It took quite a while for Xu Xilin to return with Hua Xiongmao. Chen Ke found this slightly odd; although the Xu residence was large, even a normal turtle exerting itself would have crawled from the entrance hall by now. Just as he was speculating, Xu Xilin led Hua Xiongmao into the living room. Although Xu still looked somewhat depressed, he had at least regained his composure. Upon seeing Qiu Jin in the room, Hua Xiongmao called out respectfully, "Hello, Aunt Qiu." He then turned to Chen Ke and said, "Hello, Brother Chen. The drinking yesterday was very enjoyable; today we can continue to drink to our hearts' content."

These two forms of address struck Chen Ke as very wrong. After a moment of thought, he realized he had actually been taken advantage of by Qiu Jin in terms of seniority. Chen Ke stood up and said, "Graduate Hua, the drinking yesterday was indeed good." Then Chen Ke turned his head, "Sister Qiu, so this Graduate Hua is actually your relative."

Qiu Jin had far more social experience than Chen Ke. Hearing this, she knew immediately that Chen Ke was unwilling to suffer a loss in hierarchy. Amused by this childish behavior, Qiu Jin couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Wenqing, no need to stand on ceremony. Xiongmao is my cousin's son. You calling him Brother Hua and me Sister Qiu is fine. I won't take advantage of you, and I won't let you take advantage of Xiongmao. Let's just be casual."

"Sister Qiu, I grew up overseas and know basically nothing of domestic etiquette. How should we address each other in these situations here?" Chen Ke hastily asked.

"You can address him as *Shixiong* Hua. Don't call him Brother Hua directly. Or how about this, you address each other by your courtesy names. Xiongmao, Chen Ke's courtesy name is Wenqing. Wenqing, Xiongmao's courtesy name is Zhenglan."

"Many thanks for the instruction, Sister Qiu." Chen Ke quickly expressed his thanks.

Hearing this, Hua Xiongmao just chuckled. "Brother Chen's courtesy name is Wenqing?" Chen Ke nodded, "Brother Hua, my surname is Chen, given name Ke, courtesy name Wenqing."

Everyone took their seats again. Xu Xilin said, "Xiongmao, there was some misunderstanding between you and Wenqing. I originally called you here to mediate. But listening to you, it seems you met again yesterday? And it seems you've buried the hatchet. This is good."

Only hearing this did Chen Ke understand why Xu Xilin had delayed so long at the door. It turned out he was mediating for him. Although Chen Ke wasn't afraid of Hua Xiongmao, provoking a Martial Arts Graduate for no reason was not a good thing.

Hua Xiongmao smiled and said, "Uncle, you know I hate fake foreign devils and those who believe in foreign religions the most. Yesterday we drank and chatted, and since Brother Chen is neither a fake foreign devil nor a believer in foreign religions, what misunderstanding could there be?"

"That is good, that is good," Xu Xilin said, forcing a cheerful tone.

Hua Xiongmao felt the atmosphere was a bit off, so he asked, "Uncle, do you and Brother Chen have matters to discuss? In that case, I'll come visit another day."

"No need for another day. In the next couple of days, I, your Aunt Qiu, and Wenqing are going to Shanghai. If you have other business, speak now," Xu Xilin replied.

Hearing Xu Xilin's words, Chen Ke felt a burst of joy. Hua Xiongmao showed delight on his face, "How about I go to Shanghai with everyone?"

The team traveling from Shaoxing to Shanghai was quickly assembled. The leader was naturally Xu Xilin, with three official members: Qiu Jin, Chen Ke, and Hua Xiongmao. A temporary member was Qiu Jin's maid, named Lin Jian. There was no train from Shaoxing to Shanghai yet, let alone long-distance buses. On the way to the pier, Xu Xilin told everyone he had hired a large boat yesterday and expected to reach Shanghai in three or four days. Hearing "three or four days," Chen Ke merely nodded. Taking a train from Shaoxing to Shanghai would only take a few hours. The gap in efficiency was ridiculously large.

Qiu Jin was quite happy, "Wenqing, now we have time to talk."

The early summer of 1905 was nowhere near as hot as the summers of the 21st century; it was quite cool inside the boat cabin. Looking out the window, both banks of the river were lined with crops. Occasionally, waterwheels could be seen turning slowly, and farmers in the fields were burying their heads in their work. It really had the flavor of a landscape painting. The river channel wasn't wide, and there were quite a few boats on the water, though most were small. Chen Ke had seen many such scenes in movies and TV, but having grown up by the Yellow River, traveling by boat in the water-networked region of Jiangsu-Zhejiang was a truly novel experience for him.

