Many times, silence is a good choice. The emotions contained in speechlessness include resistance and silent pleas. Wu Xingchen was silent now. The previous discussion completely dispelled Wu Xingchen's fantasy; he knew clearly that Chen Ke wouldn't help Pang Zi.

When people's momentum weakens, they often have a psychological weakness. At the beginning of the Party meeting, Wu Xingchen felt that Chen Ke's way of treating Pang Zi was inappropriate and always felt that Chen Ke should give more. Now he couldn't help but think of Pang Zi's consistent disrespect towards Chen Ke. In the *Jianghu*, even this kind of impolite attitude might trigger a very serious conflict, not to mention that Chen Ke's words and deeds truly stemmed from concern for Pang Zi.

"Brother Wu, do you still consider yourself a member of the People's Party?" Chen Ke broke the silence. Hearing this, Chen Tianhua felt a tightness in his heart. Chen Ke had sympathy; he knew this. Chen Ke didn't have the "benevolence of a woman" (undue leniency); Chen Tianhua also knew this clearly. The reason for asking this was probably that he was going to be tough with Wu Xingchen. Wu Xingchen had been favoring Pang Zi; Chen Tianhua knew this well and wasn't satisfied with it either. But looking at Chen Ke's meaning, there was a flavor of expelling Wu Xingchen from the party. Chen Tianhua instinctively wanted to object, but he couldn't say it. In the People's Party's organizational program, there was such a clause—members of the Chinese People's Party must completely sever all connections with parties and groups attempting to oppose the party's program. Pang Zi couldn't be counted as an enemy, but based on Pang Zi's actions, he couldn't be talked about as a friend either. If Chen Ke wanted to handle it according to organizational discipline, Chen Tianhua couldn't raise an objection.

Hearing this, Wu Xingchen's face became even more solemn. His gaze became heavy, and he even rarely bit his lip. After making up his mind, he said, "Wenqing, if you are talking about Brother Pang's matter..."

Chen Ke interrupted Wu Xingchen's words. He said calmly, "It has nothing to do with Brother Pang. I just want to ask, does Brother Wu still insist that he is a member of the People's Party?"

Hesitating for a moment, Wu Xingchen answered, "Yes, I still insist that I am a member of the People's Party. But..."

"Wait for me to finish first, okay?" Chen Ke cut off Wu Xingchen's words again. For some reason, Chen Tianhua suddenly felt a flavor of relaxation in Chen Ke's voice. Chen Ke picked up the scissors, trimmed the candle wick, and the candle burned brighter.

"As the chairman of this Party meeting, I want to request you, Brother Wu, to carry out revolutionary struggle work in the north. Whether with Brother Pang or with those few Shandong brothers. I want you to participate in their revolution, well, I should say uprising work. I wonder what Brother Wu thinks?"

Hearing this, Wu Xingchen was greatly surprised. He didn't want to withdraw from the People's Party. Just now, he wanted to propose staying in Hebei to participate in the uprising with Pang Zi. Unexpectedly, Chen Ke proposed it first. Taking advantage of this bright candlelight, Wu Xingchen carefully sized up Chen Ke's face. Chen Ke showed an encouraging smile that very much understood Wu Xingchen's difficulties, without any dissatisfaction, let alone any intention of testing him.

"How about it, does Brother Wu agree?" Seeing Wu Xingchen not speaking, Chen Ke asked again.

"I agree." Wu Xingchen hurriedly replied.

Seeing that Chen Ke wasn't going to punish Wu Xingchen but proposed such a reasonable suggestion, Chen Tianhua was also very happy. After all, they were comrades; why make it to the point of expelling people? On second thought, Chen Tianhua felt a bit embarrassed again. Chen Ke wanting to expel Wu Xingchen was Chen Tianhua's own speculation. Such speculation of his own was where his magnanimity was inferior to Chen Ke's. While criticizing himself in secret, Chen Tianhua suddenly heard Chen Ke say, "Xingtai, I want you to stay in the north with Brother Wu. Be responsible for the preparation work of launching the uprising."

