Uncle Shazhu, a simple-minded man in a courtyard house, persuades people with reason.

Tianqiao was the most bustling place in Beiping, bar none. It was a vibrant hub of folk arts, acrobatics, storytelling, opera, teahouses, restaurants, and street stalls!

The bustling atmosphere of Beiping during the Republic of China era can be interpreted in another way—it was a melting pot of all sorts of people!

At a Muslim restaurant, He Ping'an held a freshly baked meat pie from the street vendor's pan and devoured a bowl of clear broth lamb chops. The casual combination had a unique flavor.

Compared to He Ping'an's ravenous eating, the pretty young Bai Ling was much more refined, though her alluring red lips were constantly opening and closing, quite quickly.

As noon approached, the two, having spent the morning shopping, naturally needed to find a place to eat. At first, Bai Ling tried to persuade He Ping'an not to spend money, citing his lack of income. However, after He Ping'an revealed his pen name in the newspaper, he started clamoring to eat at the expense of the wealthy!

For a time traveler, writing a few novels isn't anything unusual! From five, seven, or ten yuan per thousand words at the beginning, to 15 yuan per thousand words now, his earnings are quite substantial!

These days, while counterfeiting still happens, the technological level is what it is; there aren't that many sophisticated tricks anymore. It's all just a case of false advertising. Hmm... well, you could say we've benefited from the times, huh...

Just as He Ping'an was pondering how to savor the beauty's red lips tonight, a commotion suddenly arose at the restaurant entrance. Looking past Bai Ling, he saw a pack of black dogs… dogs dressed in black police uniforms, barking loudly!

It was just a drunken, black-skinned dog captain who bumped into one of the guys. The guy couldn't dodge in time and spilled some soup on the dog's skin.

There are two dogs chained up in front of my house; one is ignored by this person, and the other by that person. That's pretty much how the police were in the Republic of China era—they were always baring their teeth and being very fierce towards ordinary people…

He Ping'an saw it clearly: a hint of smugness flickered in the drunken, dark-skinned man's eyes. Not only did he not pay for the meal, but he deliberately picked a fight to squeeze money out of him—truly heartless and despicable!

"What's going on?" The pretty girl, who had been engrossed in eating, finally raised her noble head.

He Ping'an took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the grease from the corner of the beautiful woman's mouth: "It's nothing, just a heartless old dog biting its master over there. Don't worry about it, eat yours!"

For ordinary people, the black dog was a notorious street urchin. In just a short while, all the diners had fled. The only people left in the small restaurant besides the black dog, the owner, and He Ping'an and Bai Ling were the black dog and the owner.

He Ping'an didn't lower his voice, so what he said naturally reached Black Dog's ears. The next second, Black Dog, who was clearly drunk and unconscious, stepped forward, his face full of fat, cursing and swearing.

"Eating sunflower seeds, and you found a stink bug! Whose pants weren't tied properly, letting your thing stick out? Ouch..."

They say beautiful women bring trouble, and Black Dog's eyes widened when he saw Bai Ling's face. "Girl, your man's skinny and useless. Look at me, with me, I guarantee you'll have a blast tonight!"

Captain Dog raised his arm, his lecherous eyes scanning Bai Ling up and down, while he uttered filthy words.

"Splash!"

He Ping'an didn't waste any time, pouring the remaining soup and broth over his head. Finally, he raised his arm and smashed the empty bowl down on his head. Captain Gouzi fell to the ground with a thud.

The captain was beaten, and the few black dogs behind him exchanged glances, about to step forward. He Ping'an expressionlessly surveyed the crowd... He stepped forward, stomped his leather shoe on the fallen dog's fat face, and ground it back and forth. The captain, in pain, yelped and howled!

"My name is He Ping'an, and I am a student and teacher at Yenching University. Your team leader harassed my classmate, and I will report this to our principal. At the same time, I will also organize students to petition at the city government building."

If it were for any other reason, the city government might not bother with us. But you, I imagine the city government would be more than willing to use one or more black-skinned dogs as a symbol of their democracy and freedom!

Several somewhat loyal black dogs remained unwilling to retreat, so He Ping'an continued to increase the stakes:

"Think back to all the scum you've done in the past. Without this black skin, will the people you bullied ever let you off the hook?"

As the saying goes, in chaotic times, even a fool can't survive! The group looked at each other, but no one paid any attention to the dark-skinned captain at He Ping'an's feet.

At that moment, a handsome young man among the black dogs inadvertently glanced at the fallen captain, or rather, at the foot on the captain's face... the frequency of the crushing!

The young man, dark-skinned, cautiously stepped forward, smiling obsequiously and bowing obsequiously.

"Sir, may you be blessed! I am Zheng Chaoyang, the squad leader of the Fifth Precinct Detective Team of the Beiping Police Bureau. The man at your feet is our company commander! We were blind to your greatness today, you… ouch!"

Even though He Ping'an knew that Zheng Chaoyang, who looked exactly like the celebrity surnamed Zhang from his past life, was his comrade, he still showed no mercy, raising his arm to slap him across the face, knocking off his hat in the process.

"Since you're willing to step forward, fine, I'll grant your wish!" He Ping'an pointed at Zheng Chaoyang, his gaze sweeping over the thugs behind him: "You can all get lost, and the one lying on the ground too!"

The group of black dogs were as if they had been granted a pardon. The squad leader who had been knocked down by He Ping'an stopped pretending to be dead, got up quickly and left without even giving Zheng Chaoyang a glance.

At the back door of the Muslim restaurant, sewage was flowing everywhere, and a pile of dirty plates lay beside it. Zheng Chaoyang was diligently washing the plates. After sending away the small-time owner who kept bowing and pleading with Zheng Chaoyang, He Ping'an signaled Bai Ling to guard the door.

"Hello, Comrade Zheng Chaoyang!"

"Hello, Comrade He Ping'an!"

He Ping'an refused Zheng Chaoyang's request to shake hands despite his oily hands; this kid was definitely getting revenge.

Of course, He Ping'an himself isn't exactly a saint either. Otherwise, why would he have hit Zheng Chaoyang like that just now? It's because in the original drama, Zheng Chaoyang was dating Bai Ling, and he was jealous!

"Oh my... Chief He, your method of making contact is quite unique. This little intelligence agent of mine got slapped and had to wash dishes!"

The only people who could be sarcastic and sarcastic in front of him, besides the pretty girl, were two other pretty girls. As for this gossipy Zheng Chaoyang, in their Beijing slang, what the hell!

"Organizational tasks..."

That's right, today's rendezvous was all arranged by He Ping'an. However, he didn't ask anyone else to notify Zheng Chaoyang. In the plot, someone from the underground party in Beiping later betrayed them, and he didn't want his family to be implicated, so he could only take the initiative to go to their door in this way.

Since there's no more profit to be made from the small fry, it's time to close the net. A transaction requires both buyers and sellers; without buyers, even penicillin, a panacea, would plummet in price!

He Ping'an planned that the underground party members who bought the medicine would evacuate tonight, with a gunfight arranged before their departure. Then, he would spread the word that the medicine buyers were underground party members who had been discovered by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS). For the foreseeable future, the BIS would rigorously investigate the sale of penicillin.

Gunfights are easy enough; his action team can handle that. Spreading rumors? Is there anyone in Beijing more convenient than a corrupt police officer?