Insufficient balance

  Public lectures were a rare occurrence in China in 1905. For ordinary people, studying was something that only scholars did. Nowadays, even ordinary people in Shanghai know that foreigners are also engaged in scholarship and doing it better than the Chinese. In any case, scholarship has nothing to do with ordinary people. Therefore, posters and advertisements posted everywhere, as well as advertisements published in Shanghai newspapers, cannot make ordinary people pay special attention to scholarship.

  The rise of Shanghai as a commercial port brought more job opportunities, but the city's construction was far behind social development. Chen Ke had never liked strolling in Shanghai, and in 1905, Shanghai was a city filled with slums and shantytowns. Except for the concessions and a few old city districts belonging to locals, Chen Ke thought that this city was "not even as good as a county seat in China in the 1980s". A large number of people entered Shanghai to make a living, directly causing the chaotic and cramped residential pattern in Shanghai for decades to come.

  Zhou Yuanxiao's old workshop is the most aesthetically pleasing building, spacious and wide. The hundreds of square meters of drying yard are very satisfying. As soon as you step out, the crowded alleys, dilapidated buildings, and large slum areas, nothing can make Chen Kesong feel like going for a stroll.

  Such a poor city construction can fully imagine the poverty of ordinary people's entertainment life. So, although the common people do not love to learn, they are willing to go and have a look at the bustle.

  This time, the lecture hall was not far from the teahouse where Chen Ke and You Huan first met, which was a piece of land coordinated by the British. When Qi Hui Shen announced the address at the party meeting, the three people who participated in beating foreigners together couldn't help but burst out laughing, whether they were the ones hitting or watching. This made Qi Hui Shen very confused. You Huan explained the situation with laughter, and the comrades present also laughed loudly. As for Chen Ke being a hot-headed guy who would fight at the slightest provocation, it was a huge departure from everyone's impression of him. And as for You Huan being able to poke people with chopsticks, it was even more unimaginable.

  You Xi praised her as a heroic woman. You Xi smiled and pulled out a Swiss Army knife from her pocket. This was something she had extorted from Chen Ke. "Next time, if someone pokes me again, I'll use this. Absolutely won't use chopsticks or anything like that."

  After hearing this, Qi Hui shut her mouth tightly and didn't dare say anything else.

  The venue was on the corner of the street, with a rope cordoning off an area of over 100 square meters. It was quite airy and bright, very open. The main speaker for the first part was You Yun. In those days there were no microphones, so lectures relied entirely on shouting, which made it pointless to try to make too much noise.

  On the first day of class, more than 300 people unexpectedly showed up. About half of them were just onlookers, while the other half were parents who really came to check out the new school teacher's abilities.

  The advertisement and flyer clearly stated that this lecture was a professional lecture by the teacher of the newly established Shanghai Renxin Medical College. This new school has strong faculty, and Teacher You is a returned student from Germany. In those years, returned students from Germany were considered to have knowledge as high as the sky in the eyes of ordinary parents.

  She walked up to the stage wearing a light gray suit, embroidered shirt, and low-heeled leather boots. The audience below was momentarily stunned. This outfit could only be described as "new wave" in this era. A murmur of whispers erupted from the crowd. No one knew what this woman, who looked completely out of place, was going to do. She raised her left hand, glanced at the watch that Chen Ke had insisted she wear, and the shiny object seemed to have been seen or heard of by many wealthy parents. Another wave of murmurs rose from below.

  "Hello everyone, I am a teacher from Shanghai Renxin Hospital, my name is You Yun. Today's public class will be taught by me." You Yun's clear voice carried far and wide, and people in the front and back could all hear it. Suddenly, the audience was in an uproar. A young woman who had gone to study in Germany, even in Shanghai, was a shocking thing to hear. Not to mention that this woman was going to give a lecture to everyone. Some people were very disappointed and began to leave, grumbling and complaining. More people surged forward, wanting to get a clearer look at the woman's face. A woman who could go to Germany to study must have come from a wealthy family. In this Shanghai, although there were many women who came out to work, those who were willing to show their faces and give lectures were truly rare.

  The front row of Qi Hui Shen, He Zuodao, Qin Wu'an and others hastily stood up, and it took a while to restore order.

  When You Fen took out a white candle and lit it, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. You Fen's face turned bright red, actually from the moment he stepped onto the stage, looking at the gaze of hundreds of people gathered on his face, You Fen felt a slight dizziness, his skin tightened, the hairs on his back stood up, and his feet softened.

  This is not like lecturing Chen Ke and others, everyone is familiar with each other, You Yun feels good about it. This is also not like giving lectures in a workshop to progressive young people, everyone has some knowledge, at least they can maintain politeness.

  The crowd's attire was diverse, with more wearing short clothes and some wearing long gowns. The vast majority were men, while women stood at the edge of the venue with their children. Yu Xun finally understood the meaning of "to exhaust one's eyesight, climb to a higher level." This stage wasn't very high, just over half a meter. But this was enough for Yu Xun's line of sight to cover all the spectators, especially since his gaze could also see beyond the crowd and directly onto the street, where many passersby saw him take the stage and turned their heads to look over, even the windows on the second floor across the street opened, with men and women sticking their heads out.

