In these times, being able to be related to foreigners is a rare and wonderful thing. Chen Zikun politely declined Dr. Stanley's offer with neither arrogance nor humility, earning everyone's respect.

  "Well, I won't force the issue either. If they continue to bother you, come find me at the clinic. My name is Shawn Stanley, you can call me Old Shawn or Dr. Stanley, but please don't call me Mr. Yang, because my surname isn't Yang." Stanley's humorous remark earned a round of innocent laughter.

  Dr. Stanley bid farewell and left, accompanied by Xue Jun and his son back to the clinic. The neighbors in the courtyard also returned home to sleep. Just as Chen Zikun walked to the door of the house, a heavy package fell from the sky, making a loud noise.

  "Who!" Chen Zikong raised his eyes and looked over, only to hear a rustling sound of tiles, as if a wild cat was passing by on the roof.

  He picked up the bundle and took a look inside. It was all filled with stacks of cash, and he immediately thought of the tray that Ma Shihai had someone bring over to him.

  "Thanks, friend!" Chen Zikong shouted loudly, throwing a fist into the air.

  He went into the house, not too much or too little, exactly one hundred yuan. Chen Zikun took twenty yuan and put it in his pocket, and took the rest to Xing'er's home. He put it on the table and said: "Keep this money for New Year's use."

  Xing Er's mother said she was unwilling to accept, Chen Zi Kung said: "Dry mother, don't be polite, just consider it as my living expenses here."

  Now that you mention it, Xing Er happily accepted the money and didn't even ask where it came from, because she trusted Chen Zi Jun and knew he would never do anything sneaky or dishonest.

  Chen Zikong left, and Xing'er started crying again. She had been frightened for no reason, and it would probably take her some time to recover from the shock.

  Xing Er's mother stroked her daughter's back and said softly, "It's okay, Mother has taken a look. The cut on your face isn't deep and the scar won't be too noticeable."

  But who would have thought that after saying this, Xing Er cried even more sorrowfully.

  The girl's family affairs are unpredictable, and Xing Er Niang can only sigh, carefully hiding the money sent by Chen Zi Kun in the wall hole, and then blocking it with a broken cloth. When doing these things, Guo Er walked to the door with a keen eye, monitoring Chen San Pi who lived in the outer room.

  Chen San was unusually well-behaved after being beaten, shrinking into the corner and not daring to move. It's likely that he'll be quiet for a while after this commotion.

  ……

  Ma's house, the two hundred yuan on the table suddenly disappeared, causing Ma Shi Hai to erupt in thunderous anger again. The old mother and servants all knelt down, no one could say where the money had gone.

  Ma Shi Hai actually understood that the money was stolen by the flying thief who took advantage of the empty house, but he still scolded the servants severely, taking the opportunity to vent his anger.

  In the courtyard, in the hall, it's still a mess, not to mention that the birthday banquet was ruined, but also made the men of Beijing's 49 cities laugh, the Ma family's face has been lost all the way to grandma's house. Good things don't go out the door, bad things spread for thousands of miles, no need to wait until tomorrow, tonight's events will be popular all over Beijing.

  After venting his anger, Lao Er returned with Lao Wu's accompaniment, quickly walking into the living room, sitting down and first picking up the teacup to take a sip, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, saying fiercely: "This matter is not over yet, he thinks that by finding an American as a backer he will be immune to knives and guns, go play, Li Zheng said, tomorrow we'll find friends in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Foreign Ministry, whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this."

  Lao Liu said, "Alright, if that kid is really an American, then we'll just have to accept it. But a fake foreign devil causing trouble here? Who can swallow this tone? Investigate him thoroughly and get to the bottom of it!"

  Lao San and Lao Si also joined in, rubbing their fists and cheering, saying that if it's found out he's not a real American, no matter what, they'll drag the little brat out, skin him alive, dig out his eyes, and throw him into the Yongding River to feed the turtles.

  Several sons were making a racket, and the atmosphere was excited. Ma Shihai, however, did not say a word, stood up and said: "I'm tired, I'll sleep."

  The sons looked at each other in dismay: "Dad, what's wrong with you?"

