Textbooks are very important things. In Chen Ke's ambitious plan, he wanted to rewrite the textbooks from primary school to high school himself. Junior high and high school textbooks were okay; the impression was relatively deep. Primary school textbooks wouldn't do. The plan for him and Chen Tianhua on the way this time was to write a primary school mathematics textbook. The outline was basically discussed. Since they had to meet Steward He the next day, they didn't want to work on anything complicated, so they simply continued to perfect the outline.

The weather in October was already quite cool; after dark, the temperature dropped quickly. Through the window opened for ventilation, the cold wind poured in chillingly. After writing a paragraph, Chen Ke got up to close the window, but heard a familiar instrument sound. Someone was playing the piano.

Listening to the direction, it should be the household diagonally opposite. Steward He said the piano was broken, but if the piano was broken on the ground and unusable, presumably he wouldn't just be exasperated. After listening for only a moment, Chen Ke couldn't help shaking his head and sighing. The quality of that piano was passable, and the player was also very familiar with the notes of the keyboard, but Chen Ke could hear that it was clicking keys one by one, with absolutely no mention of fingering. He didn't know how the teacher taught.

Seeing Chen Ke listening intently, Chen Tianhua also listened for a moment and laughed, "Not as good as you, Wenqing."

"If an instrument is played badly, it's simply torture." While sighing, Chen Ke closed the window. "Once there was a master who caught a thief stealing things. That person asked the thief whether he admitted to beating or punishment. The thief asked what beating was and what punishment was. The master said, beating means thirty strokes of the stick, punishment means listening to me play ten tunes on the *erhu*. The thief naturally admitted to punishment. Upon hearing only the third tune, the thief was already crying and begging: better to beat me with thirty strokes."

Chen Ke spoke simply. Chen Tianhua didn't think much of it at first, but after savoring it, he burst into laughter. "Wenqing is very mean."

"What mean? I just don't know how the teacher taught the piano."

After asking clearly the reason for Chen Ke's sigh, Chen Tianhua said, "Wenqing, there is one thing I feel you don't know because you stayed overseas for a long time."

"What matter?"

"Do you know that women of big households strictly observe rules? The so-called 'not stepping out of the main gate, not passing through the second gate.' This is not a joke. In these years, those who teach musical instruments are all family members; it's impossible to hire any teacher to teach musical instruments to young ladies. That family opposite is still playing the piano, which is considered very enlightened. I know noble women overseas mostly learn musical instruments, but in China, playing musical instruments is regarded as a lowly service."

"Lowly service? Ancient gentlemen stressed *qin* (zither), chess, calligraphy, and painting; it seems gentlemen are extremely lowly."

"The Manchu Qing has ravaged culture very deeply." After speaking, Chen Tianhua sighed.

When the two talked about this, they were very depressed. "Wait until the revolution succeeds; we will teach music from primary school. No, no need to wait for the revolution to succeed; once the base area is built, we will start music classes."

"But don't build the base area in Fengyang." Chen Tianhua suddenly added a sentence. These words were extremely "vicious"; hearing them, Chen Ke burst out laughing. Speaking to this point, the mind to write the book also faded. Chen Ke suddenly asked, "Xingtai, let me teach you to sing a song. It's called 'The Internationale'."

Chen Tianhua knew some things about Germany; he also hoped very much that China could rise rapidly like Germany and become a world power. Regarding the defeated country France, because France also invaded China multiple times, Chen Tianhua had no good impression of it. Hearing Chen Ke talk about the origin of "The Internationale," he learned that the French people had also once established a regime chosen by the people themselves. Speaking of which, the Chinese people's rebellious spirit had always been sufficient: "Emperors take turns; next year it comes to my house." If counting only people's uprisings, adding up large and small ones in Chinese history, there must be tens of thousands. Chen Tianhua was well-read in history books and had seen many records. But since Chen Ke attached such importance to it, presumably this song should have extraordinary points. As soon as Chen Ke taught the song, Chen Tianhua was immediately moved by the lyrics and melody.

"Arise, ye prisoners of starvation! Arise, ye wretched of the earth!

For justice thunders condemnation, a better world's in birth.

No more tradition's chains shall bind us, arise, ye slaves, no more in thrall!

The earth shall rise on new foundations, we have been naught, we shall be all!"