Seeing Chen Ke staring intently out the window, Qiu Jin asked, "Wenqing, how is the scenery?"

"I haven't seen such good scenery before. I haven't really taken boats much," Chen Ke replied casually.

"The scenery is so good, yet the country is so dilapidated. Does Wenqing have no thoughts on this?" Xu Xilin joined the conversation. From his tone, he still intended to pry the revolutionary plan out of Chen Ke.

Chen Ke turned back. Since he had decided to cooperate with Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin, he felt there had to be at least a certain basis for cooperation. Yesterday he had pondered for a long time and roughly determined a baseline of what could be said and what couldn't. "Brother Boxun, the price of cotton has risen quite a bit in the last two years, right?"

"Uh?" Xu Xilin didn't understand what this non-sequitur was about for a moment.

"In recent years, more and more textile mills have opened, and there are more and more ports open to foreigners in China. Domestic cotton is either exported or used locally. The demand for cotton is increasing, but the total production of cotton hasn't increased. So the price of cotton is getting higher and higher."

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin looked at each other. Chen Ke's words made sense, but neither of them had investigated the price of cotton.

"That is indeed the case," Hua Xiongmao interjected.

"Xiongmao, how do you know the price of cotton?" Qiu Jin asked.

"A while ago, I transported a shipment of cotton with some friends. On the way, that friend kept complaining about the sharp rise in cotton prices. That's how I know," Hua Xiongmao replied calmly.

Hearing Hua Xiongmao's words, Chen Ke felt it was a bit strange. Hua Xiongmao was a Martial Arts Graduate after all, yet he actually participated in transporting cotton. But on second thought, the atmosphere of commerce was strong in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region; it wasn't strange for Hua Xiongmao to do a little business. At this point, Xu Xilin asked, "Then what is it that Wenqing wants to say?"

"Cotton production hasn't increased, usage has increased, so the price of cotton has risen."

"What does this have to do with revolution?" Xu Xilin was completely confused.

"I believe the government established by the revolution must be a government that can manage these things. For example, if you open a cotton mill, the workers need to eat—do you provide grain? To open a cotton mill, you need cotton. If the price of cotton is high, the cost of the cloth will naturally be high. Foreign cloth prices are lower than Chinese cloth; naturally, you can't compete with foreign cloth in the market. If these problems aren't solved, and you invest a large sum of money in a textile mill, but can't compete on price and can't sell the cloth you produce, you won't make money—you'll lose money. There is no need to do business that loses money." Chen Ke felt his explanation was sufficient.

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin listened to this explanation and began to ponder the content of what Chen Ke said.

A moment later, Hua Xiongmao suddenly asked, "Is Wenqing saying the state should open textile mills?"

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin felt a sudden realization. They had been confused by Chen Ke's talk about cost accounting and hadn't noticed the premise Chen Ke was proposing. Chen Ke actually wanted the state to take over grain planting, cotton planting, opening textile mills, and organizing workers all together.

"This, this... Wenqing, this revolution of yours..." Xu Xilin found it hard to accept what Chen Ke was saying. "We revolt for the sake of China. After the revolution succeeds, we should retire and let the people rule themselves. Wenqing, your revolution isn't about retiring after success at all. It's about taking a step further up."

Hearing Xu Xilin speak of "people ruling themselves," Chen Ke couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Many, many people in Chinese history had said similar things, like "pleading for the people" or opposing "competing with the people for profit." But which of these people didn't represent the interests of the property owners? When was this "people" not the landlords and merchants of the propertied class?

And these property owners always put their economic interests first. These days, Chen Ke constantly recalled the political knowledge he had learned, and there was a sentence he found quite sensible: "The petty bourgeoisie is the most reactionary." The big bourgeoisie, because they have permeated every aspect of society, at least have a broader overall view when considering problems. The interests of the petty bourgeoisie are limited to their own patch of land; their considerations are both narrow and stubborn. If the mainstream of the country were the petty bourgeoisie, that would truly be a disaster.

However, at least Xu Xilin didn't hear the implication in Chen Ke's words that the state would strip landlords of their land ownership rights, Chen Ke thought to himself. If Xu Xilin understood this layer of meaning, who knows what he would think? To put it bluntly, Chen Ke needed to rely on Xu Xilin. If there was a conflict over revolutionary theory that angered Xu Xilin, the subsequent matters would be hard to predict. For now, he had to make Xu Xilin believe Chen Ke was a true revolutionary on one hand, and on the other hand, give Xu Xilin expectations of him without causing a full-blown conflict. Only in this way could the cooperation be guaranteed.

