"Don't worry, it's all been disinfected." Lin Chuan took another sip.

Suddenly, the girl spoke up: "Are you living with your mom now?"

"Yes," Lin Chuan nodded.

"That won't do," the girl quickly said: "If we get together, I absolutely won't live with your mother. Besides, I don't want to call your mom 'Mama,' because I only have one mom."

"Why?" Lin Chuan's face darkened.

"I don't want to have a street sweeper as a mom," the girl humphed: "I have several godmothers and godfathers whose assets are in the tens of millions, or even over a billion."

Wham...

Lin Chuan finally lost his temper. He stood up, grabbed the cup of hot coffee from the table, and threw it directly at Liu Dandan.

"Ah!!" Liu Dandan suddenly screamed. Inside the coffee shop, everyone curiously turned to look towards Lin Chuan.

"Let me tell you, don't think you're so high and mighty. You're nothing but a whore from Dongguan," Lin Chuan said with a grim expression. His mother was his Achilles' heel; he tolerated insults and even mockery towards himself, but he would never allow anyone to insult his mother.

The dragon's reverse scale, touch it and court death; the person's painful spot, touch it and provoke fury.

This time, Lin Chuan was truly furious. He never hit women, but this time, he made an exception because someone touched his raw nerve. The girl screamed, "Bastard, you jerk, you pauper, you lowlife, you... what right do you have to talk about me?"

"I indeed have no right," Lin Chuan spoke disdainfully: "But I have integrity. Every penny I earn is clean and pure."

"Don't you know that this is an era that mocks the poor but not prostitutes?" Liu Dandan quickly wiped off the coffee from her body with a towel passed by a waiter, annoyed: "Do you think there are many women who can guarantee a clean body before marriage? Who knows how many men have played them out."

Lin Chuan was speechless. Indeed, it was an era that mocks the poor but not prostitutes; an era of materialism and worship of money. Lin Chuan smiled faintly: "Still, that's better than being a public toilet used by thousands like you!"

"You..." Liu Dandan grabbed a buttered bread roll and furiously threw it at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan dodged Liu Dandan's attack by tilting his head: "Sorry, I wish you luck finding a qualified sucker, but I'm not the one."

Having said that, Lin Chuan grabbed his jacket and left.

"You pauper, look at your destitute appearance, if you can find a wife I, Liu Dandan, will take your surname," Liu Dandan roared with anger, her arrogance soaked into her from her time in Dongguan. How many could maintain a calm heart?

Lin Chuan walked away briskly, and Tang Yumeng quickly grabbed her bag: "Let's go too."

"Ah..." The woman across from her was startled, saying: "We haven't finished eating yet. Don't rush..."

By now, Tang Yumeng had already chased after him, but Lin Chuan's figure had disappeared beyond the traffic light, making it obviously impossible to catch up. Looking at Lin Chuan's retreating figure, Tang Yumeng suddenly felt pity for the foolish boy. As the pity grew, she suddenly started to laugh.

"Yumeng, why are you laughing like an idiot?" asked the woman who had chased after her, puzzled.

"Nothing," Tang Yumeng laughed: "I'm just laughing at those two who were arguing just now."

"What's so funny about that? That woman was too arrogant," the woman sneered: "Even though it's an era that mocks the poor but not prostitutes, at the very least, we should still maintain a basic moral bottom line. She, being a prostitute, is actually so arrogant and rampant."

......

Lin Chuan was indeed very angry, and after walking not too far, he felt deeply disheartened. This blind date failure would probably make his mother angry again. Lin Chuan took a few puffs of his cigarette, hesitating at the entrance of Changlin Community, pondering whether to rent a girlfriend to take home, to declare his stance to his mother, showing that he had found a girlfriend.

But where to rent a girlfriend? That was the troubling question.

"Lin Chuan, you've been wandering at the entrance for half an hour," Uncle Liu said with a smile at that moment: "Did you run into some trouble?"

"Not at all," Lin Chuan responded with a chuckle, walking over to Uncle Liu's stall.

A 26-inch bicycle was turned upside down, its inner tube pulled out, being patched. Lin Chuan quickly passed a cigarette to Uncle Liu, whose grubby hands accepted it and then he sat down beside it, taunting: "Oh, now you've switched to smoking 'Li Qun' instead of 'Zhonghua'?"

"Oh man, old chap, just make fun of me," Lin Chuan laughed heartily: "That 'Zhonghua' was given by someone else."

"'Li Qun' isn't bad," Uncle Liu found a lighter and lit the cigarette: "I'm only smoking 'Meihua' which costs two yuan."

"You old fellow who has smoked even tobacco leaves, what's there to fear?" Lin Chuan laughed.

Uncle Liu took a few puffs and then asked with a smile: "So, what were you up to just now, standing there like a statue at the entrance?"

