With Germany's strong infrastructure, the economy is gradually recovering. With food and clothing in sight, people are full of yearning and confidence in the government, and the vast majority of people believe in the Führer's ability to make sure that every family has enough milk and bread. This not only proved that Hitler's political methods worked, but also stimulated his ambitions. Therefore, they accelerated the expansion of the number of armaments and the strength of the army, and the whole German people's heart was in a boiling heat.

For thoughtful, believing, and capable scientists like Marcos and Nicholas, progress and success are of paramount importance. Therefore, they actively sought the most effective treatment plan for Zhou Yizhi, and the frequency of chemotherapy continued to increase, and physiotherapy was added. Zhou Yizhi's condition has also improved significantly, and he has to endure more and more pain. Lu Jiayu took care of him wholeheartedly, and he no longer suppressed his feelings for him, and it was common for him to give up classes for him. Often in the middle of the night, he stayed by his bedside to comfort and encourage, and waited for him to go to bed before catching up on his homework. And he did need mental and physical support, from the initial rejection, gradually turned into a habit, and even formed a dependence in his heart, although he still did not admit it.

There are more intermittent dreams than before, the face of the beautiful girl named "Xiaoyi" is getting clearer and clearer, and the man named "Junsheng" is always in inexplicable pain. There were also daggers, dusty books, shelves, bloodstains on the ground, and silver-yellow double-ended three-edged keys. He struggled and whispered in his dreams several times, sometimes chanting unknown poems, and when he woke up, he held Lu Jiayu's hand tightly, but called her the name "Xiaoyi", and he told her what he saw in his dream. She always patiently reassured him, telling him that it was only temporary, because the physical and mental weakness caused by the increased frequency of treatment would disappear naturally when he recovered. Later, she consulted Marcos, who also believed that it was a sign of a nervous breakdown or irritation, and that it was not unrelated to the stress caused by the disease.

In June 1936, news of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia spread throughout Europe. At this time, the German army was already stationed in the Rhineland (1) area, and the atmosphere of war was getting stronger and stronger. At this time, Zhou Yizhi received a letter from Xing Hongying, which was written after the Spring Festival and sent to France with the goods. The letter said that the Japanese were rampant in Shanghai and constantly causing trouble; A few years ago, the whole city launched a boycott of foreign goods, most of the Zhoujia foreign stores were closed, and other businesses became more and more difficult to do. She stressed twice that everything was fine at home, that his parents were strong, that his sisters were healthy, and that his children were well-behaved and self-motivated, so that he could treat his illness with peace of mind.

From the day he finished reading the letter, Zhou Yizhi did not receive treatment for five days. It's just that I don't feel well, and I don't check and don't communicate with anyone. In fact, he wanted to go home, he thought that the situation in China was by no means more bleak than described in Xing Hongying's letter, and she repeatedly emphasized that the family was fine, maybe just to comfort him. He admits that he is not a patriotic businessman or a filial son, but he understands that the national situation absolutely affects whether the business and his family are well. He set up a foreign goods store single-handedly, and even if he didn't sell foreign goods, he could resell other items, and he definitely shouldn't close down. By the morning of the sixth day, he told Lu Jiayu about his idea, and she hesitated for a moment to show her support. Although the disease has not been cured after three years of treatment, it has not changed much except for the torture it has been repeated, and it is not known whether it is more effective to return to China to find Chinese medicine for conditioning. Rather than suffer abroad and fight hard, she always insisted on sharing life and death with him.

On this day, he was still in poor condition and did not receive treatment. She went to the library to borrow a map of Europe, and the two of them put it together in the ward. In the afternoon, she went out alone, exchanged enough gold for dollars, pounds, and Reichsmarks(2), bought a two-wheeled carriage for four and a half million Reichsmarks in the east of the city, and then went back to the dormitory to pack her luggage briefly.

