"Today is a historic day; today will be remembered forever. Many years later, young people will ask about everything that happened today with reverence and curiosity. Today is a historic day, and you are part of it. For thousands of years, the people have never been truly paid attention to. No matter who wrote the history books, whether official history or unofficial history, whether imperial diaries or county gazetteers, no one has ever truly studied the daily lives of the people. Especially after the foreign powers fought into China, all we heard were people shouting, 'We can't go on living!' 'The country will no longer be a country!' 'China is going to be exterminated!' Why can't we go on living? Why is China going to be exterminated? Under these slogans, what exactly is Chinese society like, and why did it become like this? No one has ever truly studied it. The actual lives of the people are at best rumors in the streets and vague stories. But today, there is such a group of people, it is ourselves, who will conduct a social investigation. The mysteries will be uncovered; the social pulse and disorder will be clearly seen and pointed out. 'The People' is no longer a vague noun but concrete figures, a clear existence in the operation of society. So, today is a historic day!"

This passage was Qi Huishen's speech at the "oath-taking rally" for the social investigation. After reading it, Chen Ke felt extremely familiar with it. This was an impromptu call to action Chen Ke made at the Party meeting when encouraging comrades to grasp the social investigation work. Several sentences imitated the speech of the SS officer in *Schindler's List*. Obviously, Qi Huishen had applied it flexibly.

The letter was handwritten by He Zudao. That beautiful penmanship was undoubtedly the best in the People's Party at the current stage. And the one who dictated this letter should be Qi Huishen. Qi Huishen detailed the recent preparations for the rural investigation. While Xie Mingxian was ordered to set off for Beijing, twelve investigation teams also set out for the countryside. Reading between the lines revealed a high-spirited emotion. Thinking about it, Qi Huishen had been launching "revolution" for several years; this should be the first time he could organize a three-digit number of people for an action with the same purpose. Not to mention that his companions were all like-minded young people. So Qi Huishen's article was full of emotion.

Putting down the letter, Chen Ke looked at the blue sky outside the window. He didn't know what results this group of young people would get from going to the countryside. Chen Ke recalled his own feelings when he first returned to the countryside. Apart from rational thinking and a faint disgust, he didn't generate much deep sympathy for the working people.

However, Chen Ke didn't feel ashamed of his cold-bloodedness. At any rate, he had experienced countless exam-oriented education tests and read many Party theoretical books. In Chen Ke's subconscious, he had completely accepted that this world was a world of struggle—struggling with heaven, struggling with earth, struggling with people. In such a world full of struggle, seeing where the problem lay wasn't everything. To liberate oneself, one must struggle to the end against all unreasonable things. If it was someone who dared to rise up and struggle, then Chen Ke would gladly include him in the ranks of comrades. Even for someone like Pang Zi who rose up to rebel merely for his own desires, Chen Ke didn't give up the thought of him. The reason he spent so much effort teaching Pang Zi various revolutionary theories was that he hoped Pang Zi's struggle could turn into a true revolution.

But as for those who submitted meekly to oppression, the People's Party didn't have enough strength to fully mobilize the masses yet. So Chen Ke didn't even have the thought of "mourning their misfortune." Education in industrial society had branded the concept of "efficiency" into Chen Ke's instinct. He could tirelessly complete many tedious tasks. Because these tasks were the steps Chen Ke believed could most effectively promote the revolution at the current stage. Seemingly magnificent extensive mobilization of the masses, in Chen Ke's view, was actually the most inefficient move.

*Hope those comrades can gain something,* Chen Ke wished silently.

He picked up the letter again and continued reading. Qi Huishen reported the latest resolution of the Shanghai Party Branch. After discussion, the Shanghai Party Branch passed the latest plan for developing Party members and formed a resolution.

According to the letter, Chen Ke pulled out the last page, which was a copy of the latest resolution document. In this document, the Party Branch required Party members to abandon pure theoretical education, but instead first talk about results, talk about the deduction process, and then directly lead activists to verify through social investigation.

