I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 154. Zhang Chunxue's Rise to Wealth

"Let's celebrate Chaoqun's smooth promotion after returning from the Party School training! Cheers!" As the dinner was about to end, Zhang Chaoqun's wife picked up her glass and stood up to say this.

The others all looked at Zhang Youwen, who was sitting in the main seat, and after he nodded and stood up, they all stood up as well.

The three children looked at each other, picked up their water glasses filled with juice, and stood up.

“A pure heart is the foundation of good governance, and integrity is the way to self-preservation.” Zhang Youwen stood up and recited with a dignified expression.

“A fine trunk will eventually become a pillar, and fine steel will not be used to make a hook. Dad, don’t worry, I will remember!” Zhang Chaoqun’s eyes reddened as if he had remembered something.

"Cheers!" Everyone gathered their glasses together and shouted in unison.

Xu Qingfan sat up straight, thinking to himself that the leader was indeed a leader, his words were so cultured.

He admired the Zhang family's family values; their food, clothing, and daily necessities were all perfectly normal, and they did not use their position to seek personal gain.

Adults may be able to act, but children's words and actions cannot be lied about. Zhang Yiyi's cousins ​​did not seem like the arrogant and domineering type in private.

Speaking of arrogance and domineering behavior, Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered the group of street thugs from junior high school, and could take this opportunity to mention it to Zhang Chaoqun.

After the meal, the nanny came up to clean the table, and then served tea and fruit platters. The adults sat at the table and chatted.

“Yi Yi and the others will be going to junior high school soon, right? Why don’t they come to Gangcheng to study together? Then the brothers and sisters can keep each other company.”

"No need to trouble you, sister-in-law. The kids said they don't want to board at school in junior high, so they'll study in Licheng, which is closer to home." Zhang Chunxue smiled and shook her head.

"The junior high schools in Licheng aren't very good. I think I heard at the bureau last time that some students were racing modified motorcycles and even caused a fatality," said Zhang Yiyi's aunt, who works in the education system.

“Yes, yes, I know, I know! I was passing by in a car at the time. They were students from Fu Peng Middle School!” Xu Qingfan suddenly spoke up, and the adults all turned their attention to him.

"And that's not all. On my way home from school this week, I also saw several junior high school students speeding on the road. One of them got into an accident, and I don't know if he's alright. Also, those junior high school students often come to the vicinity of elementary school students to extort money from them." Xu Qingfan kept talking like a bamboo shoot spilling beans, and the adults couldn't help but frown deeply after listening to him.

"If you don't have any money on you, they'll threaten you to come to your house to get it. A group of people with knives will follow you into your house and rob you of all the cash. I had a classmate from kindergarten who was robbed like that. He was afraid of retaliation and didn't dare tell his parents!"

"Students these days are really something."

"It really needs to be addressed."

"Do you know your classmate's name and address, and the name of the robber?" Zhang Chaoqun gave Xu Qingfan a strange look. Gang, armed, burglary—that's enough to get him sentenced to ten or eight years.

[Could it be some unlucky junior high student who offended this kid?] He couldn't help but mutter to himself, recalling the staged accident case from a few years ago.

"Yes, yes, Uncle, do you have paper and pen? I'll write it down for you. This is just what I know. There must be more I don't know. Their threats are really scary. Many elementary school students don't dare to tell their parents or teachers!" After getting the paper and pen, Xu Qingfan quickly wrote down several names and thoughtfully marked the school the person attended.

What he wrote was naturally about those scoundrels who had entangled Xia Xiaoxiao in her past life. As for the story, it wasn't something he made up; it was based on real events.

In his previous life, Xu Qingfan's primary and junior high schools were only a few hundred meters apart. It was quite normal for classmates in primary school to be extorted by junior high students. He and Xia Xiaoxiao didn't have such a troublesome experience because Lin Jing accompanied them to and from school.

Xu Qingfan was deeply impressed by the fact that one of his classmates was extorted for several hundred yuan, and the group that extorted the money happened to be those few scumbags.

Xu Qingfan didn't dare to say that the money was protection money, and only dared to tell his parents that it was for school textbooks. However, the monthly textbook fees of tens or hundreds of yuan aroused his parents' suspicion. After inquiring with the homeroom teacher, the truth came out.

However, in the end, it seems that nothing could be done about those people, who continued to laze around and attend junior high and high school.

"Alright, I'll take charge of this after I get back from training, and I'll make sure you have a clean school environment before you all go to junior high," Zhang Chaoqun said, stuffing the note into his pocket.

After taking office, Zhang Chaoqun became a second-level police supervisor, who was responsible for overseeing relevant police business, which was also part of his duties.

"Uncle Chaoqun isn't just giving it back to us, he's giving back a clean campus environment to all the students!" Xu Qingfan corrected.

