Early the next morning, Zhang Hao couldn't wait to make a video call to his home.
Yang Huaqing sat in front of the camera with her little daughter in her arms, and said with excitement on her face: "Husband, I have some good news for you. Guoguo can call you mom and dad."
"Really? Guoguo, call daddy!"
Zhang Hao said excitedly.
"Daddy...Daddy..."
The children Guoguo are very cooperative.
"So good!" Zhang Hao was immediately relieved.
Yang Huaqing couldn't help but show off: "Hubby, Guoguo not only started talking, but also learned to walk."
After saying that, she put her little daughter on the ground.
Child Guoguo waved her hands, took a few shaky steps on her short legs.
"Our family is really awesome, awesome!"
Zhang Hao praised him repeatedly.
It's a pity that little Guoguo doesn't understand his father at all, and he may not even know him.
After some interaction, the couple chatted about home affairs.
As usual, Zhang Hao first asked about the physical condition of his parents, especially their old man, who was over eighty years old, which was really worrying.
Yang Huaqing smiled and reassured: "Don't worry, your parents are in good health, especially our dad. Since you became the consul, you have changed from the previous sluggishness. You are in great spirits and you are happy every day."
.”
"It's fine, but it's the twelfth lunar month of winter, so don't let the old man go out."
Zhang Hao warned.
You know, winter is definitely the number one killer of the elderly, not to mention today’s extreme climate.
Yang Huaqing waved his hand: "You don't need to remind me. With my mother watching, the old man can only stay at home. Besides, our house has enough heating. Many people come to visit us every day, not to mention how lively it is."
"It's good to have someone to chat with." Zhang Hao nodded with satisfaction, "By the way, how is Uncle Fan's illness? Is he feeling better?"
Some time ago, he learned from his mother that the old village chief, Uncle Fan, had a bad heart and was hospitalized.
Yang Huaqing sighed after hearing this: "Husband, I was just about to tell you that Uncle Fan passed away in the hospital this morning. I just came back from there."
"What? Isn't it an old habit?"
Zhang Hao couldn't help but be surprised.
"Well, Uncle Fan is about the same age as our father. This time he was unable to save complications caused by an old problem." Yang Huaqing explained casually.
Zhang Hao slowed down and then asked: "Uncle Fan is gone, does Catherine have any plans?"
After all, Catherine's mother and daughter and Uncle Fan's children are not very good at dealing with each other. Without Uncle Fan's pension, their future life may not be very optimistic.
"Catherine has agreed to my invitation and is going to work at Haotian Group."
"What about Tiantian?"
"Catherine is planning to transfer Tiantian to the city to go to school. Mother and daughter can live in the staff dormitory, and the original house will just be returned to Village Chief Fan and his family."
Yang Huaqing replied.
Zhang Hao frowned: "Did Fan Youwei bully their orphans and widowed mothers?"
"That's not true. Catherine took the initiative to give up the house. After all, they also want to change their living environment after Uncle Fan leaves."
"The environment in the village is very good. Why do you have to change the environment if you are doing well? Unless Catherine wants to marry again."
Zhang Hao guessed.
"Catherine is only in her early forties. Even if she really wants to get married, it doesn't matter, right?"
Yang Huaqing said angrily.
Zhang Hao smiled coquettishly: "I didn't say she was wrong, but to be honest, if Catherine really wants to remarry, it would be inappropriate to live in the original house. Fan Youwei and his family will definitely not be able to swallow this breath."
"Forget it, this is someone else's family matter and has nothing to do with our family. Let's not meddle in other people's business."
Yang Huaqing waved his hand.
Zhang Hao quickly changed the subject: "Isn't today Sunday? Didn't Guo Ji and Guo Xuan come over?"
Usually, the twins usually go to their grandparents' house on Saturdays and then go to the consul's mansion on Sundays.
"New Year's Day will be in two days, and the school has prepared New Year's Eve activities. Neither of them will be back this weekend." Yang Huaqing explained quickly.
"Next year happens to be the 100th anniversary of the Federation, so we really need to celebrate it."
Zhang Hao echoed.
At the end of the chat, Yang Huaqing asked casually: "By the way, how is Haoxuan finding his girlfriend?"
Zhang Hao spread his hands: "It's still the same as before. I introduced him to a lot of people, but I didn't like any of them."
"What is he looking for?"
Yang Huaqing complained on the spot.
"Maybe he doesn't want to look for it at all."
