One of the Communist Party's summary statements about itself was, "As long as there are problems within the Party organization, the Party's development will inevitably encounter setbacks." Chen Ke felt that this was truly a "high-level" trouble. After exerting tremendous effort and seizing every opportunity, he had finally gathered some popularity. Qi Huishen and Hua Xiongmao had become core members. Although Zhou Yuanxiao's stance was unclear, he wouldn't betray the current party organization. As for You Gou's attitude, Chen Ke was quite uncertain.

You Gou was not a girl with deep shrewdness. Although she didn't wear her heart on her sleeve, one could always read something from her face when it came to things she cared about. Since returning from home, You Gou's condition had been a bit off.

In the morning, Chen Ke went with Qi Huishen to He Zudao's house. Both He brothers were still alive, which relieved Chen Ke considerably. Both were recovering quite fast; after one night, at least the open sores showed signs of scabbing. He Zudao felt very ashamed and didn't dare to speak much to Chen Ke. He Zudao's older brother was truly a scoundrel; he had already shamelessly asked Chen Ke for the specific medicine with his face covered in sores. Qi Huishen had warned Chen Ke about these things on the way, so the two ignored them, picked up the medical kit, and turned to leave.

When returning to the workshop, Chen Ke was surprised to find that, with Zhou Yuanxiao's help, You Gou had actually started the comprehensive purification process of the agent. The purification process was a very arduous task; without a complete set of equipment, it required two people working together very seriously. Zhou Yuanxiao understood chemistry, so assisting You Gou was no problem. But seeing these two working so openly—You Gou holding a stack of papers clipped to a thin wooden board with a large plastic clip extorted from Chen Ke, filled with data—it looked for all the world like a frantic theft of experimental parameters before parting ways.

When doing her own work, You Gou was even more diligent than usual. When encountering work that wasn't hers, You Gou would now rush to do it. Seeing You Gou's abnormal behavior, the other comrades, including Chen Ke, just silently took over the tasks that should have been theirs from You Gou's hands, without saying much. Although You Gou was embarrassed, she offered no explanation or sophistry. In less than a day, the atmosphere in the workshop became very strange.

Chen Ke knew the reason for this atmosphere; he actually missed it quite a bit. He had done this kind of thing many times in the past. It was young people hoping to get a large sum of money, yet not wanting their demand for money to damage the organization's confidence in them. This contradictory emotion naturally led to distorted behavior.

It wasn't just one person who was distorted; Hua Xiongmao was another type of distortion. Since following Chen Ke, Hua Xiongmao rarely acted alone. Yesterday, Chen Ke reached an agreement with Wu Xingchen. Hua Xiongmao came back very late that night. Early the next morning, he ran out again. If Chen Ke guessed correctly, Hua Xiongmao was desperately looking for other partners. Wu Xingchen was no small figure in Shanghai, and Hua Xiongmao was not without connections in Shanghai. Chen Ke could fully understand Hua Xiongmao's desire not to lose out to Wu Xingchen. Surrounding the specific medicine, the comrades behaved differently according to their own standpoints.

There is a saying, "Subordinates opposing each other is beneficial to the stability of the leader's position." When Chen Ke was young, he seemingly understood and somewhat agreed with this view. Now that he was personally the "leader," he realized that what he thought made sense before was now seemingly pure nonsense. If things were allowed to develop like this, Chen Ke was convinced that the conflicts would soon intensify. And Chen Ke's position would not be stable at all.

Everything Chen Ke had painstakingly built up to now was based on selfless labor and fair, just, and open distribution. To start playing "divide and conquer" now would be personally dismantling his own foundation; it would be "hanging oneself." When an organization or polity tends towards rigidity, various conspiracies are produced in large quantities. When an organization is vibrant, what should be pursued is "progress," not intrigue and deception.

Hua Xiongmao returned to the workshop at dusk. Today he wore a silk magua jacket. After a day of running around, Hua Xiongmao was tired and thirsty, wishing only to sit immediately on the deck chair in the courtyard and gulp down tea from the pot. The courtyard gate was tightly closed, and the door nail wrapped in red string was inserted into the left door bar. This was the signal Chen Ke had set to restore the "curfew." Had something happened again? Hua Xiongmao began to worry. He knocked on the door according to the signal, and it was quickly opened by Qi Huishen. Contrary to what Hua Xiongmao thought, everyone was sitting around in the courtyard, and Chen Ke was making a joke, "The poem says, 'Light silk fan swats flowing fireflies.' We are 'Big banana leaf fan swats flies.'"