"Ah? I have to stay too?" Chen Tianhua asked in surprise. Regarding this decision, Chen Tianhua's surprise was fifty percent, and the other fifty percent was joy.

"Leaving Brother Wu alone here, he has revolutionary enthusiasm, but revolutionary theory is obviously insufficient. Originally, I should have stayed in the north, but if we leave Shanghai for a few months, I'm not too assured either. So I can only let Xingtai stay in the north."

"This is very good." Chen Tianhua answered excitedly.

Seeing Chen Tianhua's face full of joy, Chen Ke felt he couldn't let him be too happy. "Don't be anxious; I'm leaving everyone in the north not to let everyone slack off (let loose). What to do here, I have to discuss with everyone."

"Wenqing asked us to stay here; what do you plan for us to do?" Wu Xingchen wasn't as optimistic as Chen Tianhua. He felt Chen Ke wouldn't give in to Pang Zi so easily. Moreover, Chen Ke's words had already made it clear that Wu Xingchen was staying here not as Pang Zi's close friend, but as a People's Party member. In other words, if Wu Xingchen insisted on his stance as a People's Party member, Pang Zi's stance wouldn't be the primary object of consideration.

"Brother Wu, no matter what, I don't want Brother Pang Zi to lose his life in vain. I said so much earlier just to explain to Brother Pang Zi that following the previous rebellion mode will definitely not work. Brother Pang has prejudice against me, thinking I am not on the same path as him." Speaking of this, Chen Ke suddenly laughed again. "This is me speaking wrong. Brother Pang has no prejudice against me; I am indeed not on the same path as him. But what I want to ask is, does Brother Wu want to walk the same path as Brother Pang, or do you want to run towards the path of successful revolution? On this point, as party members, we have no need to tell lies."

Hearing such a frank question, Wu Xingchen tightened his lips. Emotionally, he wanted to support Pang Zi. But rationally, he had long been convinced by Chen Ke. Finally, Wu Xingchen sighed deeply, "Never mind, some things can't be done just with brotherly affection. I want to walk the path of revolution."

"Very good. Then let's first discuss how to let Brother Pang and the Shandong brothers save their lives after the rebellion. As long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of having no firewood to burn. This method should be most practical for them."

"What brilliant strategy is there?" Chen Tianhua was very interested in this.

"They must change from sitting bandits who are very easy to suppress into roving bandits who are not easy to suppress."

"Haha!" Hearing Chen Ke's "brilliant strategy," Chen Tianhua couldn't help laughing out loud. *What's the difference between this and saying nothing? If you can't win, you naturally have to run; how is it possible to sit and wait for the government army to suppress you?*

Wu Xingchen's reaction was completely different from Chen Tianhua's. His eyes lit up. "This requires Wenqing to explain it well." Wu Xingchen had been beaten badly by the Beiyang Army in Shandong. While fleeing for his life, he really had the feeling that the world was big but there was nowhere to hide.

"As the saying goes, a *sheng* (small measure) of rice creates kindness, a *dou* (large measure) of rice creates hatred. Trying to buy people's hearts by scattering wealth is absolutely impossible. The common people don't buy this." Chen Ke didn't talk about revolutionary principles this time.

Watching Wu Xingchen nodding slightly, Chen Tianhua was quite puzzled. "Making everyone live a little better, how can one not be appreciated?"

"A little better? How much better counts as a little better? Eating an extra bowl of rice is a little better; having immense wealth is also a little better. Your view is absolutely wrong." Chen Ke's voice was cold. "If they are contented people, they don't lack your little bit of stuff at all. If they are discontented people, however much you give is not enough. So, relying on scattering wealth only makes capable people look down on you, and incapable people envy you. Moreover, with Brother Pang's current means, this money didn't come from a proper path either. If he engages in buying people's hearts, that would really be Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror—not a human inside or out."

