On the edge of the Japanese Concession, after waiting for nearly two hours, Tao Canhua also walked out of the small building next to the opium den with a piano bag on his back and an erhu in his arms.

After the young man got into the car, Wei Ran put out his cigarette, started the car and left.

"Then the Japs asked you something?" Wei Ran waited until the small building behind him was completely blocked by the buildings along the way, and then asked with a smile.

"asked"

Tao Canhua replied at a loss, "I answered a question and it gave me a piece of ocean. Counting the wages for playing the piano today, it gave me a total of 26 yuan."

"This salary is not low," Wei Ran joked with a smile.

"Just like Jasmine and you expected."

Tao Canhua wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "He asked everyone in the study apartment. He asked where the lady had been, and he also asked about your origins."

"How did you answer?" Wei Ran's casual tone made Tao Canhua relax a little.

"Same as you taught me at the dinner table yesterday."

Tao Canhua grinned, "I said you came back from studying in Germany. You show off your experience studying in Germany from time to time. You look down on us and think we are uneducated. You also say a few words from time to time for everyone to listen to.

I don’t understand German.”

"If it asks similar questions tomorrow, remember to tell me that I'm on my way back today."

As he spoke, Wei Ran slowed down the car slightly, pointed outside and said, "Look, there's an ice cream parlor over there, do you see it?"

"I saw it." Tao Canhua nodded.

"If it asks tomorrow, just tell me that when I was passing by here, I stopped the car and went through your bag, and took four yuan from your pocket to buy soda."

As he spoke, Wei Ran stepped on the brakes, opened the door and got into the back compartment and continued, "You also want to say that you only made seven yuan by lying to me, and the rest was secretly hidden in Guqin's Dragon's Room before going out.

It’s in the pool.”

As he said that, Wei Ran took out a pile of silver coins from Tao Canhua's pocket, and counted four coins from it. At the same time, he whispered, "I'll pay you back when I get back. Let's make a show."

Before he finished speaking, Wei Ran had already opened the car door and closed the rear compartment with some force. He then weighed the few silver coins in his hand with a proud look on his face, spat in disdain, and then walked in.

I went to that ice cream parlor.

This so-called ice-drinking room was just a cold drink popsicle stand in later generations, but in this era, the quality of these things was still somewhat higher.

He was extra generous and bold and used a silver dollar to buy a few popsicles and bottles of soda. Weiran also bought a pack of Camel cigarettes. Then he took the change and the purchased items and left the ice room and got into the car.

Walk away.

When he was far away, he took out another five silver dollars from his pocket and handed them to Tao Canhua in the back row together with a popsicle. At the same time, he said jokingly, "You can't talk to that Japanese guy about this."

Hearing this, Tao Canhua grinned after taking the things, and then asked in confusion, "But why did you do such a thing to destroy your reputation?"

"If I appear to be greedy for money, the devil will try to bribe me and seek information from me to verify the authenticity of the questions you answered. As long as our answers are consistent, he will trust you more and you will be safer.

"

Wei Ran took a bite of the popsicle and explained while chewing it, "Of course, by the way, I can also make some money from that devil."

Upon hearing this, Tao Canhua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He finally felt that he was "not fighting alone." But then, he asked again, "Why does that Japanese want to ask us about these things?"

"It must be bad intentions," Wei Ran replied perfunctorily. He didn't want to hide it from the other party, he just didn't want to put too much psychological pressure on him.

Seeing that Wei Ran didn't want to talk, Tao Canhua touched the heavy pile of silver coins in his pocket and asked rather uneasily, "Little...does aunt know about this?"

"Do you want her to know?" Wei Ran asked casually.

"I don't want to hide it from my... aunt," Tao Canhua replied, "You can't be ungrateful."

"Don't worry," Wei Ran comforted with a smile, "She must know, after all, we are protecting her."

"Yes!" Tao Canhua breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded vigorously, and he seemed a little more relaxed.

After some small talk, after asking the Japs questions about Tao Canhua and his answers, Wei Ran took the initiative to change the topic and helped the other party to transfer his nervousness, "Where are you and Jasmine from?"

"Lu'an Mansion"

When Tao Canhua said this, he took the initiative to add, "People from Jin Province can be regarded as fellow countrymen of Yan Laoxi."

Lu'an...

Wei Ran muttered secretly, but he remembered that the Guqin Youquan bed he got later had "Lu'an Qinhua Hua" written behind it. From this point of view, Tao Canhua, his late father, and the Qinhua Nong

The bad thing is that it is related to the township party.

"Where are you from?" Tao Canhua asked subconsciously.

"Outside the customs" Wei Ran Hu Zou said, using this topic to chat with Tao Can from all over the country.

When they returned to the love-letter apartment, Tao Canhua didn't even have time to take a breath before Jasmine pulled him up to the second floor and started interrogating him. As for Wei Ran, he gave everyone a piece of sweet bitter that would dye his tongue into various colors.

Popsicles in different colors and a bottle of still cold soda.