"The role of the Party Branch has finally been brought into play." After reading the resolution, Chen Ke was very happy. In fact, not only the Shanghai Party Branch, but the Beijing Party Group also adopted the same method based on facts. Yesterday's overnight discussion, the workshop style finally chosen was exactly the same as Shanghai's.

*It seems I was wrong.* Chen Ke admitted this fact. As if to verify Chen Ke's thought, laughter came from the wing room. Not only Pang Zi was laughing, but several other people were also laughing happily. Yesterday evening, after determining the future development direction, Wu Xingchen's lectures to Pang Zi and the others no longer centered on "must take the revolutionary road," but adopted the method of teaching specific revolutionary techniques. The result was continuous laughter in the wing room serving as the meeting place. Chen Tianhua was also participating in the meeting inside. In the past few days, during Chen Ke's lectures, there was no laughter; everyone either looked up at the sky or looked worried. It seemed listening to Chen Ke's class was torture for everyone.

And today, just from this atmosphere, it could be judged that Wu Xingchen's class had grasped the emotions of Pang Zi and the others. The effect should be very good.

With a pleasant mood, Chen Ke continued reading. One of the school buildings had been completed, and the teaching equipment and instruments ordered previously began to arrive. Before Chen Ke left, he also arranged the construction of the glass factory, and You Gou recommended a few friends to be responsible for this matter. Now, only Hua Xiongmao and Qin Wu'an of the Shanghai Party Branch remained in Shanghai. Everyone else had gone to the countryside. At the end of the letter, the comrades wished Chen Ke smooth sailing in Beijing and an early return to Shanghai to reunite with everyone.

"It seems the comrades are doing well, but Beijing hasn't been able to achieve the current stage's goal," Chen Ke muttered to himself. *Maybe I am the one who is most ridiculously wrong in the People's Party.* Such a thought suddenly popped up. After reading the letter, Chen Ke could roughly determine that the comrades in the south were definitely working enthusiastically now. Their final gains would definitely not reach Chen Ke's current level, but in the task of absorbing new Party members, there was destined to be huge success. Wu Xingchen and Chen Tianhua working in the northern countryside couldn't make Pang Zi a staunch Party member either. But at least the revolutionary activities in the north would become intense. Compared with them, Chen Ke's own work hadn't progressed much.

Thinking of these, Chen Ke suddenly felt a sense of frustration. Perhaps he had committed the mistake of dogmatism. But on second thought, Chen Ke felt maybe this idea of his was wrong. Although he wasn't familiar with the Party history of back then, the Party made many mistakes in the early and middle stages. Presumably, someone must have done the activities of the Shanghai Party Branch and the Northern Party Branch back then. Since these experiences weren't recorded in history books, it proved that these practices didn't succeed. Finally, the revolutionary road pointed out by Chairman Mao led the Party to victory. Since history has already proven it, then he shouldn't easily doubt the line.

Thinking it over and over, he couldn't get a better answer. Chen Ke didn't want to waste time, so he simply prepared for the afternoon course.

At noon, the door of the wing room opened. Wu Xingchen, Pang Zi, and the others walked out with glowing faces. It seemed the morning class was effective. Even Pang Zi acted out of character and was quite polite to Chen Ke. The resistance in his original expression disappeared completely. Chen Ke naturally had to follow the trend; he laughed and joked with everyone. At the same time, he started fiddling with the honeycomb briquette stove, preparing to cook.

At this juncture, He Ruming's steward came to invite Chen Ke; He Ruming was back.

He Ruming was obviously smug. Seeing Chen Ke enter, he smiled quite reservedly, and then kept him in suspense: "Has Wenqing been well recently?" Then it was a pile of nonsense about the weather in Tianjin and the changes in the city. Chen Ke wasn't too optimistic about He Ruming's eye for selecting talent. Moreover, his own mood today couldn't be called very happy. After perfunctorily saying a few sentences, Chen Ke suddenly wanted to open his mouth to tell He Ruming that he was going to lecture at the Imperial University in the afternoon. But words at his lips, Chen Ke held back again. Such a demonstration would definitely have an effect on He Ruming, but not necessarily positive. He Ruming cared about face; if Chen Ke said this, the implied meaning was "You, Lord He, are nothing remarkable." He Ruming would definitely be able to hear the meaning outside the words, and then everyone would absolutely have a conflict.