In revolutionary propaganda, it was always believed that the Manchu Qing regarded Han people as slaves. Overthrowing the Manchu Qing, restoring China, and letting Han people "be the masters of the world" again—this was originally the long-cherished wish of the Revolutionary Party. In Chen Tianhua's view, this world was not just the world of China, but the world of the globe.

"The Internationale" didn't have much modulation originally, and Chen Tianhua was proficient in *tanci*; after just a few times, he could sing the whole song with Chen Ke. This passionate music was not just a song, but a horn of battle, a call to arms for revolution. Even humming in a low voice made the blood of the two young men boil. Almost coincidentally, Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua sang loudly at the same time:

"There has never been any savior, nor do we rely on immortals or emperors!

To create human happiness, we rely entirely on ourselves!

We want to take back the fruits of labor, let thoughts break through the cage!

Quickly burn that furnace fire red; only by striking while the iron is hot will we succeed!

This is the final struggle; unite until tomorrow, the Internationale shall be the human race!

This is the final struggle; unite until tomorrow, the Internationale shall be the human race!"

In the night, a few families' dogs barked a few times in low voices, then quieted down immediately. Chen Ke only felt a surge of heroism in his chest. Since revolutionary work got on the right track, Chen Ke felt tied down instead. That feeling of struggling to move forward came more from thoughts than from external resistance. As a science student, as a youth who knew a little history, Chen Ke hoped to make preparations to the maximum extent. He knew doing this wasn't wrong, and he also knew doing this was wrong. Revolution is a passion; as a leader, one must be like a fire, able to agitate and burn everything around oneself. But Chen Ke himself was more like a cold machine than an enthusiastic revolutionary.

Just dyeing cloth and making medicine, or even writing books and lecturing, Chen Ke could do and felt he could do well. But after all, he hadn't engaged in revolution. Even if Chen Ke had passion, hoping to achieve the revolutionary cause on one hand and hoping to be foolproof on the other, the result shown was more perverse air. Chen Ke knew he wasn't a qualified revolutionary. Singing this "Internationale" today, Chen Ke suddenly felt the righteous energy of a revolutionary filling the song, that courage to press forward with indomitable will. The young man's emotions resonated greatly. He pulled open the door, disregarding what thoughts the neighbors would have after hearing it, and roared loudly to the pitch-black night sky:

"Who created the human world? It is us, the working masses!

Everything belongs to laborers; how can parasites be tolerated?!

Most hateful are those poisonous snakes and wild beasts, eating up our flesh and blood!

Once they are wiped out completely, the bright red sun will shine all over the globe!

This is the final struggle; unite until tomorrow, the Internationale shall be the human race!

This is the final struggle; unite until tomorrow, the Internationale shall be the human race!"

Starting from when Chen Ke just roared two sentences, the dogs that had quieted down immediately barked fiercely. Regardless of any changes around, Chen Ke sang this song twice in one breath. He only felt the depressed air in his chest swept away. He simply sat down on the steps at the door. The barking soon disappeared. After a moment, the piano sound from the opposite side rang out again. At first, it was messy; the player tried a few times and actually gradually played a bar of "The Internationale." Then, the music stopped abruptly. Just as Chen Ke was waiting quietly for the playing, he heard Chen Tianhua shouting in the room, "Wenqing, you didn't teach me this part of the lyrics; come in quickly and write it down."

Responding, Chen Ke walked back into the room. But he couldn't help looking back.

Until he went to sleep, the piano over there never sounded again. Who exactly was playing the piano? Would it be the older one, or the younger one? Please don't let it be the male master of that family, right? Thinking of an uncle with a braid playing the piano to respond to him, Chen Ke felt his hair stand on end. "Can I fucking be lovestruck too?" Chen Ke felt he was really unreasonable. Wrapped in the quilt made yesterday, Chen Ke fell asleep very quickly.

At 9:00 AM, Steward He came to the door on time. As soon as he entered, Steward He looked around Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua's residence. The courtyard was clean, and water had been sprinkled on the ground; there was no floating dust at all. Besides this impression, the whole courtyard felt cold and cheerless, lacking popularity.

The three arrived at the living room and took their seats. The steward first looked around the main hall. "Two gentlemen, the house is cleaned really clean."

"Just the two of us living here; it's easy to clean," Chen Ke replied.

