Chen Zikong walked forward normally, the black shadow quietly followed behind him. Suddenly, Chen Zikong drew his sword and stabbed backwards, his movements as fast as lightning. The man hastily dodged and the two of them clashed together, but after a moment they both withdrew their hands and burst out laughing.

  "You've regressed, I followed you for half a day and didn't even notice," said Er Gui.

  "I've noticed you for a long time, with the scent of Gu Long Shui all over you. It's hard not to smell it, you're getting more and more charming with age." Chen Zi Kun casually put his arm around Er Gui's shoulder and walked into the Huahua Gate.

  "Let's get down to business?" said Chen Zikun as he walked into the main room.

  "Is there white? Must be." Er Gou replied.

  "Of course, authentic Erguotou, it's definitely to your taste." Chen Zikun brought over a small jar and put it on the table, opened the mud seal of the second cabinet, took a sniff, and pretended to be intoxicated: "Although not as good as the vodka from my hometown, it's better than nothing."

  He took a big gulp, gurgling loudly, and his collar got wet. Er Gui wiped his mouth with his sleeve: "Delicious! Drinking that lukewarm water-like White Label whiskey at the Liu Guo restaurant all day, my mouth is going to get numb!"

  Just hearing this, I would never have thought it was from the mouth of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed old Russian.

  "Second cabinet, you've come to Beijing, what big business are you planning to do?" Chen Zikong also took a wine bowl and poured some Er Guo Tou to accompany him.

  "Call me Andrei Vasilyevich, what's with the 'two cabinets long and two cabinets short' nonsense? Are you afraid people won't know we're bandits or something? Alright, bring on the snacks to go with our drinks, quick!" Two Cabinets took another big swig as he spoke.

  "You're really losing face for Old Mao, and you're still a dish of wine." Chen Zikun muttered to himself as he got up to arrange some dishes for him. Just then, Wang's mother hadn't gone to sleep yet, and she was carrying a basin of hot water to wash her face, vaguely seeing someone in the room, and asked Chen Zikun: "Boss, are there guests?"

  Chen Zikun took over the washbasin and said: "Auntie, how many times have I told you? Why do you always treat yourself as an inferior person?"

  "Old Mrs. Wang smiled and said: 'I'm not idle, doing some work makes me feel comfortable all over.' She twitched her nose and asked: 'Drinking wine?'"

  "Ah, a friend has arrived, and I was just thinking of going to the kitchen to find some snacks to go with our drinks."

  "You sit down, I'll be fine." Old Lady Wang went away with a smile, and Chen Zikun came back to chat with Er Gui.

  "Brother Andre... this title is really awkward, can't you call me something else?"

  "This time I came to Beijing, my alias is Andrei Solomon Earl, you can call me Earl or Mr. Solomon, I have a big thing to do here." Andrei said mysteriously.

  "Isn't it that you want to kidnap some young lady or gentleman from the Zhang family?" Chen Zikong joked.

  "If funds are tight, I wouldn't rule out doing so," Andrei said seriously.

  "Do you need me to lend a hand? I'm good at this." Chen Zikun's hands itched with the thought of those spendthrift young ladies from the Six Nations Restaurant, and he reckoned it wouldn't be hard to grab one randomly, tie her up, and extort 180,000 yuan.

  "André suddenly burst out laughing: 'What are you kidding me? I've come all the way to Beijing, thousands of miles away, just to make some money by selling tickets? We're brothers, after all. I won't hide it from you, actually, I have a special mission here.'"

  "What special mission?" Chen Zikong's eyes widened, afraid of missing a single word.

  "Andrei lowered his voice and said: 'Actually, I am the plenipotentiary envoy appointed by Admiral Alexander Vasilievich Kolchak, the Supreme Ruler of the Russian Provisional Government, to come to Beijing and make contact with the Chinese authorities.'"

  Chen Zikun suddenly enlightened: "Oh~~~~~~~~I see, I don't understand."