"It's fine." Lin Chuan shook his head, smiling, "I was just wondering if Liu Jianguo might think of some other way to get the machines out?"

"Don't worry, isn't someone watching over them?" Uncle Liu said with a smile.

"Ah, still feeling a bit uneasy." Lin Chuan sighed, "Liu Jianguo, that kid, being able to get to this point, must have some tricks up his sleeve."

"Hmph, if this was thirty years ago, I would have blasted him with one shot," Uncle Liu huffed.

"Whoa, old man, killing people is illegal," Lin Chuan laughed, "Come on, tell me some of your old stories."

"Ah, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it." The old man took a few puffs and continued to mend his bicycle, no matter how Lin Chuan persisted, he simply would not spill a word. Helpless, Lin Chuan had to give up.

In the factory, Zhou Kai was still busy working on that old Beijing jeep, the convertible top was long gone. It was a five-seater, but behind it were two seats for guards. Back when Changlin Factory organized big employee meetings, a driver would drive up front with an armed militia member in the passenger seat, the party secretary and factory director would stand in the back, holding megaphones and giving speeches, while two upright armed guards sat in the seats at the very back. That scene was so impressive, it still made one's blood surge with excitement when thinking about it now.

"Chuanzi, you're back?" Zhou Kai hurriedly crawled out from under the car.

"How's it going?" asked Lin Chuan.

"Not bad." Zhou Kai smiled, "I've been busy for a week, the car's main system is basically fine. These past few days, I've been clearing up the oil circuit, and also made some slight modifications to the exhaust pipe. It was originally single-piped, but now I've turned it into dual pipe. And the engine, I've tuned it up a bit, turned the 1.5 displacement into a 2.0 with dual intake. What do you think?"

"Hmm, not bad," Lin Chuan nodded, "But why do I feel like this car hasn't changed much?"

"The exterior is quite simple," Zhou Kai smiled, "The only issue is, I really don't know what to do with the roof."

"What do you mean?" asked Lin Chuan, curiously.

"I went around the second-hand car market for other parts and managed to find most of them," Zhou Kai said with a grin, "All that's left is the roof for this jeep. The old one wasn't electric; it was manual, a foldable type. It's hard to find, and I'm afraid I might not even be able to fix it."

"Can't you have one custom-made?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"Brother Chuanzi, you're such a joker," Zhou Kai said awkwardly, "That thing is so big, how much would it cost to make a new mold? If it rains, it might be more practical to just use an umbrella."

"Go on with you," Lin Chuan laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, I'll get the roof sorted out for you," Zhou Kai said with a smile.

After making a round in the factory, Lin Chuan was heading home. Lu Dapao had gone to the construction site again to keep busy. The eight-wheeler trucks had been very busy lately, as a large amount of earth needed to be transported away. With the daily excavations for building foundations came heaps of dirt that required disposal, all costing quite a bit of money.

After strolling around the factory, Lin Chuan stepped toward home. The matchmaking had wasted quite a bit of his time, and unexpectedly, it ended up setting him up with a bitch. This indeed left one speechless. Returning home, Lin Chuan didn't know how to explain it to his mother.

Just as he entered the door, Lin Chuan felt something was amiss. Mrs. Lin sat on an old sofa in the dim living room, clutching Mr. Lin's portrait, her face clouded with worry. Lin Chuan felt a bit guilty, just like when he used to play too much as a child, always sneaking back into the house in the same way.

"Stop right there." Suddenly, Mrs. Lin looked up at Lin Chuan sharply.

"Mom... what... what are you..." Lin Chuan said, his face awash in embarrassment, hastily extinguishing the cigarette in his mouth.

"Come here to me," Mrs. Lin stood up and walked to the altar, setting Mr. Lin's portrait on it. Lin Chuan walked over reluctantly.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Kneel down!" Mrs. Lin scolded.

Thump...

Lin Chuan was an obedient child, so without a word, he immediately knelt down. Mrs. Lin, with tears in her eyes, said, "Your father has been dead for over a decade. The reason I never remarried is I was afraid you would be mistreated. Raising you alone, but then, you left for eight years. Do you know what life was like for me during those years?"

"Mom, I... I was wrong," Lin Chuan hastily pleaded for forgiveness, "Please forgive me."

"What did you do wrong?" Mrs. Lin asked.

"I... I shouldn't have left for eight years," Lin Chuan hung his head.

"No," Mrs. Lin shook her head, "I'm angry because my son is such a disappointment, why does he have to upset me every time?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan immediately understood. Probably that damn bitch had called Aunt Zhou and cursed her out, so Aunt Zhou unleashed her anger on his mother. Unexpectedly, after going in circles, the one who suffered in the end was still himself. Lin Chuan felt utterly helpless.

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