Seeing the towering figure completely blocking the doorway, Chen Ke stood up with a beaming smile and went to welcome him. "Brother Wu, you've finally come."

"Since Brother Chen is showing me such face, how could I dare not come?" Wu Xingchen said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Chen Ke ignored Wu Xingchen's mocking tone. "Let's eat, let's eat. Everyone let's go eat together," Chen Ke said cheerfully.

Zhou Yuanxiao and You Gou declined the invitation on the grounds of looking after the workshop. Qi Huishen and He Zudao also politely refused. Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao accompanied Wu Xingchen to the same restaurant as last time. Unlike the previous occasion, Wu Xingchen didn't say a word this time; he simply ordered whatever he felt like eating. The burly Wu Xingchen had an appetite to match his physique. He drank large gulps of wine and ate large mouthfuls of meat. If he liked a dish, he would order a second portion. Looking at his behavior, one might think Wu Xingchen was the host.

For Wu Xingchen, since Chen Ke was treating, there was no reason to save him money. If Chen Ke was specifically inviting him to dinner, he definitely wanted something. Behaving timidly would only make Chen Ke look down on him. As the saying goes, a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake. No matter how capable Chen Ke was, he wouldn't dare move against a Hall Master of the Tiandihui. Furthermore, this rude style of eating cost a lot; if Chen Ke really needed his help, Wu could jack up the price later. If just a meal cost this much, then asking Wu Xingchen to put in effort would surely cost even more.

Watching Wu Xingchen devour the food like a whirlwind, Chen Ke did feel a bit of a pinch. The cloth dyeing business had been decent so far, but Wu Xingchen had eaten up a significant chunk of Chen Ke's money in this one sitting. Chen Ke could afford the meal, but the thought of spending so much made him realize Wu Xingchen's future asking price wouldn't be low.

Just as Chen Ke showed a hint of hesitation, Hua Xiongmao beside him suddenly laughed. "Brother Wu, eat to your heart's content. Although money is tight for us brothers, this meal is still a small matter."

This remark woke Chen Ke up. Since he wanted to befriend Wu Xingchen, the etiquette had to be perfect. Treating Wu Xingchen to a meal and then begrudging him the amount he ate—if others heard about this, they would laugh their heads off. Thinking of this, Chen Ke felt quite ashamed. He had just decided to firmly execute his ideas, yet he was making such a joke of himself. He felt rather clumsy.

While eating and drinking heartily, Wu Xingchen observed Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao's behavior clearly. He chuckled inwardly, thinking Chen Ke was truly too green; a slight test revealed his true colors. He was also curious—when he first met Chen Ke, the man seemed shrewd and capable, completely different from this stingy fellow now. What had happened in the last few days? Or was everything Chen Ke did before just an act, and the real mastermind behind the scenes was Hua Xiongmao?

Recalling how Chen Ke had provoked He Yifa, effectively humiliating him, Wu Xingchen began to toast Hua Xiongmao and serve him food, completely leaving Chen Ke out in the cold. Hua Xiongmao understood these *Jianghu* ways well. He drank a cup with Wu Xingchen, ate a mouthful of food, and then smiled. "Brother Wu, my original intention was that since you are a Hall Master of the Tiandihui, us folks should just pay our respects according to custom. But Wenqing thinks very highly of you. Wenqing says Brother Wu is a person of substance and insists on befriending you. Wenqing is in charge here; since he said so, I can only listen. Hehe."

Hua Xiongmao's blunt statement stirred some emotion in Wu Xingchen. While Hua Xiongmao was certainly not being polite, everything he said proved he was a good brother. When a friend made a mistake, Hua Xiongmao immediately patched it up. Thinking about the shoddy things He Yifa did, a wave of anger rose in Wu Xingchen again. He let out a cold laugh. "Since Brother Hua puts it that way, what advice does Mr. Chen have for me this time?"

