Talk about Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here. Bao Yue is a big deal, and it's necessary for Chen Zikun to take the shot personally. Moreover, the customer who came is the Deputy Minister of Transportation, and it's beneficial for the Zi Guang Car Factory to talk about it. There's no harm in saying that just this advertising effect is worth taking on without pay.

  Chen Zikun, however, had more complicated thoughts. What kind of person was Yao Cilang, the Deputy Minister of Transportation? A high-ranking government official with control over the lifeline of the railways, his family's wealth was like a mountain of gold and silver, with several cars at their disposal. Why would he need to rent a foreign car outside? It must have been that little devil Yao Yilei's idea, the drunkard's intention is not in the wine, but in himself.

  No matter what, since business has come to the door, there's no reason to push it away. Seeing the arrogant look of this steward from the Yao household, Chen Zikong also replied bluntly: "Our prices aren't cheap."

  "A joke." The housekeeper pulled out a pack of Great Front Gate, lit one up by himself, and didn't even invite anyone else to join in. He took a puff and said, "Go on, I'll continue."

  "How much per month?" Chen Zikong stretched out his thumb and little finger.

  "Sixty? Hey, you little scoundrel must be out of your mind!" The steward was so amused by him that he burst out laughing. A new rickshaw only cost a little over a hundred bucks, and the monthly salary of a rickshaw puller was within ten bucks, yet this kid had the audacity to quote sixty bucks, an astronomical price! It's really true that one can never be satisfied, just like a snake swallowing an elephant.

  Xue Pingshun was also stunned, thinking that this guy was either blinded by money or something else, opening his mouth and saying sixty, treating people like fools can't be priced like this, openly slaughtering people, who would still want to rent your car.

  "Right, sixty yuan, not a cent less. If you think it's not suitable, go ask someone else."

  Guanjia said: "Young man, I won't overcharge you either. Forty yuan, and not a single cent more."

  "Send him off!"

  "Alright, you win. Sixty it is. But let's get one thing straight: apart from pulling the rickshaw, you'll also have to help with odd jobs around the house. I'll provide your food and lodging, but don't even think about running off without permission. If you're not up to it, I'll find someone else. That's settled then. I'll send a carriage for you tomorrow. Here's the deposit." With that, he tossed two banknotes onto the table and strode away.

  Xue Pingshun hurried to see the guests off, and after returning, he complained: "Dajunzi, you really dare to raise the price. What if you scare people away? Isn't this pushing money that's already in our hands out?"

  Chen Zikun smiled slyly: "I have a measure of this, the price is not high, he will definitely agree."

  Xue Pingshun asked: "Who will be sent over tomorrow?"

  Chen Zikong said: "Let Wang Dongliang go, he is diligent and efficient, and the person is also honest, it's settled."

  ……

  The housekeeper returned to the Yao Mansion and reported to Miss: "It's all settled, they're really black-hearted, asking for 100 yuan in rent per month."

  Yao Yile, who had been accustomed to luxury since childhood, wasn't very clear about the concept of money and laughed: "How much should I give him? Isn't it just a hundred? Here you go." She took out five 20-yuan bills from her purse and handed them to the butler. "Don't tell my dad about this, okay?"

  "Miss, don't worry, aren't you assured of my handling things?" The butler smiled and took the money downstairs, thinking to himself, "I should have said 200 yuan earlier, that way I would have made a bigger profit."

  ……

  The next day, Wang Dongliang dressed up and pulled out a brand new rickshaw. The new job assigned to him by the factory was to pull packages for the Yao Mansion, which was a lucrative and easy job. Wang Dongliang was extremely grateful and secretly vowed to do his best and not lose face for the rickshaw factory.

  Chen Zikun changed into a new set of clothes and went out. He had agreed with Yu Deshun that the manure path would still be given to Yu, but the Lin residence in Houzhai Hutong was left behind, to be handled by Chen himself. Everyone else found Chen's actions extremely puzzling, but only Yu Deshun, who didn't know him well, guessed the reason.

  He took advantage of no one being around and quietly asked Chen Zikun: "Brother, is there a lovely little wife in this family that you like?"

  When saying this, he also raised his eyebrows and blinked, making Chen Zikun very uncomfortable, and perfunctorily said: "Nonsense."