You Gou had something on her mind, and Zhou Yuanxiao was habitually silent. It was Qi Huishen, who opened the door from afar, who burst out laughing. Seeing that everyone had gathered, Chen Ke stopped teasing. As usual, Chen Ke's words went straight to the point. "How do you prepare to divide the money from selling the medicine?"

No one made a sound.

"You Gou, I know you want to ask me for a large sum of money. Why don't you speak first?"

You Gou didn't expect Chen Ke, who looked the same as usual, to say what she wanted to say first. You Gou's face turned red immediately, and she hurriedly explained: "Wenqing, I don't want money for myself."

"You just want to repay the money your parents spent on you all these years. I know very well, and I fully understand your feelings," Chen Ke said in a gentle voice.

"Mmm..." You Gou lowered her head and hummed. A moment later, You Gou looked up again, "Brother Wenqing, you worked so hard to make this medicine. No matter what, I will not privately sell your formula. I also very, very much want to work with Brother Wenqing in the future and start a career together. But..."

"But if you don't pay off the money you owe your parents, every time you hear them talk about money, you feel ashamed," Chen Ke continued.

"...Brother Wenqing, how did you know?" You Gou's phoenix eyes almost widened into apricot eyes.

Chen Ke smiled bitterly and said, "I did the same things you are doing back in the day. I know the road well."

Seeing You Gou stop speaking, Chen Ke turned to ask Hua Xiongmao, "Zhenglan, I'm just guessing, are you contacting business in Fujian?"

With You Gou's precedent just now, Hua Xiongmao didn't find it too strange. He nodded, "Exactly so. How did Brother Wenqing guess?"

"This syphilis was contracted by foreign devils from South America and later brought to China. So many ports have opened these years; there must be more infected people in Fujian than in Shaoxing."

"Wenqing is truly clever..."

"Don't say useless things, Zhenglan, what do you plan?"

"Shanghai can be left to Wu Xingchen, but outside of Shanghai, I will do it elsewhere."

Looking at Hua Xiongmao's appearance of a grand regional manager, Chen Ke was amused. "You can't handle that much. Moreover, Zhenglan, do you... do you know the characteristics of this medicine? Shelf life? Efficacy? Usage method? Do you know?"

Hua Xiongmao wasn't a fool either. Although he acted a bit on impulse this time, he had understood these things on the way. Hearing Chen Ke ask this: "Then what does Wenqing mean?"

"Have you contacted the brothers in Fujian?" Chen Ke remembered clearly that the Wenzhou merchant last time sold cloth to Fujian.

"I've contacted them. The brothers there asked me to treat two people for them," Hua Xiongmao said, trying to suppress his smugness. "I haven't settled the money matters with them; it depends on what Wenqing says."

Chen Ke originally wanted Hua Xiongmao and Wu Xingchen to build the team together. The difference between having one of your own people and not having one was heaven and earth. Now it seemed Hua Xiongmao was determined to compete with Wu Xingchen, so this plan definitely couldn't be implemented.

"Then how much money does Zhenglan want?"

"Like You Gou, I want a sum of money to give to my parents. I have decided to make revolution with Wenqing, so I won't go home if I can help it. If I don't leave a sum of money for my parents, I feel guilty." Speaking of this, it was unclear if Hua Xiongmao's acting was good or something else. Although he looked carefree, by the end, his tone revealed a sense of apology.

Chen Ke looked at Qi Huishen. Before Chen Ke spoke, Qi Huishen spoke up himself. "Wenqing, I don't need to give my parents any money, it's just that my father opposes my participation in the revolutionary cause, so my pockets are very tight. I only need 50 taels of silver a month."

This was honest. At least after hearing it, You Gou's face showed some regret. Chen Ke saw it clearly and laughed secretly in his heart. Back when Chen Ke paid back his parents the first sum of money, he had twenty yuan left in his pocket. He was high-spirited when paying back the money, and then for a month, living on five yuan a week for food, Chen Ke managed to persist. Thinking back to that era, it was truly an era so simple it was cute.

