When Chen Zikun followed the old man into the classroom, the students who had been waiting for a long time immediately burst out laughing. As Peking University has always been the cradle of progressive culture, it was quite ridiculous to see a professor wearing a long gown and a queue on the podium.

  The classroom was packed, with people even sitting in the aisles, and a large crowd standing at the back. The male students of Beida showed their gentlemanly demeanor by yielding the best seats in the front row to the female students. Lin Wenjing and Wang Yueqi were among them. When she saw her husband following the professor into the room, Lin Wenjing's face was filled with surprise. Chen Zikun winked at her, feeling extremely pleased with himself.

  The old man instructed Chen Zikun to sit in the front row, and he himself walked up to the podium, saying slowly: "Foreigners say that when coming to Beijing, you can skip the three main halls, but you cannot miss Gu Hongming. You students of Beida must also be here to see this strange old man who was born in Southeast Asia, studied in Western countries, married in Eastern countries, served in Northern China and still has a queue in the Republic of China?"

  Another burst of hearty laughter erupted from the audience, Gu Hongming took off his calabaza hat, spun around in a circle on the spot, and put it back on with a nonchalant tone: "The braid on my head is tangible, but the one in your hearts is intangible."

  The laughter stopped abruptly. The students of Beida were, after all, the crème de la crème, and Professor Gu's words made them suddenly wake up, forcing them to re-examine this legendary old man with a strange color.

  Gu Hongming said: "Thanks to the appreciation of President Cai, I was hired to teach Latin at Peking University. Studying Western learning must study Latin, just like studying Chinese must study classical Chinese, there is no second way."

  Suddenly someone stood up from below the stage and said loudly: "Professor Gu, I disagree with you."

  Everyone's attention was focused on this handsome young man, Wang Yueqi whispered in Lin Wenjing's ear: "Xu University is so brave, he actually dared to debate with Gu Professor, I really admire him."

  "Hmm, the senior is quite bold." Lin Wenjing also looked at Xu Tingge with a face full of admiration, Chen Zikong saw it and felt a pang of jealousy.

  Almost all of his classmates' eyes were focused on Xu Tingge, he was greatly encouraged and talked eloquently.

  "Nowadays, the world is a world of powerful nations, and among them, England, France, America, and Germany are in the lead. If we Chinese students want to learn for practical use, enrich our country and strengthen our people, we must discard some outdated and backward things, such as classical Chinese and Latin, which are obscure and difficult to understand. After the European war, with everything waiting to be restored, we Chinese students should rise up and strive forward even more. What leisure time do we have to learn these languages used by European aristocrats to show off their elegance? I think that schools should abolish Latin and classical Chinese courses, promote vernacular Chinese in national language classes, and promote English and French in foreign language classes. I remember Mr. Hu Shi saying a sentence..."

  "Hu Shih's English is crude and unbearable, is he even worthy of discussing literature?" Gu Hongming's goat-like beard twitched as he interrupted Xu Tingguo's speech, "I thought you had something new to say, but it turns out it's just Hu Shih's same old nonsense."

  Xu Tinggao wanted to argue, but Gu Hongming didn't give him the chance. "Leaving fine wine untouched and instead drinking adulterated inferior wine, what kind of logic is that? Studying classical Chinese and Latin are equally the inheritance of a nation's essence. Foreigners know to study Latin, yet Hu Shi and his ilk want to carry out a 'character revolution', abandoning classical Chinese, which will bring calamity for a hundred years."

  Xu Tinggong loudly exclaimed: "Professor Gu, please allow me to say a word. Mr. Hu Shi's promotion of vernacular Chinese is for the sake of 400 million compatriots. Classical Chinese is abstruse and difficult to understand, which is greatly detrimental to the improvement of people's intelligence. Similarly, Latin is also like this. The German poet Heine once lamented that he couldn't memorize it well, saying "If the Romans had to learn Latin first, they probably wouldn't have had much time left to conquer the world." What I want to say is that if not for the purpose of studying culture, universities should still prioritize English and French as important courses.

  A burst of applause erupted from the audience, and the students' eyes on Xu Tingge became even more eager. Even Lin Wenjing couldn't help but nod her head, presumably she also had a deep understanding of classical Chinese.

  Kung Hsiang-hsi had anticipated this answer and sneered, "Heine is just a pedant, how can he be taken as an example? Classical Chinese is the foundation of national learning. Once you master it, vernacular Chinese will naturally follow suit. Just like Latin is the ancestor and prototype of Germanic languages, if you learn Latin, English, French, Spanish are all easy to grasp. There's no course that can't be learned, only students who don't put in effort. I dare make a bet with you, as long as one is willing to learn, even an uneducated laborer can master Latin."

  He pointed at Chen Zikun and said: "You, come up here."

  Chen Zikun walked up to the stage and bowed to everyone.

  The audience was in an uproar, and no one knew what kind of trick Gu Hongming had up his sleeve.

  "This man is the rickshaw driver I found at the gate, whom I didn't know before. The winter break is about to start, and I plan to use this time to teach him Latin, at least to a level not inferior to yours. Who dares to bet with me?"

  The classroom was filled with a buzzing noise, today being the last class before winter break. Students from Peking University's prep school and undergraduate programs were in attendance, as well as auditing students and trial listeners, all gathered together, young men and women alike. In this setting, there was no room for shrinking back, so Xu Tingge boldly said: "I bet 100 yuan that he won't learn it?"

  Gu Hongming stroked his goat beard and smiled: "Is there still a follower? It's settled then."

  One arm raised

  "I bet ten bucks!"

  "I bet two blocks!"

  "Fifty cents!"

