Hua Xiongmao shouted and chased people outside, and with the help of those living in the dormitory, he finally sent everyone else away. Chen Ke could imagine that the students were naturally very angry seeing his attitude. But Chen Ke wasn't angry; if anyone really left in anger, it could only be said that these people's self-cultivation was too poor. The current People's Party couldn't afford to serve these characters who were like the fierce Zhang Fei.

Hearing that they had started packing up outside, Chen Ke quickly got up to join the labor. As soon as the door opened, others were fine, but Yan Fu sitting upright at the table surprised Chen Ke. No wonder Hua Xiongmao hadn't come to knock on his door.

Since he had come out, it wasn't good to go back in. Chen Ke began to pack up with everyone. There were now six people living in the permanent workshop: Chen Ke, Hua Xiongmao, Chen Tianhua, Xie Mingxian, He Zudao, and Qin Wu'an. Zhou Yuanxiao had already moved out. There were twenty temporary residents who had come back with Chen Tianhua. Since it wasn't cold anyway, Chen Ke had built temporary dormitories, which, along with the existing ones, were enough. What Chen Ke was urging to rush work on in the new school was the dormitory building. It was about to be topped out soon. Once the dormitory building was initially completed, Chen Ke would immediately transfer personnel to the school.

Many hands make light work; the cleanup was completed quickly. Chen Ke just cleaned up the kitchen, washed all the empty pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, and packed up the empty tables and chairs properly. After all the fuss just now, everyone might not be full. The remaining food was piled on four tables, and everyone sat down again. "Come, I propose a toast to everyone. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival," Chen Ke laughed.

This time there was no liveliness like before; everyone was truly tasting wine and appreciating the moon.

"Mr. Chen, can you play the piano?" Wang Qinian was at the same table as Chen Ke and asked.

"A little."

"Can we listen to a piece or two?"

"I was just feeling an itch to show off." After Chen Ke finished speaking, he ate a bite of the pastry Yan Fu brought, drained the yellow wine in his cup, and walked to the piano again with great interest.

On an early autumn night, in the deep blue night sky, the moon was bright and stars were sparse. The courtyard had been fumigated with mugwort, mixed with the aroma of wine and the fragrance of osmanthus. Chen Ke felt in a rather good mood. His fingers slid smoothly over the keyboard, making Chen Ke unable to help recalling past times.

Thanks to his music-loving father, Chen Ke often went to the Railway Bureau's music room since childhood. There was also an upright piano there. Learning to play the piano with his father in the spacious music room was a fond memory of Chen Ke's childhood. At that time, Chen Ke might not have really liked playing the piano; he preferred listening to his father play. But his father also knew how to grasp Chen Ke's mind; if Chen Ke practiced continuously for twenty minutes, his father would play a piece for him. At that time, Chen Ke admired his father very much.

Later, the family also bought a piano, and Chen Ke fell into his mother's palm from then on. His mother's requirements were much stricter; he had to practice for two hours every day, and according to the practice time, 90% of the time was spent playing etudes, and only 10% of the time could be used to play pieces Chen Ke liked himself. Chen Ke never understood why he encountered a strict mother and a kind father, instead of the strict father and kind mother said in tradition.

These days, Chen Ke often thought of his parents. As time in this era grew longer, Chen Ke's hope of returning to his own era became smaller and smaller. The frequency of missing his parents also became lower and lower.

Fingers touching the icy piano keys again, Chen Ke couldn't help thinking of those two people dearest to him in the world again. He had been in this era for several months. If the time on both sides proceeded equally, then his parents should also have discovered their son missing by now, right? He didn't know how anxious his parents would be about his sudden disappearance. Although Chen Ke had already moved out to live on his own, no matter what, if his parents didn't see him for too long, his disappearance would eventually be discovered. Although what his parents had always hoped for most was that Chen Ke could grasp his own life and become a person who could live freely relying on his own strength. But they still missed him very much.

Thinking of this, Chen Ke felt sadness coming from within. But this weak emotion made Chen Ke unable to help remembering his mother's teaching again: "No one knows what will happen in the future. It's not certain whether one can live tomorrow. So, don't be tempted by fame and fortune. It's not that these are bad. The problem is that if you pursue fame and fortune, you simply can't get them. Fame and fortune are things given to you by others. Only when others need you will they give you fame and fortune. So, if you don't ask for help from others, you won't be controlled by others. Rather than pursuing things you can't grasp, it's better to do things you can grasp yourself."

