After the scene You Gou's brother had caused, and after they had been "escorted out," the comrades watched You Gou sitting helplessly on her stool, head hanging low. For a moment, no one knew how to comfort her. Now that the incident had occurred, it wasn't just a matter of comforting You Gou. You Gou herself owed the party members an explanation. But this matter involved both the Party and You Gou's family. It was hard to say which aspect weighed heavier. Even an upright official finds it hard to settle domestic troubles; it was an inherently messy situation.

It wasn't just You Gou; Qi Huishen also noticed that the other comrades' gazes occasionally fell upon him. While You Gou's family was certainly involved, Qi Huishen's family was, without exception, also implicated. Qi Huishen had been very busy lately and hadn't discussed his father Qi Si'e's views on the miracle drug in depth. On the few occasions he had asked, his father would only give an inscrutable smile and ask with the attitude of a teacher testing a student, "How do you intend to resolve this matter?" Qi Huishen was very familiar with this attitude; Qi Si'e would speak this way every time he wanted to teach Qi Huishen some business tactics. In the past, Qi Huishen would always evade him, and this time was no different. Every day he could delay a showdown with his father was another day gained. As a son, he felt his father was truly not someone easily dealt with.

But the words of the You brothers had clearly dragged Qi Si'e into the mix. While Qi Huishen was busy with his own affairs, Qi Si'e must have taken some action. Qi Huishen desperately searched his memories of his father's business dealings, hoping to find a line of thought that would help solve the current situation.

"Let's start the meeting," Chen Ke proposed.

Hearing this, the comrades moved their stools to sit around the large table in the laboratory.

"We will continue discussing the previous agenda. I will proceed with the briefing on the lectures." Contrary to everyone's expectations, Chen Ke's order of business did not address the emergency that had just occurred.

"No!" You Gou said with her head down. "Let's clear up this matter about my brother first."

"Everyone was here, and everyone heard it. Didn't your brother already make it very clear?" Chen Ke replied.

"What did he make clear?" You Gou's voice was low, sounding somewhat like the low growl of an angry feline.

"He wants you to go back, and he told me very plainly that he wants you to open a shop and sell the medicine yourself."

"And then? He finished talking, and everyone just listened like that?"

"We can discuss this issue later, alright? Meetings have rules. You Gou, as a Party member, you must observe Party discipline. The meeting has its agenda, and we all must abide by it." Chen Ke calmly pointed out the facts. This was a case of Chen Ke playing hard to get, but it wasn't just a petty trick. Historically, the Party had relied on iron discipline to overwhelm all enemies. As the founder of this Chinese People's Party, Chen Ke absolutely could not undermine Party discipline himself. Moreover, the incident You Gou encountered was not just her personal problem, but a problem involving the Party. If he couldn't constrain everyone's emotions back onto the track of discipline now, the subsequent discussion would very likely spiral out of control. This was something Chen Ke was very concerned about.

You Gou looked up at Chen Ke. There was no fluctuation of emotion on Chen Ke's face; he looked completely business-like. Such composure suddenly gave rise to a feeling of resentment in You Gou towards Chen Ke. If Chen Ke had shown comfort, or even dissatisfaction, at this moment, it would have allowed You Gou's emotions to ease somewhat. But it was precisely this calmness of Chen Ke's that made You Gou feel incredibly uncomfortable.

She looked at the others again. Everyone was either concerned or just lowering their heads and sighing. Yet no one showed any intention of supporting You Gou. You Gou turned and asked Qi Huishen, "If I want to add my own topic, what do the bylaws say?"

Qi Huishen thought for a moment, then asked He Zudao with an apologetic smile, "Zudao. My mind is a bit messy right now. What are the regulations regarding agenda items? Look it up for me."

He Zudao quickly flipped to the previous records and read, "Temporary agenda items require advance notice to the party meeting members. If two-thirds of the attending members agree, it can be started ahead of schedule."

"Then let's vote," You Gou said immediately after hearing this.

Chen Ke nodded. There were currently eight members attending the meeting: Chen Ke, Qi Huishen, Chen Tianhua, Hua Xiongmao, You Gou, Zhou Yuanxiao, He Zudao, and Qin Wuan. That meant You Gou needed the agreement of six members to discuss what she hoped to discuss.

Only You Gou and He Zudao voted in favor.

You Gou's eyes were glistening. She scanned the other comrades seriously, then pursed her lips tightly and said nothing more.

