The door of Apricot's home was kicked open, the oil lamp inside was dim and yellow. A middle-aged man with a beard stood there, drunk, holding a leather belt in his hand. On the ground were the broken pieces of a green ceramic basin. Apricot's younger brother cowered in the corner, shivering with fear. From the inner room, Auntie's pleading voice could be heard: "I'll give you money, don't hit the child."

  That man glared with drunken eyes, tilted his head and looked at Chen Zikun at the door for a while, shouting: "Who are you? What's your business!" As he spoke, he swung his belt again, Xing'er let out a loud cry and rushed to her brother's side, using her own body to protect Guo'er.

  The belt did not come off, and Chen Zikong firmly grasped that hand.

  "Little kid, you want to challenge me? Let you taste the power of Old Man Chen!" The man was about to explode in anger when he suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground by his collar. Before he could react, he heard a loud "Get out!" and found himself flying out of the courtyard. The frozen earth was hard as stone, and his buttocks were almost split in two from the impact.

  Luckily, the thick cotton jacket and pants worn in winter were quite sturdy; otherwise, that one slap on the buttocks would have been enough to knock someone dead. The man sucked in a breath of cold air, got up, and cursed: "Who the hell are you? Breaking into civilian homes, be careful or I'll report you!"

  Chen Zikun emerged from the house, the light of the oil lamp casting an orange-red glow on his silhouette. Xing'er and her brother hid behind him, gazing at their father with resentment.

  "Laozi walks without changing his name, sits without changing his surname, Chen Zikun!" He took two steps forward, scaring Apricot's father to hastily retreat backwards, still speaking tough: "Where did you come from, you wild seed? You dare to kick our door, and even hit me! Neighbors all take a look, bandits have entered the city!"

  Chen Zikong shouted: "Beating you is considered light, whoever dares to bully my dry mother, I will skin him alive!"

  The man stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Who did I think I was? It turns out I'm the godson of Xing Er's mother. In that case, I'm your godfather."

  "You're also worthy!" Chen Zikun stepped forward, grabbed the man's cotton-padded jacket and lifted him up with one hand, pulling him into the house. The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

  The neighbors who were quietly watching the commotion at their own doorsteps got excited and came over to squat in the corner of the wall to eavesdrop. Xing Er's father, Chen Baipi, was a notorious drunkard. After drinking two cups of yellow wine, he would go crazy, beat his wife, beat his children, smash things, and ruin a good family. At first, the neighbors tried to persuade him, but later this guy even scolded the neighbors, so everyone didn't dare to intervene anymore.

  "Chen Zikun's temper is even worse than mine." Zhao Dahan sighed, helped Baoqing up from the ground and went into the house to settle down, while Xiao Shunzi followed everyone to listen at the corner of the wall.

  Inside the house, Chen Zikun dragged Chen Baipi in, throwing him to the ground like a dead dog. Without saying a word, he first pulled out his dagger and slammed it onto the table, the sharp blade sinking in over an inch deep, the handle still quivering, frightening Xiao Er's father so much that his liver was trembling with fear.

  "Kneel down and apologize to my dry mother!" The thunderous roar sent out, the neighbors couldn't help but secretly laugh, thinking that Bai Pi had finally met his match.

  Chen Baipi's neck stiffened: "Kneel if you must, I'm not afraid of you!"

  As she spoke, her legs softened and she knelt on the ground, giving a bow to Xing Er's mother. With a humble tone, she said: "Mother, I know I was wrong, it won't happen again."

  Xing Er's daughter couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, sighed and said: "Forget it, get up."

  Chen Zikun asked Xing'er: "Why did he want to fight and cause trouble?"

  Xing'er said: "It's all because of drinking, the year-end is approaching, the tavern is collecting debts, he went home to ask for money, forcing his mother to give him the money she bought medicine with. Guo'er said a few words and got slapped in the mouth."

  Look at Guo Er, there are indeed five finger marks on his face, and tears still hang in the corners of his eyes.

  "How much is owed for wine?" Chen Zikong asked.

  "Not much, just 50 cents." Chen Baipi was a bit embarrassed, he usually drank the worst quality sweet potato liquor, and 50 cents could last him two months.

  Chen Zikun took out two silver dollars and threw them on the table. Chen Baipi's eyes immediately widened, this was two blocks of money, enough to drink several jars of good wine!

  "Xing Er, take this money and give it to your father to pay off the debt. Also, buy a few more chickens for my mother-in-law to make some chicken soup to drink. After surgery, I need to nourish myself back to health."

  Apricot hesitated and didn't dare to take it, Chen Baipi swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "I'll keep it for the child." He stretched out his hand to take the money, but caught sight of that cold light flashing knife, and his hand shrank back.

  "Xing Er, take it, a token of your brother's filial piety." Xing Er's mother said, these words were equivalent to acknowledging Chen Zi Kun as her son.

