Time flies, ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.
On February 10, 1999, New Year's Eve, the temperature was minus 35 degrees, and the air was dry and cold.
The nine members of the old Zhang family are preparing to have New Year's Eve dinner.
Six years ago, Yang Huaqing gave birth to her second son, Zhang Guoliang, and then gave birth to a daughter last year. The twins finally got a little sister, and Zhang Hao also hugged the little cotton-padded jacket he missed so much.
Of course, there are additions, and there are also people who leave this world forever. Also last year, Zhou's mother unfortunately suffered from lung cancer and ultimately failed to survive.
Li Dajuan came over with a plate of fried chicken: "An'an, go and ask your eldest brother and second brother to come down for dinner. It's too shameful for those who are celebrating the New Year to still be playing games."
An An didn't say anything and ran directly to the third floor.
Kangkang saw him on the side and immediately followed behind with his short legs: "Third brother, wait for me, I'll go too."
Kangkang is Zhang Guoliang's nickname. He is seven years old this year. Since he went to school early, he is already a second-grade primary school student.
"Slow down...stop...stop falling...!"
Zhang Chongxin gasped and reminded.
The old man just celebrated his 80th birthday last year, and his health is not as good as before. He has hardly been out in the past two years, and even physical examinations are provided at home.
Kangkang said without looking back: "I know, grandpa."
Ten minutes later, Zhang Hao came back from outside. He had just gone around the Aoyuan Community and delivered ten kilograms of beef to each of his father-in-law, mother-in-law and three sisters' homes.
The cow was just killed in the afternoon.
"Wife, give Guoguo a hug."
Guoguo is the nickname of my daughter, and it is also the nickname of my granddaughter in the dream, which somewhat makes up for some regrets.
Yang Huaqing casually handed the baby to her husband: "Be gentle, she just fell asleep, don't wake her up, otherwise you won't be able to enjoy the New Year's Eve dinner in peace tonight."
"It's okay. Our Guoguo is so well-behaved. She doesn't cry when she wakes up. She is much more sensible than our brothers."
Zhang Hao showed off softly.
"That's nonsense. She is a little baby under one year old. What does she know? She wakes up and cries, cries and eats, and eats and sleeps?" Yang Huaqing said angrily.
But having said that, my husband's attitude towards his daughter is indeed a little different from his sons. There is a joy and cherishment from the heart that cannot be felt in other people.
Sometimes, she even wants to be jealous of her daughter.
If your husband's fatherly love is divided into ten parts, Guoguo alone will take up eight parts, and Da Pudding and his four brothers will share the remaining two parts equally.
Although her husband often talked about the idea of "poor to raise children, rich to raise daughters", she knew that there must be other reasons behind this, and it was definitely not just that.
Zhang Hao chuckled, turned and walked towards the bedroom with his daughter in his arms, then put the little cotton-padded jacket on the crib, and finally closed the door gently.
At the same time, under Li Dajuan's repeated urging, the four brothers Zhang Guoji, Zhang Guoxuan, Zhang Guodong and Zhang Guoliang were finally willing to go downstairs.
The twins have just entered their freshman year and are studying at the Zhucheng branch of Xia Qing University. Zhang Guoji is majoring in philosophy, while Zhang Guoxuan has chosen business administration.
Of course, although the brothers' academic performance is not bad, it is almost impossible to enter a top university like Xia Qing University.
Especially after the passage of the new education reform bill in 1993, the college entrance examination admission rate shrank to only one-tenth of its original value, and a veritable army of thousands of horses crossed the single-plank bridge.
In order for the two brothers to enroll smoothly, Zhang Hao did not hesitate to spend one billion, which was the largest personal donation Xia Qing University had received since its establishment.
"An'an, Kangkang, were you two playing games just now?"
Yang Huaqing frowned.
The polar night environment for more than ten years, and the average temperature getting lower and lower, both adults and children do not like to go out very much, and are more and more accustomed to staying at home.
This has also led to the unusual prosperity of the gaming industry, especially for children like An An and Kangkang who were born after the Yellowstone volcano erupted.
Therefore, the family is usually very strictly controlled.
However, the brothers can always find every opportunity to play games, even if they only play for a few minutes.
An An quickly shook her head: "Mom, the eldest brother and the second brother can prove that we just watched it for a while and didn't start playing."
"Ahem, Mom, An An and the others really didn't play."
Zhang Guoji took the initiative to cooperate.
Zhang Hao smiled and waved his hand, helping to persuade: "It's Chinese New Year, just let them play. It's better to give priority to guidance than to go too far."