"The lecture progress is good. Especially the classes You Gou is currently conducting; the response has been excellent. Let us pay our respects to Comrade You Gou for her hard work." After Chen Ke finished speaking, he began to applaud. All the comrades, excluding You Gou but including Zhou Yuanxiao, expressed their sincere respect. This was not perfunctory; there were already more than 340 parents signed up. And there were even more parents who hoped to contact the school specifically. Since the school campus hadn't been built yet, Qi Huishen had to announce that the school location would be published in the next few days. Before the grand lecture series, no one, including Chen Ke, had expected such a result.

You Gou had kept a straight face initially, but with the applause, her expression softened more and more. Finally, You Gou covered her mouth, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Chen Tianhua watched all of this, feeling quite moved. Chen Ke's revolution was so unconventional, which made Chen Tianhua personally quite curious about it. The revolutions Chen Tianhua had participated in were either revolutions of the gentry, a bunch of rich people planning armed revolutionary paths—killing this person, killing that person. Or they were revolutions pushed by students studying in Japan, filled with resentment and the passion of participating in a movement, which was indeed very high-spirited. However, within the boiling emotions, there was a kind of fanaticism and an indescribable decadence. Anyway, anyone who refused to adhere to their attitude was a bad person. This was especially true among the overseas students, who were sharply divided into factions.

Chen Tianhua had a passionate personality, and he indeed felt a great sense of uplift in such movements. But as time went on, he became somewhat doubtful. Why could the revolution never convince the people Chen Tianhua liked? And why were there so many bad habits among revolutionaries that Chen Tianhua couldn't accept? This point confused Chen Tianhua greatly, and even pained him somewhat.

He hadn't been here long, but what Chen Tianhua saw was an organization full of vitality and vigor, an organization full of human touch. There was no resentment, no anger, and none of that perverse surliness characteristic of the revolutionaries around Chen Tianhua. Every time he thought of the revolutionary program firmly proposed by Chen Ke, Chen Tianhua felt a shock, yet when interacting with these people, there was a harmonious warmth found only when getting along with true friends. Everything here had substance, was open and sincere, and was orderly. Chen Ke maintained order, and the comrades observed it; this was the revolution Chen Tianhua looked forward to.

While he was sighing to himself, he heard Chen Ke continue, "Next, I have a few requests. First, does anyone know people who are relatively familiar with the *Twenty-Four Histories*? At the very least, if I ask them to look up some materials, they should be able to find the corresponding content. I need three assistants."

This request was a bit high, and also somewhat baffling. Chen Ke didn't intend to keep them guessing. "The manuscript Xingtai and I are writing is progressing slower than I thought. Especially regarding data collection. I need a few people to help me search for materials now. Xingtai is incredibly knowledgeable and has a strong memory; I've really learned that this time. Xingtai remembers all the materials I want to find. Precisely because of this, I originally thought I'd just write it briefly. Now I've changed my mind."

"Eh?" Hearing this, Chen Tianhua was even more surprised. Chen Tianhua was responsible for revising Chen Ke's manuscript; its content was so detailed and its scope so broad that it was unlike anything Chen Tianhua had ever seen. Even the great Confucian scholars Chen Tianhua had met were only proficient in parts of it. Chen Tianhua was already immersed in the work of compiling this masterpiece. He hadn't expected Chen Ke to refer to this as "writing it briefly," and wondered how Chen Ke intended to "write it seriously."

"To be honest with everyone, my own definition was to treat this piece as our initial propaganda document for the future; it would be fine if ordinary people could understand it. But looking at it now, once this manuscript is released, the scope of its influence will probably be larger than I thought. Differing concepts, contending with us—that is certain. But if there are low-level errors in it, we'll become a laughingstock. I must avoid such things. Is there anyone for this?"

"I do know a few young *Xiucai* (scholars), but they are incredibly pedantic. If it's just finding text in history books, I don't know if they'll do," Hua Xiongmao said.

"Since they are pedantic, then no need. The people we use must definitely be people like our own comrades. What does everyone think?" Chen Ke said with a smile.

"Like our comrades? To be honest, they're hard to find," Hua Xiongmao also laughed.

"The greatest virtue of our comrades is that they are willing to work. Just find people willing to work."

"Then how about finding a few *Tongsheng* (entry-level scholars)?"

"As long as they are willing to work. By the way, let's also post some posters. In this day and age, there shouldn't be too few people who can check materials. The Qing court is about to abolish the imperial examination; these *Xiucai* will have a hard time finding a livelihood."