  "It's already shameful enough that you can't even support the family, and now you're asking for money from home? If I see it again next time, I'll beat you to death!" Chen Zikun pulled out the dagger nailed to the table and gave Chen Baipi a cold look.

  Chen Baipi shivered with fear, watching the fierce-looking young man leave the door before heaving a sigh of relief and saying to Xing Erniang: "Where did you find this adopted son? He even dares to hit his adoptive father?"

  The fruit couldn't help but say: "Mr. Chen didn't recognize you."

  Chen Baipi glared at his son and stretched out his hand to his daughter: "Hand over the money."

  "No!" Xing'er hid her hands behind her back.

  Chen Baipi was just about to make his move when he suddenly heard a dry cough at the door, and quickly hid himself in a corner.

  ……

  Tonight Chen Zikun moved back to Xiao Shunzi's house because last night was too noisy and he couldn't sleep at all.

  As soon as he entered the house, Xiao Shunzi was sitting cross-legged on the kang, with his iron bucket in front of him on the low table. He chuckled and said: "When did you acknowledge Chen Dagu as your godmother? How come I didn't know?"

  Chen Zikun said: "Don't say that, how can I interfere with other people's family affairs? What kind of virtue does Apricot's father have?"

  Xiao Shunzi said: "Uncle Chen used to be okay, but later he was framed for stealing money while working and was beaten half to death. After that, he became like this, drinking and wasting money every day, beating his wife and children."

  Chen Zikun said: "If he dares to be reckless again in the future, I'll get rid of him and throw him into the Yongding River to feed the turtles."

  Xiao Shunzi said: "You're really cruel, you haven't even married yet and you've already gotten rid of your father-in-law."

  Chen Zikun was taken aback: "Who is my father-in-law?"

  "You didn't notice that Xiaoying has a crush on you, tsk tsk, you're really lucky. Baoqing has liked Xiaoying for years and has been thinking of making her his wife, but it looks like he's got no chance now." Xiao Shunzi was talking with his mouth full while pouring the cigarette butts from the metal bucket onto the kang table, then took out a pack of rolling paper from the head of the kang, carefully disassembled each butt, gathered the tobacco into a pile, and re-rolled it into neat cigarettes using the rolling paper. His hands moved nimbly, producing perfectly straight and round cigarettes that looked like they were made by machine.

  Does Apricot (杏儿) have a crush on me? Chen Zikun blinked his eyes, Apricot is quite good-looking, with an oval face and big eyes, long braids, always dressed neatly... but compared to Miss Lin, she still lacks a bit of charm... Hmm, I suppose this is what Second Uncle meant by "elegance".

  Chen Zikun was taken aback, and Xiao Shunzi laughed and said: "Anyway, the fat water doesn't flow into someone else's field, and Xing'er following you won't be at a loss."

  "No, I already have someone in my heart." Chen Zikong said seriously, he had a clear count in his mind, even if he didn't have Miss Lin in his heart, he couldn't snatch Baoqing brother's wife, and digging a wall corner was something that the swift-legged Little White Dragon wouldn't do.

  "Oh, maybe his family has arranged a marriage for him." said Xiao Shunzi, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. What was he thinking, bringing up family when Chen Zikong was an orphan?

  Fortunately, Chen Zikong didn't mind, picked up the cigarette on the table and said: "You pick up cigarette butts for this?"

  "Yes, my Da Shun Pai cigarettes. Cheap and a lot of quantity, better than Lao Dao Pai." said Xiao Shun Zi casually.

  "This can earn a lot of money." Chen Zikong belched, suddenly strange to say: "Xiao Shunzi, you drank a lot today, why didn't you get drunk?"

  Xiao Shunzi said with a smile: "Our Li family used to run a wine workshop, I've been drinking since I was young, and I can drink at least one and a half kilograms of liquor... Ah, never mind, let's go to sleep."

  After speaking, he fell asleep. Chen Zikun saw that he seemed unwilling to mention his family's affairs of the past year and did not dare to ask further, so he lay down and slept as well.

  The next morning, the sky was just brightening up, and a thin layer of fog shrouded the courtyard. Chen Zikun sprang up from bed, thinking to himself that he was in trouble - he had to rush to the Lin's residence for work at 7:30, and having slept so soundly, he didn't know if he was late or not; if he delayed his daughter's departure for school, it would be a great sin.

  Dressed and coming out into the courtyard, Zhao Dahai was already up, doing push-ups on the ground. Chen Zikun shouted: "Brother Dahai, what time is it?"

  Zhao Dahai said: "The watch is in your pocket, you can see it yourself."

  Chen Zikun took out Zhao Dahan's silver pocket watch, saw that the hour hand was pointing at six o'clock, and finally let out a sigh of relief. The silver pocket watch was exquisite, with an engraved locomotive pattern on the cover and several words: "Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway Memorial, presented by Zhan Tianyou".

  "Hey, Big Brother Hai, this watch of yours isn't bad." Chen Zikun weighed the pocket watch in his hand, thinking to himself that it would be great if he had a watch that could control time.