Today, Chen Ke truly understood what "the impermanence of worldly affairs" meant. Heaven knew how he had traveled through time.

In this completely strange world, the only principle Chen Ke could follow was "do things I can grasp myself." In 1905, his historical knowledge just told him the course of the revolution. As for other means of livelihood, Chen Ke's knowledge simply couldn't be displayed in this era. Whether it was chemical engineering or computers, only if Chen Ke created these modern industries himself could he engage in them, right?

If his parents knew their foolish son had returned to the past and chosen the road of revolution, what would they say to him? The vivid faces of his parents that he would absolutely never forget floated in Chen Ke's mind. His father would definitely ask with a worried look: "Can you do it well? Don't do things you can't do." And his mother? The corners of her beautiful mouth would pull slightly into a beautiful and resolute smile that no one else could imitate. "No matter what you choose to do. You must remember for me, what you pursue is the matter itself, absolutely never do things for the fame and fortune that can be brought after these things are completed. You must become an expert in this matter, be steadfast and unswerving, never betray, never be a deserter."

Looking up at the moon of the fifteenth of the eighth month in the sky, Chen Ke sat on the stool and said silently: Mom and Dad, I won't pursue fame and fortune anymore; I will act according to my own thoughts and complete the career belonging to myself.

With a slight smile on his face, Chen Ke pressed the keys. This was "Lullaby." The hungry composer Schubert once exchanged the manuscript of this piece for a plate of beef stew with potatoes. Later, this manuscript once set a record auction price of 4 million francs. Chen Ke liked this piece very much; the warm melody was also quite suitable for this Mid-Autumn night with moonlight like water.

The absolute majority of the audience on site had never heard a piano performance; most listeners had never seen a piano, or even knew of the existence of such an instrument as the piano. But music itself has its charm, not to mention the piano known as the king of instruments. Beautiful piano music flowed in the courtyard; even the moonlight seemed a bit more tranquil.

When Chen Ke finished playing this piece, the people around had absolutely no reaction. Everyone felt the music was good but didn't know how to evaluate it. The exotic style completely different from Chinese music couldn't fully trigger resonance in the listeners.

Chen Ke didn't mind either. After playing a jazz piano piece casually, Chen Ke switched to Chinese music. "What a Beautiful Jasmine Flower," "Celebrating Harvest," "Sesame Flowers Bloom Higher and Higher," "Xintianyou." When these authentic Chinese music pieces were played on the piano, the listeners could completely accept them. Quite a few young people who had heard this music hummed along in low voices.

But Chen Ke's purpose in wanting a piano wasn't merely for entertainment. He played and sang "My Motherland."

"A big river with wide waves, the wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers across both banks. My home is right on the bank, used to hearing the boatman's chant, used to seeing the white sails on the boats.

Girls seem like flowers, lads have such broad chests. To open up a new world, awakening the sleeping high mountains, changing the appearance of the river.

Good mountains, good water, good places; every road is wide and smooth. Friends coming have good wine; if that jackal comes, greeting it is a hunting gun.

This is the heroic motherland, the place where I grew up. On this ancient land, there is bright and beautiful scenery everywhere."

Chen Ke knew he definitely didn't sing as well as an artist like Guo Lanying. More importantly, this song was originally sung by a female; Chen Ke absolutely couldn't sing that feeling. He just sang following his own understanding of this song. This tune was good to begin with, and the lyrics were even more straightforward. Every time he sang it, Chen Ke felt the scene depicted in the song was as if right before his eyes. Big river, rice paddies, boatmen, boat sails. Chen Ke's main activity area had always been north of the Yangtze River, and his feelings for these had never been profound. But since arriving in Shaoxing and then Shanghai, what he saw along the way fit the lyrics very well. Moreover, this song was very healthy and uplifting; being open and expressing one's feelings directly was enough, no need to be coy like singing love songs.