But to let He Ruming go on with endless nonsense like this, Chen Ke really didn't have time. He simply asked directly, "Lord He, seeing you so happy, presumably you must have met many excellent friends in Tianjin, right?"

Hearing Chen Ke's words, He Ruming frowned. He answered with slight dissatisfaction, "I didn't meet many friends. But Wenqing, your luck is not bad; I found quite a few people."

"That's great," Chen Ke laughed.

"In just these two days, they will arrive in Beijing."

"About how many people? I'll hurry to prepare accommodation now," Chen Ke responded quickly.

Seeing Chen Ke was very tactful and knew to prepare accommodation for the comers, He Ruming was relatively satisfied. "You prepare accommodation for twenty people first. Maybe more later."

"Since the people will arrive in two days, I'll go prepare first. If Lord He has no other orders, I will take my leave." Chen Ke wished he could leave immediately.

"There's no rush for this moment. Wenqing, stay for lunch."

*He Ruming actually invited me to dinner; what does this mean?* Chen Ke couldn't make heads or tails of it. And he really didn't have time. If he let He Ruming entangle him, the afternoon plan would be disrupted. He quickly explained, "I have friends coming from Shanghai; we agreed to have dinner at noon today. Lord He's kindness, I can only wait for next time."

Hearing someone coming from Shanghai, He Ruming's eyes lit up. Chen Ke thought, *Oh no.* As expected, He Ruming continued, "Wenqing, this time in Tianjin, I saw many people troubled by malignant diseases, unspeakably miserable."

*What does this have to do with me?* Chen Ke said in his heart, *Lord He, you still owe me money you haven't given. Do you think I'm a three-year-old child; I agree to whatever you say?* Chen Ke had seen quite a few people like He Ruming in the 21st century, very similar to pyramid schemes. Generally speaking, they draw a beautiful bubble for you and then let you jump in yourself. The only difference lay in that those people knew they had no power to force others to do so, so they paid more attention to speaking skills. While Lord He thought he was an official and believed Chen Ke should dedicate himself selflessly to fulfill Lord He's "kindness." If not for Yan Fu behind Chen Ke, He Ruming would probably be putting on official airs now.

So He Ruming kept hinting to Chen Ke how anxious the patients were. But he didn't mention money, so Chen Ke played deaf and dumb, giving noncommittal answers. Just as the two were wrangling, Chen Ke heard a woman's voice. "Brother, get ready to eat." As soon as the voice fell, He Qian walked into the living room.

He Qian had actually been listening outside the living room for a while. She heard Chen Ke's increasingly impatient mood very clearly.

Actually, He Ruming's harvest in Tianjin this time was good. Old Master He was an old Westernization Movement adherent and one of the elders of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau. He Ruming also entered the Tianjin Machinery Bureau under the Old Master's arrangement. Old Master He didn't love social engagement, but whenever he treated guests, he would always bring his daughter to the banquet. The adults drank, and He Qian would drink a little too; the Old Master never minded. The people Old Master He could invite were considered decent fellows; everyone would talk about work matters at the wine table. He Qian still had impressions of the people mentioned in these conversations. Before He Ruming went to Tianjin, He Qian specially discussed with him who to find and how to tell those people about coming to Beijing. And the harvest was quite good.

But He Qian really didn't expect that after He Ruming handled this matter well, he would actually start to be muddled at the critical moment. Although she had only met Chen Ke once, He Qian could determine that Chen Ke was not a person who loved face, nor a person who would care too much about others' face. Negotiating with Chen Ke required a straightforward, clearly priced transaction method. Chen Ke would respect the credit of the transaction. He Ruming felt he held a good hand and wanted to make Chen Ke soften first. This would only lead to the failure of cooperation. Hearing Chen Ke becoming more and more impatient, He Qian had to come forward.