Hua Xiongmao had smoothed things over for Chen Ke, and Chen Ke finally found his pre-planned track. He asked, "Brother Wu, last time you sought me out, apart from wanting to get something for nothing, did you have other ideas?"

"I failed to get anything for nothing last time. If I still had ideas this time, wouldn't that be asking for a snub?" Wu Xingchen sneered.

"I want to do business with Brother Wu in the future, business that Brother Wu can definitely handle. If there is any movement in Shanghai, it won't escape Brother Wu's eyes and ears. I want to buy information from you." After saying this, Chen Ke added, "If Brother Wu has other ways to cooperate, I am of course willing."

"You aren't looking for He Yifa?" Wu Xingchen asked mockingly.

"How can He Yifa compare to Brother Wu? He is far inferior."

"I am a Hall Master after all. If Brother Chen wants me to do things, I'm not so easily dismissed. Seeing as Brother Chen felt the pinch just treating me to a meal, I fear I may be beyond my depth to serve Brother Chen in the future." Wu Xingchen's tone was full of ridicule.

Chen Ke blushed slightly. "Brother Wu, I don't have much money right now. This reception was indeed shabby. But this doesn't mean I won't have money in the future. I've always believed that one more friend means one more path. With a friend like Brother Wu, my path will be wider. Don't you agree?"

Wu Xingchen glanced at Chen Ke. Seeing that he had recovered his composure, his estimation of Chen Ke rose a bit. Moreover, since Chen Ke could make a friend like Hua Xiongmao, he might not be without a future. Thinking of this, Wu Xingchen nodded. "If Brother Chen has any instructions, just come find me. I await your command." Though the words were polite, the air of authority was strong.

The conversation ended there. What surprised Chen Ke was that although Wu Xingchen ordered many dishes, he ate them completely clean. As the saying goes, "know how many bowls of dry rice you can eat." This point alone made Chen Ke admire him.

After the gathering dispersed, Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao walked back together.

"Zhenglan, thank you for this time," Chen Ke expressed his gratitude.

"Wenqing, you've been overseas for many years. I presume you haven't associated with *Jianghu* heroes or seen such things. *Jianghu* heroes talk about loyalty, but it's all dog farts. What they care about is 'face'. Whether a hero or a coward, they first put on an air to intimidate you. If you aren't scared by them, you'll be fine."

"Thank you, Zhenglan, for explaining this."

"Mn, no need to thank me. I actually want to hear Wenqing talk about revolution. Last time at Mr. Cai's place, when Wenqing spoke of revolution, it made my blood boil. Four hundred million people in the world wanting revolution—who can stop such a trend? If I can really see such a world, and lead so many people to revolution, my life will have been worth it."

"..."

Chen Ke was speechless in the face of Hua Xiongmao's longing. Historically, the Communist Party only had a base of one hundred million people, yet the Kuomintang, with paper statistics over ten times stronger, was annihilated. The new China, with weak national power, still drove the Americans from the Yalu River back to the 38th Parallel in Korea. If four hundred million Chinese really participated in the revolution in the early 20th century, China would be enough to shake the entire world. But the hardship and sacrifice required in between was something Chen Ke did not want to detail to Hua Xiongmao.

For the liberation of China, the Communist Party sacrificed 3.5 million members. In human history, no organization has ever paid such a huge price for national independence. Faced with the predicament of a generational gap in weaponry and industrial strength compared to the enemy, it was this unprecedented sacrifice that exchanged for China's liberation. Chen Ke had never been a person brave enough to sacrifice, or daring to sacrifice. When he had to draw blood for biological experiments, he needed to prick his hand with a needle. Chen Ke had summoned his courage back then, pricking three times before breaking the skin and squeezing out a drop of blood. Facing a revolutionary road where one could die anytime and anywhere back then, Chen Ke had zero confidence in himself. Empathy suggested that Chen Ke did not believe Hua Xiongmao was the type of simple-minded person who would "roar at the sky and then charge to his death."