Zhou Yuanxiao saw Chen Ke looking at him and also took the initiative to speak, "First, I want a sum of money. Second, I can work with everyone to open factories and such, but I won't engage in fighting or killing. If Wenqing thinks this is okay, I will follow you."

"I know everyone's conditions. I can accept them. You all go back first and think clearly about what you want, and then we'll have another meeting tomorrow morning. Everyone will openly discuss what they need. Once everyone feels there are no problems, we will discuss how to cash it in. How about that?"

"Why tomorrow?" You Gou was a bit puzzled.

"Today everyone has expressed their willingness to join the Party, so now our Party is established. As the person currently in charge, I tell everyone the first rule of our Party: obey discipline and listen to command. So I asked you to go back and think clearly, you just go home and think clearly about this matter for me. The second rule, our Party values democracy. It's not just me having the final say, or you alone having the final say. For all matters, if everyone doesn't agree, then no one's say counts."

After Chen Ke said these logically contradictory words, he looked at the comrades. The first to figure it out, or more accurately, the first to speak out after figuring it out, was still Hua Xiongmao, "Wenqing, does this mean listening to you, or listening to the comrades?"

"All actions obey command; we must listen to the Party." Chen Ke gave Hua Xiongmao an ambiguous answer. "Meeting adjourned now. Huishen and I are going to treat He Zudao."

The so-called plans cannot keep up with changes. The morning meeting the next day was forced to end within five minutes. All comrades present reached the Party's first resolution: "Convene the next Party meeting when time permits."

Wu Xingchen arrived at the workshop at five minutes to ten in the morning. At this time, the workshop was already surging with people. After He Zudao's condition improved, not only did the revolutionary youths who had worked there admire Chen Ke and You Gou prostrate on the ground, but youths hoping to come and apprentice, as well as youths "seeking medicine for relatives and friends," seemed to pop up from the ground.

Seeing so many people in the workshop, Wu Xingchen was truly startled. Of course, Wu Xingchen's height and bulk also startled the youths in the workshop. You Gou wore a western suit today, her long hair tied in a ponytail behind her head, draping straight down. Seeing Wu Xingchen arrive, You Gou greeted him openly. "Hello, Brother Wu."

"Hello, Miss You Gou," Wu Xingchen replied. "Is Brother Chen here?"

You Gou took a pocket watch from her pocket and looked at it. "Brother Wenqing went to He Zudao's house; he will be back very soon."

The two walked out while talking. Outside the courtyard gate, Wu Xingchen asked with a smile, "Where did all these people come from?"

You Gou shrugged helplessly. "I don't know either. Anyway, they just came."

The two chatted and laughed as they walked, stopping at the intersection after a while. Seeing no idlers around, You Gou then said: "Brother Wenqing told me before going out to have Brother Wu wait for him here. He won't return to the workshop today."

Wu Xingchen thought of the crowd in the courtyard and naturally understood Chen Ke's difficulties. He was about to say a few more words to You Gou when he saw You Gou smile, "Brother Wenqing has returned; Brother Wu can just go over yourself." Wu Xingchen looked up and saw Chen Ke and Qi Huishen standing on the opposite street corner. Turning to look at You Gou, she had already gone straight back to the workshop. If You Gou pointed in Chen Ke's direction, it might be seen by someone and cause unnecessary trouble. That was why You Gou went back silently on her own. For a woman to handle things so efficiently, Chen Ke really had gathered quite a few talents around him.

While secretly admiring, Wu Xingchen smiled at Chen Ke. Chen Ke and Qi Huishen also looked at Wu Xingchen with smiles. In the next half minute, Wu Xingchen watched Qi Huishen's expression change from a smile to embarrassment. Three rickshaws stopped in front of Qi Huishen. Wu Xingchen's view was blocked, so he couldn't see exactly what happened. Anyway, Chen Ke and Qi Huishen were not forced, but got on the rickshaws. The three cars disappeared around the street corner in a flash. This sudden change made Wu Xingchen feel it was quite bizarre.

The person who got off the rickshaw was the butler of Qi Huishen's father. The butler was very polite. After Qi Huishen introduced him briefly, he said: "My master invites Mr. Chen Ke to my house for a chat. This matter arose hastily; I hope Mr. Chen will forgive us."

"What about me?" Qi Huishen couldn't help asking.