Miss Meixiang is still not here, and life in the small building seems a little more comfortable. However, the tense atmosphere of the impending war has diluted the comfort of "the boss is not here" a lot.

As the evening approached, just as Yang's mother was about to prepare dinner, Xiao Su's mother came over in a rickshaw, first going around the small building, and then going upstairs and downstairs.

Finally, he shouted angrily, "This money-losing guy is really heartless. He ran out to play at this time! Wei Ran! Wei Ran is here!"

"Here it is!" Wei Ran opened the door and responded.

"Get the car out and follow me out." Xiao Su's mother ordered angrily.

"Can't you just call a rickshaw wherever you want to go?" Jasmine whispered, "Don't you like taking cars?"

"You ugly girl, no one will think you are mute if you don't speak!"

Little Su's mother gave Jasmine a vicious look, twisted the waist of the bucket and walked out while saying, "Why are you still hanging around like a fool? Are you going to drive?"

"The car doesn't have much gas. I'm afraid I can't drive back if I drive past it."

Wei Ran said with an embarrassed look, "Miss is not here, and we don't have money to refuel the car. I haven't even been paid this month's wages. Today, it was only Jasmine, Uncle Mute, and Mother Yang who sent Canhua to play the piano for Mr. Ueda.

I scraped together 50 cents, plus a dollar from Canhua to buy a barrel of oil, so I didn't embarrass the lady."

"Hey--!"

Xiao Su's mother glared at Wei Ran, but there was a trace of satisfaction hidden on her ferocious fat face.

Before Wei Ran could continue to quibble, she waved her hand impatiently, "It sounds like I can't afford to refuel. Let's go! You'll give me a good show later!"

Hearing this, Wei Ran looked at each other, Jasmine and Cao Mute, who were suppressing laughter, and quickly stood up and said, "You can wait for a while while you have a pack of cigarettes, while Uncle Mute and I will clean the car."

"Hurry up!" Xiao Su's mother said, having already sat down on the sofa.

Without giving any hint, Cao Muba walked into the garage with Wei Ran. Jasmine and Yang Ma also quickly brought over a plate of fruit and a pot of herbal tea.

In the garage, Wei Ran and Cao Yuba cooperated with each other to pull out two tin barrels of fuel from the car's fuel tank. They waited until the fuel gauge almost reached zero, then grinned at each other.

After tightening the fuel tank cap, Wei Ran took the car key from Cao Duba's hand, started the car and drove out of the garage.

When Cao Mute helped open the iron gate of the courtyard, Little Su's mother walked out carrying a bag, twisting her fat body, opened the door of the rear compartment and sat in.

When the car started running, Xiao Su's mother said with a smile, "It's a good performance."

"Is there anyone watching us?" Wei Ran paused and added, "I mean in the small building?"

"No, that damn girl's book is completely intact."

Xiao Su's mother lit a cigarette and said in a puff of smoke, "You have to sing the part that needs to be sung. This way you have to explain, and I have to explain."

"What's the next scene?" Wei Ran also lit a cigarette and asked.

"Wait a while and listen to the opera at the Taihua House where I don't care. Today's song is Farewell My Concubine." Xiao Su's mother replied in a calm tone. There was no meanness or contempt in her words. Instead, there was a hint of harmony with her expression.

Somewhat contradictory and kind.

"I don't know the road," Wei Ran smiled and replied, "I don't even know where to go to refuel."

"Keep going straight, and when you are asked to turn right, turn right." Xiao Su's mother looked at Wei Ran suspiciously and asked, "Where did you come from, a handsome young man like you?"

"Auntie still doesn't know the origin of your nephew?" Wei Ran responded with a smile.

"You better think clearly"

Xiao Su's mother reminded her very bluntly, "I'll listen to a play at Taihua House later. Maybe someone will be curious about your origins and ask questions."

"This question can't be asked in vain, right?" Wei Ran responded equally straightforwardly, "Canhua can get an ocean for answering a question. How much do you think I can get for answering a question?"

"It's 20 oceans less?" Xiao Su's mother suggested with a smile.

"I am a cultural person who went to Germany to see the world."

Wei Ran stretched out his hand and waved it back and forth, "One question is worth a hundred dollars. As long as Dayang doesn't use paper towels, I won't even take a look at him if there's a missing seed."

"Your boy is better at making money than that white-eyed wolf who loses money!" Xiao Su's mother said with a smile, "My eldest nephew, how about I introduce you to a few rich, young and widowed ladies with good figures? Then you and I

It's just as beautiful and fragrant, just let me take two knives to pay for your hard work."

"forget it"

Wei Ran joked self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a silver-headed gun. I can't afford to serve those rich ladies, but in the future I can introduce more jobs like this, which cost a hundred dollars per problem."

Hearing this, Xiao Su's mother rolled her eyes, but the expression on her face became more and more satisfied.

Under the careful guidance of Xiao Su's mother, Wei Ran drove the car to the door of a foreign company, and she filled up the car with gas. At the same time, she allowed her to curse and scold Wei Ran for stealing the car.
To be continued...