Although Chen Tianhua still didn't quite understand, seeing Chen Ke speaking firmly and Wu Xingchen agreeing completely, he simply stopped interrupting.

"So, how Brother Pang makes a scene now, everyone needs to watch closely. We must enable Brother Pang to save the urgent and the poor. Point out the route of struggle to everyone, rather than just using money and grain to dismiss the matter," Chen Ke continued. Wu Xingchen's mood this time was very different from before. He greatly agreed with the various penetrating criticisms proposed by Chen Ke. When Chen Ke talked about some very ruthless methods, Wu Xingchen even slapped the table and applauded. Chen Tianhua took notes quickly. Regardless of whether he could accept Chen Ke's statements, these were very important materials. They absolutely couldn't just be done with after speaking.

The night grew deeper, and the Party group meeting had become very harmonious. However, everyone had just traveled far. By more than two o'clock, Wu Xingchen and Chen Tianhua couldn't take it anymore. Chen Ke simply let them sleep and continued writing things himself.

The sky gradually brightened, and Chen Ke put down his pen. Although he didn't feel tired yet, it was painstaking to write these things he wasn't good at after all. Writing wasn't too tiring, but racking his brains to come up with suitable specific struggle methods really made one feel mentally unbearable. Chen Ke had been running around outside these few days and hadn't taken a bath; his body already had a smell. He simply stripped naked and took a basin and soap to bathe by the water well outside.

It wasn't sunrise yet; the sky was just a little hazy. A few stars were still scattered in the pale white sky. The entire quadrangle courtyard was still dark, shrouded in a desolate glimmer everywhere. Chen Ke poured a basin of water over his body. Compared to the cold air, the well water was warm. The comfort of the water flowing over his skin made Chen Ke grunt involuntarily. The autumn breeze blew, quickly taking away the temperature on the skin, and soon made this bather feel a bone-piercing chill. Chen Ke poured another basin of water over his head, then wiped his face and raised his head. A bird flew eastward from high in the sky. Perhaps noticing Chen Ke, it suddenly cawed. Watching the figure of this crow gradually merge into the bronze-colored sky in the east, Chen Ke suddenly remembered that crows seemed to signify bad omens. Of course, Chen Ke didn't believe this nonsense at all. Another few basins of water flushed down, then soaping, then rinsing. The shower of well water re-energized his somewhat numb thinking.

Among those few heroes, Chai Qingguo was always very polite to Chen Ke. And judging from his usual performance, he seemed to agree with Chen Ke's propositions quite a bit. But after all, being with other brothers, Chai Qingguo couldn't directly express approval of Chen Ke either. It seemed he had to find an opportunity to talk to Chai Qingguo alone. Or, when Wu Xingchen and the others went to the countryside, ask Chai Qingguo to stay behind and help alone. While thinking, Chen Ke dried his body and returned to the room. It was truly "living in a fragrant room for a long time without smelling its fragrance"; as soon as he entered the door, Chen Ke felt the smell in this room was quite strong. Luckily he could stay in here for a night. He didn't close the door either, just found clean clothes to change into, threw the dirty clothes into the basin, squatted in the courtyard, and started washing clothes.

There were quite a few dirty clothes. Chen Ke washed clothes alone in this quiet morning. Suddenly a strange thought popped into his mind: *I wonder if that Miss He I met last time washes clothes herself.* As soon as this thought appeared, Chen Ke felt quite strange. The two were just chance acquaintances and had only met once; why did he suddenly think of this lady?

Recalling carefully, Chen Ke actually couldn't remember the specific appearance of that lady. The only thing he could remember was those pair of bright and firm beautiful eyes. That was a gaze Chen Ke was very familiar with. In the 21st century, only those sufficiently firm women had that kind of fearless gaze.

