Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 421 The Grand Gathering in August: Outwardly Secret, Inwardly Bright

September 8, 2008, 8:00 PM.

August in Beijing is the height of summer, a time of sweltering heat. Yet tonight, the city is devoid of any oppressive heat or restlessness. The streets and alleys are adorned with lanterns and colorful decorations, red flags flutter in the breeze, and a festive atmosphere pervades the air. Today is a momentous day, a day the entire nation has been waiting for for a century.

The Beijing Olympics have officially begun.

A few months ago, the Wenchuan earthquake struck, grieving the entire nation. The whole country united as one to overcome this natural disaster.

In just a few months, China has regrouped and swept away the gloom, welcoming the world's attention with the grandest and most vigorous posture.

This Olympic Games is more than just a sporting event.

It is also the best testament to the nation's progress towards prosperity and strength, and its rise to the pinnacle of the world.

He Yuzhu's extraordinary achievements during the Wenchuan earthquake: He single-handedly ventured into the desolate Yingxiu, working through the night to rescue hundreds of critically ill people, restored communication in all isolated towns and villages, and stabilized tens of thousands of disaster victims. Furthermore, the Zhonghuan Rescue Team was the first to arrive in Sichuan, and the Zhonghuan Group donated a massive sum of four billion yuan to support disaster relief and reconstruction efforts.

A special invitation from a high-ranking official was sent, granting the entire Ho family a special invitation to attend the Olympic opening ceremony.

Tonight, no one from the He family was absent; they were all dressed in their finest attire for the occasion.

The three ladies, Lou Xiao'e, Shen Zhixia, and Zhu Lin, were dignified and elegant, and sat side by side in the VIP section. He Xiao, He Chen, He Xin, and He Nian put aside all their work and rushed back to Beijing a day early.

The entire Yu Shui family was present to attend the ceremony.

Xu Damao also accompanied him. To be able to watch the Olympic opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest, especially in a VIP seat, was an honor he could never have dreamed of.

Ma Hua and Ma Qiang, who manage chain businesses in the south, returned to Beijing with their wives Yu Li and Sun Mei. The group of mentors and apprentices gathered at the Bird's Nest to witness this grand occasion.

He Yangjing'an's youngest children and grandchildren, along with sixty-one members of the He family guards, were all present.

The young men from the He family, all dressed uniformly and with upright postures, stood at the forefront of the group. He Tie, the leader of the ten who had been to the Wenchuan earthquake zone, had a calm gaze and a demeanor that had long since shed his childishness.

The enormous National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, was packed to capacity with 90,000 spectators. The lights were dazzling, like a galaxy of stars. The night sky was clear and bright, and the nation's attention was focused on the stadium, while media outlets around the world broadcast it live.

As all the lights slowly dimmed, a thrilling countdown echoed throughout the Bird's Nest stadium.

Two thousand and eight musicians struck drums and sang, creating a magnificent and resounding performance that shook the entire venue.

Movable type printing, ink paintings of landscapes, millennia-old rituals and music, the Silk Road—scenes unique to China's five-thousand-year-old civilization slowly unfold.

Fireworks soared into the sky, blooming brilliantly in the Beijing night sky, dazzling and stunning the world.

Sitting in the VIP section, He Yuzhu quietly watched the magnificent scene before him.

Over the decades, we have witnessed countless changes and transformations.

From the impoverished days in the courtyard houses of yesteryear to the peace and prosperity of today, where the world pays tribute, he has witnessed firsthand how the nation has transformed from backwardness and poverty to standing tall and proud at the center of the world stage.

He Yuzhu was filled with emotion, a sense of accomplishment and pride. His family and friends around him were all visibly excited, their eyes shining brightly.

The sixty-one He family boys were utterly shocked.

They learned martial arts from their grandfather, endured hardship, received training, and witnessed life and death.

Having witnessed the greatest suffering in the world, I now understand even more how hard-won this peaceful and prosperous era is.

Looking at the fireworks filling the sky and at the delegations from various countries below the stage, He Tie made a decision in his heart:

Only when the country is strong can its people live and work in peace and contentment.

Only by becoming strong can one step forward in times of crisis and protect the people.

Xu Damao watched with great excitement, constantly muttering his feelings in a low voice.

"It was worth it! It was truly worth it in my life. To witness our country host such a grand event firsthand is a source of immense pride and joy!"

I have been invited to many countries. I have witnessed the prosperity of foreign countries, as well as their turmoil and indifference.