After one song was finished, hearing the crowd silent, Chen Ke closed the piano cover and stood up. He saw Hua Xiongmao applauding first with tears in his eyes. In these years, although *Ci* and *Fu* were still talked about, the *Cipai* that could be chanted had long declined. Singing songs had long been one of the mainstream businesses of prostitutes. Even if men sang, the vast majority sang local operas. Suddenly hearing such a heavenly song, everyone unknowingly became somewhat entranced. Only when Hua Xiongmao led the applause did everyone follow suit as if waking from a dream.

Walking back to the table and just sitting down, Yan Fu asked, "Wenqing, who wrote this song?"

"I wrote it." Chen Ke claimed the credit of later generations for himself without caring.

"Expressing feelings directly, the artistic conception is excellent. Good song," Yan Fu praised. This wasn't Yan Fu's polite talk. Although Yan Fu himself didn't engage in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, he was a figure in officialdom after all; accompanying colleagues to listen to operas and songs happened. He had never had any interest in those decadent sounds. Hearing Chen Ke's song, Yan Fu only felt his spirit lifted. Not only was the tune simple and unadorned, but the lyrics were even better. Compared with those ancient lyrics that were either impassioned and bold or tactful and lingering, although Chen Ke's lyrics were in the vernacular of the marketplace, whether in conception or sentiment, they were not inferior at all.

"Wenqing, teach me to sing this song," Hua Xiongmao said eagerly.

"Such a good song cannot be enjoyed by Mr. Wenqing alone; you must teach me to sing it," Mao Ping also followed.

"Tonight we appreciate the moon; teaching singing tomorrow, okay?" Chen Ke laughed.

"It's a deal," comrades said one after another.

Hearing this, Chen Ke thought to himself: everyone wants to sing; I still have many songs I haven't taught. Comrades, after learning "My Motherland," the next one is "The Internationale."

After drinking a few more cups of wine, it got late, and some people were already overcome by the power of wine and rose to take their leave to sleep. Seeing Yan Fu not leaving, Chen Ke knew he had something to say, so he invited Yan Fu to sit for a while in the classroom next to the laboratory. Yan Fu naturally complied happily.

While Chen Ke was packing up, Wang Qinian leaned over. "Wenqing, I have a matter to discuss. I want to sell our medicine to Nanyang; I wonder if Wenqing is willing."

This was good news; hearing it, Chen Ke felt happy. "Tomorrow I'll go to the hospital; let's discuss this matter in detail, how about it?"

"Then I'll await Wenqing's arrival at the hospital tomorrow."

Those who should be sent off were sent off; what should be packed up was packed up. Chen Ke washed his hands and brought a teapot and pastries to the classroom. Upon entering the classroom, he saw Yan Fu sitting there in a daze under the candlelight, looking pale; his whole person seemed frozen there. The candlelight was dim, reflecting the shadow of this old handsome man indescribably eerily.

"Mr. Yan, what's wrong with you?" Chen Ke asked somewhat timidly; Yan Fu's appearance really frightened Chen Ke.

"Thinking of some old things." Yan Fu's voice was rather distant; it seemed he hadn't broken free from his thoughts yet.

Chen Ke put down the things and just sat down, seeing Yan Fu's face facing him, but the spectacle lenses and the candle formed a strange angle. In Chen Ke's view, Yan Fu's spectacle lenses reflected a patch of light, and he couldn't see Yan Fu's eyes behind the lenses at all. "Regarding the Jiawu matter, how did Wenqing know so carefully?"

*How did I know so carefully? I've read a lot of materials from both sides and overseas at that time, so naturally, I know so carefully*, Chen Ke thought to himself. But this absolutely couldn't be said to Yan Fu like this. "I was studying overseas at the time. Some foreign classmates' families speculated in Japanese government bonds, so I learned a bit more from them," Chen Ke explained.

Yan Fu's breathing became heavy, and he couldn't help muttering to himself, "Even young people overseas knew about this matter, yet the court knew nothing at all."

"The court doesn't understand modern intelligence systems; how could they know so much?" Chen Ke laughed.

"What is a modern intelligence system?" Yan Fu asked immediately.

