Ziguangche Factory, the name sounds loud, Xiaoshunzi and Baoqing exchanged a glance, nodded in agreement.

  "Boss, you are our Ziguang Vehicle Factory's big boss."

  Chen Zikun hastily waved his hand: "I can't do that, being a boss requires both public and private faces to be open, standing firm. I'm new here, unfamiliar with anyone, how can I do this? I think it's more reliable for Uncle Xue to take over as the shopkeeper."

  "My dad?" Baoqing asked in surprise.

  "That's right, Xue Xunzhang is the most suitable." Chen Zikong said.

  "But my dad has an errand." Baoqing scratched his head, looking puzzled.

  Chen Zikong smiled and said: "You just pass it on, whether or not he agrees is Mr. Xue's own business."

  ……

  Xue Ping Shun of the front gate police station trudged home with tired footsteps, he had spent another day at the tea house doing nothing.

  Every morning he polished his old leather shoes, pretending to go on duty, but in fact his police job had been dismissed, the reason was that he brought Chen Sanpi to the door of Ma's house that day, making Li Jingzheng and Ma Jingsuo lose face.

  Since the Qing dynasty started the new-style patrol police, Xue Ping had been a patrol policeman for 15 years. Fifteen years, no merits but hard work, and now he was dismissed just like that. His colleagues pleaded on his behalf, but the higher-ups said there was no room for reconsideration. Xue Ping was old and weak, and was no longer suitable to be a patrol policeman.

  Ke Lao Xue is still young, only in his early forties, and is now in the prime of his life.

  The Xue family relied solely on Xue Ping's meager seven yuan monthly salary, but with the New Year approaching and debts still unpaid, his job was gone. Not only would they not be able to celebrate the New Year, but even their basic necessities were uncertain. Overnight, Xue Ping seemed to have aged ten years, his gait more unsteady than before.

  Back home in the big compound, he hung his official hat on the wall and turned around to see several dishes on the table, a jug of wine, and Baoqing said with a smile: "Father, there's good news."

  "What's going on?"

  "Big Kanzi bought four foreign cars, opened a Zi Guang car factory, and wanted to invite you to be the boss. I'm afraid you can't push away the errand from the police station, after all, you've been doing it for over a decade, and have feelings about it..."

  Xue Pingshun's spirit shook, and he hastily said: "Being a patrol officer isn't a regular job either. Doing some small business is the right way to go. I'm not cut out for being a shopkeeper, but I can do some odd jobs."

  Bao Qing exclaimed in surprise: "Father, you agreed?"

  Xue Pingshun nodded, a wave of emotion rising in his heart. Chen Zikong was more considerate than his own son, he must have seen that he had lost his job and invited him to take charge of the factory.

  This child is very kind-hearted.

  ……

  The next morning, Xiao Shunzi set off a string of firecrackers at the entrance of Dazayuan, announcing the opening of Ziguang Che Factory. The old masters were all dressed in their finest clothes, gathered around the four rickshaws.

  There are countless carriage factories inside and outside Beijing, with many like "Wufutang" on Chongwenmennei Street, "Malu" outside Chaoyangmen Gate, and "Fanhuahao", each having at least 200-300 carriages. The smaller ones have around a dozen or so, but I've never seen a miniature carriage factory like Ziguan that dares to open with only four carriages.

  These four vehicles are really beautiful, with a uniform purple lacquer finish, warm woolen sleeves on the handlebars, glass inlays on the curtains, and most strikingly, four electric stone lamps hanging from the footrests on either side. What a magnificent sight! In Beijing, it's rare to see a vehicle with four lanterns; this one is truly one-of-a-kind. Such a beautiful vehicle deserves to be pulled by several young, strong, and tall fellows, or else it would be a waste.

  Originally, Baoqing was supposed to pull a rickshaw, but he had promised Dr. Stanley that he would pull his cart instead. A real man's word is as good as gold, so he couldn't go back on it and had to give up the opportunity to someone else. Xiaoshun looked at the rickshaw with envy, but even the most beautiful foreign-style carriage couldn't compare to the allure of the Liu Guo restaurant, so he also couldn't join in.

  It doesn't matter, in Beijing city there aren't many other options, just a lot of idle loafers who can't even afford to eat, but Sergeant Xue knows the locals well and quickly found three young men from the neighborhood, all of whom are honest and reliable, so he felt at ease entrusting them with the cars. One car was left over, which Chen Zikong, the owner of the garage, drove himself.

  Xue Pingshun was in charge of the garage, collecting car rentals and inspecting vehicle wear and tear. Although there were only four cars now, it wasn't necessary to have a dedicated person manage them, but Chen Zikong had big ambitions and wanted to make Ziguang Car Rental one of the largest garages in Beijing, so no matter how small the scale was, the system had to be established first.

  Ziguangche Factory opened, Xue Pingshun also went to the Municipal Public Office to handle the factory license. He was a local Beijing resident, and the factory had to be registered in his name. Before leaving, Chen Zikong handed him a business card: "Take this, it might come in handy."

  Xue Pingshun took a look and saw that it was a photo of Xu Guodong, the director of the outer city police station. He burst out laughing and said, "That's absolutely useful."

  Four cars were all released, Chen Zikong pulled the rickshaw and rushed to Shi Ma Da Street. At the entrance of Lin's house, he stopped the car and started waiting for people.

  At this time, the Lin's residence was receiving guests. A middle-aged man with a stiff hair and a small mustache sat in the living room, chatting and laughing with Mr. and Mrs. Lin.