Zhang Hao replied casually.
"What?" Yang Huaqing suddenly looked dissatisfied, "We just asked him to find a girlfriend, but we didn't force him to get married. Why is it so difficult?"
"Don't put pressure on him, just let nature take its course. When fate comes, it will naturally fall into place."
Zhang Hao couldn't help but persuade.
"No, we must hurry up on this matter, otherwise with his character, he would rather stay single for the rest of his life."
Yang Huaqing nagged.
Zhang Hao nodded helplessly: "Okay, I will help him introduce a few more blind dates."
"Husband, thank you for your hard work."
Yang Huaqing apologized.
As a consul, her husband has to deal with a lot of things every day. She shouldn't bother her with such trivial matters. If she wants to blame her, it's her brother who is so outrageous that she can only resort to this trick.
"It's hard work, but who asked me to be his brother-in-law? But let's not say that this guy is not active in finding a girlfriend, but his staff is doing a decent job." Zhang Hao couldn't help but sigh.
"Okay, let's not talk anymore. Let's stop here today. Husband, go and do your work. Pay more attention to rest and don't be too tired." After Yang Huaqing finished speaking, he held his daughter's chubby hand and waved: "Guoguo, hurry up.
Say goodbye to dad!"
"Gai see..."
Zhang Hao waved his hand, said a few words to his daughter, and then hung up the phone.
…
Time flies and two days have passed.
In half an hour, the 100th anniversary of the Federation will arrive.
In order to celebrate this important historical moment, and because the consul happened to be in the local area again, New York officials organized a grand New Year's Eve party.
By early morning, 60,000 to 70,000 people had gathered in the city hall square, and almost one-third of the entire population of the underground city was here.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In the last ten seconds of the countdown, a unified counting sound sounded in the square:
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
"Three, two, one, happy new year!"
"HappyNewYear!"
Along with the New Year's bell, warm cheers rang out in the square.
In addition, many people kissed each other on the spot, some were lovers and some were strangers.
In short, this moment belongs to everyone!
Next, the center of the square directly turned into a concert venue, with the crowd singing and dancing to the music, enjoying this rare and wonderful time.
Zhang Hao reached out and patted his uncle on the shoulder: "Don't just stand there stupidly, go ahead if you want to!"
"Brother-in-law, I'm going then."
Yang Haoxuan could no longer hold himself back any longer.
"Pay attention to safety and don't leave with strangers casually." Zhang Hao warned.
"I know, I have a sense of propriety."
After Yang Haoxuan finished speaking, he quickly ran towards the square.
Followed by two bodyguards.
After a while, Chu Dehan came to Zhang Hao and extended an invitation: "Consul, the city has prepared a celebration banquet. Would you like to come over and have a sip of tea?"
"Forget it about having tea, I want to go shopping in the surrounding residential areas. I wonder if Mayor Chu would be willing to lead the way?"
Zhang Hao revealed his plan.
He had long been tired of the endless parties.
At the same time, he also wanted to personally observe the real living conditions of New York residents, instead of just listening to reports from Chu Dehan and others.
Of course Chu Dehan would not refuse, and immediately laughed: "Since the consul is so elegant, what else can I say, I can only sacrifice my life to accompany the gentleman."
"Don't bring too many people, a dozen people are enough."
Zhang Hao gave an order.
"Do you want to have a private visit incognito?"
Chu Dehan tried carefully.
Zhang Hao nodded and said humorously: "What? Are you afraid? In fact, you don't have to worry at all. This place is inherently experimental. As long as we don't intentionally violate the laws, we won't blame you."
"Consul, we are not afraid of being slapped in the face, but we are also worried about your personal safety."
Chu Dehan quickly defended.
Zhang Hao smiled and waved his hand: "It's okay. Guns are banned here and the security is good. I think as long as we don't reveal our identities, we don't have to worry about being in danger."
"Okay, where do you want to go?"
Chu Dehan could not find any reason to refuse.
Zhang Hao had already prepared: "How about we go to the Dharavi community first? I heard that it is the largest slum in New York. I want to hear their views on underground life."
"Okay, then let's go to Dharavi."
Chu Dehan did not hesitate.
The most indispensable thing here in New York is housing. It is precisely because of this that although Dharavi is a slum, the living conditions are not that bad.
Half an hour later, the group finally arrived in Dharavi.
The so-called Dharavi slum is actually a large underground parking lot with a total of three floors.