  Adjusted his mind, turned around and wrote on the blackboard the theme of this lecture "The Story of Candles".

  To be honest, in 1905, the crowd loved to watch the excitement, and everyone was curious about a woman giving a lecture, wanting to take a closer look at this female teacher. However, on the surface, there was still some basic courtesy. Although Yu Xun's appearance as a woman lecturing on stage was too shocking, the newspaper coverage before her appearance and her action of looking at her watch in public made people somewhat respectful of this "female teacher". Moreover, this course was originally prepared by Faraday for children's lectures, with experimental content being the main focus, lively and vivid. It wasn't meant for profound scientific education, but rather a course aimed solely at popularizing science. Therefore, Yu Xun's lecture was very simple and easy to understand.

  The people below the stage, whether rich or poor, have all used candles. They also know that humans need to breathe. So, through simple experiments on the composition of air and candle combustion, everyone can understand that there are two types of air: one that can be breathed and one that cannot. It's clear why covering a fire with a bowl or soil can extinguish it. The crowd is so simple-minded, and simple truths and experiments make them feel like they've gained a lot. They develop admiration for the elegant and beautiful lady on stage.

  When You Yun announced the end of today's lesson, someone below shouted "good" and the applause erupted. You Yun blushed and bowed slightly before quickly escaping from the podium. This normal reaction from a girl triggered an even louder round of applause.

  Yu Feng loosened his tie, and Qi Hui Shen came up with a round of applause, "Well said." If it were in the past, Yu Feng would have exchanged a few words with Qi Hui Shen, but at this moment, hundreds of pairs of eyes turned towards him, he nodded slightly, "I'll leave now." Qi Hui Shen hastily called for the waiting rickshaw driver to send Yu Feng back to the workshop.

  As soon as Yu Yun walked away, the parents came over to ask Qi Hui Shen about the new school, where it was located, when classes would start, and what subject the female teacher who just left would be teaching. Qi Hui Shen was surrounded by so many enthusiastic parents, fully understanding how Yu Yun felt earlier. He simply stood on the podium and loudly announced the situation of Shanghai Renxin Medical College. He Fudao and Qin Wu'an were in charge of distributing "Huangpu Review", this issue of Huangpu Review had not only today's lecture content but also a brief introduction to the school.

  I thought the parents would disperse, but instead they didn't leave and even more questions were raised. Is this school really not collecting tuition fees? How do medical students find jobs after graduation? What about the affiliated middle school of the Medical College, as well as the affiliated nursing school? And what's going on with that affiliated hospital? Will tomorrow's class continue?

  "Wen Qing, you've completely misjudged the situation!" Qi Hui Shen mentally scolded. Chen Ke thought that on the day before the course started, there wouldn't be too few or too many people coming to listen in. And as for parents who came to inquire and register, they shouldn't be too numerous either. Qi Hui Shen had also thought so. But unexpectedly, the number of inquirers was so high, far exceeding their original expectations.

  But that's not the most exaggerated thing. After finally answering the parents' questions, some people came here to take a peek, obviously to see the excitement. After taking a look, they tentatively asked and heard that there was a beautiful female teacher teaching here. Looking at those people's infatuated and dazed expressions, it's not worth mentioning Qin Wu Yang's changed face. They all replied in unison, "There will be no classes here tomorrow." Then they chased these people away.

  The next day's scene was astonishing. The night before, after Qi Hui-shen reported the situation, Chen Ke-yan asked Qi Hui-shen to contact people overnight and borrowed two foreigners from the British through Qi Hui-shen's father, Qi Si-e. These two men were Russian poor devils, but they were tall and imposing. This was to fill the scene for the British school, and the British were willing to help. Each of these two Tsarist gray horses was paid a salary of 50 cents per day, and they stood in the two corners below the stage, instantly calming the scene. The number of people who came to listen to classes the next day was several times that of yesterday, and the empty space that still existed yesterday was packed today, with even the streets filled with people.

  Yu's lesson became even more eye-catching, with the Voltaic pile electrolyzing water in an experiment. Seeing the flammable gas decomposed from water greatly subverted the audience's worldview. Everyone looked at Yu with a gaze that was no longer just respectful, but fearful. In the eyes of many people, this female teacher might be a Taoist master. The water that could extinguish fire turned out to be composed of combustible and flammable gases. Wasn't this magic or something?

  When You Yun finished her lesson and was about to leave, a group of female parents had already blocked her way. They looked at Ms. You with a mixture of reverence and admiration for her knowledge, asking her countless questions. You Yun was also moved, this being the first time she had been so revered since returning home. To be honest, after returning home, You Yun hadn't been taken seriously by anyone. Before meeting Chen Ke, even cooperative partners would either be extremely jealous of her or hold a deeply rooted contemptuous attitude towards her, deliberately keeping their distance from her.