  Yu De Shun didn't say anything, just smiled and said: "I understand, I'll send someone with you later, he'll dig the toilet, you can steal jade and sniff incense, neither of you will be delayed."

  So every first and fifteenth of each month, Chen Zikun would change into his dung-removing attire and head to the Lin residence to visit his heart's desire.

  The New Year is almost over, the festive atmosphere on the streets has faded a lot. Chen Zikun was hurrying along with a night soil bucket on his back when he suddenly heard a newspaper boy shouting in the distance: "Get your paper here! Get your paper here! Peking University professor goes wild in Shaanxi Alley, grabs and tears at prostitutes' private parts!"

  Everyone on the street couldn't help but stare, and they all took out a few coins to buy a newspaper. It's not unusual for professors to visit brothels these days, but it's rare for someone who is supposed to be a role model to get into a big fight over a girl.

  Chen Zikun also bought a newspaper to read, the report did not mention names, using Peking University Literature C professor instead, but those with discerning eyes knew at a glance that it was referring to Chen Duxiu.

  "Hmm, I didn't expect Professor Chen to be a romantic too." Chen Zikun praised, throwing the newspaper into the toilet bucket and coming to Shi Ma Da Jie Street, another night soil worker was already waiting here, seeing Chen Zikun come over, immediately nodding and bowing: "Master Chen, you're auspicious."

  "Let's go, we're going to remove the feces." Chen Zikong brought the feces removal worker to Lin's residence. Zhang Bo saw him and complained: "Why did you come so late?"

  "What's wrong? Mr. Zhang."

  Zhang Boda said: "Nothing much, haven't seen you for a while, I've been thinking about it, let's have a good chat." While saying that, he was busy pouring tea.

  Chen Zikong sent the night soil collector away to work and sat in the gatehouse chatting with Zhang Bo.

  As they chatted, the conversation turned to their master's family affairs. Zhang Bo sighed and said: "The mistress likes to show off, she doesn't have big feet but insists on wearing oversized shoes. The master only earns so much salary per month, yet he has to learn from others and rent a car, spending over a hundred yuan per month, enough for a poor family to eat for a year. And every day he goes out to play cards, winning or losing at least tens of yuan. In the end, the master got sick, and they couldn't even afford the medical expenses."

  "Isn't the gentleman a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Education? Can't he even take out this small amount of money?"

  Zhang Boda said: "The Qing water yamen is very big, but the money is not much. I heard Lin Ma say that the master's monthly salary is 300 taels of silver, but in fact, it's good to get 200 taels. Every month, they have to delay payment. Moreover, this time the master got tuberculosis, and spending a lot of money doesn't necessarily mean he can be cured..."

  Chen Zikun's heart couldn't help but tighten up.

  ……

  They were chatting about the Lin family's affairs in the gatehouse when a Japanese doctor with a perm was using a stethoscope to listen to Lin Zhimin's lung sounds in the main bedroom, and then took out a thermometer to take his temperature.

  Mr. Lin lay on his sickbed, his face sallow and yellowish, coughing from time to time. He originally had a chronic illness, and this time when he came to Beijing for work, he inadvertently contracted a cold, which led to the recurrence of his old illness. His condition deteriorated rapidly, like a mountain collapsing, and in an instant, a healthy person was no longer well.

  A few days ago, I went to see the famous Beijing doctor Xiao Longyou for an illness. He prescribed a large amount of traditional Chinese medicine to be decocted and taken, but my condition has not improved. My wife says that traditional Chinese medicine is outdated and insists on finding a Western doctor to take a look. The consultation fees for German and British doctors are too expensive, so we found a Japanese doctor instead.

  After Dr. Nitan Hu finished the examination, he muttered a bunch of Japanese words. Mr. Lin had studied in Japan before and understood Japanese, so he knew that he said the condition was not serious and just needed to get a few shots, which made him feel more at ease.

  The wife saw the doctor out.

  Two children peeked out from outside the bedroom.

  "Come here, Wen Jing and Wen Long." Lin Zhimin smiled and beckoned them over. The two children hastily came in, one on the left and one on the right, leaning against their father's side.

  "Wen Long, have you been behaving yourself lately?" Mr. Lin asked affectionately as he stroked his little son's head.