"Okay, Huishen and I will print some posters." Hua Xiongmao thought this method was feasible.

"Then let us proceed to the next agenda item, regarding the miracle drug," Chen Ke said naturally.

Everyone felt that the matter of the miracle drug was a big issue, involving two comrades with deep seniority in the Party. Once the discussion started, it certainly wouldn't be very peaceful. That was why everyone hadn't voted in favor just now. The kid He Zudao felt that You Gou was being bullied by her brother, and since he had suffered a similar fate, he felt You Gou should be allowed to vent her grievances, so he supported her. One could understand from the empathetic look on his face. Although everyone didn't mean to blame He Zudao, ever since He Zudao saw that only he supported You Gou and no one else did, he felt he had made some terrible mistake and kept his head down taking notes, not daring to lift it.

As a result, everyone was quite surprised when Chen Ke announced the discussion of this matter so calmly.

"This matter is not a dispute of loyalties. For the comrades within our Party, this is a separate issue," Chen Ke said with a smile. "So let's not start by thinking this is a huge deal. Actually, it's not that big of a deal. I will report a little bit about the situation regarding the miracle drug to everyone."

Chen Ke took out a small notebook he carried with him, found a page, and began a simple narration. To date, over 670 patients had been treated. The income in various currencies, converted to silver, amounted to a net profit of over twenty-one thousand taels. After stating this, Chen Ke put the notebook back in his pocket and looked at the comrades with a smile.

Everyone knew this miracle drug must have a decent return, but they hadn't expected the return to be this huge. More than twenty thousand taels of silver was by no means a small sum in China at this time. Hua Xiongmao, who joined earliest, knew Chen Ke started with fifty taels of silver. Those who joined slightly later, like You Gou, knew very well that when Chen Ke first started making medicine, the capital was less than eight hundred taels. Now he had actually earned so much.

"Now everyone knows why You Gou's brother was so rude, right?" Chen Ke laughed.

Everyone nodded. No one could remain calm in the face of such profits.

"Regarding this matter, my thinking is this: the ownership of this money is currently unclear. I'm not talking about between us and You Gou's brothers, or Qi Huishen's father. I'm talking about two things. First, how this money should be accounted for within the Party. Let's clear this up first."

Now no one made a sound, not even You Gou who had insisted on speaking earlier.

Chen Ke looked around the circle. You Gou and Qi Huishen looked hesitant, wanting to speak but stopping. Hua Xiongmao was the same. Zhou Yuanxiao's lips were pressed tight, as if making some determination. Chen Tianhua and He Zudao looked somewhat lost. Qin Wuan, on the other hand, looked composed, simply ready to listen to what everyone had to say.

Chen Ke bent his left arm upward, stroking his chin with his left thumb and forefinger, his right arm bent horizontally with his right hand resting in the crook of his left arm. He waited a while longer, then laughed, "The money is in hand, but now everyone is too embarrassed to talk about distributing the money?"

Still, no one spoke. Chen Tianhua looked at everyone, feeling an inexplicable sense of incongruity. A revolution that actually made money to distribute—this was truly something he had never seen before.

Chen Ke waited for the comrades to speak with a mix of anticipation and unease, although he looked very relaxed on the surface. But truth be told, the torment in Chen Ke's heart was far more intense than he had imagined. The money from selling the medicine—at least this sum—the comrades had every reason to divide. Not just because it wasn't clarified at the beginning, but more importantly, everyone's hard work deserved a return.

But if this door was opened, would there be a next time? Revolution required money, and revolution also required sacrifice. But Chen Ke couldn't refuse the comrades; this time he absolutely could not refuse.

*Perhaps I'm just overthinking it.* In revolutionary history, the Party never made this much money; Party funds were donated by comrades. Later, after the Party's operations were on track, Party members only paid dues; there was no such thing as members dividing money. Chen Ke knew this, but he personally didn't think he should refuse the comrades. Conflicting thoughts turned over in his mind like this, and Chen Ke used a smile to cover them up. But one thought couldn't be covered up no matter what. *Am I making a mistake?*

Chen Ke himself had "revolutionary consciousness"; his life was not luxurious at all. To this day, apart from a few sets of work clothes, Chen Ke hadn't bought anything for himself. But the current political party perhaps still had the nature of a commercial enterprise. Since it was a commercial enterprise, there was no reason to refuse profit-sharing.