Chen Ke liked this kind of woman. They only did things to accomplish their goals. In the process of things, they only did their best according to the laws and didn't pursue any final result. Therefore, that gaze would be so bright, so focused. Unlike "Lord" He Ruming, who was only to get the result and didn't care at all what the intermediate process was. If possible, "Lord" He Ruming hoped the process of things would be like this: others shouting "Daddy He," "Grandpa He," you must honor us, please let us serve you. Facing He Ruming's modest "repeated refusal," others steadfastly wanted to handle affairs for He Ruming. Finally, out of absolute helplessness, to give others face, He Ruming reluctantly accepted others' service. In the end, He Ruming didn't have to lift a finger, yet gained both fame and fortune.

*I'm also a bit too mean,* Chen Ke thought. But when He Ruming talked with him about those trivial details, his eyes changed constantly. However, on those core contents, He Ruming's reaction was quite slow. It presented a perfect contrast with He Qian's shrewdness and capability. *Are these two really biological siblings?*

*If it were in the 21st century, it would be great,* Chen Ke couldn't help thinking. In that case, he could ask He Qian out and discuss this matter properly in private. Maybe this matter would have been done long ago. And they could also make friends or something. Chen Ke liked shrewd and capable women very much. Being with them, there was no nonsense; everyone had a very relaxed feeling. Moreover, when chatting idly, these women often spoke wittily; chatting about everything was also an enjoyment.

But this was really an absolute extravagant hope. Just like in the 21st century, Chen Ke only needed to throw clothes into the washing machine and didn't need to worry. Now, to maintain hygiene, he had to wash by hand.

The clothes were washed, and the sky was bright. No one got up; it seemed the long-distance travel made everyone exhausted. Chen Ke felt a bit sleepy, but he didn't dare go back to lie on the bed. Everyone probably wouldn't wake him up; what if he overslept? He simply lay on the table in the main room and slept.

"Mr. Chen, wake up." Someone called beside him. Chen Ke slowly raised his head and saw Pang Zi standing beside him. Checking his watch, Chen Ke had slept for about two hours.

"What's up?"

"Breakfast is ready," Pang Zi said.

Looking outside, he saw the soup pot on the honeycomb briquette stove steaming, and Wu Xingchen and the others were busy around the pot.

"Good." Having slept for this while, Chen Ke felt his energy completely restored. He stood up and answered, "Eat."

According to yesterday's agreement, after eating, Wu Xingchen would talk with Pang Zi and the others, and Chen Ke wouldn't participate. If Chen Ke participated, it would only make Pang Zi feel uncomfortable. So Chen Ke took this time to visit He Ruming.

Steward He was very enthusiastic about Chen Ke's visit. He told Chen Ke that He Ruming was not at home. Chen Ke almost blurted out asking if He Qian was in. Fortunately, he held back. If he really dared to ask like this, Steward He would probably beat Chen Ke out the door. Returning to the residence unhappily, he heard Wu Xingchen saying something to everyone in the wing room. Chen Ke didn't stop either and went straight back to the main room. Just after sitting for a moment, he heard someone knocking on the door. The gate wasn't closed tightly. The person outside pushed it open gently and then shouted through the crack of the door, "Is Mr. Wenqing in?" It was Xie Mingxian's voice.

"I am here, Mingxian, come in quickly." Chen Ke responded happily.

Xie Mingxian carried a square package; presumably, it contained medicine. What surprised Chen Ke greatly was that there was another person standing outside the door with him; it was actually Wang Bin. Chen Ke was slightly stunned, then reacted. "Brother Wang, welcome, welcome. Come in quickly; the journey must have been hard." Saying this, he took the package from Xie Mingxian's hand with one hand, picked up the suitcase beside Wang Bin, and led the two into the main room.

Wang Bin was really a rare guest. Since You Gou introduced Wang Bin and Zhou Yuanxiao to Chen Ke, the two began to cooperate. As a middle-to-high-level steward in a German foreign firm, Wang Bin actually helped Chen Ke get a lot of things. But the two didn't have any personal friendship. He came from Shanghai with Xie Mingxian, but Chen Ke didn't know why.