  Andrei's face was serious, and from his breast pocket he pulled out a piece of vellum with a large seal and a signature in cursive script, showing it to Chen Ziqun: "Isn't it laughable? A Petersburg dandy, a deserter from the Russo-Japanese War, a Chinese horse thief, has actually become an envoy of the Russian Provisional Government. It sounds absurd, but it's true."

  Chen Zikong collected his smile and asked seriously: "What is the mission of this trip?"

  "My homeland, Russia, has reached its most perilous moment. Officers and nobles are being dragged to the riverbank in droves by mutinous soldiers and workers and shot dead. The entire family of Nicholas II was killed like dogs, God! Those poor princesses were only ten years old or so. The Red faction not only wants to destroy the Tsarist regime but also the spirit of the Russian people. They are madmen, devils! General Kolchak has ordered me to contact high-ranking officials in the Northern Government and negotiate suitable terms for their military assistance."

  "Have you started taking action?" Chen Zikun asked.

  Andre said: "The officials of the Provisional Government think I'm a thorough Chinese expert, but in fact I just speak good Chinese and have a better understanding of the Chinese character. However, I don't know anything about the Beiyang government. Your president is Xu Shichang, your premier is Qian Nengxun, but it's said that the one who really holds power is Duan Qirui, the director of the War Participation Bureau. And Duan Qirui only listens to one person, whose name is Xu Shuzheng, the vice minister of the Ministry of Army."

  He paused here, took a sip of Er Guo Tou: "Do you understand?"

  Chen Zikun said: "I'm confused."

  Andrei's mouth curled up with a hint of a smile: "The situation in China is complex and confusing, this trip is more difficult than I imagined. In fact, you not only have a government in Beijing, but also another regime in the south, Sun Yat-sen, have you heard of that name?"

  "There isn't." Chen Zikong replied honestly.

  "Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Although I'm fluent in foreign languages, I'm still a foreigner after all, so I need an assistant. You can be the one, of course, it won't be for free. On behalf of the temporary government's military department, I grant you the rank of junior lieutenant in the Russian Navy." Andrei pulled Chen Zikun onto his war chariot without hesitation.

  Chen Zikong clicked his tongue and said, "Zhang Shaojun, you're too stingy. I'm still in the navy, but I've never even seen a ship, how did I become a naval officer?"

  "Andrei said, 'Military ranks are sacred and cannot be granted casually. I spent six whole years at the St. Petersburg Naval School and was only a junior lieutenant, you didn't even attend military school for a day and became a junior lieutenant, isn't that enough to show off?"

  Taking advantage of his intoxication, he pulled out a stack of blank power of attorney documents, took one and spread it on the table, dipped his fountain pen in water, wrote down Chen Zikun's name and handed it over: "Congratulations, Officer."

  Chen Zikong didn't care about the junior military rank, took the appointment document and casually stuffed it into his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and said viciously: "There must be more benefits, you're not some kind-hearted person, if you didn't have money, how could you run thousands of miles to come here?"

  "Hehe, it's done, you won't be left out of the benefits. The temporary government's gold reserve is quite sufficient." Andrei winked slyly, his old bottom exposed.

  Footsteps approached, and Wang's mother brought down the dishes to go with the wine: a plate of fried peanuts, a plate of pickled cucumber, a plate of dried beef jerky, half a braised chicken, and a bowl of plain noodles.

  "Have some midnight snacks, sir." Chen Zikun warmly invited.

  Andrei shook his head: "You Chinese people's food is really too bland, if you could have some caviar, sour cream cherry pie and hot borscht it would be better."

  Although he said so, he still ate all the food clean and drank a pot of wine without leaving a single drop. Only then did he find a place to lie down and snore loudly with satisfaction.

  The next morning, the former Russian naval lieutenant woke up from his beautiful dream, put on his clothes and came to the yard to practice his signature push-ups. Not only did he practice himself, but also called Chen Zikun to get up and accompany him to practice together.

