Chapter 468: Millennium 3.0

"Cheese!"

In the blink of an eye, it was the Lunar New Year of 1995. Nearly a hundred people, young and old, were in Zhang Ping'an's courtyard. Like a graduation photo, they left behind a giant group picture in the yard.

It had been the same in previous years, only this year two elders were missing, and Zhang Ping'an's father had reached exactly one hundred years old.

"Cheers!"

The main rooms of the front, middle, and back courtyards, plus the kitchen and dining room, were set with ten full tables. Grandmother, Grandfather, the eldest uncle, the second uncle, and Zhang Ping'an's parents were at one table;

Zhang Ping'an and his cousins were at another, and the rest were the fourth and fifth generations. For a time, Zhang Ping'an's courtyard was exceptionally lively.

This New Year's Eve dinner lasted nearly two hours. After eating, the men boasted and drank tea, the women chatted about family affairs, and the children, led by Zhang Ping'an's grandchildren, set off firecrackers at the entrance of the hutong.

Watching the scene outside the courtyard, Zhang Ping'an felt a bit dazed. Before he knew it, his grandchildren were already fifteen or sixteen, and he himself had passed the age of sixty.

"Brother Ping'an, what are you daydreaming about?"

"Oh, nothing. Seeing the children reminded me of how we used to be just as carefree."

"Yeah, in a flash, several decades have passed."

Because Zhang Ping'an and the four women all looked to be around forty, they usually didn't feel old at all. But looking now, they realized their ages were indeed not small; even the youngest, Li Aihua, was nearly fifty this year.

On the second day of the New Year, Zhang Ping'an took a large stack of red envelopes and went with his parents to his grandmother's house, as there were quite a few juniors this time.

After Zhang Ping'an paid his New Year respects to his grandmother, grandfather, and uncles, and collected his own red envelopes, he welcomed the "homage" of the juniors.

"Cousin, why are there plane tickets too?"

Zhang Ping'an had asked when they were leaving when they arrived. Now, inside the red envelope, besides 188 yuan, there was a plane ticket for tomorrow.

Most of the juniors were office workers now and usually went back to work on the fourth day of the New Year, so Zhang Ping'an had bought them all at once, and they were all business class.

"I just happened to buy them on the way. Our group has partnerships with major airlines. Next time you come, just use the name of Oriental Supermarket; it's cheaper."

"Thank you, Cousin (Great-Uncle)."

"Mm."

After Zhang Ping'an finished handing out the red envelopes and chatting with the elders for a while, he went back. He still had two sets of in-laws to visit.

After the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth, the Oriental Group took over the Sijiucheng Garment Factory and renamed it the Oriental Garment Factory. Si Jie, Zhang Lanhua, the two nieces Li Qing, Qin Jingru, He Yushui, and others were all incorporated into it.

In March, the second hospital combining Chinese and Western medicine in Sijiucheng opened, exactly the same as the first one.

In April, Qi Tongwei was promoted to Deputy Division Level, Gao Yuliang became the Deputy Party Secretary of Handong University, and Hou Liangping and Chen Hai both took a step forward, becoming Deputy Section Chiefs.

Chen Yang had been delayed in her promotion over the past two years because of having a child; otherwise, she would be a full Section Chief now.

"Chen Hai, you should hurry up and get married too. Not to mention your sister already has a child, even Hou Liangping, who was in your class, has a one-year-old. You really need to pick up the pace."

"I know, I know."

Chen Hai, a total straight-laced man, didn't know how to communicate with girls at all. Every time he faced his parents' urging to marry, he just brushed it off.

Chen Yanshi also sighed softly. He had been too strict in the past; Chen Hai did nothing but study, and rarely had the chance to interact with girls.

Now that he had retired, although he had been rehired by the Procuratorate, he certainly couldn't compare to his former status, and mostly just gave lectures to young prosecutors.

"Stop! Don't run!"

A man of about forty, clutching a lady's leather handbag, was running in a panic. Chasing behind him was a spirited girl of seventeen or eighteen.

Chen Hai, feeling quite depressed after being urged to marry by his parents, had gone out to clear his head, never expecting to encounter this dramatic chase.

