Without saying a word, Chen Ke pressed Li Guaizi's head down and put him into the car. If he continued to be shocked, he probably wouldn't be able to get into the car before dark.
"Hey, my pants are dirty, I'll make your car dirty if you sit on them!"
"I don't care what you care about." Chen Ke walked around to the other side and got into the car.
As soon as Li Guaizi got into the car, he didn't have time to complain about his dirty pants. He looked around and touched everything, as if he had opened the door to a new world.
"My goodness! I used to think it was amazing when people rode in horse-drawn carriages or sedan chairs, but I never imagined that I, Li the Cripple, would one day be riding in a car? Am I enjoying more than those landlords?"
Chen Ke ignored Li Guaizi's exclamation, "How did you get this facial injury?" It looked like it was only a few days ago, and he probably hadn't seen a doctor. Although there was no bleeding, some areas still showed traces of scarlet flesh. Li Guaizi was too bold, daring to expose his wound like that, wasn't he afraid of infection and inflammation?
Upon hearing Chen Ke's question, the excited Li Guaizi immediately turned furious. He gritted his teeth and said, "I was slashed by bandits on the way to Shanghai. The worst part is that those bastards not only slashed my face, but they also searched my body. They didn't even keep a single gold coin I had hidden in my crotch!"
Speaking of this Li the Cripple, he was filled with both hatred and regret: "If I had known the road would be this dangerous, I would have melted down the gold ingots into gold beads and hidden them in my dermatitis eyes!"
Chen Ke: "..." There's no need to share your exclusive secret recipe.
"If you have gold coins, wouldn't it be better to stay in your hometown? Why did you suddenly want to go to Shanghai?"
"Sigh, don't even mention it. There's been a military uprising back home, with soldiers everywhere carrying guns, and a lot of bandits disguised as soldiers. It's impossible to stay here. I'm always on edge. I wanted to find a safer place, and then I remembered that you went to Shanghai. So I decided to come to Shanghai because I have an acquaintance there who can look after me."
Chen Ke didn't know whether to say Li Guaizi was lucky or unlucky. On the one hand, he was almost in Shanghai when he was robbed by bandits and his face was injured. On the other hand, it was strange that they would meet in such a big city as Shanghai.
"Hey, let's not talk about me anymore. Chen Ke, how come you've suddenly become so successful since you came to Shanghai? You're wearing Western clothes now, driving a car, and you're not even dating foreign girls, are you?"
"Sir, please speak more politely and respectfully," Li Gang, sitting in front, couldn't stand Li Guaizi's vulgar language any longer and reminded him.
Li Guaizi instinctively covered his mouth, then realized that the person driving must be Chen Ke's driver, so he said gruffly, "What's it to you! That's how people talk back home."
"You can't talk like that in Shanghai, especially not to someone like that—"
"Li Gang".
"Excuse me, sir, I have overstepped my bounds."
······
Li Guaizi stared wide-eyed, trembling. Chen... Chen Ke's tone had been so calm, yet even he felt a chill run down his spine...
The car suddenly fell silent.
Li Guaizi seemed somewhat at a loss and appeared restless, but Chen Ke did not immediately comfort him. It was not that he did not cherish their past friendship, but rather that he wanted Li Guaizi to know that this was Shanghai.
Although I hate to admit it, Shanghai is indeed dominated by foreigners these days. If Li Guaizi keeps talking about foreigners and foreign girls, even if the foreigners don't hear it, if those foreigners' lackeys hear it, he'll be arrested and severely punished, if not killed.
It wasn't until he got off the bus at the Thirteen Factories that Li Guaizi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, looking at the antique shop in front of him, he was shocked again, "This, Chen Ke, is this your shop?"
Chen Ke opened the door and nodded to Li Guaizi, who was stunned again, "Come in and have a look."
Then Li Guaizi, mouth agape and looking like he'd lost his soul, followed Chen Ke inside.
However, the moment he entered, he became furious. "Well, well, Chen Ke, you said you had a way to fool the puppet army and protect those antiques. I didn't even go back to check on them after I left. I never expected that you would have already stolen them and openly sold them?"
Chen Ke remained completely unfazed. "What are you talking about? I came straight to Shanghai after we broke up."
"Then what is this? Isn't this the porcelain vase from that Song Dynasty tomb?"
Chen Ke smiled calmly, "It was so dark in the tomb back then, what could you possibly see? You must have misjudged."
"Look, you saw it wrong?" Li Guaizi's originally resolute tone began to waver in response to Chen Ke's confident words.
Chen Ke sat calmly in his chair, glancing casually at Li Guaizi. "What do you think?"
Li Guaizi: "...Okay, it seems so, oh! Indeed, this bottle looks the same as the pair of porcelain bottles from that Song Dynasty tomb, but in reality, they are completely different!"
After Li Guaizi finished speaking, he chuckled and scratched his head. "It was too dark in the tomb at the time, so I didn't see you clearly and misunderstood you. I apologize to you, please don't be angry."
The atmosphere in the car just now finally made Li Guaizi realize that Chen Ke was no longer from his own world, and he could no longer joke around with him or speak casually.
Chen Ke sighed inwardly. Li Guaizi's sudden change to being cautious and polite was not what he wanted to see, but in order to prevent him from suffering for speaking recklessly in the future, Chen Ke had no choice but to do so.
"Why would I be angry? Are you thirsty? Come and have some water."
"Okay, okay."
Li Guaizi sat down awkwardly in the chair, his rough hands stroking it. "Tsk tsk, Chen Ke, this chair is made of top-quality huanghuali wood, isn't it? You've really struck it rich. Even the princes of the Qing Dynasty probably only used chairs like this. No, they still can't compare to you. They couldn't afford to ride in cars."
Chen Ke didn't want to talk about these things with Li Guaizi anymore, so he went straight to the point, "Did you come to Shanghai just for me, or do you have some other plans?"
Li Guai Zi smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "I, to be honest, I was planning to come and seek refuge with you, but now that you're like this, I, I feel a bit... well, I'm not good enough for you, isn't that how it's said?"
"Li Guaizi, do you think I, Chen Ke, am the kind of person who would turn my back on my family once I've become successful?"
Li Guaizi gave Chen Ke a furtive look. If he was still the same as before, then yes.
But Li Guaizi firmly said, "Of course not, but I'm just afraid of causing you trouble."
"Li Guaizi, here's the deal: if you're willing to stay and work for me, then stay. But my only requirement is that you observe more and speak less. If you don't want to stay, I'll give you a sum of money. It won't make you rich immediately, but it'll be enough for you to live in Shanghai for a while, find a stable job, and settle down. Which do you choose?"
"I choose to stay! I can observe more and say less, and do whatever you say!" What a joke! He, Li Guaizi, would still choose between having meat at every meal and having meat at every meal.
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