Chapter 64: Listen and Applaud

What He Yuzhu did not expect was that his words were truly taken to heart by Bang Geng, and through a stroke of luck, he actually helped quite a few big shots.

The most famous one was an elderly man over fifty who had been tortured to the point of losing all hope.

When that old man, wearing a heavy wooden pillory every day and a tall paper hat, was forced to kneel on a stage for public humiliation with a heart as dead as ash, it happened to be Bang Geng's turn to go on stage. Bang Geng stood behind him, held the rope of the heavy pillory on his neck with his hand, and whispered beside him: "Don't lift your head."

Just like that, for an entire morning, Bang Geng's arm felt like it didn't belong to him anymore, but the old man was able to return to the Cattle Shed. In the evening, under the cover of darkness, Bang Geng even snuck a few steamed buns to give to him, and left him three candies.

"Grandpa, my name is Bang Geng, and my home is in Sijiucheng... When you really can't take it anymore, just suck on a candy. Keep living; life will eventually turn from bitter to sweet." Looking at the trembling old man whose eyes were filled with gray despair, Bang Geng would always try to comfort him like this.

In Bang Geng's view, what he did was nothing more than a small matter, and it was also like looking for a needle in a haystack, just to see if he could really, as He Yuzhu said, happen to run into a miracle doctor to treat his mother, Qin Huairu, who was locked up in the Mental Hospital.

But in that era, in the gray lives of those big shots, Bang Geng's actions were like a sharp sword, piercing through the darkest parts of their lives.

Who says that only those standing in the light are heroes?

He Yuzhu suppressed the agitation in his heart, sorted out the things on the table, had Bang Geng help him pack them all back into the bundle, and carried it to the bed.

Only then did he roll his wheelchair to the side of his bedside cabinet, take out a few cans, a large bag of fruit candies, several large bars of Chocolate in white packaging, and over a dozen fresh lychees, and handed them to the excited Bang Geng.

Most of the items were things others had brought when visiting him; the lychees had come from a sign-in, and he had used his body to shield the movement, secretly reaching his hand into the cabinet to take them out from the System Space.

"Here, take these back to eat. You've worked hard this time. Your sister has been missing you like crazy; explain things well to the First Elder and his wife." He Yuzhu wrapped the items up and handed them to Bang Geng.

"Hey, thanks, Zhuzi Shu. I'm heading back now; I'll come to see you again before I leave." Bang Geng agreed, grabbed the things, and ran off quickly. His mind was in a mess right now; he felt the excitement of a single piece of beeswax being worth over fifty yuan, the joy of seeing his sister soon, and the anticipation of potentially being able to save his mother...

In any case, with a mix of emotions, Bang Geng ran back, taking two steps in one.

He Yuzhu's eyes held a smile. After Bang Geng disappeared, he immediately hopped on one foot to close his door, locked it from the inside, and then, still feeling uneasy, dragged the cabinet over to block the door.

After finishing everything, He Yuzhu nodded with satisfaction, grimaced in pain as he hopped to the bed, and dove under the quilt.

Under the quilt, He Yuzhu, with a heart full of agitation, took out the square Great Seal with one corner damaged and inlaid with gold, his eyes revealing a look of obsession.

The temptation of the Mandate of Heaven, ah.

Which man could withstand this kind of stimulation? Not fainting on the spot was already a testament to He Yuzhu's steady state of mind.

For an entire afternoon and evening, He Yuzhu hid under the quilt without even turning on the light, continuously stroking this Great Seal.

He had often heard that this treasure could suppress the national fortune, but he didn't know if it was true or false.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that He Yuzhu, suppressing his excited heart, forced himself to gulp down a few mouthfuls of white liquor before huffing and puffing his way out from under the quilt and placing it on the table.

He searched the whole room for an inkpad, carefully applied it to the Great Seal, and then found ten sheets of clean, fine white paper. He Yuzhu held the seal with both hands and pressed it down firmly.

After ten consecutive times, looking at the papers, He Yuzhu reluctantly put it back into the box, and his eyes finally regained their clarity.

After re-wrapping it, He Yuzhu opened the door, put it in a bundle, and rolled his wheelchair out under the cover of night.

Thinking of the disaster-ridden nation, regardless of whether this thing could truly suppress the national fortune, he would not keep it in his own hands. Such a top-tier national treasure should not be in his possession; he still had that much ideological awareness.

He intended to give this treasure to that man.

As for what that person would do, it had nothing to do with him.

Perhaps some people would sneer and call him a fool, but this thing really shouldn't be owned by a mortal. He was afraid that the longer he kept it, the more reluctant he would be to part with it.

Having held it for only such a short while, various chaotic thoughts filled his mind, and his head was full of absurd ideas about ascending the throne and becoming emperor. This couldn't go on; he was afraid that in a few days he would end up with a mental illness.

To use the words of later generations: "Oh my, oh mother, friend, this is not something you can wear."

He arrived at the Big Leader's house all the way and woke up the Big Leader who had long since gone to sleep.

"I say, you Shazhu, what are you doing running to my house in the middle of the night without sleeping? You're even in a wheelchair; what couldn't wait until tomorrow to say?" The Big Leader wasn't annoyed, but asked with great confusion.

He Yuzhu's eyes were bloodshot; he tugged at the corners of his mouth and smiled, saying: "Sorry, Big Leader, for disturbing your rest. Can we talk alone?"

