Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Xu Damao may have drunk too much, or he may have been genuinely moved, which is why he said so much without thinking today.

But Zhang Dabiao secretly gave him a thumbs-up under the table—[Da Mao, you were a real man today!]

Xu Damao understood Zhang Dabiao's meaning, so regardless of the Lou family's attitude, he gestured towards Shazhu and asked, "Shazhu, I'm done speaking. It's your turn. If you were in this situation, what would you do?"

Sha Zhu slammed his hand on the table and said, "We absolutely have to help!"

"The neighbors in the compound help each other, that's what makes it so warm and friendly. 'A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative'—that's what it means. Today I help you, tomorrow you help me. Unity is strength, isn't that how it should be?"

"Jia Dongxu is someone we've known since childhood, and Bang Geng Xiaodang is someone we've watched grow up. We can't just abandon them!"

"You don't care that your neighbors are struggling to survive, Xu Damao, are you even human?"

The Lou family members all nodded repeatedly, and even Lou Xiao'e slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "Yes, we must help!"

No matter how chauvinistic or arrogant Sha Zhu was before, Lou Xiao'e thought he did the right thing and was a real man!

Sha Zhu, believing he had gained the Lou family's approval, became even more smug.

The deaf old lady also supports this view, because if the whole nursing home agrees, her retirement will be secure. She hopes all young people share this idea.

But when she saw Zhang Dabiao looking at Shazhu with pity, the deaf old woman felt uneasy. Was something wrong?

Lou Bancheng and the others also agreed with Sha Zhu's idea. After all, in this era, the idea of ​​selflessly helping others is correct and noble.

On the contrary, Xu Damao's admission that he is not a good person is selfish—which is a synonym for backwardness in this era and is despised by people.

Seeing that Lou Xiao'e supported Sha Zhu, and the two of them looked like a united couple against a common enemy, while he himself was the "enemy," Xu Damao felt a sudden pang of sadness. He could only cup his hands in a gesture of respect and say, "Yes, I, Xu Damao, am a petty person. You, Sha Zhu, are so noble. You're amazing!"

"If you want to be a good person, go ahead, just don't drag me into it."

Sha Zhu was provoked by these sarcastic words. He was about to stand up and reprimand Xu Damao, but Zhang Dabiao forcefully held him down.

"One last question, Sha Zhu, if Jia Dongxu dies, Qin Huairu can remarry—"

"So, are you still going to marry Lou Xiao'e?"

Everyone—【What the hell is this question?】

But Shazhu was stunned when he heard this.

Zhang Dabiao smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Lou Bancheng, Lou Xiao'e, and the others: "Uncle Lou, I've asked all the questions I needed to ask. This is your family matter, I won't interfere."

"Da Mao, let's walk back. Uncle Lou needs time to think it over, so let's not bother him."

Without saying a word, Zhang Dabiao pulled Xu Damao up, put his arm around his shoulder, and left the Lou Mansion.

But in Sha Zhu's view—was this Xu Damao and Zhang Dabiao admitting defeat?

I won?

He was feeling quite pleased with himself, but he didn't realize that his momentary lapse in concentration had deeply hurt Lou Xiao'e.

[When you heard that Qin Huairu could remarry, and asked you, silly Zhu, if you still wanted to marry me, you actually froze?]

What do you mean?!

Lou Bancheng and Tan Yali were also caught in a deep dilemma.

------------

Stepping outside, the cold night wind made Xu Damao dizzy; he had really drunk too much that day.

Zhang Dabiao had no choice but to help him hail a rickshaw and take him back to the courtyard house.

This guy was hurt by Lou Xiao'e's attitude. Well, it's good that he can see what kind of person that silly moth really is beforehand, so he won't be betrayed after marriage.

Zhang Dabiao left the rest to his own devices.

Take it or leave it! It's none of my business!

------------

The next day, after school at noon, Zhang Dabiao went to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and reported the results of the patent matter.

The person who liaised with Zhang Dabiao was the same leader surnamed Zhao who had gone to his courtyard to ask him why he wanted a patent.

"Director Zhao, this is a copy of the patent registration document, and this is the power of attorney for the patent."

"Copy?"

Zhang Dabiao handed the document to Director Zhao, only then realizing that there were no photocopiers in China.

The world's first commercially successful and easy-to-operate plain paper copier was the Xerox 914, launched by Xerox in 1959. It is widely recognized as the starting point for modern office copiers.

As Asia's financial center, Hong Kong's foreign trading companies, banks, large law firms, shipping companies, and key departments of the colonial government were the most likely to be the first to purchase such advanced equipment to improve efficiency.

When Lou Bancheng asked his eldest son to handle the formalities, he made copies for him, mainly in case Zhang Dabiao needed them when reporting to his superiors.

"Yes, the photocopier will print it out for you in no time, that's what Boss Lou said."

"He asked his eldest son in Hong Kong to handle it. Here is a power of attorney for the patent, and the patent is registered in his name."

"Huh? Under his name?"

Director Zhao was now quite agitated. He carefully examined the patent registration and power of attorney, and after chatting with Zhang Dabiao for a long time, he finally understood the whole process.

"You're doing this..." After thinking for a long time, Director Zhao didn't know what to say.

Zhang Dabiao shrugged helplessly: "I have no money, and I'm not from Hong Kong, so I don't even have the qualifications to register. Not to mention, I don't know how long it will take for this thing to be approved, so I can only entrust them to handle this matter."

"Director Zhao, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

Director Zhang thought for a moment and said, "No, you got the aid by exchanging 50-year-old wild ginseng with Lou Bancheng, not to mention that the Lou family also took 2% of the profits."

"Overall, you neither gain nor lose. You haven't left the country, haven't violated any regulations, and are producing domestically under a free license. You're just finding capitalists to represent your patents..."

Zhang Dabiao looked helpless: "I don't even have the qualifications to register myself."

Director Zhao shook his head: "Forget it, let's leave it at that. I'll register it for you and report it to the higher-ups. Just let them know that this happened."

Initially, it was their department that authorized Zhang Dabiao to work on the patent, without paying him a single penny. The patent had absolutely nothing to do with the department financially. But regardless of whether you succeeded or not, you have to come back and report. We don't care whether you succeeded or not, but you can't make mistakes in the procedures.

"So, about that... Tadanosuke... could you please let him know that the patent has already been applied for?" Zhang Dabiao chuckled. Director Zhao raised an eyebrow: "What, you actually think they'll buy your patent?"

Zhang Dabiao shook his head: "It's not buying, it's licensing."

"I can't speak for others, but the Japanese will definitely buy it!"

"He initially offered several hundred dollars, but now... hehehehe, he has no choice but to accept it!"

Seeing Zhang Dabiao's greedy appearance, Minister Zhao also became interested.

"You look like a money-grubber. This thing can make a lot of money? You're planning to sell... licensing fees?"

"How much?"