When the sky gradually darkened, Lu Jiayu pushed Zhou Yizhi out of the hospital in a wheelchair and came to the hillside behind the school as he usually walked. The carriage and the salute had already been arranged by her in the woods, and he changed his clothes and threw the wheelchair in the woods, and the two of them hurried out. He thought it would be better to say goodbye to Nicholas, after all, they had been taken care of for a few years. So, they parked the carriage behind the small apartment where Nicholas lived, and walked into the apartment in a half-circle.

Nicholas wasn't surprised to see them, and smiled as he sat down in the living room of the apartment. Marcos also sat next to them, politely nodding to them and continuing to drink his coffee. Zhou Yizhi didn't plan to let Marcos know about their departure, after all, the treatment was not over, and he was a little ashamed of his careful treatment. But at this time, he didn't care much, and after sitting down, he hesitated a little and smiled and said to Nicholas, "I'm sorry to disturb your rest so late." Mistaschneider, Silverring and I have come to bid you farewell. ”

"Mr. Zhou, Miss Jiayu, since you are here, things are not the worst. I hope you will stay and be treated in peace, and this will never happen in the future. Nicholas said lightly, apparently knowing what they were going to do.

Lu Jiayu felt very unpleasant when he heard this, and the Nicholas in front of him was not as gentlemanly as usual, so he stood up and said coldly: "What does this mean?" You can't cure the disease, and you don't allow people to seek medical treatment on their own? How can there be such a domineering doctor in the world? ”

"Where to go to the doctor? State-of-the-art technology and medical equipment are all in Heidelberg, where could there be better? Nicholas was not polite at all, "Who can compare to you if you want to be domineering?" Remember that three years ago, you forced us to come here with a gun, and now that the treatment is still critical, do you want to leave again, regardless of Mr. Zhou's life or death? What about our efforts? ”

"You can't be cured for three years, so you're embarrassed to ask us what's going on?" Lu Jiayu directly rejects his words.

"Silverring, don't worry. Mista Schneider, please don't be angry," Zhou Yizhi pulled Lu Jiayu's arm and looked at Nicholas embarrassedly, "I am very grateful to you and Lingshi for treating me seriously. It's just that my body is not angry, and I can't achieve the desired effect. A few days ago, I received a letter from home, saying that the domestic situation is very tense and business is encountering unprecedented difficulties. That's why we plan to return to China and try our best to save business. If it goes well, we can come back again, please forgive me. ”

"Hmph, life can't be saved, what's the use of business? In doing so, you are trampling on life and contempt for the spirit of medicine. What's more, with your condition, you can't go back to China at all, and it's even more impossible to save business. Nicholas spoke to Zhou Yizhi in a very cold tone.

"If that's the case, I'm only to blame for my bad luck. Mistaschneider, Mistamarcos, thanks to the two for taking care of them, took their leave. Zhou Yizhi said and took off his hat seriously, bowed deeply to the two of them, turned around and pulled Lu Jiayu and walked out.

"Mr. Zhou, you can't go." Nicholas's voice was not loud, but it pierced into the ears of both of them.

"Nicholas, what do you mean by that?" Lu Jiayu turned around and glared at Nicholas fiercely, "We have the right to decide whether we want to stay or not. ”

"If you come to Heidelberg for treatment, it was okay before, but not now. Unless all of our treatment plans are completed. Nicholas's tone was slightly softened when he said this, but his eyes did not look at Lu Jiayu, but at Zhou Yizhi's expression. Marcos, who was next to him, was still drinking coffee as if nothing had happened, and his eyes were looking out of the door with a flat look. By this time it was already dark, the street lights near the courtyard gate were on, and a two-wheeled carriage was parked next to it, and a man in dark clothes stood quietly beside the car.

"You, you, Mistaschneider, you have no right to detain us." Zhou Yizhi was just about to get angry when he found a few people coming out of the back room. One of them he knew, an old policeman in his fifties, the head of the police in charge of school security, immediately realized that he could not leave today.

