Chapter 001: Return from a Long Journey
The motorcycle is extremely eye-catching, completely overshadowing the presence of any Mercedes or BMW on the road. In an instant, all pedestrians, including drivers, turned their attention to the motorcycle and its rider.
"Young man, are you looking for someone?" The old lady looked at the knight with a hint of caution in her eyes
As the economic and commercial center of the nation, Mingzhu Street in the morning is the busiest time of the day, fully exemplifying what it means to have a continuous flow of traffic and a throng of pedestrians
As I raised my head slightly, I noticed an elderly man in a Daoist robe standing before me. The robe, though somewhat faded from washing, remained clean despite its age.
Such a physically imposing American industrial beast would generally appear somewhat slender when matched with an average Chinese physique. However, it is evident that this knight is not of that sort; his robust and sturdy build dominates the motorcycle, completely taming this industrial beast
The old man snorted coldly, then walked into the shop with his hands behind his back. Bian Rui put down the wet towel in his hand and followed the old man into the shop.
After the divorce last year, Bian Rui sold his house. After clearly dividing the assets, he used the remaining money to rent a shop and purchased this Indian Chief motorcycle
Just as the knight was gazing at the door sign, an elderly lady emerged from the entrance of a small supermarket nearby. The lady, who appeared to be in her sixties, looked quite spirited, dressed in a long deep purple dress paired with a small cardigan, her attire being quite ordinary
The shop is not very large, with an approximate width of 6 meters, and the overall height of the shop is about 5.5 meters. On the shopfront, there is a black sign featuring a circle of white cloud patterns, set against a black background. Above the background, there are four large characters in clerical script that read 'Bianjia Xiaoguan'.
The grand cruiser, carrying the knight, passed through two intersections and turned into a two-lane alley. It traveled approximately one hundred meters within the alley before stopping in front of a row of small shops with elevated entrances.
Waiting for the elderly lady to take the key, Bian Rui opened the door and found the shop to be impeccably clean, indicating that the diligent Aunt Qi had taken great care of the establishment
The rider on the motorcycle is dressed entirely in the American cruising style, wearing a black and red half helmet. On either side of the helmet are colorful Indian chief emblems, and from the front of the helmet to the back, there are ten handcrafted pure silver decorative studs embedded.
The knight before me rides a limited edition motorcycle, featuring a large expanse of wildfire red complemented by small patches of thunder black crystal paint. The emblem, which was originally intended to be pure 24K gold leaf, has now been replaced with a handcrafted silver three-dimensional emblem. Although it lacks the preciousness of gold, it appears even more striking and eye-catching.
At the turn of spring and summer, the temperature in Mingzhu City has already risen, and the roadside trees have long since sprouted branches, with tender green leaves hanging abundantly from the tips.
Useless thing
A strange engine sound suddenly erupted, unlike the common sounds of automobiles; this engine noise resembled a deep beastly roar, as well as a profound musical composition
Bian Rui has an average appearance, with a slightly square and angular face. He possesses a certain masculinity, characterized by thick, dark eyebrows resembling the shape of a silkworm. His eyes are not large, but the slightly elongated outer corners make them quite expressive. His nose is neither high nor low, and the tip is neither big nor small. His lips are also neither thick nor thin, resulting in a face that does not stand out much in a crowd.
Tap, tap, tap ... ...
At this time, all the office workers are hurrying along, squeezing into various modes of transportation, rushing towards the direction of their companies. Many of them have simple and modest dreams, which is to stay, to buy a house in Mingzhu, settle down, and become a true resident of Mingzhu
Before entering, he was a wild man with unkempt long hair; after coming out, however, Ruike appeared much more spirited, with a neat crew cut that almost revealed his scalp. The originally bushy beard had been shaved down to leave only a patch of stubble.
After completing the tasks at hand, Bian Rui began to fulfill a long-held dream of riding a motorcycle from Mingzhu to Portugal via land
After taking a shower upstairs in the shop and changing into a fresh set of clothes, I pulled a water hose from the kitchen downstairs and began to carefully wash my mount
American-style cruiser, without mentioning anything else, just looking at its dimensions puts ordinary motorcycles to shame. With a body length of 2,656 mm, a width of 1,000 mm, and a height of nearly 1,500 mm, the total weight of the vehicle reaches 408 kg. For someone of shorter stature, riding it feels like squatting atop this industrial beast.
The knight's upper body is clad in a black riding jacket, adorned with colorful silk-embroidered insignias of an Indian chief on both the chest and the back. The lower half consists of slightly tight leather riding trousers, and on his feet are a pair of dark gray mid-calf Martin boots
After spending nearly half a year traveling over ten thousand kilometers, enduring all kinds of weather, this bright red motorcycle has become more than just a lifeless vehicle for Bian Rui; it is a companion, the most loyal partner on the road
At the intersection, the red light is on. The crowd seems to be split apart by the flow of traffic. When the green light turns on, the pedestrians on both sides surge onto the crosswalk once again like a torrent.
However, like all the major cities in the world, Mingzhu is not particularly friendly, whether to new residents or to long-time inhabitants. Such large cities only favor the successful, those elites who have survived in the jungle law, or in other words, the principle of survival of the fittest. As for the failures, the long-time residents huddle in their tiny homes, living day after day in a life of meticulous poverty, while the new residents, coming to make a living, sneak back to where they came from, tail between their legs.
