"I thought you were a deserter, letting the military police catch you is no joke." Little Shunzi said casually.

  Chen Zikong let out a breath of relief, and his hand gripping the knife handle also relaxed.

  A peddler carrying a pole with two baskets slung from it came over, shouting "Old tofu!" Xiao Shunzi called out to him: "Two bowls."

  The hawker put down his load and quickly served two bowls of old tofu, which was still hot. He poured vinegar, soy sauce, pepper oil, chili oil, and scallions on top. The aroma was incredible. Both of them were hungry and wolfed it down, wiping their mouths clean. The hawker nodded and bowed: "Thank you, sir. Two big sons."

  "I'll get it." Little Shunzi made a generous gesture, but his hand didn't reach into his pocket.

  "It's delicious, it's delicious, don't be hungry, have two more bowls." Chen Zikong took out a small foreign coin and handed it over.

  Two people ate four bowls of old tofu to fill their stomachs, and continued on their way. From a distance, they saw the sign for Xiao Chang Chen's restaurant, and Xiao Shunzi's eyes lit up again: "Chen Dage, are you still eating braised dishes?"

  "Eat!" was the ironclad response.

  Two people entered the shop and ordered two bowls of braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens. This small intestine Chen's shop in front of the door is actually a branch opened by the authentic successor of Xiaochen, with a rich flavor and thick soup. On a cold day, eating a bowl makes you sweat profusely and feel extremely comfortable.

  The two of them ate their fill, and their bellies were round. Chen Zikun lifted his head to see the price written on the sign: one mao per bowl, which was five times more expensive than old tofu.

  When settling the bill, Chen Zikun took out two silver dollars and put them on the table. Xiao Shunzi was a bit embarrassed to say: "Chen Dage, you haven't found your relatives, so why don't you just come to my house to live? I have room."

  "Good."

  Xiao Shunzi's home was outside Xuanwumen, next to a stinky ditch, a big mixed courtyard where seven or eight families lived. The sky had already darkened, and Xiao Shunzi led Chen Zikun to the door of the west wing, inside which it was pitch black without any light, and low, muffled sounds of men's and women's heavy breathing could be heard.

  "Let's go out and take a walk." Xiao Shunzi turned his head and left, Chen Zikong vaguely guessed something and followed him out of the yard, finding a sheltered corner to squat in.

  After a while, the sound of opening and closing doors came from the yard. "Yan Hong, I'm leaving, don't see me off." It was a man's hoarse voice.

  "Come back when you're free, damn it." The woman's voice was filled with flirtation and abandon.

  "Let's go, let's go back." Xiaoshunzi stood up and took Chen Zikong back to their own doorstep. A woman in a green jacket was standing at the door, her pale face covered with layers of powder. In the distance, a sturdy figure was slowly disappearing into the distance.

  "This is my sister. This is my friend Chen Da Ke, he's staying at our place today." Xiao Shunzi didn't even glance at the woman and simply introduced them before pulling Chen Zikun inside.

  "Shunzi, have you eaten yet? I still have some mantou here." The big sister in the green cotton-padded jacket brought over a basket with mantou, tofu pudding, and two stalks of scallions.

  "After eating, Xiao Shunzi's sister had some braised pork belly and two bowls of old tofu, and she was full." Little Shunzi didn't even look at his sister.

  Blushing, she stood for a while, smiled politely at Chen Zikun, and went into the inner room.

  "You sleep with me, we'll share a quilt." Little Shunzi pointed to the blue-flowered cotton-padded quilt on the kang, which was filthy and gave off a musty smell.

  It was a very cold day, the kang was still chilly, and the broken window paper hadn't been repaired. The room was freezing, Xiao Shunzi extinguished the kerosene lamp, and the two of them snuggled under Chen Zikun's quilt, covering themselves with Xiao Shunzi's blue-flowered thin blanket. Before long, they warmed up, just as the old saying goes: "A foolish child sleeps on a cold kang, relying solely on body heat."

  "Go to bed early, tomorrow I'll take you to Dong'an Market to visit relatives." Little Shunzi was really tired and fell asleep as soon as he lay down, soon making soft snoring sounds.

  But Chen Zikun couldn't sleep, he stared at the white ceiling, and a series of scenes appeared in front of him, Da Piaozi led his brothers to gallop and whip in the forest sea and snowy plains, smashing pots, fighting against government troops, eating meat and drinking wine with big bowls, what a wonderful life it was. If it weren't for Zhang Zuolin's 27th Division of Fengjun surrounding and attacking them heavily, he would still be living such a thrilling life.

