Lin Wenjing was talking to her mother's small photo in the chicken heart necklace in her boudoir, when she suddenly heard Mi Ayi's scolding: "What are you doing?"

  Then I heard a familiar voice: "Hello ma'am, it's me, the toilet cleaner."

  Isn't that Uncle Lache who hasn't been seen for a long time speaking? Lin Wenjing went out to take a look and saw Chen Zikun standing in the yard with a broom, nodding and bowing to Auntie Mi.

  The wife looked him up and down, then suddenly said: "Aren't you a rickshaw puller? How did you become a toilet cleaner? What brings you to my house? What's your intention?"

  "Ha ha, Madam, your words are really interesting. I'm just a laborer, whether it's pulling carts or scooping feces, it's all about making a living, what's the difference?"

  "Madam, he's really a toilet cleaner, he came last time too."

  The lady felt relieved, but still looked at Chen Zikun with suspicion and said to Lin Ma: "Don't let all sorts of people in from now on."

  She finished speaking and walked out with a clatter of high heels.

  "Come on, finish sweeping and let's go! You're really something, carrying a broom around and running wild everywhere instead of working properly."

  Chen Zikun turned his head towards Lin Wenjing and made a silly face, saying "When does school start?"

  "There's still a week before school starts." Lin Wenjing replied obediently, her face turning red for no reason.

  Chen Zikun smiled and put down the broom, shouldering a bucket of manure and heading out.

  Lin Wenjing tilted her head and watched his back disappear, also feeling a sense of doubt in her heart. Why was Uncle always appearing and disappearing mysteriously, sometimes as a cart driver, sometimes as a dung collector, always showing up near their own home.

  ……

  Wang Dongliang pulled a rickshaw to the Yao Gongguan, the residence of the Deputy Minister of Communications. The residences of high-ranking officials were different from those of ordinary wealthy families. This was a rare Western-style villa in Beijing, with a large courtyard, black iron gate, and grey walls topped with sharp glass shards.

  Someone knocked on the door and reported that a new coachman had arrived. Someone came to receive him and brought him to the small garden in the backyard, where he reported to Miss Yao Yili, who was still sleeping upstairs. She quickly got up, washed her face hastily, changed her clothes and rushed down, only to find it was Wang Zhangliang, which greatly disappointed her.

  "How is it you?" Miss Yao asked.

  "It was arranged by the shopkeeper for me to come." Wang Dongliang replied honestly.

  "Why did they send you and not someone else!" Miss Yao angrily asked in a stern voice.

  Wang Guangliang was somewhat bewildered: "It was the shopkeeper who told me to come."

  "Never mind, I'll ask you, what about that big guy from your car factory? The one who's really tall and has a sly smile when he laughs, why didn't they send him?" Miss Yao continued to press for answers.

  "Oh, that person is our boss, his name is Chen Zikong, we all call him Da Kungzi."

  "You go back and tell him to come himself." Miss Yao said with a huff, turning her head and going upstairs.

  Wang Dongliang was stunned and didn't know what to do. Ah Fu, who was wiping the car beside him, scolded: "Let you go back and go back, what are you staring at!"

  Wang Dongliang saw the car and suddenly realized, it was them. It seemed that this young lady had come to find trouble with good intentions. No way, I have to stand up for Old Master Chen. With a thought, he straightened his back and said: "Miss, our boss sent me here. If I go back without a proper explanation, that won't do. I'm the best driver at Purple Light Car Factory. You can't just dismiss me with one sentence, I don't accept it."

  Miss Yao stopped in her tracks and said, "Alright, I'll give you a task to prove yourself. Go to my villa on West Mountain now and bring Ah Bian back. Ah Fu, tell him the address."

  Then Wang Kuangliang began his first task, pulling an empty cart and setting off for the distant Western Hills.

  ……

  Chen Zikun was strolling along Dongjiaominxiang, where not only were there embassies, but also some shops that specialized in imported goods. Among them, bicycles were also available, although they were very expensive. The best brand was the British "Three Rifles", which cost 300 yuan and didn't offer any discounts.

  A brand-new bicycle was placed in the glass window, with stainless steel spokes shining with a silver light. The fine rubber tires, brown leather saddle, black lacquered body, silver bell, and chain lubricated with yellow oil all exuded a sense of beautiful industrial design. Chen Zikong squatted on the ground, gazing at it for half a day, his heart itching with desire. He imagined himself riding the bicycle, with Lin Wenjing sitting on the back seat, strolling down the street filled with fluttering yellow leaves...

  "What are you looking at? Scram!" shouted the salesclerk in a suit, as most of the store's customers were Westerners and Japanese, while Chinese people only window-shopped without buying.

  "What the hell are you talking about, fake foreign devil?" Chen Zikun stood up straight, a full head taller than the sales clerk, his two iron fists clenched with a loud crackle, scaring him into retreating and muttering: "I won't bother with you."

  "Get out! I won't buy from your family even if I have money." Chen Zikong walked away with a swagger, clutching the few copper coins in his pocket.

  After walking a few steps, I suddenly bumped into someone and almost fell into their arms. When I looked up, it was surprisingly Assistant Mao from the Peking University Library.

  "What a coincidence, coming out to stroll around, and this is..." Chen Zikun noticed that behind Assistant Mao was a slender girl, pure and lovely, comparable to Lin Wenjing. The two were originally holding hands, but quietly let go after seeing Chen Zikun.