He himself was a senior gamer when he was young, so he is more tolerant than his wife.
"Let you take care of it. You said you are busy with work and have no time. I will take care of it myself. You are holding me back again. Tell me for yourself, how can I be a father like you?"
Yang Huaqing couldn't help but complain.
After ten years of being together and having three children, the former goddess has long since become a housewife, and her daily life is full of trivial matters.
"Stop standing there and wash your hands quickly. Dinner will be served soon." Zhang Hao pushed his youngest son and then made peace with him: "Okay, from now on, you will be in charge of everything at home. I promise not to interfere."
Yang Huaqing sighed helplessly.
Her husband only talks nice and never really makes changes, especially when it comes to the education of her children. He is keen on playing the role of a "loving father" and often undermines her.
In a sense, they dote on the children even more than the parents-in-law. This doting does not mean that the children are not allowed to endure hardship, but it is closer to indulgence.
Here are a few simple examples:
The eldest son wanted to apply for a major in philosophy. Although his father-in-law expressed strong opposition, he finally got his wish with the full support of his husband;
The second child had a girlfriend in high school, but the husband didn’t interfere much and just said let nature take its course;
The third child watched the movie "Anaconda" and suddenly became very interested in snakes. My husband simply gave me a corn snake as a birthday gift;
The fourth child is the most outrageous. When he first entered elementary school, he really hated going to school for some unknown reason.
Therefore, in order to improve the enthusiasm of his youngest son to go to school, my husband built a more than 2,000-meter-long railway around the village to connect his home with the primary school in the village.
Accordingly, he also spent a lot of money to customize a miniature steam train. The carriage is only one meter high and has become the most popular "big toy" for the surrounding children.
Every weekend, the village turns into a large playground, bustling with activity from morning to night.
…
Soon, the New Year’s Eve dinner began.
Compared with ten years ago, the sumptuousness of meals has obviously dropped by more than one level.
It's not that the old Zhang family doesn't have this condition. The problem lies in the federal grain output. Not only has it not fundamentally improved in recent years, it has actually dropped a lot.
Don't get me wrong, it's not the reason for the war.
After the armistice agreement expired that year, the two sides failed to fight. Instead, they signed a peace agreement unexpectedly and quickly. The Europeans woke up and returned to the big family of the Federation.
All this seems to be just a farce.
The real reason for the reduction in grain production is actually climate change. To be more precise, it is the result of the continuous decline in average temperature. Compared with ten years ago, the average temperature has dropped by six degrees Celsius.
But don't underestimate the temperature of 6 degrees Celsius. The impact it brings is very fatal.
If nothing else, just like what happened in the dream, according to the latest demographic data, in the past ten years, the Federation has once again lost more than two billion people, and the total population continues to decline.
It cannot be effectively contained at all.
In short, the entire federation is tightening its belt and living a hard life, and it is even harder than it was ten years ago.
Under such a background, whether it is active cooperation or passive acceptance, diligence and thrift have quickly become the mainstream social thinking. The old Zhang family has inevitably been affected by it and has unconsciously followed the thrift.
Closer to home, before dinner began, Zhang Chongxin, the nominal head of the family, first briefly reviewed the important events that happened last year, and then made requirements for his grandchildren's studies one by one.
The four Zhang Guoji brothers naturally nodded their heads.
Whether it can be done or not will be discussed later.
After Zhang Chongxin finished speaking, Zhang Hao added something more.
"Boss, second eldest brother, you two don't have to worry about the trap shop today during the summer vacation. You can go directly to Haotian Group for internship and learn from your second aunt..."
Zhang Guoxuan immediately interrupted: "Dad, I don't want to go to Haotian Group, can I find another company?"
"Okay, where do you want to go?"
Zhang Hao said indifferently.
"I want to go to my eldest cousin."
Leslie Cheung replied impatiently.
Although his eldest cousin was more than ten years older than him, he was still of the same generation. They had some common language and it was easier to deal with him.
In addition, he also prefers the working atmosphere at his eldest cousin's place, where there are not so many restrictions.
Zhang Hao nodded when he heard this: "It's okay to go to your cousin's place, but you can only stay for two years at most. Your junior and senior years must go to Haotian Group for internships. Even if you don't want to take over, you still need to have a certain understanding of your own company."
"No problem." Leslie Cheung agreed quickly.
Zhang Hao then looked at his eldest son: "Boss, where are you?"
"It doesn't matter, I can go wherever I want to intern."
Zhang Guoji pretended to be indifferent.
Perhaps because he had seen his grandfather and father running around so much since he was a child, he was slightly averse to doing business. He would rather devote himself to the philosophy major than study business administration. It was just a waste of time.