"Mr. Zhou, Miss Jiayu, I don't want to hurt you, provided that you cooperate calmly." Nicholas said, turning his head to look at one of the people who had just come out, "Simon, schickt sie zurück in die Klinik, Tun sie Ihnen nicht Weh (Simon, get them back to the hospital, don't hurt them)"

Simon's name was a young man in his twenties, he nodded, and then beckoned the other two beside him to come over and pull Zhou Yizhi and Lu Jiayu.

"Don't touch her, we'll go with you." Zhou Yizhi stood between Simon and Lu Jiayu. He didn't get angry if he wanted to, he already knew it was useless. Simon turned to look at Nicholas, saw him nod slightly, and turned to walk out.

Lu Jiayu glared at Nicholas fiercely again and said, "You are committing a crime by doing this, and you will pay for it." ”

"I understand, but I don't have a choice." Nicholas's tone was still flat, "The carriage and belongings will be properly kept, you persuade Mr. Zhou to treat with peace of mind, you can also continue to go to school, and I will personally send you back to China after the treatment is completed." ”

"Whew! Stinky bandits! Lu Jiayu spat fiercely at Nicholas, turned around and quickly chased after Zhou Yizhi. When she walked to the door, she recognized the carriage next to the person who had sold it to her in the afternoon. When I turned my head to look again, I found that the bank clerk standing next to the old school police officer was the bank clerk who was exchanging money in the afternoon. It immediately became clear that they had already taken precautions, and it would not be easy to leave Heidelberg.

Nicholas watched as a few people went out and turned left, beckoned the driver to his side, told him to move the contents of the car into the house, and then go home. When the driver had left, he beckoned a few more people to sit down, poured coffee for them, and then discussed other matters. Marcos listened quietly, occasionally nodding in agreement, never speaking.

The ward was changed to a small courtyard in the northeast corner of the hospital, the place was spacious, and there were flowers and grass in the yard. Nicholas still treated Zhou Yizhi as always, and was still considerate and gentle to Lu Jiayu, but as soon as they mentioned China, they changed the topic and even left the small courtyard. You can still go for a walk by the river in the morning and evening, but you must be accompanied by someone to enter and exit. Zhou Yizhi's treatment procedure is similar to that of some time ago, regular chemotherapy, physiotherapy almost every day, and he continues to change the plan after a period of time when the effect is not ideal. He didn't care about the physical pain, it can be said that he was already numb. But those residual dreams are all fragments that have nothing to do with life, and sometimes he can remember the poems chanted in his dreams, not the ancient poems he used to like. Occasionally, I would cry, but when I woke up, I couldn't tell why. Thanks to Lu Jiayu's company, she no longer lives in the school dormitory. Although he lived in the room next to his ward, he was almost inseparable from him except for classes and examinations. Chatting with him, reading newspapers, reading books, analyzing the domestic economic situation with him, discussing the reform and management methods of the family business, and returning to the room to rest very late every day.

Gu Xinyi's illness is not serious, she doesn't cry, she doesn't make trouble, she doesn't hurt anyone, she looks dignified and dresses neatly, and her three meals a day are normal. When she was sober, she also chatted with Aunt Qiao Zhen and Xin Ye'er, and walked in the garden. It's just that I spend more time in a daze every day, rummaging around the room when I'm confused, or chanting poems in the garden with a seven-trick exquisite box. Since Gu Xinyi got this disease, Gu Qingyuan no longer had the heart to deal with business matters, and guides all over the country sought famous doctors to treat her, but there was no improvement. The salt store and department store business were taken care of by Gu Zhong at first, and Gu Chong couldn't do important things, so he had to come by himself, and his body still couldn't stand it after a long time. In the autumn of 1936, it was handed over to Ji Tang to take care of, and Gu Zhong was still his deputy.

In fact, Ji Tang had long wanted to take over the Gu family's business. Because of the unstable situation, all forces are trying to control the printing industry, and as a businessman, I dare not print books that offend anyone. Through his uncle's connections, he could attract a lot of business, and he was even more cautious when it came to politics, so the business of Wenhua Books gradually declined. Although he didn't dare to take possession of the Gu family's business yet, it was always okay to infiltrate it slowly, after all, the Gu family didn't have a man, and it was only a matter of time before he belonged to him.