Chen Ke explained the characteristics of modern industrial countries to Yan Fu. The so-called stealing of the enemy's top secrets is actually work engaged in by only a few personnel in the intelligence system. For industrialized countries, especially those very organized countries, by observing many subtle places and combining them with diplomacy and understanding of the grand strategic layout, one can actually judge many things. Various personnel transfers, material purchases, changes in transportation systems. Even price fluctuations of some special commodities can reveal many things. Of course, these must be established on the basis of a deep understanding of industrial countries.

These words might not necessarily be correct, but Chen Ke believed his degree of understanding of industrial countries was far above Yan Fu's. If he felt these words were specious, then fooling Yan Fu would absolutely be no problem.

Sure enough, hearing Chen Ke's words, Yan Fu nodded constantly.

"Wenqing, you are so young, yet so learned and well-informed. Modest in doing things, as the saying goes, 'when seeing a worthy person, think of equaling them.' I wonder how Wenqing's respected father is addressed; perhaps I have had the fortune to meet him, which is not impossible."

"Mr. Yan, before I left home, my father asked me to make an oath absolutely not allowing me to mention my family background. I cannot inform you frankly; I hope Mr. Yan will forgive me." Every time someone mentioned Chen Ke's family background, Chen Ke always felt a very uncomfortable feeling. Although this reason had been said many times, when speaking of it, Chen Ke still had a somewhat unnatural expression.

Yan Fu nodded after listening, then stared at Chen Ke for a moment. Yan Fu suddenly said, "Wenqing's talent is far superior to mine, but I am a few years older after all. I want to take Wenqing as a disciple; I wonder what Wenqing thinks?"

"Ah?" Hearing these unexpected words, Chen Ke couldn't help swallowing. "Mr. Yan, you aren't joking, are you?"

"I served as the director-general of the Beiyang Naval Academy. Although there were many students studying in the Naval Academy, strictly speaking, they were students of the Naval Academy, not my students. I am not joking; I want Wenqing to be my student."

So that's how it was. Chen Ke finally understood. Unlike modern education, in ancient times, taking a disciple was a very serious matter. The so-called "Master-Father" (*Shifu*)—this teacher was a figure on the same level as a father. It wasn't rare for a disciple's crime to implicate the master's sect. Yan Fu saying this meant he wanted to establish a private master-disciple relationship between Chen Ke and Yan Fu. Once this relationship was established, it meant Yan Fu would have to endorse and guarantee Chen Ke in social relations. With Yan Fu's great fame, Chen Ke's status would immediately double. With the identity of Yan Fu's disciple, Yan Fu's relatives and old friends would have to be much more polite to Chen Ke just looking at this identity. Where they could help, they would also have to lend a hand. Moreover, this proposal had another very attractive point for Chen Ke: becoming Yan Fu's disciple could greatly make up for the matter of his unknown origins.

However, Chen Ke didn't want to agree. Rights imply obligations. Becoming Yan Fu's private disciple, in this era that recognized master sects very much, meant that people who defected to Chen Ke would count as Yan Fu's lineage in a sense. Yan Fu's evaluation of new-style schools and old-style master-disciples was extremely correct. After establishing a private master-disciple relationship, Chen Ke would have to bear certain obligations. There was nothing unfair about this; everyone knew the definition of this master-disciple relationship, and this master-disciple relationship would be established when Chen Ke was an adult; there was absolutely no coercion involved. This was very disadvantageous to Chen Ke.

"This..." Chen Ke was wording how to decline Yan Fu's suggestion tactfully. After all, a big shot like Yan Fu proposing this request bluntly would lose face very much if rejected flatly. If handled improperly and Yan Fu was angered, it would be by no means a good thing for Chen Ke, whose foundation wasn't deep.

Before Chen Ke finished his wording, Yan Fu said, "Wenqing's aspirations—I have read Wenqing's book, heard Wenqing's lectures, seen Wenqing's troop training, and today's students can all speak Wenqing's mind. If Wenqing thinks I am completely unaware, you have underestimated me."

Hearing Yan Fu's words, Chen Ke was startled. Could it be that his revolutionary ideas were seen through so easily? It was really a failure. But since Yan Fu saw through his ideas and still wanted to take him as a disciple, given Yan Fu's status, naturally, he wouldn't be tricking him. But he had never heard that Yan Fu was a revolutionary.