"Haha, this kid is so insightful!"

"That's right, that's right, we should give all students a clean campus environment!"

The adults clapped and praised.

Having said what he wanted to say, Xu Qingfan politely shut his mouth and sat down next to Zhang Chunxue like a good boy, listening to the adults' lively conversation. Every now and then, he would pour the brewed tea into the tea set and refill the adults' teacups.

After Xu Qingfan poured the tea, the elders would tap the tea table with their right index finger as a nod.

He was still familiar with the tea-tapping etiquette at the tea table:
When an elder serves tea, extend your right hand, palm down, make a fist, and gently tap it three times on the table.

When serving tea to peers: Make a fist with your right hand, palm down, extend your index and middle fingers, and tap the table three times lightly.

The television was broadcasting news about the Olympic torchbearers' journey in the port city. The host's sweet voice announced, "Ignite the passion, pass on the dream, and embark on a journey of sports together. On May 7th, let's cheer for the Olympic torchbearers!"

"It's a pity I wasn't in Gangcheng that day and couldn't come to see you in person," Zhang Chaoqun said to his wife with some regret after hearing the news.

"Do you think you can come just because you're here? I'm used to it." Qin Qifang gave her husband a disdainful look.

"Wow~ Auntie, you're a torchbearer?" Lin Wanning, who hadn't said a word until now, couldn't help but ask curiously.

After all, the Olympics are the most discussed topic among citizens right now, so it's understandable that the girl was surprised when the torchbearer suddenly appeared in front of her.

"That's right, your Aunt Qin is a very capable doctor, and she's serving as a torchbearer!" Zhang Chaoqun said in a boastful tone.

"Doctors save lives, Auntie, you're amazing!" Lin Wanning said with a sweet smile.

"My aunt is amazing!" Zhang Yiyi nodded in agreement.

"You three kids are really amazing! You can draw such excellent comics. Look, my little rascal disappeared after dinner. He must have gone upstairs to play computer games again!" Qin Qifang said sweetly, her hand held by Zhang Chaoqun under the table.

"Brother Qingfan is the best; he comes up with all the ideas!"

"You guys are really amazing. I can't draw, so I only deserve a quarter of the credit!" Xu Qingfan said modestly, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Why is it a quarter? Which of you three took two parts of the credit?" Qin Qifang teased with a smile.

“It must be Aunt Zhang! Without Aunt Zhang’s help, what could we, a group of first and second graders, have accomplished? So Aunt Zhang deserves at least a quarter of the credit!” Xu Qingfan said without hesitation.

Zhang Chunxue's eyes nearly squinted into slits from Xu Qingfan's flattery. "It's not as exaggerated as you say, Xiaofan. Auntie just helped you contact a publishing house."

"Thank you, Mom!" Zhang Yi stood up and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hehe~ Auntie and Brother Qingfan are both superheroes!" Lin Wanning followed suit and kissed the other cheek.

"Uh, should I kiss him too?" Seeing everyone at the table looking at him, Xu Qingfan blinked awkwardly.

"Haha." The group of people laughed heartily.

Even Zhang Yiyi's maternal grandparents rarely showed smiles, proving that people of all social standing and status are very happy to be together as a family. Xu Qingfan blushed and leaned in, finally giving Zhang Yiyi a kiss on the spot where she had just kissed him.

They chatted until after 1 p.m. when the two elders needed to take a nap. Only then did Zhang Chunxue lead the three of them back to the car and drive away from the provincial party committee compound.

"Do you want to go straight home or go somewhere to play?" Zhang Chunxue asked the three children sitting in the back row while waiting at a traffic light.

"Let's go out and have fun! Let's go out and have fun!!" Lin Wanning said without hesitation.

Hearing the horn of the car behind her, Zhang Chunxue instinctively looked up before stepping on the gas. There were still three seconds left on the red light countdown. Luckily, she reacted quickly enough to step on the brake, otherwise she would have run the red light.

"Why are you honking like that? Where do you want to go?" Zhang Chunxue muttered under her breath, and slowly started the car after the red light turned completely green.

"I want to go... I want to ask Brother Qingfan!" Lin Wanning really didn't know where to go for fun, but being lively and active, she just wanted to go out and play.

"How about we go to Chimelong Safari Park? I've never been there before," Xu Qingfan said after thinking for a moment.

"Okay, okay, I want to see the big white tiger!"

"And giraffes!"

The two girls nodded repeatedly, clearly very satisfied with Xu Qingfan's suggestion.

"Okay, let's go to the zoo then!"

Chimelong Safari Park pioneered a new model of self-driving tours of free-roaming animals in 2004. It took more than 50 minutes by car to reach the queue.