Shandong's salt market has always been chaotic, and in recent years, the Gu family's salt has also been turned by the second hand. Sometimes it is poured from Zhao Mingzhe in northern Anhui, and sometimes it is found by Du Cheng in Shangqiu County to get the goods, and when it is in demand, it is also adjusted from Qufu, and the purchase price is invisibly increased by one or two percent. The poor already save and buy less when the price is high, and the rich see that the price is high and go back from Qufu or the provincial capital, so the profit is always low. How can this satisfy Ji Tang, who is in a hurry to make a contribution? He began to ask people to inquire many times, and finally learned that Nanxun Zhoujia Salt Company was the first-class agent of Changlu Salt Farm. So, he remembered that he borrowed the phone that night a few years ago, and it was said that Zhou Yizhi, the young master of the Zhou family, still owed him a personal favor, so he wrote a letter to ask Black Friday to take a trip. Black Friday rode a fast horse for three days to Nanxun, but coincidentally, Zhou Yizhi was not there when he went abroad, so he had to go back non-stop to resume his life, and the letter was naturally not delivered.

At the beginning of 1937, the domestic situation became more and more unstable, and the business of the Mandarin Book Company was significantly worse than before, and the department store industry was affected by the boycott of foreign goods. Ji Tang decided to find Zhou Yizhi in person, so he simply arranged the affairs of the family, and rode straight to Wuxing with Black Friday. On the third day, I arrived in Nanxun at five o'clock in the afternoon, found a small hotel, washed and changed into clean clothes before going to Zhou's house. I heard that when I asked to see Zhou Yizhi, the porter said that the eldest young master was not there, and when the two asked again, the porter asked them to wait outside the door, and went in to ask the housekeeper to talk. The housekeeper Wu Liu came out to see if they didn't know each other, and told them that the eldest young master went to Germany and didn't come back, and he couldn't be sure when he would return, and then closed the door. Ji Tang thought about it, how could Zhou Yizhi go abroad all the time, but the Zhou family's business was in all directions, and there must be someone in charge of management, so he simply asked them to be the shopkeeper of the salt store. He called the door again to inquire to the porter, and the porter didn't know who was the shopkeeper of the salt store, but only knew that the family's business was under the control of the eldest young grandmother and young master Kuan. But you can't let strangers disturb the young lady at will, so give them an address and let them go to the Zhou Family Commercial Bank on Xiafei Road in Shanghai to find Master Kuan. After leaving Zhou's house, the two of them wandered around the town for a while, found a restaurant to eat, and walked around the town again before returning to the hotel. They got up early in the morning to have something to eat and rushed to Shanghai, and it was already late in the evening when they arrived in Shanghai. They first went to Xiafei Road to explore the way, and confirmed to the Zhou family firm that their young master Kuan was in Shanghai, and then left a business card saying that they would come to visit the next day. The two went out from the Zhou family firm, carefully browsed the bustling Xiafei Road, stayed at the Weida Hotel near Qianjiatang, and booked a private room at the front desk to entertain Master Kuan for lunch the next day.

The next day, that is, the morning of the fifth day Ji Tang left Liaocheng. Ji Tang changed into the new gown he bought last night, new shoes and new socks, his hair was combed back, and he was waiting in the hotel after packing up. At nine o'clock, I asked Hei Wu to invite Young Master Kuan, and Hei Wu also cleaned up neatly, and rented a car to go to the Zhou family firm in order to give Ji Tang a long face. However, when he arrived at the firm, the manager said that Young Master Kuan was not there, and he might not have gotten up at the villa, or he might have drunk tea at the Jubao Teahouse. Black Friday had no choice, and after a lot of pleading, he stuffed five hundred fiat coins, and the manager agreed to send a young man to show him the way, and whether he could find it or not, he had to go back to work.