Zhang Hao smiled and nodded: "Well, you will study with your second aunt for two years first, and then go to Hezhong Energy and Tesla. Go outside more and broaden your horizons."
The eldest son is majoring in philosophy, and he is afraid that the eldest son will become a nerd in his studies, or that he likes to get into trouble, and once he gets stuck, he will not be able to get out.
Zhang Guoji couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he had no choice but to agree.
If he had a choice, he hoped to be admitted to the system and become a leisurely official employee, so that he would have enough time to study his hobbies and kill two birds with one stone.
Seeing that her son had finished speaking, Li Dajuan hurriedly greeted him: "Eat quickly, the food will get cold if you don't eat it."
After that, he helped the grandchildren pick up a piece of steak each.
"Thank you grandma!"
"Grandma, you eat too."
Zhang Guoji also helped grandma pick up a piece of braised pork.
The braised pork is soft and suitable for the teeth of the elderly.
Li Dajuan couldn't help but feel a little sad as she looked at her precious grandchildren gobbling up food. Although her family raised cattle, they only killed one cow every year, and with so many relatives, it wasn't enough to share the food. It was far from the freedom of beef.
Zhang Hao poured himself a glass of red wine: "Dad, let me toast you."
"cheers!"
Zhang Chongxin picked up the teacup and clinked it with his son.
Immediately afterwards, the father and son chatted about the operating conditions of Haotian Group and several holding companies. In order to allow his old man to take care of his health, Zhang Hao usually didn't mention the company's affairs at home.
Only during the Chinese New Year will I give a brief introduction so that the old man can have a clear idea.
"Haotian Group is still the same, its revenue is roughly the same as last year, and it made a total of 5.6 billion."
More than five billion seems to be a lot, but it is only half of what it was ten years ago. This is the consequences of the two major floods that year and has been affecting us to this day.
Zhang Chongxin nodded subconsciously.
The old man was neither surprised nor surprised. Among all his son's properties, Haotian Group has always been the most stable one, as it has been for ten years.
Zhang Hao continued to report: "Minde Times had a net loss of 3.2 billion yuan last year, and almost all of it was covered by the profits earned by Haotian Group."
Let me briefly add here that about four years ago, due to blind expansion during the Minde era, it eventually led to a bitter pill and it was almost acquired by BYD.
In the end, at the unanimous request of Tongxinhui members, Zhang Hao invested hundreds of billions of dollars in one fell swoop, taking the controlling stake of Minde Times in one fell swoop.
This 100 billion in funds mainly came from Hezhong Energy Company. With the discovery of Guangming Coal Mine, Zhang Hao directly chose to cash out at a high position and leave.
Hearing such a huge loss, Zhang Chongxin couldn't help being shocked: "What happened? How did you lose so much money? I remember that I only lost 300 million the year before last."
"There is no way. BYD has severely suppressed the company. In order to stop losses in time and to carry on with ease, the company directly shut down 60% of its production lines. The more than 3 billion yuan was mainly spent on this."
Zhang Hao quickly explained.
Zhang Chongxin put down his chopsticks and snorted coldly: "I advised you not to sell the shares of United Energy easily, but in the end you insisted on having your own way.
It's good now. Hezhong Energy is thriving, but Minde Times is a real loser. I don't know what you think?"
"Dad, although United Energy is good, my shareholding is too small. As the old saying goes, 'I would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.' If I were asked to choose again, I would still choose it without hesitation.
The Fujian and German Era.
Moreover, the Minde era is not as miserable as you said. As long as we shut down those loss-making production lines, we can quickly turn losses into profits. Next, as long as we stick to graphene batteries, it is possible to turn around."
Zhang Hao explained patiently.
To be honest, he is a tough talker now, and he has actually regretted it for a long time, but the matter has come to this point, and there is no point in regretting it. He can only bite the bullet and keep going.
"Alas..." Zhang Chongxin couldn't help but sigh: "I don't know which of your words is true. On the one hand, you want to pursue stability, but on the other hand, you are spending a lot of money on that illusory graphene battery.
Aren’t you inconsistent?”
"Dad, this is what I call adapting to the circumstances."
Zhang Hao argued forcefully.
Zhang Chongxin waved his hand and said impatiently: "Okay, let's not talk about this. Let's talk about Xiaofan. His artificial meat company has been struggling for so many years. When will it produce results?"
"How can a breakthrough be so easy? I'm afraid we have to wait a few more years." Zhang Hao shook his head helplessly.
ps: The big turning point chapter took a little time, please forgive me!