Chen Hai glanced at it and understood roughly what had happened. He directly used a sweeping leg to knock the thief down, pinned him, and skillfully bound him with his belt.

"Huff, huff, huff... Thank, thank you."

"It's nothing, just a small effort."

Chen Hai stood up and turned back to see a girl with a soldier-like temperament.

"Are you in Public Security?"

"No, I'm not. I just did a righteous deed."

Lu Yike was also attracted by Chen Hai's rugged beard. Looking closely, she found that this person was actually quite handsome and had a very masculine charm.

"Heh, you're pretty capable."

"That's right. My name is Lu Yike, and I'm about to be a student at Handong University."

"..."

"What a coincidence, I'm from Handa University too. Chen Hai, graduated three years ago."

"Senior?"

"Wait until you get admitted before you say that."

"Tch."

Lu Yike didn't care at all. Her grades weren't bad to begin with; she could get in on her own merits. Even if she didn't, she could still get in to study.

"Thank you, thank you both!" A woman covered in jewelry chased over after a long while.

"You're welcome. I've already reported it to Public Security. Let's go over together and explain the situation."

"Okay, okay, okay."

Half an hour later, outside the Police Station, the woman covered in jewelry was still thanking them incessantly.

"No need for thanks. Be more careful in the future."

Lu Yike now knew that Chen Hai worked at the Procuratorate; no wonder he looked so upright.

"I hope we can fight side-by-side in the future, Senior."

"Hahaha, alright."

Chen Hai just found it amusing and didn't take it to heart. There was at least a seven or eight-year age gap between them, and Chen Hai just thought of her as a child.

In May, under Chen Yanshi's arrangement, Chen Hai went on a blind date. It was the daughter of his comrade-in-arms, one year younger than Chen Hai, and a Public Security officer named An Ling.

Both of them were quiet types. Under the arrangements of their elders, they got married in June and she was pregnant by August.

Lu Yike felt sad for a while when she learned that Chen Hai had gotten married; after all, Chen Hai was the first man she had taken a liking to.

In April of the following year, An Ling gave birth to a baby boy, which delighted Chen Yanshi, who declared that the old Chen family finally had an heir.

His good brother Hou Liangping also sent his blessings; ever since Liang Lu returned, Hou Liangping had been carefully attending to both mother and child.

The number of times he went to see the woman with big wavy hair also decreased; now, apart from focusing on performing meritorious deeds and getting promoted, he thought of nothing else.

Liang Lu did not notice anything unusual about Hou Liangping, mainly because she was very confident in her family background, so confident that she believed Hou Liangping would not dare to act recklessly.

Facts proved that being too confident is not a good thing; Hou Liangping was having children right under her nose, yet she remained completely unaware.

Three years later, Chen Hai's wife An Ling died in a car accident, leaving Chen Hai and Xiao Piqiu to rely on each other.

Lu Yike had also graduated from university by this time; during that period, she never met another boy who moved her heart, and upon learning of the accidental death of Chen Hai's wife, she did not feel happy, but rather heartbroken.

Lu Yike also entered the Procuratorate without any surprises, and just like that, she continued to silently stay by Chen Hai's side.

At this time, both Chen Hai and Hou Liangping had just been promoted to Deputy Section-level, while Qi Tongwei was at the Division Chief level and could be promoted another rank in about a year.

In these four years, Hou Liangping had another daughter with the woman with big wavy hair, and Liang Lu still had no inkling of it.

Gao Yuliang was now the Deputy Party Secretary and Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary of Lvzhou City, and Zhao Lichun had also become the person in charge of Handong, the Provincial Party Secretary.

Li Dakang was still the Party Secretary of Jinzhan County at this time; in November of the same year, Li Dakang was transferred to Lvzhou City to serve as Deputy Mayor.

In these five years, Gao Qiqiang had also become a famous large-scale breeder in Jinghai; he was no longer limited to Big Yellow Fish, as he would raise any fish fry provided by Zhang Ping'an, and even Gao Family Village developed along with him.

The Gao sister, Gao Xiaoqin, was only nineteen years old now; guided by professionals, she was already the person in charge of the Jinghai Branch of the Oriental Group.