The Leader's wife laughed when she heard this, poured water for the two of them with a huff, curled her lips, yawned, and returned to the bedroom to go back to sleep.

Arriving at the study, the Big Leader put on his glasses, turned on the desk lamp, and said: "Speak, what exactly is the matter? If you can't give me a one-two-three, I won't let you off."

"Take a look." He Yuzhu removed the cloth from his lap and then forcefully lifted the box onto the desk.

"This is... it wouldn't be a bomb, would it?" The Big Leader joked, then began to observe the box.

He Yuzhu didn't speak; instead, he reluctantly took out a cigarette and was about to put it in his mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey, I say Shazhu, do you not want to live? Don't you know that smoking isn't allowed in my house? If she gets up and scolds you later, I won't care." The Big Leader was startled and hurriedly stopped him.

"Uh, I forgot. You open it and see for yourself." He Yuzhu held the cigarette in his mouth, sheepishly put down the matches, and leaned closer to the Big Leader.

"This is... Hiss! Where did you get this?!" The Big Leader opened the box, took one look, quickly closed the lid again, and in shock, snatched the cigarette from He Yuzhu's mouth, tremblingly picked up the matches, and lit it.

Only his trembling hands couldn't get it lit no matter what...

It was He Yuzhu who lit it for him, and then he took deep, heavy drags.

"Cough, cough, this is fake cigarettes, right? Why is it so harsh?!" The Big Leader took two puffs, coughed repeatedly, and asked.

"Hi, let's not worry about that right now." He Yuzhu patted his own head and lit one for himself as well.

The two of them puffed away one after another, and for a moment, there was some silence.

"What do you mean?" Finally, the Big Leader spoke up.

"Donate it."

"Donate it?"

"Donate it!" He Yuzhu gritted his teeth and nodded, not daring to look at the box.

"Hehe, good, good. So, do you have any requests?" The Big Leader stroked the box affectionately and smiled.

"Yes, just don't say it was me who donated it. An anonymous donation." He Yuzhu said quickly.

"Haha, cough, cough, I'll try my best." The Big Leader carefully took out the Great Seal, *thwack*, stamped a piece of paper, put it away, and then satisfiedly wrapped it back up.

"Hey, I say, are you two done yet? What time is it? I can smell the smoke in the bedroom." The Leader's wife's voice came, and the two of them immediately laughed.

The Big Leader pushed open the window, let the smoke out, and incidentally shouted outside the window: "Is there anyone on duty? Call the driver and Secretary Chen."

"Yes, Chief." A light shout came from outside the window, and a soldier on duty replied.

Soon, the two were ready. The Big Leader first sent He Yuzhu back to the Siheyuan. As he was getting out of the car, the Big Leader asked: "No regrets?"

"Regretting donating it lasts for a moment; not donating it leads to a lifetime of regret. I, He Yuzhu, never regret my moves." Saying this, He Yuzhu left dashingly without looking back.

The Big Leader watched He Yuzhu's back, his admiring gaze following He Yuzhu all the way into the courtyard.

On the side where The Big Leader could not see, He Yuzhu bit his lip hard, tears streaming out continuously: "Sob, sob, sob, if only I had played with it for two more days, damn it, I was too impulsive."

The Big Leader soon arrived at a secure yet ordinary residence, and amidst the other person's look of complaint, he handed over the box...

"Hiss, where did you get this from? You didn't take a bribe, did you, eh? Hahaha."

"How could that be? A young friend just got it and sent it over, saying it was to be presented to you."

"What do you mean presented to me! This is bribery directed at me, isn't it? This little friend of yours isn't very honest, eh?"

"Haha, if he heard you say that, it would break his heart."

"Haha, that's fine, that's fine. It's almost dawn, let's eat something together, appreciate it properly, and send it to the museum tomorrow morning."

"Send it to the museum?!"

"What else? Keep it for the New Year? Oh, by the way, I can't give him anything else, but I will personally write the Silk Banner and Certificate for this little friend."

"Haha, that's not important, I was just joking with you. He is donating it to the country, um, he wants to donate it anonymously."

"That's good, very good, that's a reasonable way to put it. This young comrade has quite good ideological awareness. Then it must be written even more so. Like this, give it to him quietly; it can be considered our gratitude for him returning a national treasure, and leave him a memento."

At this moment, back in his room in the Siheyuan, He Yuzhu hid under his quilt, sobbing and whimpering, his entire pillow soaked through.

What he did not know was that this accidental donation would, in the most turbulent final years, end up saving his life because of this Silk Banner and Certificate.

The next day, He Yuzhu arrived at the Rolling Mill at Factory Director Yang's office with swollen eyes, giving the other man a start.

"I say Zhuzi, what happened to you..."

Feeling lost, He Yuzhu forced his swollen eyelids open a tiny slit, shook his head, and hurriedly brought up the matter of the Security Section; he could not bear to hear about that right now.

"Good, since you're here, take up your post. Select the personnel you need and report them to me, but there is only one condition!"

"Understood!" He Yuzhu nodded, his tone very firm; at this moment, he felt his heart had become as hard as iron, after all, there was nothing left to lose...

A famous master once said: how much wasted money you have spent represents how much magnanimity you have; if you have already spent hundreds of millions in wasted money, then spending hundreds of millions when doing real work isn't just like child's play?

Applause for those who understood!