Thinking of these things, Chen Ke replied, "Brother Boxun, I also said that the revolution in my ideal isn't just about overthrowing the Manchu Qing and being done with it. It is to revolutionize China's old system. Before achieving this, the revolution cannot be considered a success. In my view, the state managing these things is the right path. The old saying 'Imperial power does not extend to the county level' is completely unsuitable for this era."

These words were already beyond Xu Xilin's imagination. As a patriotic, hot-blooded youth, Xu Xilin's feeling was that once the Manchu government, which was bringing calamity to the country and people, was exterminated, China could enter a beautiful new era. Xu Xilin had never even thought about the system construction of the new era Chen Ke proposed. Now listening to Chen Ke, Xu Xilin felt it made sense, but he couldn't explain exactly what was wrong; he felt an inexplicable resistance to what Chen Ke was saying.

Qiu Jin listened to their conversation in silence. Emotionally, she naturally leaned more towards Xu Xilin, but Chen Ke's words felt more reasonable to her. Hua Xiongmao, on the other hand, was keenly interested. He interrupted again to ask, "The new system Wenqing speaks of, what will the official system be like? Still the imperial examination?"

Hua Xiongmao's words surprised Chen Ke greatly. He couldn't help but stare at Hua Xiongmao for a moment. Perhaps because Hua Xiongmao was a Martial Arts Graduate, and in a sense still an insider of the system, his sensitivity to the system was even higher than that of Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. Chen Ke replied, "Ultimately, we still have to walk the path of examinations, but the new examinations will not select 'officials' (*Guan*), but 'functionaries' (*Li*)."

"Ah? Then how do we test?" Hua Xiongmao cut to the key point every time he asked.

"The content of the exam is not the Four Books and Five Classics, but mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural sciences, and other courses. Most importantly, the state establishes schools, and all children must receive education. Everyone has the opportunity to participate in the examinations."

"Then how are officials selected? Are they selected from the functionaries?" Hua Xiongmao became even more interested.

Chen Ke was no longer just admiring Hua Xiongmao; he was a bit wary. But meeting such a clear-headed person was truly surprising. Chen Ke replied, "Brother Hua is correct. In the future, officials will be those who have done well in administration and gradually risen up."

"So administration means what Wenqing said about managing farming, managing cotton, managing factories and such?" Hua Xiongmao's face was full of joy as he said this.

"Is Brother Hua a revolutionary?" Chen Ke didn't know what to say anymore.

"I am not a revolutionary. I am just completely disappointed with the government. Although I passed the exam for Martial Arts Graduate, there is absolutely no place to serve the country." Hua Xiongmao said with a smile, "Wenqing, the reason I hate fake foreign devils is because the ones I see open their mouths only to say how backward China is and how powerful foreign countries are. Those who believe in foreign religions use the power of the foreign devils to commit crimes. That group in the court set up civil and military exams, but it's not like that at all. Even if you pass the Graduate exam, you can't serve the country. The military exams have been rotten for so many years, I won't mention them. The civil exams used to at least look at the essay in the Eight-Legged Essay, but now the Eight-Legged Essay only looks at whether your handwriting is good. How the essay is written is not the point at all. Listening to Wenqing, I feel this is the right path for the country."

Hua Xiongmao's words were so clear and plain that Chen Ke was puzzled. "Then why doesn't Brother Hua apply for a new-style school?" he asked.

"Even if you graduate from a new school, you just become a private disciple of the people who opened the school. I can't do that kind of thing. My family doesn't lack money; doing a little business with friends keeps me well-fed and clothed. Being a slave to others is something I really can't do," Hua Xiongmao replied.

There really are all kinds of people in this world, Chen Ke sighed in his heart. He thought Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin, as revolutionaries, would understand his revolutionary ideas, but he never expected that Hua Xiongmao, a Martial Arts Graduate, would be more accepting of the bureaucratic system Chen Ke constructed. If he could pull someone like Hua Xiongmao under his banner, the revolutionary cause could actually be pushed forward.

Having discussed this far, Chen Ke felt there was no need to talk about revolution anymore. He turned the topic to modern scientific and technical knowledge. Both Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin were interested in assassinating high-ranking Manchu officials, so Chen Ke explained the chemical principles and production methods of bombs, as well as various precautions for storage, transport, and use. To prevent the two revolutionaries from blowing themselves up with their own bombs, Chen Ke gave them preliminary chemistry training. Chen Ke fluently wrote various equations, which looked like ghostly talismans to Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. Facing the two frustrated people, Chen Ke said, "When we make money, we'll open a school. At that time, you two can learn these things completely in the school."