Xiafei Road was close to Petain Road, so they went to the villa to find it first. The one who watched the villa was a deaf and dumb old man, who babbled for a while because he knew the young man, telling them that the young master would go out in the morning and let them leave. Hei Wu asked the driver to drive to Avenida da (3) again, thinking that he must invite this young master Kuan today. He could see that Ji Tang cared very much about this matter, how could he, as his left and right hand, pull his back legs, but an hour had passed, and he hadn't seen a shadow of anyone.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the business of Jubao Tea House was very lively, and people from all walks of life filled the hall on the first and second floors. The young man didn't dare to enter at the door of the teahouse, and shouted to go back to the trading house. Black Friday gave him 100 fiat coins to take a foreign car back to the trading house, and asked the driver to wait outside, and he went upstairs to find it. First inquire about the running hall, I don't know who is the young master Kuan of the Zhou family business house in Nanxun, if you want to say that Boss Huang of Nanxun is known to everyone, it is in the private room Narcissus Pavilion on the third floor. But because Boss Huang was meeting guests today, he didn't dare to disturb and let Black Friday go upstairs by himself.

Hei Wu was a little disappointed when he heard this, he came to invite Young Master Kuan for Young Master Ji Tang, what is the use of looking for Boss Huang? Thinking about it again, since Boss Huang is from Nanxun, it is difficult to guarantee that the guests of his club are not the young master Kuan, who is a fellow villager, and he has to try it with all his heart when he comes. On the third floor, there are private rooms on both sides of the passage, and there are unique signs hanging at the door, Furong Pavilion, Hongmei Pavilion, and Yingchun Pavilion...... It's all flower names. At the end of the passage is the Narcissus Pavilion, and at the door stands a young man in a plaid suit and red leather shoes with a stabbing head, whispering to two fat Japanese men in navy blue kimonos and stepping on clogs. As soon as Black Friday approached, he was stopped by the young man. He hurriedly said politely: "Excuse me, little brother, please inform me, the young master of the Ji family in Liaocheng sent a little one to invite the young master Kuan to meet." ”

"Oh, wait here." The man in a plaid suit glanced at Black Friday a few times, and turned around and entered the Narcissus Pavilion. It didn't take two minutes to come out again, stretch his face and say, "I don't know, let's go." ”

Black Friday didn't figure it out, did the people inside not know the young master of the Ji family? Still don't know Master Kuan? He couldn't go back in a daze, so he couldn't explain to Ji Tang. Accompanied by Xiao approached and said, "Little brother, excuse me, is it Boss Huang inside?" Can you let the little one in and ask—"

"If you want to go, hurry up, don't bother, get out!" The suit in the plaid suit impatiently pushed Black Friday and pushed him out a few steps before he stood firm. He immediately got angry in Liaocheng, but this was Shanghai, and the key was to ask someone to do something, so he had to go downstairs again and again. He didn't leave the door, but decided to wait here, and when the people inside came out after drinking tea, he would talk to the master's house. I thought to myself, as the saying goes, the king of Hades is easy to see and the little ghost is difficult, maybe the boss Huang or the young master Kuan inside are good at talking, and it is not known.

After waiting for nearly an hour, Hei Wu took out his pocket watch and saw that it was already half past eleven, guessing that Ji Tang must be in a hurry to scold his mother over there. He can't go back easily, at least he has to see someone to ask for an explanation, even if he can't make an appointment tomorrow today, he must have an explanation. The driver was also anxious to wait, and asked him from time to time if he could go, but he couldn't sit still in the car, so he got off the station and waited next to the steps at the entrance of the teahouse.

Notes: (1) Both banks of the Rhine near the border in western Germany. (2) The Reichsmark was the currency of the German Empire after its establishment, which was used from 1873 to 1948. Four and a half million Reichsmarks during World War II was equivalent to twenty-five dollars. (3) The current Jinling East Road in Shanghai, built during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, is called Avenida da Fa because of the French Consulate.