  ……

  On the north side of Tianqiao, there is a smelly ditch called Longxugou. On the edge of the ditch, some broken bricks and tiles were used to build a large miscellaneous courtyard, where some artisans who couldn't make ends meet, poor men who relied on their physical strength for a living, and outsiders who came to Beijing to show off their skills and wander around the country all lived here.

  It was late at night, and the snow was getting heavier. The roof and the road were covered with a thick layer of snow. Even the most ferocious dogs hid in their houses without making a sound. A black figure ran swiftly along the wall, and if you paid attention to her back, you would find that her footprints on the snow were very light, and they were quickly covered up by the falling snowflakes.

  No one would have known that this was the long-lost "Treading Snow Without A Trace" lightness skill from the Jianghu.

  Heiying came to the big courtyard, tiptoed in through a door, and just as she was about to lie down on the bed, she heard a cough, which startled her.

  "Dad, are you awake?" The black shadow asked in a low voice, its tone as gentle and clear as the oriole.

  "Where did you go?" Dad asked.

  Nothing much, just going out for a stroll and looking at the snow.

  "Look at that! With all the clinking and clattering on your body, you've got to have at least a hundred or so bucks stashed away. Are you really that old-fashioned that you can't even tell?"

  The daughter didn't say a word, pinched the corner of her nightgown and quietly rolled her eyes at her father.

  "Kneel down!" His father suddenly roared in anger. The voice was not loud, but full of majesty.

  The daughter twisted her body and knelt down, but pouted her mouth.

  "Has your father taught you nothing?"

  "I haven't forgotten, I'd rather starve to death than steal, but this isn't stealing, this is robbing the rich to help the poor. You don't know, Father, the Ma family has gone bad, they even wanted to rob me yesterday, I..."

  "Still trying to talk your way out of it! Stealing is stealing, no matter what you call it! Kneel down and don't get up!"

  The daughter didn't dare to argue anymore, and knelt straight on the ground. After a while, she actually fell asleep with her head on the chair. When her father came over, he saw that his daughter had a thread of clear saliva hanging from the corner of her mouth, and couldn't help but shake his head in sympathy. He took out a quilt and gently covered it over her body.

  ……

  The sky brightened, the snow stopped, Chen Zikong got out of bed, rummaged for something to fill his stomach, and rushed to Shi Ma Da Jie. Along the way, every household was sweeping snow, children were excitedly piling up snowmen, having a snowball fight, the ancient capital was dressed in silver and white, and the New Year's atmosphere grew stronger.

  He didn't realize until halfway there that Peking University was already on winter break, and his rickshaw was still at school. So he first went to the Red Building to have the tire of the rickshaw repaired, then pulled the empty vehicle to Lin's residence.

  When Zhang Bo saw Chen Zikun arrive, he was taken aback and looked him up and down. Chen Zikun asked casually, "Where's the young lady? Hasn't she gone out?"

  "Of course the young lady from a respectable family is at home, how can she go out and show her face?"

  "It's better at home." Chen Zikong pulled his leg and walked towards the hanging flower door, completely ignoring Zhang Bo shouting behind him: "You can't enter the back house, there is no such rule."

  Zhang Bo watched as Chen Zikun entered the second gate, and couldn't help but sigh: "The cart pullers have nothing better to do than go ***. In the Republic of China, it can't be like this, really, the world is getting worse by the day."

  Yesterday, Lin Wenjing went home with Wang Yueqi. Because she wasn't sent back by the family driver, she was scolded by her wife. Zhang Bo and Lin's mother also added fuel to the fire, saying that Chen Zikun is not a good person, always sneaky and suspicious, and that having someone like him in the house will eventually lead to trouble.

  The lady originally didn't like this driver, and after listening to the report from the servant, she decided to fire him. However, this wasn't a priority at the moment, as Chinese New Year was approaching soon. The lady wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to build connections with the influential people in Beijing, so early that morning, she went out by car. The master also went to work at the Ministry of Education, leaving only the sister and brother, Lin Ma and Zhang Bo, at home.

  Chen Zikun entered the courtyard and saw Lin Wenjing sweeping snow, so he hurriedly grabbed the broom and said: "I'll do it." As he swept the snow, he casually asked: "Have Mr. and Mrs. gone out?"