The closer they got to Shanghai, the livelier the water surface became. On the morning of the third day, they actually saw a familiar yet strange structure: a towering chimney belching thick smoke. Chen Ke had seen many chimneys and used to climb these tall structures when he was little, but he hadn't seen them in a city for many years. As one of the very few industrial centers in China, Shanghai concentrated a significant proportion of industrial enterprises. The closer to Shanghai, the more of these factory chimneys there were.

Not only that, the number of ships also increased. Bustling Shanghai not only concentrated factories but also a large number of workers. As an important city for foreign trade in China, commerce was equally prosperous. Of course, there were negative effects too; the closer to Shanghai, the worse the water quality became. A foul smell wafted over the river surface, forcing Chen Ke, who wanted to see the scenery, back into the cabin.

On the dock, heads were bobbing, and solicitation calls in various local accents rose and fell. People offering accommodation, transport, and laborers in short coats were all working hard to solicit business for a day's rations. Apart from the different means of transportation, there was no essential difference from a modern station. After getting off the boat, Chen Ke felt his legs go soft, and the whole ground seemed to be swaying. Hua Xiongmao smiled and took Chen Ke's huge travel bag, "It seems Wenqing doesn't take boats often."

"I made a fool of myself," Chen Ke said as he tried to take back his bag.

"Tch. What's with the blind politeness," Hua Xiongmao said. Then he turned his head and shouted loudly, "We need a few cars." Rickshaw pullers with empty carts were already heading this way, but hearing Hua Xiongmao's powerful shout, even more rickshaw pullers scrambled over.

Xu Xilin didn't want to waste money, so he eventually hired a large cart to take everyone into the city area.

Chen Ke was still wearing the same clothes he wore in Shaoxing, but no one paid him any attention here. Western suits were not a rare sight in Shanghai. Shops lined the road one after another, there were many pedestrians, and beggars could be seen everywhere on the streets. This bustling and noisy Chinese metropolis was exactly the same as recorded in history.

Chen Ke wasn't good at remembering directions. After winding through streets and alleys, Xu Xilin led everyone to the Restoration Society's foothold in Shanghai. As soon as they entered, they heard someone shout, "Boxun, when did you come to Shanghai?" Xu Xilin hurriedly went up to talk to that person. Apart from lecturing everyone these past few days, Chen Ke had also learned some southern dialect. He vaguely understood that Xu Xilin addressed the man as Tao Gong. Looking closely, this Mr. Tao in a long gown gave him the impression of the word "Round". Round body, round face, but with deep features, looking quite heroic.

The two spoke for a moment, and Xu Xilin introduced the parties. This Mr. Tao was named Tao Chengzhang. Chen Ke had some impression of this name but couldn't recall many details; he should be a well-known figure in the Restoration Society. When Xu Xilin introduced Chen Ke, he was a bit vague, only saying Chen Ke had returned from studying in the United States. Tao Chengzhang bowed with hands clasped to everyone one by one, his attitude very sincere. He looked like someone who frequently traveled and made connections.

"Tao Gong, we want to see Cai Gong. I wonder if Cai Gong is free now?" Xu Xilin asked.

Hearing this, a look of difficulty appeared on Tao Chengzhang's face. "Mr. Cai is currently in contact with those people from the Tongmenghui; I'm afraid it won't be possible these few days."

"Then we can wait," Xu Xilin replied. "Tao Gong, do you have any friends who know foreigners in the concessions in Shanghai?"

Tao Chengzhang was stunned. Everyone knew Xu Xilin didn't like foreigners, and few members of the Restoration Society liked dealing with foreigners. Unexpectedly, Xu Xilin wanted to have some dealings with foreign firms in the concessions this time, which was greatly outside Tao Chengzhang's expectations. After thinking for a while, Tao Chengzhang said, "I know someone named You Gou; you could look for this person."

"Where can we find this Mr. You?"

"Guangyuan Tavern."

"..."

Guangyuan Tavern was on Baochang Road, which is the middle section of Avenue Joffre. The sign on the door was neither new nor old; it looked like it hadn't been wiped for a long time. The frontage wasn't large either. It was afternoon, and customers were scarce. When Chen Ke, Xu Xilin, and Hua Xiongmao entered the tavern, there were only three or four people inside. Specifically, a Chinese person and two foreigners were sitting at a table, and the boss was standing behind the counter—just those few people.

