted to come over to bask in their good fortune, hoping that they too could be centenarians in the future.

One must know that centenarians in the past were called "human treasures," representing longevity and good luck, so naturally, everyone wanted to see them.

Quite a few people also asked how to live healthily to a hundred; the grandfather knew everything was related to his precious grandson, so naturally, he would not tell the truth.

"Eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink, and don't take anything to heart."

"That's right, usually practice Tai Chi in the morning, drink tea at noon, keep the diet light, and maintain a calm mindset," the grandmother chimed in.

Looking at the spirited elders who were cheerful every day, the group of old men and women fell silent; how could they possibly have no worries?

Their children's marriages, work income, grandchildren's studies, their own pensions—which one of these did they not have to worry about?

At the same time, some realized that to live a long life, one must first have a prosperous family, no worries about food and drink, someone to take care of their daily needs, and one must also have leisure time.

Zhang Ping'an knew these people didn't care about that; he had moved here more than ten years ago, and the people here, if not wealthy or noble, were basically all people with jobs or factories.

That is to say, they had an Iron Rice Bowl, and all had some level of face; even the grandparents and parents brought over from the countryside would appropriately restrain their behavior, and there were rarely instances of shrews cursing in the street.

Even when Guan Xiaoguan's mother had been extremely disrespectful and came over to vent her full fury back then, she was only beaten until she sustained minor injuries.

Therefore, the Zhang Ping'an family got along quite well with these people, not to mention that many children in the surrounding hutongs were students of Zhang Ping'an's three daughters-in-law.

Overall, the surrounding neighbors felt more awe than anything else toward the Zhang Ping'an family; after all, they were frequently picked up and dropped off by luxury cars, and occasionally military vehicles would come by.

Zhang Ping'an's identity was not a secret to them; after all, Shichahai was not far from Nanluoguxiang, and there were also retired employees from the former Rolling Mill here.

When they saw Zhang Ping'an, they mostly addressed him as Section Chief Zhang, which also seemed more cordial.

"Section Chief Zhang is back."

"Mm, keeping busy, Li?"

The two were of similar age, but Zhang Ping'an looked young enough that some would believe he was Lao Qian's son.

"Grandfather, let's go home to eat first, and come back after we finish."

"Alright."

The grandfather was watching two people play Chinese chess; there were quite a few old men playing chess at the entrance of this hutong, and old women gossiping about family matters.

"It hasn't been this lively in a long time."

When the grandmother and grandfather were in Beijiang, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and the nearest neighbors were several miles away; it was nothing like now, where there were people everywhere as soon as they stepped out.

"Grandfather, are you getting used to it?"

"I am, it's better to have it lively, it's just that I still can't drink that fermented bean milk."

"Hahaha."

Zhang Ping'an was also amused by the grandfather's expression; the grandfather had clearly tasted it again and still couldn't get past that psychological barrier.

"Back when your grandmother, your eldest uncle, and I were looking for your mother in Sijiucheng, we were tricked by that guy Li."

Li was Li Aihua's grandfather, the one Zhang Ping'an had cured, though Zhang Ping'an had never heard that there was this incident in between.

"At the time, they said it was a Sijiucheng specialty, so I took a big gulp; I almost vomited right then, but I couldn't bear to waste the food, so I swallowed it with a frown, only to end up vomiting it all back up when I got home."

"You don't know how miserable I felt at the time; I felt bad about the food, and at the same time, I was wondering which eccentric person came up with fermented bean milk—it's pure waste of food."

"Hahaha, my father, a true Sijiucheng native, can't drink it either; generally, only those who grew up here can accept it, especially the remnants of the old nobility who love to drink it."

"Grandfather, let's not go looking for novelties in the future; if you want to eat anything at home, just let the nanny make it directly."

"Hehe, alright."

Wu Ma from Xiangjiang had been following Lou Xiaoe and the others; now, Wu Ma and her two daughters were responsible for the three meals a day for the dozens of people in the Zhang Ping'an family.

There was also a cellar here, warm in winter and cool in summer, and it also had air conditioning and a freezer; Zhang Ping'an usually kept a month's worth of ingredients, and the freezer would also hold ingredients for a month or so.

As for the old house in Nanluoguxiang, Zhang Ping'an had already given it to Wanqiu's family; after all, Zhu Hong had several children and their living space was cramped, and since the Zhang Ping'an family basically never went there to stay, he simply gave it to Wanqiu as a wedding gift.

Wanqiu had also lived there when she was young, and with San Jie and Xile there, she wasn't unaccustomed to it.

"Your cousin's child, Xiaoxiao, is now the person in charge of the specialty counter at the Oriental Supermarket in Wushi; she said she would come at the end of the year to thank you."

"Cousin Jianwu is too polite; Xiaoxiao being able to become the person in charge of the counter is because she has the ability, I didn't help much."

The Oriental Supermarket also had its own assessment mechanism, and Zhang Ping'an had only mentioned it in passing; if Dong Xiaoxiao didn't have the ability, she would at most be a salesperson at the specialty counter. The fact that she could become the person in charge truly showed she had the ability.

The grandfather nodded and didn't continue on this topic; he knew it was true that his granddaughter had ability, but without his grandson's guidance, there were plenty of capable people, and it wouldn't have been her turn.

As for the other children, those with ability were all arranged in corresponding positions, and those without would do manual labor; Zhang Ping'an would only offer suggestions and generally would not interfere with the normal operations of any subsidiary.

The cousins' children didn't hold any grudges, or perhaps they did but it was suppressed; Zhang Ping'an didn't know.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year, and the eldest uncle, second uncle, and aunt all brought their families over, among whom were Dong Xiaoxiao and her husband and children.

"Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt, Second Uncle..." Zhang Ping'an stepped forward to greet them one by one.

"Mm."

"Thanks, cousin," Dong Jianwu said in a carefree manner.

"What are you thanking me for? It was all something Xiaoxiao earned herself."

"Cousin-uncle..." Dong Xiaoxiao said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Mm, work hard in the future."

Zhang Ping'an offered a few words of encouragement, then took the five extended luxury sedans and sent them to his grandmother's house.