The car drove northwest in the night, and it was time to close the city gate, and all the large and small city gates in the inner and outer cities of Beijing were latched and locked, and it was forbidden to enter and exit, but this small car with the banner of the Fengjun army actually drove straight to Xizhimen, and showed a special pass to the soldiers guarding the gate, so the gate that had been closed was reopened.

"Where is this?" Chen Zikun asked with a smile, his hand moved to his waist, the small size of the flower mouth is suitable for use in a narrow space like a car, he is sure to kill the two soldiers with guns around him in the shortest possible time, and then jump out of the car and escape.

The guards didn't feel Chen Zikun's abnormality at all, and replied with a big grin: "You'll know when you get to the place." ”

Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped in front of an ancient gatehouse, under the illumination of the headlights, the copper nails flashed on the gate, and the plaque was written in gold on a blue background: Summer Palace.

The Qing Dynasty is gone, and the former royal gardens have become parks, which are under the management of the Beijing Municipal Office, but now the time for opening to the public has passed, and there are a few patrol officers standing at the door, and when they see the car coming, they hurriedly push open the gate and gesture to direct the vehicle to enter.

The car stopped in the open space inside the gate, Chen Zikun was invited to get out of the car, changed to a sedan chair carried by four people, and carried all the way to the vicinity of Wanshou Mountain, where the green bamboo is shaded, the scenery is beautiful, and the sound of silk and bamboo wind music is heard far away, Chen Zikun opened the curtain to see, the lights are bright in the distance, the figure is flashing, it is actually a restaurant.

On the second floor, Zhang Xueliang and another strange man were already sitting here, and there were naturally some warblers and Yanyan around, seeing Chen Zikun coming in, the young marshal hurriedly got up and introduced: "Brother Kunwu, let me introduce you, this is Guo Songling, the tactical instructor of the Northeast Martial Arts Hall, and I are also teachers and friends, I didn't invite anyone else today, just the three of us." ”

Chen Zikun and Guo Songling bowed their hands, sat down and said with a smile: "Han Qing, which one are you singing?" ”

Zhang Xueliang said: "I heard that you are going to the United States to study military affairs, and a banquet is specially set up for you to practice, this is called Tingli Pavilion, which is the place where the Empress Dowager Cixi ate, how about it, it's chic, right?" ”

Chen Zikun looked around, and the furniture and furnishings were really good sandalwood furniture, and the royal bearing came to his face, so he sighed with emotion: "Han Qing has a heart." ”

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started." Guo Songling is the oldest, and his personality is relatively bold, and the atmosphere with him is much more active, plus the kiln sisters invited by the eight alleys to help the fun, a jar of old flower carvings will soon bottom out.

"Brother Kunwu is the protagonist today, you give him a few more glasses, if you don't drink with him today, I won't agree." Under Zhang Xueliang's instigation, the warblers and swallows flocked up, and after more than a dozen cups in a row, Chen Zikun was a little taller, and he also had a big tongue when he spoke.

"Han Qing, I go to the United States, I don't know when we can see each other, I hope that when we meet again, you and I can realize our common ideals." Chen Zikun held Zhang Xueliang's hand and said earnestly.

"Definitely." Zhang Xueliang shook Chen Zikun's hand with a smile, turned his face to Guo Songling and said: "Brother Kunwu is the same as me, although he is a soldier, he is a pacifist in his bones, and we all believe that the muzzle of the gun should be external, not aimed at compatriots. ”

Guo Songling sighed: "King Kong is angry, Bodhisattva lowers his eyebrows, if China's soldiers can have this mind, why worry that China will not rise." ”

Zhang Xueliang made a gesture, and his subordinates brought a tray with a red envelope on it, on which were the words "Cheng Yi".

"Brother Kunwu, we are about to return to Fengtian, so we can't practice it for you, this is the little brother's heart, please smile."

Chen Zikun arched his hand and said, "Then thank you." ”

"You and my brother, you don't have to be polite, when Brother Kunwu returns to China after completing his studies, the younger brother will definitely greet him in person." Zhang Xueliang looked at the watch on his wrist and said, "Ah, it's so late, let's withdraw the banquet, let's play a few more rounds of cards." ”

Chen Zikun had to sacrifice his life to accompany the gentleman, and played cards with the young marshal until dawn, this time his luck was not as good as last time, but Zhang Xueliang repeatedly fired the gun, lost a lot of money, and when the game ended, Chen Zikun won more than 1,000 yuan, Guo Songling won 500 yuan.

……

On the car back, Chen Zikun opened the red envelope and pulled out a cashier's note from the Bank of Communications, on which the words 10,000 yuan were written.

"Han Qing is really old-fashioned." Chen Zikun was very emotional, in fact, he didn't understand that Zhang Xueliang also deliberately lost the cards at the card table, looking at the large promissory notes and checks, and then touching the pistol loaded on his waist, he laughed self-deprecatingly.

Back to the depot, make up for sleep first, and sleep until noon, Baoqing came to knock on the door, and his voice was very urgent: "Da Kunzi, the housekeeper of Xiongfu has come to deliver the post." ”

Chen Zikun got up with a bone, hurriedly dressed, after returning to Beijing, he once went to Xiong Xiling's house to visit, aside from friendship, Xiong Xiling is still the largest shareholder of Ziguang Depot, but Xiong Lao has been busy with the Salesian Hospital in Xiangshan during this time, the two have not met, since the housekeeper has come to the door, it seems that Xiong Lao is back.