Because it was Saturday, there were quite a few cars in line, but they all politely kept a considerable distance from Zhang Chunxue's car.

When it was their turn, the staff member who had been rudely banging on the car window subconsciously became gentle, politely collected the ticket money, and let them pass.

Wow~ It's a kangaroo!

Not long after entering the park, the group saw a lazy adult kangaroo lying by the roadside. It didn't try to avoid them when their vehicle entered, and instead scratched its thigh with its paws with great contentment.

A large flock of black swans lay lazily under the banyan tree, only seven or eight meters away from the kangaroo herd.

"Don't they fight?" Lin Wanning couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Probably not. We're all herbivores. Only Ma Lou would be so mean as to hit other animals!" Xu Qingfan said, recalling the monkeys at a certain 5A scenic spot.

"What animal is that, Brother Qingfan?"

"That's a flamingo, isn't it?"

"That one, what about that one?" Zhang Yiyi asked, pointing to an animal she didn't recognize.

Xu Qingfan looked in the direction Zhang Yiyi pointed and saw a large animal with brown fur and a long neck, resembling both a deer and a sheep.

"Uh, maybe it's an alpaca?" he said uncertainly.

"Giraffes!" The two girls' attention was quickly drawn to the herd of giraffes, and they no longer paid attention to the strange creature they had just seen.

Koalas, kangaroos, rhinos. Herds of animals inhabit the grasslands like on the East African savanna, as if you were in a documentary.

Xu Qingfan and Zhang Chunxue, who had turned around, exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly at each other.

Dangerous carnivores were kept away by staff with wire mesh, and staff could only watch the white tigers frolicking from a distance of seven or eight meters.

The two women spent over an hour exploring the park by car, still wanting more. However, the driving tour was only available from 9:00 to 16:30, and it was almost 4:30, so their vehicle had to leave.

After parking their car, they took the last cable car loop before the park closed at 5 p.m.

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi were like curious children just encountering something new, constantly moving around inside the cable car, enjoying the scenery of the park from every angle.

Under the soft light, the lush and verdant Chimelong Safari Park slowly rises.

The dense eucalyptus forests nourish the koala family, black swans glide on the lake, giraffes gather under the shade of the trees, and herds of wildebeest and antelopes stretch their long shadows as they pass by.

The two girls' clear laughter echoed in the air, and everything seemed so beautiful.

It was nearly six o'clock when we left the zoo. The setting sun seemed to be immersed in an orange sea, and the continuous evening glow was shimmering.

The lingering heat before sunset wasn't scorching, so Zhang Chunxue turned off the car's air conditioning and opened the window to let the evening breeze blow through.

Flocks of birds perched on telephone poles, and Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi peered out of the open car window, the fiery sunset reflected in their pupils.

"So beautiful~"

The evening breeze caressed their faces, their bangs fluttering in the wind, and the young girl seemed to come to life in that moment.

After having dinner at an expensive Western restaurant, the four of them set off again to return home to Licheng.

Inside the car, Lin Wanning nestled against Xu Qingfan's lap, curling up like a shrimp and sleeping soundly.

Zhang Yiyi also leaned wearily on Xu Qingfan's shoulder and soon fell asleep.

Xu Qingfan was worried that Zhang Chunxue was driving while fatigued, so he chatted with her casually.

"Auntie, where did you go to university?"

"Yan University, oh, Xiao Fan's grades are so good, maybe he can be an alumnus of your university with me in the future."

"Holy crap~ Auntie, you're amazing!" Xu Qingfan's exclamation of classical Chinese poetry didn't wake the two women. He quickly whispered, "Auntie, what did you major in at university?"

"Finance, huh? Otherwise, I wouldn't be so surprised by what you told me about the subprime crisis. If you did it right, it could be a doctoral dissertation!"

"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder you can run such a big company, Auntie!"

"What's the use? I've worked hard for ten years and the money I've earned isn't even a tenth of what I've made by following your advice. Xiao Fan, you're much better." Zhang Chunxue joked with a smile.

"How can that be the same? I've heard from entrepreneurs that the process of going from 0 to 1 million is the hardest, but going from 1 million to 10 million to 100 million is easy!"

“Xiao Fan, where did you hear all this nonsense? My journey from 0 to 1 million was the easiest. In 1992, when I was a freshman in college, I took the New Year's money and living expenses given to me by my family to buy stock subscription certificates in Shanghai. I remember I only had a little over 8,000 yuan on me at the time. By my sophomore year, that money had become a million.” Zhang Chunxue recalled her experience of choosing finance and stock trading against her family’s wishes, reminiscing about the past.

Xu Qingfan:
"Sophomore year."

Good heavens, he didn't even have 10,000 yuan in his pocket when he was a second-year graduate student in his previous life!

(End of this chapter)