He Ruming didn't expect his sister to come out personally. What was more surprising was that his sister just greeted Chen Ke and then started negotiating like an acquaintance. "Mr. Chen is also here." He Qian bowed slightly.

Chen Ke also nodded in greeting. "Hello, Miss He."

"Mr. Chen, my eldest brother found people back from Tianjin. It's not yet thirteen days; I wonder how Mr. Chen's preparations are going?"

"The medicine has been brought."

"Then when will Mr. Chen meet these friends from the Machinery Bureau?"

"The day after tomorrow. After I prepare the accommodation, I will treat everyone to a meal."

"Then when can we give Mr. Chen the medicine money?"

"After the meal, I will pay a special visit to your residence."

"Then Mr. Chen must bring a few more people. Banknotes worth thousands of taels of silver; don't get robbed on the way."

Hearing these words with needles hidden in cotton, Chen Ke laughed loudly. "Miss He is saying I don't trust Lord He. I absolutely have no such intention. I'm just a businessman; if Lord He doesn't speak, I dare not mention money."

Seeing Chen Ke simply putting on a "rolling knife meat" (tough/shameless) attitude, He Qian had no other way to say anything else. Anyway, what should be discussed was discussed, and what should be beaten (hinted/warned) was beaten. She just smiled and stopped speaking.

He Ruming saw his sister settle most of the matter so easily, but the key issue wasn't mentioned. Chen Ke said at the time that as long as he was satisfied with the people introduced by He Ruming, then for twenty people, it would be much cheaper. But the two only talked about the drug transaction fundamentally, but didn't mention this discount issue. He Ruming couldn't help looking at his sister. He Qian knew her brother's plan in his heart. She felt regret in her heart. Her brother's vision was still too narrow, only thinking about the matter of saving a few hundred taels of silver. If He Qian were handling this matter, she would take the money to buy medicine directly at this time, regardless of anything, let Chen Ke sell fifty people's worth of medicine first. Going to Tianjin this time, He Ruming really contacted patients. The patients over there were waiting to use the medicine; let alone twenty taels, they would pay fifty taels. Not rushing to earn big money, but haggling over those small sums; heaven knows what her brother was thinking.

But He Qian, a girl, couldn't say this; He Ruming had to say it personally. But seeing her brother just not opening his mouth, He Qian blinked, and a plan came to mind. She took her leave first.

Seeing his sister quit, He Ruming didn't know what to do. Chen Ke refused both soft and hard tactics, having a posture of "not acting until the outcome is certain (not releasing the hawk until seeing the rabbit)." If Chen Ke said he didn't like these twenty people, what should be done? These were all found by He Ruming personally. If they were driven back to Tianjin by Chen Ke, this face would be lost greatly. Originally, He Ruming wanted to talk about this at the dinner table, but Chen Ke refused to eat this meal. And his sister had already set the delivery time to the day after tomorrow just now. How could he make Chen Ke obediently express his stance that he would absolutely treat these people well?

Just not knowing how to speak, he saw Steward He enter the living room. The steward greeted Chen Ke and then said, "Mr. Chen, my master asked me to calculate last time; we should give you two hundred taels of medicine money. I didn't calculate wrong, right?"

"That's not urgent," Chen Ke laughed.

"My master instructed that since my master invited you here, although the Beiyang Army should pay for the medicine, you are not familiar with the people of the Beiyang Army. We can't let you worry. My master plans to advance this medicine money first. I handled this matter slowly. Later when I went to find you, you weren't home. This matter dragged on until now. Really sorry." The steward finished speaking and bowed to Chen Ke. "Please forgive me."

He Ruming didn't remember instructing the steward to give Chen Ke money. The ones seeing the doctor were Beiyang Army officers; if Chen Ke wanted money, he should ask the Beiyang Army. Beiyang had actually prepared the money. Finding Pu Guanshui would get the money. *What play is the steward acting out?*

But Steward He was someone who followed the Old Master when he was alive; He Ruming knew he wouldn't act recklessly. Sure enough, he heard Chen Ke say, "Lord He, thank you for your concern about this matter. Brother Pu said he would give me this money. You don't need to worry; there won't be a case of not getting the medical fees."