  Wang's mother came to clean up the remains of the banquet, saw the wine jar placed in the corner, thought they had only drunk half of it, stretched out two hands to move it, but was shocked by the empty jar. Goodness gracious! A 10-jin wine jar, and the two of them drank it all dry. Is this still human?

  After breakfast was over, Andre said: "After you finish your meal, follow me to visit someone and learn about the inside story of the Beiyang government."

  "Who is it?"

  "Director of the Presidential Palace's Diplomatic Affairs Committee, member of the Constitutional Research Association, Mr. Lin Changmin." Andrei had a sly smile at the corner of his mouth as he waited for Chen Zikun's follow-up question.

  Chen Zikun took the bait: "Why?"

  "Because he and his daughter were both captivated by your heroic battle with the Japanese officer last night, they are eager to meet you, this mysterious guest. Of course, General Xu Shuqin is also present, but he is a cunning military man, I don't want to show my hand so quickly, so it's better to find Lin Changmin first."

  Andre thought for a moment and added, "Mr. Lin's daughter has her own style, and the girl you brought with you is also unique in her own way. If I were you, I'd have both."

  Chen Zikun's heart was pierced and he was extremely embarrassed, saying: "I am very dedicated, besides she is my cousin."

  "Sisters are always good for a free meal, aren't they?" Andrei said with a wicked glint in his eye.

  Just then, Xiao Shunzi returned after finishing his night shift and saw Andrei was also there. He was shocked: "Da Kunzi, what's going on here?"

  Chen Zikun hastily introduced him, saying that Andrei was a friend he had met in Guandong, without mentioning their past as bandits together.

  Xiao Shunzi didn't care about this either, what he cared about was how to make money using Da Kunzi, and without regard for Andrei's presence, he hastily told Yao Yilei about his own affairs.

  "Big guy, you don't know how rich Miss Yao's family is. The rewards are always five or ten yuan at least, one yuan is too embarrassing to give out. If we can get in good with them, we'll be set for life." Little Shunzi exclaimed in admiration.

  Chen Zikun hadn't spoken yet when Andrei said: "This plan is good, it's worth considering."

  He opened his mouth and startled Xiao Shunzi: "My god, you can speak Chinese!"

  Andre chuckled: "I not only speak Chinese, but I also know that you are Tom from the cloakroom. It was you who stole my evening dress from the laundry room last night and gave it to this gentleman to wear, wasn't it?"

  Xiao Shunzi's soul was not attached to his body, and he looked at Chen Zikun for help.

  "Alright, don't scare him anymore." Chen Zikong said with a smile.

  Andre pulled out a sheepskin-covered notebook, took out a fountain pen and scribbled a few lines, tore it off and handed it to Xiaoshunzi: "Tom, trouble you to run an errand, go to the Liuguo Restaurant and hand this over to the manager."

  Xiao Shunzi held the paper strip with cursive French writing and refused to move. Andrei, of course, knew what he was thinking, and fished out a copper coin to toss over: "Take it."

  "You poor devil, Miss Yao's armpit hair is thicker than your thigh." Xiao Shunzi muttered to himself as he walked away.

  Returned to the Liu Guo restaurant and handed the note to the manager, who immediately sent someone to Count Solomon's room with a trunk for Xiao Shunzi to take away.

  Andre returned to the Ziguang Car Factory with a suitcase, opened it and found a set of Western-style clothes inside, including a jacket, trousers, belt, leather shoes, shirt, socks, tie, cufflinks, handkerchief, and pocket watch.

  Chen Zikun put on the coat and it fit him perfectly, as if it were tailor-made for him.

  "This suit was made by a famous tailor in Paris, and it's cheap for you, kid," said Andre.

  Xiao Shunzi was stunned and didn't know what they were up to.

  Andrei reminded him: "You call Miss Yao in two hours and say that you've received the news, Mr. Solomon went to visit Mr. Lin Changmin's house, what, aren't you going to thank me?"

  Xiao Shunzi nodded excitedly like a garlic press: "Thank you, Lord Suo!"