Sure enough, the housekeeper sent an invitation written by Xiong Xiling, inviting Chen Zikun to come over to the banquet, Chen Zikun naturally agreed, and as soon as the housekeeper of Xiong Mansion left, Yu Deshun, the dung king of the capital, came to the door.

"Oh, my brother, you are now a carp jumping over the dragon gate, I heard that you are going to study abroad next month, I came to see if there is anything I can help?" Yu Deshun wore a brand-new horse coat and long shirt, probably after taking a shower when he came, and there was no smell on his body at all.

"Isn't this the dung king of our capital!" Chen Zikun was extremely enthusiastic, holding Yu Deshun's hand and shaking it non-stop.

After some greetings, Yu Deshun took out an envelope and put it on the coffee table and said: "The poor family is rich, it's not okay to go out without entanglement on your body, this is what I mean, if you don't continue, it will be scolding me." ”

Chen Zikun said heartily: "Then I will thank Brother Yu." ”

"Refreshing! In the evening, my brother will hold a banquet for you to practice, come to the east, call the brothers, and we will see you and leave. Yu De said.

Chen Zikun smiled: "Unfortunately, Mr. Xiong Xiling invited me to come over in the evening, let's go another day." ”

"Okay, tomorrow night, Donglai Shun."

After sending Yu Deshun away, Chen Zikun opened his Cheng Yi, and inside was a stack of banknotes, counting a hundred yuan.

For a manure factory owner, a hundred yuan is a lot.

……

That night, Chen Zikun went to Xiong Xiling's mansion for a banquet, and met again, the pair couldn't help but sigh, Xiong Xiling looked at Chen Zikun in a military uniform and said: "It's really a three-day treat." ”

The banquet was full of people Chen Zikun had seen, former Premier Wang Daxie, Member of the House of Representatives Liu Chongyou, Secretary of the Presidential Office and Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee Ye Jingxin, after everyone greeted each other, Xiong Xiling said with a smile: "It's a pity that Lin Changmin traveled to Europe with his daughter, and it would be a pity to miss his role of being afraid that the world will not be chaotic." ”

After three rounds of drinking, Xiong Xiling said: "Zikun, I have already found some clues about your life experience. ”

Chen Zikun said: "Xiong Lao has a heart, I also have some progress here, when I was in Shanghai last year, I found my childhood life experience in the Jingwu Society, it turned out that I was an orphan adopted by the Guangfu Society, and I was trained as a dead soldier since I was a child. ”

Xiong Xiling Dao wondered, "Where did you learn about it?" As far as I know, the Jingwu Society was founded by people in the Alliance, and it has nothing to do with the Restoration Society. ”

Chen Zikun said: "It was Yin Weijun, a senior of the Restoration Society, who told me. Then he told the ins and outs.

Xiong Xiling said: "It's basically the same, but your biological parents are not nowhere to be found, as far as I know, your Chen is not Chen Qimei's Chen, but the original surname is Chen." ”

Chen Zikun was puzzled: "Where did Xiong Lao get the news?" ”

Xiong Xiling said: "By chance, I met a Xinhai woman, her name is Yin Ruizhi, is Yin Weijun's sister, it is from her mouth to learn about your life experience, your ancestral home is Changsha, Hunan, your father's name is Chen Wu, when he killed people in his hometown, he died in the world, and since then there has been no news, twenty years later, a fellow villager brought a child, saying that it was Chen Wu's descendant, because the family was poor and could not support him, so he was sold to the people in the Restoration Society. ”

Chen Zikun swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, he didn't expect his life experience to reveal the mystery on today's wine table, he was silent for a while, and said for a long time: "Thank you Xiong Lao, I don't know where Yin Ruizhi's predecessor is now, I want to inquire about some more information." ”

Xiong Xiling said: "Revolutionaries, the four seas are home, last year today in Beijing, but now I don't know where to go. ”

This topic has been revealed, the theme of today's Xiongfu banquet is for Chen Zikun to study in the United States, all of whom are well-informed old-timers, Ye Jingxin has more experience in studying in the United Kingdom, and introduced a lot of European and American customs and matters that should be paid attention to to Chen Zikun.

After the banquet, everyone handed over Cheng Yi one after another, and Chen Zikun owed another favor.

……

The next day, at noon, Li Junqing and Zhao Jiayong came together, everyone drank first, and then called Zhao Dahai and Xue Baoqing in the evening to go to Donglaishun to eat mutton.

Yesterday, the Xiongfu banquet was full of friends from the upper class, and tonight in the private room of Donglaishun, but it was full of poor and lowly friends, Yu Deshun was the east, drinking wine and eating meat in a big bowl, the empty wine jar next to the table was crooked, the autumn rain was continuous outside, and the Zhengyangmen City Tower outside the window was shrouded in a gray smoke and rain.

In this situation, in the midst of parting with sorrow, the men all shed tears, I don't know how long it will take to see each other, and thousands of words are in the wine!

The runner came in and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's closed......"

Yu Deshun glared: "The gentlemen haven't drunk enough, what are you going to do, and you can drink!" ”

After saying this, he slipped out under the table.

Except for Chen Zikun and Zhao Dahai, who were still awake, the rest of the people lay down.

This was busy, and asked the foreign car to pull the people back one by one, and after Chen Zikun went to the counter to pay the bill, he was told that Yu Deshun and the boss had bet 20 yuan on the counter, and the meal money had already been settled.

After sending everyone away, Chen Zikun was about to call the foreign car to leave, when he suddenly saw a slender girl standing under the eaves across the street, shivering in the autumn rain.

It's Xia Xiaoqing.