  "Mom said I was good, Dad, should I be rewarded?" The little boy said in a milky voice.

  "What do you want, Daddy will buy it for you."

  "Hmm... I want a lot of sugar gourds." The little boy blinked his eyes and said with a look of yearning.

  "Haha, okay, Daddy will buy it for you." Mr. Lin laughed happily and turned to ask his daughter: "Wenjing, what do you want?"

  "Me?" Lin Wenjing felt a bit awkward. In the past, when her mother was still around, every Chinese New Year, she would buy 7 or 8 new sets of clothes, hats and shoes, dressing herself up like a doll. But since her father remarried, the household finances had been controlled by Mi Ayi, so not only did she not get new clothes, but even pocket money was secretly given to her by her father, with only 20 cents per month.

  "Although it's said that your father owes you too much, he should make up for it." Mr. Lin said warmly, with a sympathetic gaze.

  "I want a bicycle." Lin Wenjing said with courage.

  Bicycles are a fashionable plaything, ordinary people's children have never even seen one, Mr. Lin has only seen foreigners riding them in Dongjiaomin Lane, it is said that this thing is not cheap, the best is the British imported three-gun brand bicycle, which costs 300 yuan, the cheapest is Japan's chrysanthemum brand, also over 100 yuan, equivalent to the price of a rickshaw.

  Mr. Lin hesitated, because the Ministry of Education's salary was always in arrears, his wife had a big expense, and they were renting a car and buying a fur coat, their family savings had been depleted long ago, and he was ill himself, so should he buy this bicycle or not?

  Thinking again, his daughter is really pitiful. She lost her mother at the age of ten and her father neglected to take care of her. Now that she's seventeen, it's the time when she cares about her appearance, so buying a bicycle shouldn't be a problem.

  "Alright, Daddy will buy it for you." He said softly.

  Actually, Lin Wenjing regretted it as soon as she finished speaking. She thought it was not right to make such an unreasonable request when her father was ill. However, she really wanted a bicycle. Wang Yuqi had one and could ride it to school, coming and going like the wind. The bell on the bike was crisp and pleasant, just thinking about it made her feel itchy.

  Dad actually agreed, Lin Wenjing only felt a sour nose, and tears dripped down.

  "You're so big and still shedding golden tears." Mr. Lin joked, helping his daughter wipe away her tears, while his heart was also aching.

  Suddenly a scolding voice came from the doorway: "What are you buying? You don't even have enough money to see a doctor, where did you get the spare cash to waste on this? You're so old and still don't understand!"

  It's Madame who has returned; father and daughter immediately fall silent.

  The lady was extremely unhappy and scolded Mr. Lin: "You have tuberculosis, it's contagious, and you're so close to your son!"

  As she spoke, she pulled Lin Wendlong away, and the little boy cried in grievance. Mr. Lin sighed, patted his daughter's hand and said, "You go back too, Dad has a plan for the bicycle."

  ……

  Chen Zikong and Zhang Bo chatted for half a day, looked at the time and said: "Master, I'll go in and take a look at how things are going. You rest, don't bother to accompany me."

  "Go ahead." Zhang Bo nodded in agreement. Chen Zikun had been a carriage driver at the Lin's residence before, so he was familiar with the place and its people, and his character was good too, which made him feel at ease.

  Chen Zikong slipped into the backyard, pretending to check on the situation in the outhouse. The manure collector had been instructed by Yu Deshun and was indeed doing his best, not only sweeping it clean but also spraying disinfectant and scattering quicklime powder. Even Lin Mama, who was supervising from the side, was quite satisfied.

  Chen Zikun came out of the toilet, the yard was empty, no one noticed him, he casually picked up a broom and pretended to sweep the floor, approaching the west wing, his thief's eyes glanced over, through the lattice window, and indeed saw Lin Wenjing sitting behind the table, her two eyes red as if she had cried.

  "My god, who made my wife angry?" Chen Zikun leaned against the window and listened secretly.

  All that could be heard from the room was a low sobbing voice "Mama, this time it's my fault, Aunt Mei is right to scold me, I'm so big and still don't understand things... Dad is sick, I shouldn't have wanted a bicycle..."