"Hehe. Zhenglan, let's not talk big for now. Getting the cloth dyeing business running well is the current priority." Chen Ke didn't think that as a time traveler he could pacify the world alone. The strange environment of 1905 gave Chen Ke a sense of unease. To avoid showing this unease, Chen Ke had already spent a tremendous amount of energy. Regardless of whether the revolution would ultimately succeed, at least he should do the task at hand well. Without current accumulation, there would be no future to speak of.

Back at the workshop, work continued. Around four in the afternoon, Hua Xiongmao's friend brought money to pick up the cloth. Seeing the hundred bolts of dyed cloth and the yard full of hanging fabric, the merchant named Wu Qixian was full of praise.

Once the money was in hand, the accounts were divided, and Qi Huishen and He Zudao's wages were cleared as well. Qi Huishen patted his pocket, which was jingling with copper coins, and laughed. "Brother Wenqing, the money is in hand. The lecture should start now, right?"

The work plan was complete, so Chen Ke did not decline. The six of them gathered around the table. Chen Ke began to explain *Das Kapital*. The key content of the first volume of *Capital* is surplus value. Based on what his politics teacher had taught back in the day, Chen Ke began a simple explanation. Students back then found politics class miserable, but Chen Ke's lecture this time was different. Everyone was a colleague. Using the dye workshop as an example, Chen Ke explained commodities, means of production, labor power, socially necessary labor time, and how this current batch of dyed cloth earned profit higher than others by lowering costs and increasing production efficiency.

The definitions at the beginning were fine, but when he got to business operations, He Zudao was shy and Zhou Yuanxiao was cold, showing no special reaction. However, You Gou, Hua Xiongmao, and Qi Huishen were thoroughly excited. Hua Xiongmao, in particular, was practically scratching his ears and cheeks, standing up one moment and sitting down the next.

As soon as Chen Ke indicated the lesson was over for the day, Hua Xiongmao couldn't help but shout, "To think there is such learning in doing business. I've never heard of this!"

When the lecture started, You Gou had intended to lie on her pillow and doze off, but not long into it, she became energized. Just now, hearing some key points, she couldn't help but pound the pillow with her fist. Now she slapped the pillow hard, making a dull thud. Thinking it wasn't loud enough, she slammed her palms on the table. "Wenqing, say more, say more!"

Chen Ke knew there were no business majors in China in these times, and certainly no one teaching *Capital*. These youths came from decent backgrounds; hearing these "common" principles from the future, they naturally couldn't help but get carried away.

Qi Huishen sighed, "The things Brother Wenqing talks about are based on the nation. This vision is truly far-reaching." Saying this, Qi Huishen patted his pocket, the copper coins making a low clatter. "I'm earning money on one hand and listening to such exquisite explanations on the other. I've profited!"

Although Qi Huishen hadn't been there long, theirs was a friendship "forged in fight." He got along well with everyone. He Zudao was a rookie who arrived today and didn't dare say much. Yet he wanted to say something, his face turning a bit red from holding it in. It was Zhou Yuanxiao who, though still silent, swept away his usual coldness, his gaze becoming frighteningly sharp.

"Wenqing, I have some matters I wish to ask about," Zhou Yuanxiao's voice held a hidden fervor.

"Brother Zhou, please speak."

Zhou Yuanxiao steadied himself and expounded on several business management issues to Chen Ke. After listening, Chen Ke smiled slightly. "Brother Zhou's idea is to improve product quality and expect to sell at a high price. This depends on market research. Returning to the very first point, if dyed cloth cannot be sold, it is not a commodity. Commodities refer to goods that complete a sale. We dye cloth to sell it, not just to produce some good things and be done with it."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuanxiao's body shook violently.

"The path we are taking this time is cheap and large volume. If the cloth is cheap, people will buy it. If the volume is large, the cost of a single item can be reduced."

"How does large volume make it cheaper?" You Gou asked.