  "Oh, it's Little Chen, I've come to buy some gifts for my classmates in Hunan. This is Yang Kaihui, the daughter of Professor Yang Changji."

  "Hello." Chen Zikun greeted Yang Kaihui politely and asked Mao's assistant, "How are you? Are you going back to your hometown?"

  "Yes, in another half month I will return to Hunan. Beijing is good but it's not a place for long stay." said Assistant Mao.

  "I'll walk you out, I'm leaving. Don't let me interrupt, you guys continue strolling, see you later." Chen Zikun nodded and left first, walking a few steps before turning back to gaze longingly, envying them for being able to stroll hand in hand like that with Lin Wenjing.

  Back at the Ziguangche factory, Chen Zikun asked Xue Pingshun: "Uncle Xue, how much money can be used from the account?"

  Xue Ping Shun took out the account book, clicked the abacus a few times and said: "Just bought a new car, there is no money left in the account, even if it's hard to make do with 30 or 40 yuan."

  Chen Zikun was stunned and had no choice.

  ……

  Today is Sunday, Assistant Mao took a break from his busy schedule and took Hui's sister out for a stroll. He used the salary he saved to buy some small gifts for his relatives and classmates in Hunan. His resignation letter has been submitted, but he can't leave until the new person arrives.

  After strolling down the main street and sending Kaihui back home, Assistant Mao arrived at the Peking University Library. Although Li Dazhao was in charge, the work of organizing newspapers and magazines was extremely tedious and had to be done personally.

  As soon as he entered the library, he heard Chen Duxiu's indignant voice: "Shameless, despicable, this must be the work of those conservative literati!"

  Then came Li Dazhao's voice: "In my opinion, the conservatives may not have such great energy. Overnight, almost all newspapers in Beijing published the same news, and they did their best to vilify me. I think there must be a higher-level figure behind the scenes."

  "What did Shou Xiong say?"

  "Nature is small-minded, Xu Shuzheng can be compared to Zhou Yu, although he has talent, but his tolerance is narrow and small, lacking overall consideration in doing things, often going it alone without considering the consequences. He established the Anfu Club, squeezing out his original allies from the Research Clique from the parliament, causing resentment among people like Liang Qichao and Lin Changmin; also, he arbitrarily killed General Lu Jianzhang of the Beiyang Army, ruining the rules of the North. On the surface, it seems like a thunderous storm with iron-fisted tactics, but in reality, many troubles are buried beneath. This time arranging Beijing newspapers to publish your scandal is the same logic, for the sake of attacking progressive civilian thought, Little Xu will stop at nothing."

  "Warlords! Martial heroes!"

  Li Dazhao said, "Zhang Fuhui doesn't have to get angry or worried. The academic atmosphere at Beida is free and open. If it can tolerate the monarchist Gu Hongming and the restorationist Liu Shipei, why can't it tolerate a romantic like Chen Zongfu? Haha."

  Mao's assistant couldn't help but smile wryly as he tidied up the newspaper that had just arrived today, seeing the report about Peking University's "C Professor" getting into a fight with Renmin University in Ba Da Hutong. After browsing through it, he shook his head with a bitter smile.

  ……

  At night, Chen Zikun was exercising on the big tree in the yard when he suddenly saw Xue Pingshun coming in and waving at him: "Dakunzi, something's happened."

  He hastily jumped down to the front yard, and saw Wang Kuangliang sitting in front of the table, panting heavily and muttering: "Too bullying, too bullying!" A group of shift-changing drivers sat around, also following with indignation.

  "What's going on, tell me slowly." Chen Zikun poured him a bowl of water.

  Wang Dongliang gulped down the water, wiped his mouth and said: "They don't treat people as humans. This afternoon I went there, the young lady asked me to go to Xishan to pick up someone named Ah Bian. I ran for two hours before I arrived at the place. What happened? Ah Bian wasn't a human being, it was a dog! A mangy dog!"

  "This is really not right!" The carters all felt the same way and thought they had been deeply insulted.

  Wang Dongliang continued: "I thought, since I've come, I'll just pull it. No rope, no cage, sitting in the car and still not behaving, constantly barking at me, finally I had no choice but to find a grass rope to tie up the dog thing and pull it back. All the way, my back felt like it was being pricked by needles, losing face all the way to grandma's house!"

  "It's too unfair, they're treating us like we're not even human!" the carters exclaimed.

  Chen Zikun floated up with a smile: "And then?"

  "Later, I took the dog back to the mansion. They had all finished eating, and the young lady had instructed the servant to prepare some noodles with salted vegetables for me, while the dog was given roasted chicken and pork knuckle. She told me and the dog to sit at the same table to eat, isn't this intentionally humiliating? It seems I'm not even as good as a dog!" Wang Dongliang's chest heaved with anger, and the carters all felt indignant, their curses filling the air.

  "So you're back?" Chen Zikun asked.

  "Boss, the housekeeper told me to take that dog out on the street again tomorrow, I really can't bear it, please help me get rid of this task." Wang Songliang said.

  "We'd rather starve than take on this job." The carters all chimed in agreement.

  Xue Ping Shun shook his head secretly, thinking that these new rural carters hadn't experienced the storms of life yet. To say something unpleasant, poor carters were indeed not as good as a dog in an official's family. Big Brother mustn't be like them, acting on impulse.

  "Alright, tomorrow you go to the streets, I'll take care of the task at Yao Gongguan myself." Chen Zikun responded with a mouthful of agreement, and an evil smile floated up from the corner of his mouth.