Unlike other communities, most of the residents here live in tents, and as far as the eye can see, there are only a few isolated low wooden houses.
"Isn't it cold living in a tent?"
Zhang Hao asked casually.
"It's not cold. Every community has a boiler room with 20-hour heating, otherwise it will be too cold to sleep at all."
Chu Dehan quickly explained.
Zhang Hao took off his thick leather hat and felt the indoor temperature. Although the temperature was a bit low, it seemed to be only a few degrees, but it was indeed not freezing to death.
He nodded and said casually:
"Are there sufficient coal reserves?"
"It is sufficient. There is a coal mine in New York. Although it is only a small coal mine and the reserves are not high, it is definitely more than enough for self-use." Chu Dehan said confidently.
Without this small coal mine, New York would not be able to retain the remaining people. But with the small coal mine, the underground city is the best place to lie down.
At least survival is stress-free.
Unlike the mainland, if the population is too large, it can easily lead to involution, or even starve to death if you don't work.
"Well!" Zhang Hao looked around and asked casually: "Approximately how many people are here?"
"Almost three thousand."
"Do they usually have jobs?"
Chu Dehan nodded: "Basically, unless you don't want to work."
“If they don’t work, how will they make a living?”
Zhang Hao couldn't help but wonder.
"Working odd jobs, or participating in official research projects, such as receiving regular psychological counseling, although there is no privacy, it will not starve to death."
Chu Dehan answered truthfully.
Zhang Hao was thoughtful: "Don't you have subsistence allowance here?"
"Consul, we are mainly young and middle-aged people here, and almost all the old, weak, sick and disabled are gone."
"I see."
Immediately afterwards, the group came to an open tent. The owner of the tent was a young man in his twenties, who was leaning on a chair and reading a novel.
"Little brother, we are from the Municipal Social Security Bureau. Can we do a questionnaire with you?"
"Sorry, I don't have time."
The young man waved his hand without hesitation.
Chu Dehan quickly added: "It's a paid investigation."
The young man finally became interested: "How much does it cost?"
"One hour, one hundred yuan."
Chu Dehan replied.
The price is too high and can easily arouse suspicion.
"Okay, come in!"
The young man suddenly said with enthusiasm.
Zhang Hao took the opportunity to look at the interior furnishings in the tent. If he could describe it in one word, it would be chaotic, comparable to a doghouse.
The young man knew some etiquette, so he poured a glass of water for each of the people. The cups were picked up from somewhere and came in various styles.
"Thanks!"
Zhang Hao took the cup and took a sip of water.
Immediately afterwards, he took out a questionnaire and asked in a pretentious manner: "What's your last name, little brother?"
"Wang Zhijie, he is twenty-six years old this year."
"Brother Wang, are you a local or a Xinxin citizen?" Zhang Hao continued to ask.
"New immigrants, I came here with my family. My parents had an accident the year before last, and now I am the only one left."
"Brother Wang, my condolences and my condolences!"
Wang Zhijie waved his hand: "It's okay, I've already passed."
Zhang Hao comforted him for a few words, and then changed the subject:
"Brother Wang, I'm curious. Since your parents are gone, have you ever considered returning to your hometown?"
"Why go back? If we could survive in our hometown, we wouldn't come out. Besides, I'm penniless now. Even if I want to leave, I can't raise the travel expenses."
Wang Zhijie said frustrated.
Zhang Hao coughed and cleared his throat: "Brother Wang, I see you are in good health. Why don't you find a formal job and save more money so you can leave here?"
"I'm tired and don't want to move anymore. Besides, it's okay if you have enough money. There's no point in saving money. Maybe it will be gone one day. It's better to just live it day by day and you won't suffer any losses."
Wang Zhijie replied simply.
"It also……"
Wang Zhijie smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No need to persuade me anymore, I think my life is pretty good now. I can sleep when I want, I can stay up all night reading novels if I want, and no one can care about me.
In addition, to put it bluntly, even if I really make some money, I still won’t be able to buy delicious food. Do you think it’s worth the hard work?”
"Can you still marry a beautiful wife?"
Zhang Hao reminded.
"You mean getting married? I'm not interested. The ancients said, 'When you are full and warm, you will think of lust.' I don't have any oil or water in my stomach now. How can I want to marry a wife?"
"If you have a wife, you can support each other and work together, isn't it better than being alone?"
"Pull him down! I just like to be alone, quiet and free. I don't want to be controlled by anyone."