Oh, what a little rascal! I truly can't recognize you with this physique now. Is foreign cuisine really that unappetizing? Did you take a stroll and lose all the weight on your body?
However, the old lady truly noticed it
After taking a stroll around the shop, I took the luggage off the motorcycle and placed it in the small room on the second floor. Bian Rui locked the door, turned around, and took a look around to see when the barbershop would open for a haircut. I initially did not expect the barbershop to open so early, but to my surprise, when I arrived at the door, I found that it was already open.
Not knowing how long it had been since she started washing, Bian Rui slightly turned her head and discovered a pair of feet wearing gray layered-soled shoes beside her.
"Considering what you said, we can be considered neighbors. By the way, it's been almost half a year since you left, I thought you would have returned long ago," the old lady said as she walked back.
Beside the motorcycle, a young man in a small car tilted his head to observe the motorcycle and the rider for a moment, then suddenly spat out through the car window at the rider: "What the hell! Truly a rich person, an Indian Roadmaster custom edition paired with a Ming A motorcycle license plate! With that money, you could buy a BMW 740LI to impress the ladies, wouldn't that be more appealing? How many people on the road know how much your broken motorcycle is worth? It's really absurd!" Truly a rich person, an Indian Roadmaster custom edition paired with a Ming A motorcycle license plate! With that money, you could buy a BMW 740LI to impress the ladies, wouldn't that be more appealing? How many people on the road know how much your broken motorcycle is worth? It's really absurd!
Upon clearly seeing the old man's face, Bian Rui quickly stood up and stood there with his hands at his sides
The knight parted his hair and beard, seemingly to allow the old lady to see better; unfortunately, the beard was too thick, making it nearly indistinguishable whether it was combed or uncombed
Bian Rui
He speaks like this, yet his gaze cannot conceal the desire within him. As for men, it is rare for them to be indifferent to mechanical toys.
The knight turned his head and smiled at the old lady, saying: "Aunt Qi, it's me, Bian Rui"
Bian Rui smiled and said: "No, I used to be like this. It was just a few years ago when I was too busy making money and socializing all day, which led to neglecting exercise. That’s why I gained weight to over 200 pounds. Seven or eight years ago, I weighed at most 160 pounds"
The old lady looked up and down at Bian Rui: "You have lost weight, and you look more spirited. By the way, this long hair and big beard don't look good; why not shave it off? Oh, I forgot that the key to your shop is still with me; I will go get it for you"
The old-fashioned goggles obscured the knight's eyes, and beneath the goggles was a thick, black beard that covered the entire lower half of the knight's face
The elderly lady's gaze reflected disbelief; for her, it was difficult to associate the image of the tall, plump Ben Rui with the robust young man before her. It should be noted that that chubby boy, Ben Rui, weighed nearly 250 pounds, while the person in front of her appeared to weigh no more than 170.
Looking again at the person? The originally cheerful and chubby man, who would squint and smile upon seeing someone, is completely mismatched with the person in front of him, who has long disheveled hair and a face full of thick beard.
Everyone is very busy; they are either busy making money or busy enriching their knowledge to make better money. They have neither the time nor the interest to care about anything else. The sense of indifference among people in big cities is equally pervasive in this rapidly developing Eastern metropolis, Mingzhu.
"It has been more than five months, and there are still ten days left until half a year," replied Bian Rui
Old demon... Oh, Master! What brings you here?
Take another look at the 1811CC V-twin air-cooled engine, which is estimated to have a displacement larger than half of the car engines on the road. As for the features found in luxury cars, such as cruise control and lane departure warning, this grand cruiser has almost all of them.
The face is generally long, but in terms of height, it is quite advantageous, standing at 1.88 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a slim waist. Although it appears somewhat relaxed mentally, this relaxation is not of a sickly kind, but rather resembles a leopard lazily yawning while lying on a tree branch.
Whether it is a knight or a motorcycle, both exude a wild aura, standing out in stark contrast to the surrounding crowd on a morning in the Pearl of the Orient, much like a brown bear intruding into a flock of sheep
The knight extinguished the fire and dismounted, removed his helmet and placed it on the vehicle, stood up straight in silence, and gazed at the small shop in front of him
The old man is not very tall, around 1.7 meters, and has a slender build, weighing no more than 110 pounds. He has little hair left on his head, with sparse strands gathered into a bun, secured with a wooden hairpin.
With the low roar of the engine, a massive cruiser motorcycle arrived at the intersection, slowly coming to a stop in front of the white stop line
Thank you for always taking care of the shop while I was away
The green light illuminated, and amidst the rumbling sound of the engine, the knight and the motorcycle vanished from the sight of the crowd, while the people nearby began to resume their usual bustling movement.
The elderly lady warmly walked over to Bian Rui's side and pinched his arm a few times.
Aunt Qi, it really is me, look
The Indian Roadmaster is indeed not well-known domestically; apart from motorcycle enthusiasts, few are aware of it. The widely recognized touring motorcycles are primarily Honda's Gold Wing and Harley's Electra Glide. However, those who enjoy riding motorcycles know that the Indian Roadmaster is fully comparable to the renowned Harley Electra Glide, embodying the quintessential American heavyweight motorcycle style.
Bian Rui Xian is very meticulous, even when it comes to the most difficult corners to clean, Bian Rui carefully wipes them with a damp cloth.