"Young Master, the Master said that today he is inviting Mr. Chen Ke. If Young Master is willing to accompany Mr. Chen home, we have three cars, enough to sit. If you are not willing to see the Master, you may suit yourself."

These words left Qi Huishen hanging there directly. Chen Ke had heard Qi Huishen and Hua Xiongmao talk about the power of Qi Huishen's family. Moreover, Qi Huishen told him today that he went home last night and told his father he wanted to open a hospital. Although coming to the door at this time was too impatient, Chen Ke couldn't just refuse them. Seeing Chen Ke get in the car, Qi Huishen naturally couldn't really let Chen Ke go see his father alone.

The three cars stopped in front of a very imposing residence. The butler led the two inside; the old man was waiting for Chen Ke in the living room. Qi Huishen's father was named Qi Si'e, with an appearance common in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Apart from his rather sharp eyes, there wasn't anything particularly special about him.

After Chen Ke paid respects to the old man, everyone took their seats as guest and host. "You," Qi Si'e pointed at his son, "go see your mother right now." Qi Huishen didn't dare to talk back and obediently went to the back.

Hearing this, Chen Ke remembered that Qi Huishen had been living at his place for ten days. While You Gou's family had people visiting every day, Qi Huishen had been living freely alone.

"Mr. Chen Ke's courtesy name is Wenqing, right?" Qi Si'e asked seemingly casually.

"Uncle, that is correct."

"Wenqing, this silly son of mine has finally made friends with someone willing to make money after all these years. Wenqing, your cloth dyeing and medicine making are very good. Much better than this silly son of mine."

Chen Ke felt there was no way to respond to the old man's words, so he just listened without saying a word.

The old man didn't intend for Chen Ke to respond. He took out a bank note. "My son has never done any proper business. He came back saying he prepared to open a hospital and set up some medical school. I happen to have some connections. The British want me to put up money to open a hospital. Their asking price is harsh. It just so happens you all want to open one. So I wanted to invite Wenqing over to explain this matter. This is a bank note for five thousand Eagle dollars. I can only take out this much. It doesn't matter if you do well or badly; at least I paid the money, so I can give an account."

When saying this, Qi Si'e seemed casual, but his gaze swept sharply across Chen Ke's face several times. After he finished, Chen Ke smiled, "Uncle Qi, do you think I am a swindler?"

Hearing this, Qi Si'e laughed loudly, "Although my son is disappointing and always neglects his proper duties, the person he highly recommends will definitely not be a swindler. If I really met a swindler, I'd just tie them up and throw them into the Huangpu River; why would I worry about meeting them personally? Wenqing, I know a few people in Shanghai after all. Wenqing doesn't need to fear anyone making things difficult for your hospital. It's just that Wenqing has to go personally to meet the British." Speaking of this, Qi Si'e handed the bank note to Chen Ke. "I don't understand this hospital business either. I still have to trouble Wenqing to find the British. As long as the British agree and sign on this bank note, the rest of the matters can be handled."

Chen Ke understood after hearing this. Qi Si'e gave him a bank note because he wanted him to deal with the British. What kind of play was this? The Qi family's style was really quite alternative. Chen Ke was uneasy and asked Qi Si'e again. Qi Si'e indicated that Chen Ke's understanding was correct. He had already agreed with the British on this matter, just needing to start the official paperwork these few days. Last night Qi Huishen suddenly mentioned this, so Qi Si'e called Chen Ke over to let Chen Ke handle it.

The rickshaw puller was quite fit and ran at a good speed. Qi Huishen and Chen Ke shared a car. Chen Ke recalled the events just now and found them very interesting.

Qi Si'e proposed such an opportunity, giving money and connections. Apart from feeling this was a huge trap, Chen Ke didn't think there were other reasons to refuse. Qi Si'e ignored Chen Ke and had the butler call Qi Huishen over. As soon as Qi Huishen arrived in the living room, Qi Si'e had the butler take the two to see the British immediately to settle the matter. Next, without even inviting Chen Ke for lunch, Qi Si'e kicked the two young men out the door.

"Huishen, your respected father is truly vigorous and speedy in his actions." Chen Ke really couldn't find other adjectives.

"That's because as long as I don't go make revolution, my dad supports whatever I do." Qi Huishen gave the correct answer.