Chen Ke pointed to the new small machines installed. "All these things cost money. Suppose we spent 50 taels to set these things up. If we only dye one bolt of cloth, the cost of that bolt is 50 taels plus the price of one bolt of cloth. If we dye 100 bolts, the cost of each bolt is five candareens of silver plus the price of the cloth. By this calculation, the more cloth produced, the lower the cost of each bolt."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhou Yuanxiao remained silent, but his face turned pale. After a moment, he returned to his usual appearance.

Before dinner, Qi Huishen and He Zudao got up and left for home.

Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao went out to eat. When they returned, it was already dark. You Gou was playing with a flashlight, while Zhou Yuanxiao held another flashlight high beside the large dyeing vat to inspect the situation. Seeing the two return, You Gou shone the flashlight from her chin upwards. "Who~ are~ you?" she asked in a spooky voice. This little trick she just learned wasn't much, but it suddenly reminded Chen Ke of a past event, and he felt an urge to burst out laughing. Feeling embarrassed, he covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking violently.

You Gou asked curiously, "What's wrong with Brother Wenqing?"

Chen Ke let go of his hand, suppressing his laughter. "Before~ Before when I was in middle school, there were no lights in the toilet~"

"Lighting a lamp in the toilet? Extravagant waste," Hua Xiongmao remarked.

Chen Ke ignored Hua Xiongmao's interruption and continued, holding back his laughter. "We finished evening self-study, and a classmate was squatting in the pit. At this time, outside~ outside came another classmate fumbling in the dark to take a leak. Then the classmate squatting in the pit called out like You Gou just did, 'Wang~ Tong~ Le'. Wang Tongle was scared to death. He asked, 'Who are you?' Then the classmate squatting in the pit~ that classmate~ that classmate said—'I am your father.'" After finishing, Chen Ke could no longer hold it in and laughed aloud. Hua Xiongmao laughed too after hearing it, and You Gou laughed while hopping over to punch Chen Ke.

Beside them, Zhou Yuanxiao suddenly let out a weird, loud laugh, then another after a moment. Finally, his voice turned into normal loud laughter. Zhou Yuanxiao, who had been depressed all along, laughed until he bent over. He slowly slid to the ground, leaning his back against the dyeing vat, laughing uproariously. Eventually, Zhou Yuanxiao actually began to wail aloud.

The playful youths looked at each other in dismay. No one expected this rather rude joke to agitate Zhou Yuanxiao so much. They all gathered around him. "Brother Zhou, what's wrong?" Hua Xiongmao asked worriedly.

Zhou Yuanxiao just cried loudly, ignoring Hua Xiongmao. You Gou grabbed Zhou Yuanxiao's shoulder, shaking him while asking, "Brother Zhou, are you okay? Don't scare me." Zhou Yuanxiao let You Gou shake his shoulder, continuing to cry.

Chen Ke tentatively said, "Brother Zhou, there is no hurdle in this world that cannot be crossed. If you feel we get along well and can cooperate, then pull yourself together. Regarding past events, whether you like them or not, they are over. We have to look forward. Isn't that right?"

"Right, right. We have to look forward," Hua Xiongmao hurriedly added.

Chen Ke continued to persuade Zhou Yuanxiao. "Brother Zhou, whether you are willing or not, when you sleep tonight, you will wake up to a new day. We'll go out first; come out and have a cup of tea when you're done crying. We absolutely won't laugh at you. We are all friends."

After saying this, Chen Ke started to walk out, but felt Zhou Yuanxiao's clammy hand grab his wrist. Chen Ke pulled firmly, and Zhou Yuanxiao stood up. He had stopped crying by now and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Zhou Yuanxiao said, "Let's go drink tea together."