"I wonder what the two gentlemen are doing in Beijing?"

"Entrusted by others to visit friends in Beijing; no big deal."

"Oh." Hearing Chen Ke's shameless boasting, the steward could only nod. "My master learned that Mr. Chen is a neighbor and wants to ask when it is convenient for Mr. Chen; my master wants to invite Mr. Chen to sit at home."

"I am convenient anytime; as long as Brother He's master is free, I can go pay a visit now." Chen Ke answered very straightforwardly.

"My master says he is waiting for Mr. Chen at the residence now."

The steward's reply was so straightforward that it startled Chen Ke greatly. But his words had already been released; he definitely couldn't take them back. "Then trouble Steward He to lead the way."

Getting up and leaving his own courtyard gate with the steward, they didn't go directly to the house opposite. On this street, there was a pastry shop selling things that tasted good. Accepting the lesson from Pang Zi's time, Chen Ke went in and bought eight colors of pastries according to etiquette, wrapping them well. Only then did they arrive in front of the neighbor's house opposite. The steward standing at the door wasn't surprised at Chen Ke's move at all; he ordered a servant boy to take the gift and led the two toward the main hall himself.

Although they were neighbors opposite each other, these two rows of houses were vastly different. Chen Ke's residence was a *siheyuan*; although it had brick floors, it was still an ordinary *siheyuan*. The row opposite was vastly different, with a front courtyard and a back courtyard. The area was three or four times larger than Chen Ke's residence. The steward led the two into the side hall; in the center, a man about forty years old was waiting for them.

This host, even placed in the present, would be an old handsome man. He looked quite like that Handsome Chen who transcended the realm of playing with equipment. His long hair was tied into a ponytail hanging behind his head; the old handsome man actually didn't have the flavor of the early 20th century at all. He didn't wear a long gown and mandarin jacket; a slightly old brocade robe fitted him well. A wide brocade belt was bound around his waist. Wearing a pair of glasses, two tufts of mustache were neat and tidy. Chen Ke actually didn't hate long hair at all; in the 21st century, long hair represented uninhibitedness and freedom. Chen Ke just hated the Manchu Qing, so he hated queues.

On the way, Chen Ke had asked Steward He; the intelligence obtained was that the neighbor opposite was named He. The steward didn't reveal anything else.

Seeing the old handsome man stand up, Chen Ke spoke first. "Hello, Lord He. This humble one is Chen Ke; this one here is Chen Xingtai, my cousin."

Official He had also sized up Chen Ke. Seeing Chen Ke greet him first with a respectful expression, Official He felt somewhat surprised.

After the host and guests took their seats, both sides announced their names. Official He was named He Ruming; he was originally an official of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau. In the Gengzi year, the Tianjin Machinery Bureau was destroyed in a day. He Ruming spent a few years with an official rank but no post, and was only recently transferred to the Ministry of Personnel yamen in Beijing.

Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua's self-introductions were much simpler. Chen Ke claimed to have studied in the United States and Europe for a few years. Chen Tianhua was a student returned from studying in Japan. Both had just returned to China and set up a medical college with British people in Shanghai.

"Does Mr. Chen Ke have the courtesy name Wenqing?" He Ruming asked brightly.

No matter what He Ruming said, Chen Ke wouldn't be more surprised than now. His great name was actually known by this official he had never met; this was unreasonable no matter how one looked at it. Chen Tianhua also showed a surprised look on his face. He thought this Official He was an old acquaintance of Chen Ke's family.

"It is exactly this humble one." Chen Ke answered somewhat apprehensively.

"I wonder if Wenqing is the one who wrote *The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism*." Seeing Chen Ke's uneasy look, He Ruming continued to ask very happily.

"Taking the liberty to ask, did Lord He receive the book sent by Mr. Yan?" Chen Ke felt there was only this one possibility.

"Correct. I am an old acquaintance of Mr. Yan. Thanks to Mr. Yan's care, he sent Wenqing's book over."

This handsome man was actually his reader; this surprised both Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua quite a bit.

"It was written by this humble one and this brother beside me together."

He Ruming originally had a smile on his face. After hearing Chen Ke finish, He Ruming sized up Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua carefully. "I also saw Wenqing's *Huangpu Review*, only there is one thing unclear."

"Please speak."