  The classroom turned into a casino, with students and teachers enthusiastically participating. Gu Hongming even found someone to record the names and bets of all participants.

  "Haha, it seems like everyone lost to the old man." Gu Hongming held the list and muttered to himself, suddenly excitedly shouting: "Wow, there's actually a girl who bet on the old man winning! Lin Wenjing, two cents. This classmate, please stand up!"

  Lin Wenjing stood up at the sound of her name, blushing and lowering her head, pinching the hem of her clothes.

  "Lin Tong, can you tell me why you think Lao Tzu will win?" Gu Hongming asked with a smile.

  Lin Wenjing's face turned red, her voice low like a mosquito, Wang Yueqi helped her say: "She said she doesn't believe Professor Gu can win, it's just because that's their family driver, so they're betting on you."

  A burst of laughter erupted, and Ku Hung-ming laughed even more heartily: "The little girl is indeed a true temperament, haha, so why did you only pawn two cents?"

  "Because she only has two jiao for discretionary spending every month!" Wang Yueqi exclaimed loudly.

  Chen Zikun, who had been silent all along, was moved to tears and thought to himself: With my wife's support, I can learn anything, be it Latin or even heavenly script.

  Gu Hongming said: "In total, there are 213 pieces of old man losing, two corners of old man winning. This loss ratio is really big enough. If you lose, the old man will pay back in full. If you win, this money The old man won't keep it, and all of it will be given to this cart driver. Little brother, what's your name?"

  "My name is Chen Zikun, and my courtesy name is Kunwu."

  This is the first time Chen Zikun's name has been remembered by Peking University.

  This class was really lively, with the teacher and students debating, betting, and classmates having a great time. After class, Gu Hongming handed Chen Zikun his business card: "If you want to make money, come find me at Donghua Gate, Chuntree Hutong."

  "Don't worry, sir, I'll definitely earn this money." Chen Zikun swore solemnly.

  "Haha, I've found the right person, so I can rest assured." Gu Hongming floated away.

  Someone outside shouted: "Mr. Chen Duxiu is giving a speech in the school grounds, criticizing the current situation, everyone go and listen!"

  Classmates immediately rushed out, and in an instant, the classroom was empty, leaving only Lin Wenjing alone.

  "Uh... Uncle, I've bet all my savings, two jiao, you must win!" Lin Wenjing said with a serious expression, her round eyes staring intently.

  Chen Zikun nodded vigorously: "I will definitely not disappoint Miss's expectations." He said, stretching out his little finger, "Let's make a deal."

  Lin Wenjing tilted her head to look at Chen Zikun, thinking that this big rough guy was quite lovable, so she also stretched out her little thumb and hooked it with his: "Pull the hook, one hundred years without changing."

  "It won't change in a hundred years." Chen Zikun's low, resonant male voice was full of emotion. The youthful campus, the oath of eternal love, this scene was as romantic as it could be.

  Lin Wenjing didn't think it was as complicated as Chen Zikong thought, the outside calls for speeches were getting higher and higher, she couldn't hold back anymore, took out a red gel pen and said: "Let's start now, I'll write a few words, you just copy them, no slacking off!"

  As she spoke, she tore a piece of paper from her notebook, wrote a few lines, and finished with a slightly red face. "Actually, I don't understand Latin either, I can only teach you some basic culture. Okay, you copy this, the pen is yours, do you know how to hold it? It's different from holding a brush, let me demonstrate once, that's right, that's how you hold the pen."

  Chen Zikun looked carefully and saw that there were a few lines of simple Chinese characters on the paper: top, middle, bottom, mouth, hand, one, two, three, four, five.

  "Dastardly! The authorities are shameless to the extreme, and owe an apology to 400 million compatriots!" This was immediately followed by a thunderous applause.

  Lin Wenjing walked quickly to the window, pushed open the window, and gazed out at a corner of the campus. She clenched her fist and said: "The responsibility for revitalizing China is on our shoulders! I'm going to go support Mr. Chen now. You stay here and write well, I'll be back to check your homework!" After finishing speaking, she ran off quickly, leaving behind only the sound of youthful footsteps echoing in the corridor.

  Although he wanted to go to the campus with his classmates and shout slogans, Chen Zikun stayed in the classroom to do his homework. He first put the red pen under his nose and sniffed it, a faint fragrance, containing the girl's body scent, Chen Zikun couldn't help but feel a thrill, and he began to write quickly.

  A gust of cold wind blew in from the window, Chen Zikun got up to close it, but unexpectedly the wind blew away the paper on the desk and flew out of another window.

  "Lao Zi's homework!" Chen Zikong made a great effort to grab it, but the paper had already fluttered away like a butterfly.

  On campus, the atmosphere was tense. Lin Wenjing and a group of girls stood together. Wang Yueqi asked: "Lin Wenjing, why do you think Professor Guo made this bet?"

  Lin Wenjing sighed and said, "Professor Gu is so busy, how can he have time to teach a cart driver Latin? Actually, I know that he is using the method of encouraging us to force our classmates to learn Latin on their own initiative. We cannot disappoint the teacher's kind intentions."

  In a corner of the campus, two professors wearing long shirts and glasses walked side by side. One of them picked up a piece of paper from the ground and couldn't help but laugh: "I didn't expect that even students at Beida would behave like children. This is obviously content for learning to write in kindergarten, yet it was written by a young couple. How interesting! Brother Shenshu, take a look."

  Another gentleman with a sickly face took the paper and looked at it, saying: "The top is written in a woman's handwriting, elegant and refined, I suppose it was practiced in a private school with very strict family rules. The characters below are bold and powerful, with a strong backbone, must be a rare man in the world."