"That's good, that's good." Although He Ruming didn't understand what the steward meant, he still had the basic ability to act on the spot.

"Master, last time you said when collecting money, we should send a car to pick up and drop off Mr. Chen. Do we still need to send it this time?" Steward He continued to ask.

"Send, send a car." He Ruming immediately followed the steward's words. Although thinking in his heart to ask clearly what happened later and then severely punish the steward, He Ruming refused to lose this face.

Watching the master and servant singing a duet, Chen Ke knew there was a follow-up. But since He Ruming gave him this face, he couldn't let He Ruming be unable to step down. He cupped his hands to He Ruming. "Lord He, you love me too much; I really thank you. I can't take this car. You helped me and introduced me to Brother Pu Guanshui; we two hit it off very well. Another day, Brother Pu and I will treat you to dinner; you must honor us."

"Easy to say, easy to say." Hearing Chen Ke say he was already calling Pu Guanshui, this Beiyang commander, brother, He Ruming only felt sour in his heart, very jealous of Chen Ke.

"Since Lord He helps me like this, treating once absolutely cannot express my gratitude. If Lord He has any orders, as long as I can do it, I will never refuse." While speaking, Chen Ke hoped this steward was instigated by He Qian. He couldn't help glancing over to where He Qian went out. Although there was a door curtain, this door curtain was a bead curtain made of glass pendants. He faintly saw He Qian's figure hiding behind it.

"Mr. Chen, saving a life is like putting out a fire. I wonder if you can sell my master medicine for 100 people first."

*Finally got to the point.* Chen Ke felt relaxed in his heart finally. Originally not a big deal, two or three sentences could settle it. He Ruming had to circle such a big circle and hadn't finished yet.

"No problem. These medicine for one hundred people, I sell to Lord He at the price of eighteen taels per portion. This has nothing to do with the matter we agreed on. This counts separately," Chen Ke said.

"Master, what is your meaning?" the steward asked He Ruming.

"This..." He Ruming pondered. He didn't expect this matter to be settled so quickly; it was greatly beyond his expectation. He Ruming frowned, and a plan came to mind. "Wenqing, my cash flow hasn't been too good recently..."

"In that case, I'll give Lord He medicine for 30 people first. The other 70 portions, I'll send to you when your turnover recovers?" Chen Ke answered with a sincere attitude.

Although the voice was small, Chen Ke vaguely heard the muffled sound of He Qian forcibly swallowing laughter back into her throat. He Ruming looked at Chen Ke dumbfounded. Chen Ke thought, *Want me to give credit? Lord He, do you have this credit? If it were a shrewd character like your sister, I might consider it. The problem is your sister would never come up with such a muddled move as asking me for credit.*

Seeing He Ruming stop making a sound, Chen Ke didn't want to waste more time. He took his leave decisively.

As soon as Chen Ke left, before He Ruming spoke to the steward, He Qian lifted the door curtain and entered the living room. "I asked Uncle He to say this. Brother, don't blame Uncle He."

The steward hurriedly apologized to He Ruming. He Ruming didn't want to say more either; he waved his hand to let him withdraw.

"Brother, why did you think of asking Chen Ke for credit?" He Qian really couldn't help it. Although she was laughing, the meaning of blame was extremely obvious.

"That kid really doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth." Seeing his sister say this, He Ruming got angry.

He Qian knew she couldn't persuade her eldest brother. She laughed, "How about this? I'll use my private money to buy these one hundred portions of medicine. We brother and sister split the profit thirty-seven. You seven, me three. Brother, what do you think?"

Hearing his sister say this, He Ruming knew there was no point in saying more. And to be honest, this plan really moved He Ruming. But at any rate, He Ruming still had some bottom line. Although he almost agreed, he finally regained his reason. After thinking for a moment, He Ruming said, "You pay for three portions, I pay for seven portions. You earn however much you should earn."

Seeing her eldest brother finally regain calmness, He Qian was also quite happy. She bowed very seriously to her eldest brother. "Then thank you, Brother."