"Mr. Chen, with such talent, why don't you serve the court?" He Ruming's expression already showed some dissatisfaction. "And that specific medicine; Wenqing can make such good things, yet published it. Once foreigners see the prescription, won't they imitate it? Wenqing's act only benefited the foreigners. I wonder why." Except for tea, silk, porcelain, and minerals, the Great Qing didn't have any modern inventions that could lead foreigners. Chen Ke had such good medicine but cooperated directly with the British; this made He Ruming very dissatisfied in his heart.

Chen Ke laughed, "If the court had my medicine, they would only present the prescription to the British. Lord He, now the court has absolutely no confidence in front of foreigners. In their view, face is most important. Currying favor with foreigners is more important. As for how to set up domestic industries, I don't think highly of the court."

Hearing this, He Ruming felt it very piercing to the ear, but he had to admit inwardly that Chen Ke wasn't wrong. Although he wanted to reprimand Chen Ke, He Ruming suppressed his displeasure and just shook his head gently.

Seeing the changes on He Ruming's face, a thought moved in Chen Ke's mind. He said, "If Lord He wants to do something beneficial to the country and the people, I actually have a project. Originally I wanted to contact foreigners to do it together, but Lord He is right; why benefit foreigners?"

Hearing this, He Ruming didn't show great interest; on the contrary, his eyes became vigilant. As the saying goes, one who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions. Chen Ke had a record of cooperating with foreigners. He didn't look for foreigners to cooperate this time but talked about it with him, whom he met by chance; He Ruming felt Chen Ke probably had a conspiracy.

"Lord He, this project, except for doing it with seniors of the Westernization faction, absolutely cannot be done with others. I originally wanted to contact seniors of the Westernization faction, but suffered from having no way. Meeting Lord He today can be considered God's will. I wonder if Lord He can allow me to speak." Chen Ke said frankly.

After hearing this, He Ruming pondered for a while before nodding.

"As the saying goes, firewood, rice, oil, and salt; this firewood is the first priority. Now Beijing mainly burns coal; common people all use coal balls. I have a design using honeycomb briquettes. It's twice as good as using coal balls. If this project is let to foreigners, letting them earn the common people's money for nothing, I think it's unnecessary," Chen Ke said.

Seeing He Ruming had no intention of opposing, Chen Ke asked He Ruming for paper and pen. Drawing while speaking, he explained the principle of honeycomb briquettes to He Ruming once. He Ruming seemed to understand but not fully. Chen Ke then explained the principle of coal. Although He Ruming was an official of the Westernization faction, he came from a mechanical background in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau and had absolutely never studied chemistry. Chen Ke could only simply narrate the concept of elements again, and then explain the principle of combustion. He Ruming's home had glass cups; Chen Ke simply asked for a basin of water, lit a candle inside, and inverted the glass cup over the candle. As the candle went from burning to extinguishing, the water in the glass cup was sucked up.

Through this experiment, He Ruming finally understood the existence of oxygen in the air. After explaining the principle of combustion, Chen Ke talked about how fanning the fire could make the coal burn more fiercely.

These common daily things were naturally well known to He Ruming. But listening to the chemical principles Chen Ke explained, many things He Ruming only knew before but didn't understand the principles of suddenly became clear at this time.

He Ruming asked Chen Ke to say the principle of honeycomb briquettes again; this time he finally basically understood all the principles.

"Good stuff!" He Ruming patted the table lightly. This old handsome man was somewhat excited. Although he was also of the Westernization faction, speaking of it, in so many years, it was really the first time he understood so clearly and plainly what combustion was all about. "Wenqing speaks reasonably; such good stuff must absolutely not be let to foreigners to do."

Chen Ke also smiled and nodded, but his throat moved with a swallow. Only then did He Ruming remember that just now Chen Ke very impolitely drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, and he actually hadn't asked anyone to refill the tea. The old handsome man shouted hurriedly, "Serve tea." Then he apologized again.

Chen Ke drank the tea in one gulp; having spoken for this long, he was really somewhat parched.

After the servant went out, Chen Ke said, "Lord He, this matter precisely cannot be let to the court to do. It can only be let to the seniors of the Westernization faction to do. I know Lord He is unwilling to discuss the rights and wrongs of the court, but if Lord He really wants the common people to benefit, it's better for Lord He to take the lead and let the seniors of the Westernization faction do this matter."