"This coal looks quite interesting," Wang Bin asked holding a teacup with both hands. Shanghai was much warmer than Beijing. He and Xie Mingxian came by boat and really weren't used to this temperature difference. Just now when Chen Ke was boiling water, putting honeycomb briquettes into the stove attracted his attention.

"I plan to promote this thing in a big way in Beijing." Chen Ke didn't hide it from him. Anyway, the price of anthracite in the south was high, and Chen Ke wasn't worried about Wang Bin starting it in the south. "Does Brother Wang want to stay in Beijing and make honeycomb briquettes with me?" Chen Ke teased.

"I didn't come for this. A German friend arrived in Beijing; I came to see him," Wang Bin replied.

"It should be so, it should be so." Chen Ke laughed. Chen Ke had no special feeling about Wang Bin's action. He himself liked traveling. If he had a whim to go out in the morning, he would immediately contact friends in that place, buy tickets at noon, and leave by car at night. This kind of thing hadn't happened just once or twice. Before, a brother from out of town called after nine in the evening, saying they were short one for Mahjong. Then Chen Ke immediately went out to the train station, bought a train ticket for the nearest trip, arrived at the card table more than a hundred kilometers away by 11:30, and played cards all night. Chen Ke very much approved of Wang Bin's action. A German friend coming from afar, rushing from Shanghai to Beijing to meet, counted for nothing.

However, Xie Mingxian beside him looked at Chen Ke with strange eyes. Although Xie Mingxian had heard of "traveling ten thousand miles" when reading books, that was just talk. He felt the journey was far when he went from Hunan to Shanghai alone. Qi Huishen sent him from Shanghai to Beijing. Young people's nature naturally liked to go far away. But having really experienced such a long journey at sea, and actually arriving at the capital at the foot of the Son of Heaven, Xie Mingxian felt a bit unreal instead. Seeing Chen Ke's nonchalant attitude made Xie Mingxian feel very uncomfortable.

Chen Ke noticed this. He patted Xie Mingxian's shoulder. "Mingxian, you also have courage. From Shanghai to Beijing, this journey is also several thousand *li*. How do you feel now?"

Hearing Chen Ke say this, Xie Mingxian smiled. "It's really far." After speaking, he added, "The weather here is quite cold."

"Haha." Chen Ke and Wang Bin both laughed after hearing this.

"By the way, Brother Wang, where do you plan to live when you arrive in Beijing? If you don't mind, simply stay here with me for a few days," Chen Ke said.

Wang Bin didn't decline. "That's exactly my intention."

Looking at Wang Bin's swollen eyelids, Chen Ke said with concern, "The journey was tiring. Brother Wang, go sleep for a while first."

After Wang Bin went to sleep, Xie Mingxian saw no one around, so he took out a letter and handed it to Chen Ke. "Mr. Wenqing, this is a letter from Mr. Qi to you."

Chen Ke wasn't in a hurry to open it. "Mingxian, you go sleep for a while too. Whatever it is, wait until you get up at noon to talk about it. In the afternoon, go out with me; we'll go to a good place."

"Where to?" Xie Mingxian felt Chen Ke's mysterious words weren't quite right; he asked.

"Imperial University." After Chen Ke finished speaking, he saw Xie Mingxian's eyes immediately widen, getting bigger and bigger, finally almost glaring into circles.

"That's right, it's the Imperial University." Chen Ke added.

Xie Mingxian's arms were somewhat stiff. Seeing that Chen Ke didn't mean to deceive him, he then stood up. "Mr. Wenqing, I'll go sleep right now." After speaking, Xie Mingxian went towards the bedroom almost trembling. Chen Ke could understand how excited this scholar (*Xiucai*) was to hear this name.

With an excitement less than one-tenth of Xie Mingxian's, Chen Ke checked the integrity of the envelope, then opened the envelope and pulled out a thick stack of paper.