  "Yes, Father has gone to the yamen and Aunt Mei has gone to the Dong'an market to buy leather goods." Lin Wenjing replied.

  Chen Zikun threw down his broom and said: "Let's build a snowman."

  Lin Wenjing's eyes lit up: "Good."

  "She rushed into the house and shouted: 'Wen Long, come out and build a snowman.'"

  Little brother walked to the door in a puffy manner and hesitated: "It's too cold, mom doesn't let me go out."

  Chen Zikong said: "What's a real man afraid of cold? You're so timid, are you a girl or something? Don't you have a little brother?"

  "You don't have a small chicken." Lin Wenlong was not convinced, and also ran to the yard, three people together shoveling snow, sweeping snow, piling up snowmen, playing happily.

  Lin Ma and Zhang Boqi were fuming with rage, but there was nothing they could do about it.

  "When Mrs. Li comes back, I must get rid of this Chen guy." Lin's mother said angrily.

  The snow in the courtyard was swept clean, and two snowmen were piled up. Lin Wenjing brought a bucket and basin to serve as hats for the snowmen, and inserted radishes into their faces as noses. The brother and sister had lived in the south for a long time and had never played with snow so happily before. This time they had a great time.

  Hearing the noise behind the hutong, Chen Zikun had an idea, "Let's go out and have a snowball fight."

  Lin Wenjing still hesitated, but Lin Wenlong cheered and jumped up: "Snowball fight, snowball fight."

  Then the three of them slipped out of the back door and started playing a game of snowball fight with the kids in the alley. Although they were outnumbered, Chen Zikun was on their side, so the alley kids couldn't gain the upper hand. Lin Wenjing and her brother hid behind Chen Zikun, making snowballs for him to use as ammunition. Chen Zikun was tall and had long arms, and his aim was accurate, so he beat back the wild kids, who retreated in disarray.

  "We won, we won!" Lin Wenlong excitedly jumped up and down, his face flushed red, his hands also frozen red, but Lin Wenjing knew that her pampered younger brother had never been so happy before.

  "Brother Chen, is there anything else fun? Take me there." Lin Wenlong was clearly not satisfied.

  "Come on, let's go ice-skating at Shichahai."

  Her father and stepmother were not at home, Lin Wenjing's courage also increased, took her brother on Chen Zikun's rickshaw, and rushed to Shichahai.

  The ice on Shichahai has become very thick, and people wearing thick winter clothes are walking and playing on the ice. Chen Zikong found a wooden board, let Lin Wenhui sit on it, and pulled him to run quickly. After running for a lap, he came back with two strings of candied hawthorn in his hand.

  The brother and sister were eating ice sugar gourd and admiring the snowy scene, and had long thrown their parents' instructions to the ninth heaven.

  "Come on, I'll pull you for a slide." Chen Zikun stretched out his hand to Lin Wenjing.

  "Good!" Lin Wenjing replied with a smile, handing over the unfinished candied hawthorn to her younger brother and holding Chen Zikun's hand as they started gliding on the ice.

  Chen Zikun was tall and sturdy, with a firm step. Lin Wenjing's small and delicate body fluttered about like a swallow, leaving behind a string of silvery laughter on the icy surface of Shichahai Lake.

  After playing, Chen Zikun took his siblings to a stall to eat sugar fire and drink oil noodles tea. Lin Wendlon saw the vendor selling candied hawthorn passing by and drooled: "I still want to eat candied hawthorn."

  Chen Zikun called out to the vendor selling candied hawthorns, handed over a silver dollar, and bought all of the skewers filled with candied hawthorns.

  Lin Wenlong was so happy that he almost fainted, although his mother spoiled him a lot, but not to this exaggerated extent. Now he only had one feeling, he loved the driver of his family's car to death.

  They played until the sky turned dark, and Chen Zikun was still planning to invite his siblings to have a hot pot dinner at Donglai Shun. However, Lin Wenjing had already begun to worry, saying: "We should hurry back home, or else Auntie Mi will get angry."

  Then Chen Zikun pulled the cart to send them back to Lin's house. As soon as they entered the alley, Lin Wenjing knew that something was wrong. A black sedan was parked in front of her own door, and Mi Ayi had returned.