  Zhao Dahai got up from the ground, wiped his sweat with a white towel and said: "That's authentic American goods, Hamilton Railway Pocket Watch, given to me by Director Zhan."

  Chen Zikun returned the pocket watch to Zhao Dahi and asked: "Dahi brother, what exercise were you just doing?"

  "That's push-ups, a Western-style exercise. It's more scientific and civilized than lifting stones or wielding swords. I'll teach you how to do it."

  Chen Zikun said, "I used to practice this, but it's different from yours." As he spoke, he also got down on the ground and started doing push-ups. With both arms on the ground, he forcefully pushed up once, quickly clapping his palms together above his head, and before his body had even fallen back down, he pushed himself back up onto the ground again.

  Zhao Dahai laughed and said, "Who taught you this move? It's quite impressive. But if you think that's all I've got, you're underestimating Big Brother Hai." As he spoke, he also got into a push-up position, using his fingers instead of his palms to support his body.

  The big rooster on the wall crowed loudly, Old Zhao put on his clothes and came out, saw them doing push-ups together, and scolded: "It's already dawn, why are you still not getting up to chop firewood, boil water, and feed the kids?"

  Zhao Dahi was scolded by his father, and he quickly got up to work. Chen Zikun also washed his face with cold well water, didn't eat breakfast, and rushed straight to Shi Ma Da Jie Hou Zhai Hutong.

  After arriving at the Lin residence, they waited for a while in the servant's quarters. Miss and Young Master came out soon after. The young master was wearing a brand new flower-patterned woolen suit with a pea coat on top, looking like a little adult. Lin Miss wore the same dark blue cotton-padded jacket she had worn when they first met. The siblings got into a rickshaw, and Chen Zikong first took Young Master to a kindergarten on a street outside, then pulled Lin Wenjing in the direction of Beida.

  Finally found the opportunity to be alone, Chen Zikun pulled the rickshaw and ran with a thud, just about to say the words of greeting that had been brewing for a long time, when suddenly a rickshaw came out of the alley next door, Wang Yueqi sat on the car and shouted: "Lin Wenjing, what a coincidence."

  "Damn it!" Chen Zikong gritted his teeth, but he had no choice and could only pull the rickshaw all the way to Peking University amidst Wang Yueqi's chatter. He watched as the two girls skipped into the red building, and just as he was about to turn the rickshaw around to head back, someone called out to him from the side: "Hey, buddy."

  Turning his head, it was indeed the chauffeur of Xu University's president.

  "Wasn't the girl who just went in your family's daughter?" the man asked casually.

  "Yes." Chen Zikong said, secretly thinking that it won't be long before she becomes his wife.

  "My name is Xu Er, what's yours?" The carman seemed to be in a chatty mood.

  "My name is Chen Zikun, and my style name is Kunwu." Chen Zikun finally had a chance to show off, and he proudly boasted.

  Xu Er was taken aback for a moment, seemingly somewhat embarrassed, and then asked in a disgruntled tone: "Can you even write your own name?"

  "Will you?" Chen Zikun asked back.

  Xu Er picked up a withered branch and drew "Xu Er" two crooked characters on the ground, clapped his hands, and looked at Chen Zikun with great satisfaction.

  Chen Zikun picked up a withered branch and wrote his name on the ground, followed by "Peking University", "Library", "Dong'an Market" and other words.

  Xu Er refused to give up and said: "I can recite the Three Character Classic, 'Man's nature at birth is good, natures are similar, habits make them far apart', can you?"

  Chen Zikun said: "I can not only speak, but also write." As he spoke, he wrote these words on the ground.

  Xu Er's face turned bright red with anger and he said: "Our family's old master is the Deputy Director of the Army Department, Xu Cizhang. Where does your family's old master hold a high position?"

  Chen Zikun said: "Compared to writing, it's just writing. What's the big deal about being a master? Even if your family's master is very capable, that doesn't mean you are."

  Xu Erzheng was about to refute, when suddenly applause came from the back: "This comrade is absolutely right!"

  Two men turned their heads, only to see an old man with yellow hair and sunken eyes standing there, wearing a jujube red Ningbo silk sleeveless jacket, a small gourd hat, holding a tobacco pouch in his hand, and a Peking University badge on his chest, looking at the two carters with great interest.

  "Little kid, have you ever attended a private school?" The old man poked Chen Zikun with his tobacco pouch.

  "No, I just wrote down what he recited." said Chen Zikong.

  "I'm just short of one teaching tool, and that's you. Come on in," said the old man.

  Chen Zikun hesitated for a moment, and the old man took out a big dollar and threw it over: "Don't do it for nothing, here's money."

  "Alright." Chen Zikong grabbed hold of Dayang and followed Old Master into the Red Mansion.

  Xu swallowed his saliva, gazing enviously at their backs. The old man had a small yellow braid hanging down behind his head, which was particularly eye-catching in the Peking University campus.