After what felt like a long time, Qi Huishen finally spoke up. "How about this? Let's set a wage. But this money should be Party funds. We can't divide it ourselves. If we divide this now, then later other comrades will be entitled to divide the projects they participate in. This precedent cannot be set."

Although Chen Ke pretended to be calm, at this moment he couldn't help but let out a long breath.

All the comrades expressed their agreement. Hua Xiongmao laughed, "Wenqing, you put in the most effort here, and we all know you wouldn't take the money. If you won't take a cent, naturally we can't take the money either."

"For the revolution, let's work hard together," Chen Ke said.

The result of the vote was a wage of 10 taels of silver per person per month. Chen Ke introduced the concept of Party dues, and all comrades expressed agreement without exception. Finally, it was set at 10%, to be deducted directly when wages were paid.

Subsequently, the Party organization established a rule: except for arrangements made by the Party organization, no Party member was allowed to privately operate their own business. They must obey Party arrangements. All extra income must be reported.

The passage of these regulations was smoother than Chen Ke had anticipated. But Chen Ke didn't want to nitpick. Since the comrades had this awareness, it wasn't yet time for political background checks.

"Then, the second issue, regarding the miracle drug. My suggestion is that at the end of this grand lecture series, we will publicly disclose the final formula. But we will not publish the synthesis process. What we will disclose is the formula for 606. Let me explain first, what we produce is 914. As for the detailed differences, I won't go into them. Roughly, the difference is that 606 is more toxic. The death rate is higher. But the efficacy is stronger than 914."

This suggestion truly shocked everyone. No one had expected Chen Ke's solution to be this.

"Why do this?" You Gou was very puzzled.

"First, we don't have the armed forces to protect our own interests. Second, relying on the Manchu Qing is unreliable. Relying on the British is also unreliable. Relying on compradors is also unreliable."

"Forceful seizure and plunder. This indeed cannot be avoided." Qi Huishen sighed.

"So many compradors have signed contracts with the British, and we haven't seen it be like this," You Gou asked.

"That's because they let the British make money. We are currently earning the British people's money. They won't let us off," Qi Huishen said helplessly.

"Then isn't it fine to do it according to the current situation? Aren't we making money just the same?" You Gou was still unconvinced.

"That's because you don't know how many people are plotting against us. It's just that those people can't figure out our background right now, so they don't dare to make a move. Some friends of mine have already warned me that people in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas are constantly asking for news about us. You think your brother is making a scene with you, but actually, they are already being very polite."

You Gou knew Hua Xiongmao wasn't lying, but she was very unhappy that her painstaking efforts would be cast to the wind just like that. "Foreign joint-stock companies work just fine, so why does it not work when it comes to China?"

"Then revolution! As Wenqing said, build a new world. When that time comes, You Gou, you can have as much fairness as you want," Hua Xiongmao laughed.

Only then did Chen Ke somewhat understand why Hua Xiongmao was so supportive of the Party assets issue. It seemed the situation outside had already reached a rather unfavorable degree.

"Human nature is just like this. They can't stand to see you make money, can't stand to see you get rich. There is nothing that can be done about this," Chen Ke advised.

"But, but..." You Gou puffed up her cheeks, unable to speak.

"But, we must believe in the goodness of human nature. As long as the formula is made public, then at any rate we have saved their lives, and they at least won't take ours. We hold other people's lives in our hands; they will fight us desperately no matter what. And since we have abandoned the pursuit of profit, we might as well make a big splash and pursue a reputation. Rather than waiting for those people to come and seize it by force or trickery, we might as well just honestly teach it to everyone."

You Gou thought about it but was still unconvinced.

Chen Ke laughed, "Look at it from another angle. Once it's public, everyone will know we invented the medicine. As long as the price is reasonable, they will definitely come to us to buy it. And with more people buying, we may not necessarily earn that much less money, right?"

"Then if the foreign devils copy it, won't we have nothing to eat?" You Gou was still dissatisfied.

"You participated in the pharmaceutical manufacturing, after all. If we don't publish the process, will they finish it that easily? They need time to complete the intermediate steps. During this time, the foreign devils won't make a move against us either. By the time they finish, we'll have earned enough money. And by then, we'll have gone to build the base area. They couldn't find us even if they wanted to."

Hearing this, You Gou had to temporarily abandon her doubts.

Seeing that everyone had nothing else to say, Chen Ke said, "Then wages will be issued tomorrow. Meeting adjourned." A cheer immediately erupted in the venue.