Sitting here at this grand event on my own land, I feel nothing but a deep sense of pride and satisfaction.

Inside the Bird's Nest stadium, applause surged like a tide, lasting for a long time.

The opening ceremony was magnificent and spectacular, a truly breathtaking spectacle that dominated global media coverage.

at the same time.

The daily life at No. 95 Courtyard remains peaceful and uneventful.

The opening ceremony was being broadcast live tonight, and the Liu family was watching it on TV. Xiao Dang and Xiao Huai'an were also sitting inside watching the live broadcast.

The entire event was broadcast live on television, with the camera occasionally panning across the VIP seating area.

A panoramic shot pans to He Yuzhu in the front row. The group of He family teenagers, lined up neatly beside him, also appear clearly in the frame.

Qin Huai'an was young, innocent, and had bright eyes. He recognized her at a glance, pointed at the TV, and spoke naively.

"Mom, look! Isn't that Grandpa He from the east wing of our compound? And Brother He Tie too! And... lots of other older brothers who practice martial arts."

The child, full of curiosity, turned to look at Xiao Dang.

"How could they go to the Bird's Nest to watch the game? Their seats are so beautiful, and there are so many foreigners there."

Xiao Dang looked at He Yuzhu on the TV screen, his expression calm and composed, holding a high position. He also looked at the rows of He family youths, each with an upright posture and an extraordinary aura.

She felt a mix of emotions, unable to quite describe what it was.

They lived in the same courtyard, separated by only one wall. But they had long since become strangers, never interacting with each other, and even pretending not to know each other when they met.

The He family now holds top positions, contributing to the country and being invited to participate in the nation's most prestigious events. Meanwhile, I remain in an ordinary corner, living the most mundane life.

She's not jealous or competitive right now.

There was only a faint sense of detachment and wistfulness.

Xiao Dang suppressed her complicated emotions, patted the child's head, and spoke calmly.

"They had made contributions, and were invited by the country."

Five-year-old Qin Huai'an blinked his big eyes, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"Then can we go see it later?"

Looking at the grand spectacle on television, Xiao Dang softly replied, "Study hard, be a good person, and anything is possible in the future."

The bustling atmosphere in the courtyard and the grand occasions on television were both very close to them and very far away.

Within one hospital, two lives unfold.

We live in the same prosperous era, yet our circumstances differ.

But what remains unchanged is...

The entire land of China is now filled with glory and peace.

He Yuzhu stands at the heart of a prosperous era, overlooking the flourishing nation, while awaiting the storms raging overseas.

The era that belonged to the He family.

In this August, a time of national prosperity and impending global chaos, things have quietly begun.

For the remainder of August, the Olympic Games continued in full swing.

With the nation's attention focused on the athletes, Chinese athletes fought bravely, winning medals and breaking records time and again. The five-starred red flag was raised repeatedly in the stadium, and the national anthem resounded throughout the venue.

People across the country were glued to their televisions, cheering every day. The streets and alleys were filled with talk of the Olympics, and the whole nation was filled with a sense of peace and prosperity.

The whole country was peaceful, bright, and thriving.

And at this moment, it is also August.

On the other side of the distant ocean, however, the scene is completely the opposite.

In August 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis finally broke down.

The hidden dangers in the US financial market have fully erupted, with bad debts piling up. Small and medium-sized investment institutions are collapsing en masse, the stock market is experiencing a continuous sharp decline, and capital is fleeing the country at an alarming rate.

Once a glamorous and prestigious city, Wall Street is now filled with anxiety and fear. All the top investment banks are mired in trouble, suffering huge losses and their financial chains are on the verge of collapse.

Everyone knows that a super financial storm sweeping the globe is now unavoidable.

Lehman Brothers, the financial giant, was teetering on the brink of collapse, just one step away from total ruin.

On one hand, the country is peaceful and prosperous, and grand celebrations are taking place.

On one hand, the financial system is collapsing, a harbinger of chaos.

The extreme contrast is striking.

He Yuzhu watched all of this with indifference.

The He family had already laid out a huge amount of capital in advance, and had all of it in place, quietly lying dormant in overseas markets.

His mind was perfectly clear.

The prosperity at home was the foundation of his nation that he was willing to risk everything to protect. The chaos overseas was the golden opportunity he had been waiting for all these years to reap the rewards.

The natural disasters have passed, and a prosperous era is upon us.

Once the overseas storm sweeps the globe, the Ho family will be able to seize the opportunity and lay a foundation for a century-long legacy.