  Da Bao Ba Zi is a top-notch good fellow outside the pass, known as Guandong Dashao. He has been leading his men since the year the Japanese and Russians fought in the northeast. It's been over a decade now. Changshan doesn't have many good fighters, but Da Bao Ba Zi's hundred or so brothers are all crack shots. The four pillars under him are each incredibly skilled, and he learned his own marksmanship and martial arts from them. In the Jianghu world, he is known as Double Guns Fast Legs Little White Dragon, a top figure in the bandit world.

  I don't know if Da Biaozi has escaped the danger or not, he is a lucky person with a good fate, and he should be able to turn bad luck into good fortune. And then there's Er Guai, who always treats himself as his own son, that one-eyed lame old Russian nobleman with blond hair, people say he is a real Russian baron, I don't know if he has returned to Harbin or not...

  As he thought about it, the blue slender figure at the train station suddenly flashed into his mind. He had seen women before, but how could those rough and coarse women from outside the pass, in car shops, theater troupes, and brothels be compared to such a lovely, delicate, and charming Jiangnan girl?

  He didn't know what her name was, Chen Zikong sighed, his hand involuntarily reaching for his neck, where a white jade pendant hung with two characters engraved on it: Kunwu.

  Perhaps these two characters hold the secret of their own life. Chen Zikun cannot determine his origin, his memory was erased due to a fall from a horse two years ago. Dapiao Baizi, Ergui, Liangtai and others also do not understand their origins. All the mysteries will be revealed tomorrow. That person named Chen Yongren, the owner of the Nanbei goods store, must know about his own life.

  He fell asleep, exhausted and worn out from the journey. Suddenly, a loud noise startled him awake. His years of habit made him immediately grab the dagger hidden in his sleeve. He jumped up like a carp, looking around left and right. There was no one on the bed anymore. In the courtyard, there were swaying lanterns and sobbing sounds.

  Chen Zikun put on his coat and boots, went out of the house, and saw that all the neighbors in the big courtyard had gotten up and were gathered at one household's door, discussing something in a flurry. It was very cold, but the neighbors had all crawled out of bed, which meant that something major had happened. He squeezed through the crowd and into the doorway; the room was packed with people. In the inner room, an old man with a goat-like beard sat on the edge of the bed, taking the pulse of a middle-aged woman who lay in bed.

  By the bed were a pair of children, staring at the old man with a goat beard. When Xiao Shunzi saw Chen Zikun come in, he went over and whispered: "His aunt is in so much pain that she can't bear it, I and Baoqing have gone to invite the doctor to see her, and since you were sleeping soundly, we didn't call you."

  Chen Zikun nodded, not saying a word. He had already understood what was going on from the neighbors' discussions. This aunt's family of four relied on her running a small tobacco stand to make ends meet, as the man was a carpenter who spent all his time drinking and wasting money outside. Fortunately, their daughter Xing'er and son Guo'er were both very filial, or else this household would have collapsed long ago.

  "The Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach says, 'The source of intestinal colic is in the heart and abdomen, with severe pain like a knife cut or a rope twist, or like a tendon pull or an awl prick. Even mild cases have slight colic pain and extreme distension.'"

  The neighbors couldn't understand his mumbling, and a loud-mouthed old man in his fifties asked: "Doctor, hurry up and write the prescription to save her, I'm afraid she won't make it."

  The goat-bearded doctor slowly took out a silver needle from the box, pricked the patient's right hand, and then slowly wrote a prescription, saying: "Two cents for an outpatient visit, four cents for a house call, double at night, five cents for writing a prescription. I can see you're not rich, so I'll just charge one dollar."

  Apricot and Fruit siblings stared at each other, their home didn't even have overnight rations, where could they get a single dollar from?

  The neighbors all chipped in, one angle for you and two angles for me. Even Xiao Shunzi's sister Yan Hong contributed a dime, but it seemed like nobody really wanted her there. The loud-mouthed old man quietly returned the dime: "Yan Hong, we've got enough."

  The goat-bearded man took the money and left, leaving behind a prescription with a long list of Chinese medicines to be taken: Sang Piao Tang added with Shan Dou Gen, Jiang Cao, Jin Yin Hua, Dan Shen, Shan Zha, and Lai Fu Zi, decocted in water without root.

  These are common medicines that can be grabbed in a pharmacy, Tongrentang, Heyuantang, Changchuntang and other old-brand pharmacies are open day and night. The loud-voiced man handed over the collected money to Xing'er's brother and sister, instructing them: "Hurry up and grab medicine to treat the illness, don't dare to delay."

  "This is a sudden illness, by the time we get the medicine and brew it well, the person will be gone. We must hurry to find a Western doctor to treat him." A strange voice rang out, everyone turned their heads to look, and it was Chen Zikun who was speaking.