Break out of the courtyard

Just as He Zheng left, Old Hua, carrying a box of tea, walked into Zhang Heping's office with a smile.

"I just got some new Tieguanyin tea, let me share some with you," said Old Hua, as he walked over to the coffee table and sat down.

Seeing Elder Hua brewing tea, Zhang Heping chuckled, "Sending tea out of the ordinary, not for any holiday, are you here to ask for brain-computer interface equipment again?"

"Just so you know, I don't have time for that right now, and I'm out of stock!"

"This little bit of autumn tea isn't enough to replace the brain-computer interface device!" Old Hua replied with a smile, then focused on brewing the tea.

After picking up the teapot and two cups, he went to Zhang Heping's desk, poured two cups of tea, and then said with a smile, "Spring tea is bitter, summer tea is astringent, for the best taste, choose Autumn White Dew!"

"How about trying this tea?"

After speaking, Mr. Hua took the lead in picking up a cup of tea and smelling it.

"The aroma of this tea is quite nice, but I'm afraid it won't taste good!" Zhang Heping continued looking at the paper report in his hand, casually remarking without reaching for the teacup.

It wasn't that he was deliberately being pretentious; the fact that Elder Hua personally served, brewed, and poured tea was clearly not a good thing, and Zhang Heping didn't even want to ask.

Old Hua took a small sip, savored it for a moment, and smacked his lips, saying, "Although this tea is sweet, it's not the mellow flavor that this old man prefers."

"Take it home and let Ah Xin and the others try it. I'm leaving now!"

Without explaining his purpose, Mr. Hua simply left the office with his hands behind his back, leaving behind the teapot and teacups.

After finishing reading the paper report in his hand, Zhang Heping turned his head to look at the glass teapot next to him.

Most of the Tieguanyin autumn tea from Fujian Province is brought here because of the chip factory in Xiamen.

With the withdrawal of investment from the Heping Group, the first loss suffered by the Xiamen chip factory was the welfare benefits of the Heping Group, followed by the technical support from the Heping Group, and finally the orders from the Heping Group.

Are those people blind to such huge losses?

Do not!

They saw it, but they didn't take it seriously!

Those people only care about immediate benefits, and since the Lifespan 120 potion is now available for free application nationwide, the lack of welfare benefits from the Peace Group has little impact on them.

Zhang Heping understood the purpose behind the tea, but he didn't ask, indicating that he didn't want to get involved, even if Elder Hua pleaded for him personally.

Hua Lao understood Zhang Heping's attitude, which is why he didn't reveal the matter, lest he provoke Zhang Heping's rebellious mentality.

However, Zhang Heping couldn't say this here, but he could still go to Chen Shuting.

If we can't convince Chen Shuting either, then we'll have to postpone this matter until another opportunity arises, since the Xiamen chip factory hasn't gone bankrupt and closed down yet.

Although 28-nanometer chips are not as powerful as 10-nanometer chips from the Peace Semiconductor Factory, they are still components needed in mainstream electronic devices and will not be immediately phased out.

The reason they brought tea today is twofold: first, the factory has changed management, and they came to pay their respects; second, they are trying to ease tensions and see if cooperation is still possible.

That's often how things are in this world: those who have things don't know how to cherish them, while those who don't have them can't get them no matter how much they want.

The exchange delegation from the United States toured various universities in the capital, intending to showcase their status as a developed country. However, the students in the capital were quite uncooperative, asking them many professional questions that they could not answer.

It was one thing for them not to be able to answer, but other mainland students in the audience did answer, which felt like a slap in the face.

Most importantly, some American professors not only couldn't answer the questions, but they also lacked the ability to distinguish between true and false answers, and even publicly questioned the answers given by mainland students.

In the end, the teachers and students of universities in the capital began to question the identities of these Americans.

Actually, you can't really blame the American experts for being unskilled.

Many mainland students are influenced by global internet forums, where they have accessed a wealth of information on advanced technologies, which has improved their professional skills.

Meanwhile, the increasing number of professional textbooks and materials on the World Internet Forum, coupled with the fact that they are only displayed in Chinese characters, has caused many American experts who do not understand Chinese to fall behind.

Even though the United States wanted to translate relevant materials from the World Internet Forum for domestic use, the translation work was slow because some specialized Chinese terms did not have corresponding words in the U.S. military.

After setbacks at universities in the capital, the exchange delegation from the United States also encountered obstacles in securing a place at the Shenzhen World Advanced Technology Research Institute.

Foreign affairs officials in the capital told them that they needed to apply in Shenzhen to be eligible to study at the World Advanced Technology Research Institute.

As for helping mainland China join the WTO, an agreement has already been signed. If the US fails to fulfill the agreement, mainland China can restrict the export of relevant goods and stop corresponding scientific research cooperation.

The Americans' scheme failed, so they had no choice but to regroup and come to Shenzhen.

They had barely arrived in Shenzhen, and before they even stepped into their first stop, the Peace Hotel, they were stopped by a sentry post on the south side of Xueyuan Road.

"Your protests to the United Nations won't do you any good!" A middle-aged man who looked like a military officer stood at the southern checkpoint entrance and said sternly to the Shenzhen reception staff and the group of Americans:

"Either hand over all electronic devices and dangerous items and submit to a body search; or get away from here and don't obstruct us from performing our duties!"

As soon as the accompanying American translator translated these words, the middle-aged American man leading the group immediately looked at the receptionist and spoke a long string of words in American English.

As if afraid the reception staff wouldn't understand, the American translator loudly translated, "We are a delegation of American experts invited to conduct exchanges. We do not accept this unreasonable behavior and we demand to see your highest-ranking official."