Although Chen Ke's joke was rude, it had made everyone happy. But with Zhou Yuanxiao's outburst, everyone felt uneasy again. The youths sat around the table. Zhou Yuanxiao took a sip of tea before speaking softly. "Wenqing, I did some wrong things before and ruined the family fortune. I even angered my father to death. Before he died, my father told me that if you do things wrong, you have to admit it. If the method of calculation is wrong, the matter will definitely be botched. Afterwards, I lived every day as if in a dream. Every time I wanted to pull myself together, I would remember my father's dying words, and then it would be like dreaming again. Later, I met you, Wenqing. I actually felt a connection with you, as if seeing my former self. Working with you, Wenqing, I was really happy. Whatever I wanted to do or thought of doing, you saw it. I didn't need to speak, and you could do exactly what I was thinking. I felt very happy. Listening to what Wenqing taught today, I unexpectedly understood where I went wrong before. And hearing your joke, Wenqing, I suddenly felt like I woke up."

At this point, Zhou Yuanxiao covered his chest and gasped for breath for a while before continuing. "Wenqing, these years I have felt endless regret. I wished I were dead. But I didn't want to die; I wanted to revive the family business. But whenever I thought of these things, my heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife. Wenqing, do you have anything to enlighten me with?"

"Regret is very normal. Brother Zhou, regret is normal. When we were young and in middle school, we studied 'The Story of Yueyang Tower', which says, 'Do not be pleased by external gains, do not be saddened by personal losses.' As long as it involves the gain or loss of one's own wealth and status, anyone will feel joy or sorrow. Whoever feels no joy or sorrow, whoever thinks one shouldn't feel joy or sorrow for their own gains and losses, that person... that person is anti-human," Chen Ke said slowly, weighing his words. Zhou Yuanxiao lowered his head, his rapid and unstable breathing gradually calming down.

"I didn't go to any middle school when I was young, nor did I study 'The Story of Yueyang Tower'." You Gou looked at Chen Ke with some suspicion. "Brother Chen, where did you go to middle school?"

"'Do not be pleased by external gains, do not be saddened by personal losses. Be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures.'" Hua Xiongmao started showing off his book learning.

Chen Ke knew he had accidentally slipped up. At this moment, he was extremely glad he hadn't fabricated a background for himself. "A single lie requires a thousand lies to cover it up." He never mentioned his background, so even if he slipped up occasionally like today, it was the truth. Even if someone collected these truths, they couldn't derive any contradictory facts. As long as he didn't state his origins, these slips wouldn't reveal any flaws.

Steading himself and seeing his words had some effect on Zhou Yuanxiao, Chen Ke continued, "When it rains, rainwater falls downwards. If the wind blows, the rain won't fall straight down. If you don't carry an umbrella, or if you don't tilt the umbrella, you will definitely get wet. Brother Zhou, it's not just you who would get wet; anyone who did that would get wet. What is there to regret? What use is regret?"

Zhou Yuanxiao's breathing had returned completely to normal. He sighed. "I just didn't understand these things before. I still don't understand now. Wenqing, you are right. Every time I think of the thousands of taels of silver I squandered, and remember my old father whom I angered to death, my heart aches like it's being cut. I can't do anything." Zhou Yuanxiao raised his head, tears flashing in his eyes. "Wenqing, why can you understand these things? Perhaps you have never regretted anything in your life?"

Hearing this, Chen Ke couldn't help but laugh loudly. Completely ignoring You Gou's indignant look, he continued to laugh. When he had laughed enough, Chen Ke said, "Brother Zhou, I've only been able to smile genuinely in the last year or two. In earlier years, I was either endlessly regretful, heartbroken, and wishing for death, or like you, listless. I didn't dare to think anything, didn't dare to do anything. Once I figured these things out, thinking back on those things I did, I could only laugh aloud. How pitiful I was back then, how laughable. Doing it that way was destined to botch things, but I was possessed and did it anyway. And I was unrepentant even unto death."

Hearing this, You Gou nodded slightly, Hua Xiongmao made no comment, and Qi Huishen bowed his head in thought. After a while, Zhou Yuanxiao spoke again, "Then, Wenqing, do you think I have a chance to change?"

Chen Ke leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and said solemnly, "Brother Zhou, follow me to revolution." This sudden shift in topic startled everyone around. The magnitude of the leap in Chen Ke's thinking exceeded everyone's imagination.