  "Mr. Zhou, thank you for introducing that driver to our family, the young man is quite good and spirited, but we're using cars now, so..." Mrs. Lin said politely in her Shanghainese accent.

  The middle-aged man pulled out the ivory cigarette holder from his mouth, spat out a puff of smoke and said: "It's nothing, I'm also just lending a hand, introduced by an old patrol officer to a rickshaw driver I know."

  "That's good, Brother Shu Ren. My wife is like that, she can't stand the existence of the exploiting class. She thinks taking a rickshaw is exploitation, but taking a car isn't." Mr. Lin said with a smile.

  The middle-aged man said: "Driving a car is also a kind of labor. It can only be said that taking a car is a change in the nature of exploitation."

  Everyone burst out laughing and chatted some more about family matters. The middle-aged man stood up to bid farewell: "I've come to pay my New Year's respects, I still have things to attend to."

  "Good timing, I'm going to Dong'an Market anyway, let me give you a ride."

  The middle-aged man said: "It's going in opposite directions and won't take us where we want to go. I'll just call a rickshaw."

  Out of Lin's house, after bidding farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Lin, the middle-aged man saw Chen Zikun squatting at the entrance of the alley and beckoned him over: "Gangpi!"

  Chen Zikun straightened up, sizing up the middle-aged man. He was not tall, but had a spirited appearance, with a fountain pen clipped to the front of his gown, giving him the air of an intellectual. Originally, he hadn't intended to strike up a conversation, but somehow, he found himself asking: "Where are you headed?"

  "Xizhimen, how much?" A middle-aged man stepped onto the bus.

  "Two big sons." Chen Zikong pulled up his car and left.

  The year-end is approaching, and the streets are becoming increasingly deserted. The snow from a few days ago has melted away, leaving a long stretch of straight road. A strong north wind howls, blowing away the dust on the road, leaving it spotless. The bare tree branches tremble in the wind, and it's really cold today.

  Chen Zikun spread his legs and ran on the empty road, when an old woman suddenly crossed over from the side of the road. Chen Zikun quickly slowed down to give way, but the handlebars still caught the old woman's open cotton jacket, and she slowly fell to the ground, lying horizontally in front of the vehicle.

  "It's nothing, just go," said the middle-aged man.

  Chen Zikun, however, squatted down and helped the old woman up. This old woman reminded him of his mother, Xing Erniang. On such a cold day, she was still out on the streets, definitely struggling to make a living.

  "What's wrong?" he asked.

  "I've fallen." The old woman said weakly.

  Chen Zikun looked around and saw a police station, so he supported the old woman to go there. When they arrived at the police station, he asked for a bowl of hot water and slowly gave it to her to drink, asking where she lived.

  "My home is in Gaobeidian, I came to the city to find my son."

  "What's your son's name and where does he live?"

  "My young son Fang Guan is an apprentice in town."

  "Which shop did you apprentice at?"

  "Can't find him... At first, they said he was an apprentice in a shop at the big market, but they said he ran away two years ago. Oh my son..." The old woman's tears fell down, crying so sadly.

  Chen Zikun was stunned, what to do now? Looking at the old man like this, I'm afraid he doesn't even have a penny on him. On such a cold day, if he's left outside, won't he freeze to death?

  The patrolman followed and persuaded: "Old man, don't be sad anymore, I advise you to hurry back to Gaobeidian."

  "There's no one at home, I came to find my son. The house has collapsed, where can I go back to?" The old man sighed and stood up saying: "Thank you both of you, you are good people, I'm leaving."

  Chen Zikun suddenly stood up: "Wait a minute, it's too cold outside and there's nowhere to go. You rest first, and then come to my place later."

  The old woman was stunned. Chen Zikun said to the patrol officer, "Brother, trouble you to tell Mr. outside that I can't pull him anymore."

  The patrol left, and Chen Zikun asked the old woman again about some things about her son, but still couldn't find a clue.

  After a while, the patrolman came back with a handful of copper coins and said, "That gentleman is really kind-hearted. He let me give this money to you."

  "Thanks." Chen Zikong took the money and first ran out to buy six steaming hot meat buns, wrapped them in lotus leaves and brought them back, placing them in front of the old man.

  "Have some food first and fill your stomach."

  The old man was so moved that his eyes were filled with hot tears, and he didn't know what to say.

  "Just eat if you want to, there's hot water here, don't choke." The young patrolman poured her another bowl of water.

  After eating the buns, the old woman's spirit was slightly lifted. Chen Zikun asked her to get in the car and took her back to the Da Za Yuan compound.

  When Chen Zikun brought back a homeless old lady, everyone was stunned. It turned out that not only did Big Kungzi open a car factory, but also ran a charity hall. However, the big miscellaneous courtyard really had no more space to accommodate anyone else, and even Chen Zikun himself was making do with temporary arrangements, where could he settle this old lady?

  Chen Zikun said: "The sky will never cut off a man's path, the darker it gets, the closer you are to the last turning point of light."

  As expected, around noon, someone came to pass on a message saying that Old Master Zhao Zhide was preparing to move back to his hometown in Baoding to live, and the small quadrangle courtyard here would be left empty, so they were planning to rent it out, and asked if Chen Zikun, Young Master Chen, was interested.

  "Look, good luck has arrived." Chen Zikun was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

  What delighted him even more was that Old Master Zhao's residence was located inside Xuanwu Gate, just a stone's throw away from the Flagstaff House and the Lin Residence.