Perhaps influenced by the teachers and students of universities in the capital, Shenzhen did not receive the so-called exchange group from the United States with the same enthusiasm as the capital. Instead, they sent a section chief, three staff members, and four buses to pick up the Americans from the airport.

Just as the junior section chief looked at the officer at the guard post entrance with a troubled expression, the officer turned around and left, and he couldn't stop him no matter how much he called out to him!

"Stop shouting!" The guard squad leader in charge of security at this time of day calmly looked at the man who identified himself as Section Chief Liu from the Shenzhen Municipal Government Office. "Since they want to see your highest-ranking officer, take them to the Shenzhen Municipal Government Guesthouse. I suppose the security there isn't as strict!"

This Section Chief Liu dared not make the decision himself. If he took the person to the Shenfu Guesthouse, who would pay for the expenses?

If this is attributed to their Shenzhen Municipal Government Office and it takes up this year's budget, then he will become the sinner of the office!

So, the junior section chief hurriedly took out his phone and reported the situation to the leader who had assigned him the task.

Finally, this guy didn't forget to turn on the recording function on his phone.

After all, it's foreign affairs work, and there's no room for carelessness. The main problem is that he doesn't have the same level of confidence as the World Advanced Technology Research Institute.

A moment later, Section Chief Liu beckoned to three of his men, instructing them to call three buses back first, and for the other bus to turn around and be ready to leave at any time.

After the four buses complied, the section chief called the translator to the side of the bus, said a few words, got on the bus, and told the driver to leave!

"Section Chief, are we just going to ignore those Americans?" A female clerk looked at the group of Americans behind her with a puzzled expression, wondering what her section chief was up to.

While moving the recording file on his phone to save it, Section Chief Liu replied, "The leader said that once we've finished our airport pickup duties, we should go back as soon as possible and not get involved in other matters."

The three clerks exchanged glances, as if they had suddenly learned something, and fell silent.

Meanwhile, the American translator was watching the bus drive away, completely bewildered.

"Wang, what did he say to you? Why did he drive the car away?" A young American man came over and asked.

After regaining his senses, the translator hurriedly ran back to the head of the US exchange group. He first glanced warily at the weapons slung across the guards' chests, then whispered:

"The receptionist just said that the guards here have killed 53 spies and advised us not to provoke them; in addition, he said that he had completed the pick-up service by bringing us here and that we should communicate politely."

The head of the exchange group from the United States licked his lips and looked again at the group of ordinary mainland Chinese people on his right who were queuing in an orderly manner, undergoing inspection, and successfully entering the checkpoint.

"Mr. Wilson, if you're unsure, could you please let us in?" An elderly man wearing black-rimmed glasses stepped forward, frowning as he spoke.

"You have your tasks, and we have our learning tasks; we can't let your tasks interfere with our studies. Learning space-locking technology is our top priority, understand?"

"Yes, Professor Smith!" Wilson, the group leader, said quietly, "Please allow me to make a phone call before you go in."

The section chief Liu from the Shenzhen Municipal Government Office needs to shirk responsibility, and this American named Wilson also needs to pass the buck, otherwise he won't be able to go back and explain himself.

In this case, reporting the task change to the leader and receiving their approval versus reporting the task failure to the leader only after no communication was made throughout the process; anyone who has been a leader knows which is better or worse.

Foreign spies who had been thwarted countless times knew firsthand how difficult it was to deal with Zhang Heping's security.

So, after Wilson, the group leader, finished his phone call, he called the scattered Americans to the lawn by the roadside.

Not long after, Wang the translator ran to the guard post and asked a few more questions. Then he ran to the Americans and said, "The rule that electronic devices are not allowed to be brought in was implemented on the 1st of this month because we caught hundreds of spies using electronic devices to secretly film classified information."

"Furthermore, they are not responsible for storing electronic products; we are left to handle them ourselves."

Wilson, the group leader, frowned and asked, "Now that we're inside, how do we contact the outside world?"

Translator Wang hurriedly replied, "There are telephones in the Peace Hotel. When booking a room, you can also request a computer room."

A young American man exclaimed indignantly, "Those phones and computers must be being monitored!"

Wilson glanced at the impatient experts and professors, frowned, and said, "Take out your cell phones and cameras, and put them all in this bag. We'll try out the miniature camera later..."

"That's the latest security scanner from Umbrella Security. Our miniature cameras have electronic components that can't pass through those devices." After saying that, a middle-aged man took off his black-rimmed glasses and casually tossed them into the travel bag at Wilson's feet.

"The wall here is very long. You can agree on a spot, leave a few people outside, and throw the equipment over the wall at night. Then send someone to retrieve the equipment and bring it back to the room," Translator Wang suggested to the group of Americans.

"Impossible!" said an American standing nearby. "There's a spherical camera every two meters on those walls, and that doesn't even include the cameras in other places."

"The security level here is no worse than that of the Yan Wo Yee neighborhood on Hong Kong Island!" another American who was surveying the terrain said. "The important thing is that this is just the outskirts; it's still quite a distance from the World Advanced Technology Research Institute."

A group of Americans, accompanied by a Chinese translator, chattered on for a long time before finally leaving behind 10 young men and women and 20 bags of luggage, and then they were able to enter Xueyuan Road.

After these Americans arrived, they didn't obediently go to the Peace Hotel to check in. Instead, they split into three groups and each did their own thing.

A young American woman, accompanied by 129 experts and professors who wanted to rest, went to the Peace Hotel.

Translator Wang, accompanied by three young American men, went to the checkpoint at the border between the research institute and the hospital to inquire about entry procedures and the schedule for the public lecture on space-locking technology.