"The chaos of the world is already established today. If Wenqing wanted to defect to the court, I estimate you would have already become an official long ago. Since Wenqing cares about the country but refuses to become an official, and gathers a party crowd... I don't want to say more about the remaining matters." Yan Fu's words were straightforward.

"Mr. Yan, with your talent, I personally hope very much to become Mr. Yan's disciple. But since Mr. Yan knows my aspirations, then you definitely know that what I do in the future will inevitably implicate Mr. Yan. To tell the truth, if I took Mr. Yan as my master now, what I seek would just be Mr. Yan's help. As for what a disciple should do, I'm afraid I can't do a single thing. Even if Mr. Yan doesn't mind, I myself would have a guilty conscience. So, Mr. Yan, I still cannot fulfill your wish."

"Shouldn't a teacher help a disciple? What Wenqing says, in others' eyes, might be endangering oneself. But to me, it is completely different. In today's China, if the one in power were Wenqing, it definitely wouldn't have fallen into the current situation. Wenqing refusing to follow the court is just that everyone has their own aspirations. But for someone like Wenqing, if I cannot be of some help, it makes me feel uneasy. Moreover, I am not lending Wenqing a hand for my own power and position. Wenqing doesn't need to worry about this point."

Chen Ke didn't doubt Yan Fu's words, but Yan Fu having no ideas now didn't mean he wouldn't have ideas in the future. Even if Yan Fu didn't have ideas, others would absolutely have ideas. So Chen Ke would absolutely not agree to this matter.

Yan Fu looked at Chen Ke's expression and knew Chen Ke wouldn't agree, but he didn't look annoyed at all. "What Wenqing hopes for now, I roughly guess, is to occupy territory. The difficulty of this matter is unknown."

Chen Ke admired secretly; this old handsome man's eyes were still very accurate. He had been working hard to prepare for establishing a base area.

"But no matter what, Wenqing must go north once. Although I am Fujianese and have never liked northerners much, and in today's world, the south seems prosperous, the heroes who can truly determine the situation are still in the north. If Wenqing wants to undertake great things, you still need the help of northern heroes. I want to take Wenqing as a disciple just to let Wenqing go to Beijing once. I have many old friends in Beijing and Tianjin; there are many talents among them. I want to introduce Wenqing to them."

Hearing this, Chen Ke couldn't help but be truly somewhat moved. He actually wanted to go north to establish a Party branch too, but suffered from having no breakthrough point. If Chen Ke went alone, the northern heroes wouldn't recognize Chen Ke, a "fake foreign devil" plus "real comprador." If he had Yan Fu's help, this Beijing trip would really be possible. But Chen Ke still didn't want to take Yan Fu as his master. Chen Ke was the leader of the People's Party after all; without the agreement of the Party branch, Chen Ke couldn't make decisions on his own in such matters.

"This..." Chen Ke stopped talking.

"There is no need to be anxious about this matter either. Hearing Wenqing narrate many things today, I also felt something in my heart. That's why I hastily wanted to take Wenqing as a disciple. This matter can be discussed at length." After speaking, Yan Fu stood up. "It's already very late; I'll take my leave."

With a relaxed mood, Chen Ke saw Yan Fu to the door.

"Wenqing need not send me far. Let's part here," Yan Fu said.

"Mr. Yan, if there were places where my words gave offense, please forgive me." Chen Ke was still somewhat apprehensive.

"As the saying goes, do not cherish your body when doing things, and do not forget your life when seeing profit. Wenqing, you did very well. Work hard." After Yan Fu finished speaking, he waved slightly to Chen Ke. This old handsome man walked toward the street corner with brisk steps, using that powerful movement unique to soldiers. Although he wore a queue, his figure wasn't annoying at all in Chen Ke's eyes.

Watching Yan Fu's receding figure, Chen Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Party members weren't here today; tomorrow he must tell them about this matter with Yan Fu. Right, tomorrow he also had to remember to mention the matter Wang Qinian proposed about selling medicine to Nanyang. Watching Yan Fu's figure disappear around the street corner, Chen Ke entered the courtyard, carefully closed the door, and bolted it. He covered the piano with a cloth, patrolled once more, and returned to the dormitory. Lying on the bed, Chen Ke thought he would think a lot. Unexpectedly, not long after lying down, he fell into dreamland.