According to Tao Chengzhang, this Mr. You Gou had been frequently drowning his sorrows at Guangyuan Tavern recently. When speaking of this person, Tao Chengzhang's expression held an indescribable flavor. Half sympathy, half disdain. Chen Ke looked carefully at the people in the tavern. He couldn't help blinking, then looked again carefully. The Chinese person with the foreign devils was actually a woman in a long satin skirt with a long braid. The three were conversing in English. This woman appeared to have drunk quite a lot; her left arm was resting on the table, a small fist supporting her cheek, and her tone of voice had changed somewhat. The three weren't speaking fast. Chen Ke listened and gathered that the foreigners wanted to invite the Chinese lady to go somewhere to have fun, and the lady was expressing her disagreement.

Chen Ke didn't want to delay matters. He walked quickly to the shopkeeper and asked, "Shopkeeper, may I ask if there is a Mr. You Gou who comes here often to drink?" Chen Ke's newly learned Jiangzhe dialect wasn't very good. The shopkeeper was stunned. Before he could say anything, Chen Ke heard the lady behind him say in English, "what?"

"We are looking for a gentleman named You Gou," Xu Xilin interjected.

"Mr. You Gou, there is no such person. Miss You Gou, there is one," the lady said in English.

"Oh." Chen Ke blinked again. "You are Ms. You Gou?"

The two foreigners were obviously very dissatisfied with the interruption of their conversation. One of them stood up and said in English, "We are talking. You get out first." At least Chen Ke interpreted "get out" as a not-very-friendly expression. Just as he was thinking about how to respond, he saw the lady turn around. Chen Ke expected to see a drunken face, but what met his eyes was a pair of clear and calm phoenix eyes. However, this was only a momentary impression; the gaze within those phoenix eyes was gloomy and obsessive. Under normal circumstances, one should definitely not have such a look.

"You are Mr. You Gou?" Chen Ke wanted to confirm. Before the lady could reply, the foreign devil was already impatient. Of course, perhaps they had been impatient for a long time. Now finding an excuse, they started to intimidate Chen Ke.

"Shut up!" the lady shouted, and at the same time took out a cylinder from her pocket and slapped it on the table. Chen Ke glanced at it; that thing looked like a paper tube. *Don't tell me it's a blasting cap,* Chen Ke thought.

The foreign devil reached out to grab the paper tube. The lady grabbed a chopstick and stabbed it fiercely at the back of the foreign devil's hand. The foreign devil pulled his hand back quickly. The bamboo chopstick made a crisp sound on the table surface, then snapped. The atmosphere, already tense, was now completely detonated. The two foreign devils stood up simultaneously. The one closer to the Chinese lady reached out to push her. Chen Ke rushed forward a step and slapped the foreign devil's palm away with a backhand.

"Who are you?" the foreign devil asked angrily.

Chen Ke stared at them and said word by word:

"I"

"am"

"your"

"father!"

The shop fell silent, whether people understood or not. Several people looked at each other in dismay. "Ahahaha!" The lady suddenly burst into laughter. After laughing a few times, feeling it wasn't enough, she simply started pounding the table with her small fist. At this moment, the anger of the two foreign devils exploded completely. One of them roared some curse word and lunged forward. Chen Ke was already prepared. Seeing the foreign devil start to move, he punched fiercely at the foreign devil's nose.

Xu Xilin stood frozen in surprise for a moment. Hua Xiongmao gave a loud laugh, then a loud shout, and also pounced.

Three minutes later, Hua Xiongmao lifted his right leg and kicked the foreign devil collapsed on the ground. "What do we do next?" he asked.

Chen Ke lifted his left foot from the chest of the other foreign devil, thought for a moment, then stepped back down. "May I ask if the person over there is Ms. You Gou?"

The Chinese lady had just stopped laughing. Seeing Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao's actions, she couldn't help but laugh loudly again, nodding as she laughed.

"I heard you know foreigners from the foreign firms. It wouldn't be these two, would it?" Chen Ke asked with a smile.

"Very unfortunately, it is not these two," Ms. You Gou replied in English.

"Why use English?" Chen Ke asked curiously.

"Because I speak Jiangzhe dialect, I'm afraid you won't understand," Ms. You Gou replied, still in English with a slightly drunken tone.

"Then you can understand what I say?" Chen Ke was even more curious.

"Your accent, I can understand." Still English.

"Let's go somewhere else to talk," Chen Ke said grinning.

"OK!" The lady said, then stood up gracefully. "Where to?" Still English.