  After meeting Chen Ke, everyone respected each other and got along very well. However, Chen Ke's knowledge was far beyond You Huan's, but You Huan didn't feel like she was anything special. Only now did the crowd, although they may not have understood her knowledge, show genuine respect and admiration for her, making You Huan realize the power of science. Those women who asked questions with high hopes that their children could be as knowledgeable as You Huan were deeply moved by her.

  Zi Hui remained calm and separated the crowd, hastily sending You Yun to a rickshaw. He then continued to answer questions with He Zuodao, Qin Wu'an, and others. It took almost two hours to barely clear the scene.

  In the evening, the party discussed this matter. The comrades present were no longer the original few people, and Qin Wu'an and others had joined the meeting.

  "I really didn't expect that the common people would be so eager for science now." Qin Wu'an praised. Chen Ke had a high evaluation of Qin Wu'an, who was born into an ordinary small workshop owner's family in Songjiang and was the third son of the family. He had studied at a church school and later worked in a fabric store. After the fabric store went bankrupt, Qin Wu'an was temporarily out of work, during which time he met Qi Hui Shen. Later, Qi Hui Shen invited him to attend classes. This young man was steady in character, not impatient or impetuous, and was very hardworking. Chen Ke intentionally cultivated Qin Wu'an into a backbone staff member.

  "We must find a construction team for our school as soon as possible." Qi Hui said excitedly.

  "We've found everyone else, now we just need to see Wen Qing." said Hua Xiong Mao.

  "Then as soon as possible."

  The next day, Chen Ke and Yuwen Bada met. Before meeting, just hearing the name, Chen Ke thought that Yuwen Bada might be a tall and strong guy. After meeting, it was really beyond Chen Ke's expectations, Yuwen Bada was not short, but his whole body was round and plump. In his thirties, his hairline had already receded to form an M-shaped hairline. On his round face with good complexion, a pair of big and black eyes moved very lively, and his thick lips were surprisingly pink, looking like a baby who had just drunk milk. Originally, this appearance would make people imagine that Yuwen Bada's voice should be as sharp as a baby's, but when he opened his mouth, it was like a religious preacher's deep voice, with a kind of pressure that pointed directly to the heart. Such a huge contrast made Chen Ke feel shocked.

  "I heard that Brother Chen is looking for us and has some work for us to do." Yuwen Batu's attitude was very sincere, at least his voice was sincere.

  Chen Ke was very suspicious, wondering if he had been fooled by Yuwen Batu's obvious disparity, and instead couldn't see through Yuwen Batu's thoughts. He calmed down and started talking about business with a cold and piercing gaze and tone. Sure enough, seeing Chen Ke quickly regain his composure, Yuwen Batu's expression showed a hint of fluster.

  Yuwen Batu asked for a high price, and Chen Ke argued with reason. Every time Batu started to use his thick and reliable voice to try to prove his grievances and raise the price, Chen Ke's clear and firm voice stopped Batu's attempt.

  "Yuwen, my brother, this account can't be calculated like that." Chen Kewen smiled warmly and began to calculate the account with Yuwen Batur. From food expenses, labor costs, including clothing wear and tear, and potential work-related injuries, a string of numbers was calculated, and the total amount was more than half less than what Yuwen Batur wanted.

  "It's not this algorithm, Mr. Chen. With your algorithm, we'll starve to death." Yuwen Batu shook his head repeatedly.

  Yuwen, then how should we calculate it? Chen Ke asked with a relaxed tone while looking at Yuwen Batu who seemed somewhat flustered.

  After some haggling, the price finally entered the final "crucial stage". Yuwen Batu almost used a pleading tone to persuade Chen Ke. Chen Ke ruthlessly cut another five cents from his daily wages.

  Yuwen Batu reluctantly submitted. Making money in this era is not that easy either. Chen Ke proposed a one-month project, which can earn a decent amount of money. However, Chen Ke's next move almost drove Yuwen Batu crazy. A detailed construction plan was handed over to Yuwen Batu. This clearly stipulates the various engineering quantities, rewards and punishments. After reading this plan, Yuwen Batu knew he had met an old hand. He pointed out several obvious unreasonable places to Chen Ke, saying that lifting such a beam would absolutely not be possible in such a short period of time.

  Chen Ke was unmoved, pointing to the relevant clauses in the contract. Yuwen Batu only needed to provide the labor force as stated in the plan book. The construction of scaffolding and lifting equipment would be Chen Ke's responsibility. In this era, building houses relied on the engineering team itself, and the client provided a detailed design book, which was simply against common sense. Yuwen Batu questioned Chen Ke, if he couldn't complete the project on time, who would pay for the labor? Chen Ke pointed to several relevant clauses in the contract again, where there were detailed explanations.

  Facing such a flawless contract, Yuwen Badao finally completely surrendered.

  After seeing off Yuwen Batu, Wu Xingchen arrived. He fulfilled his promise and brought five people with him, who were obviously martial artists. This couldn't be delayed, so Chen Ke led the crowd to the restaurant where they had drunk together several times before.

  At the dinner table, Wu Xingchen introduced these people to Chen Ke one by one. Chen Ke sized them up and found that they were all in their twenties, with two of them having scars on their faces. They all spoke with a Shandong accent. Perhaps due to experiencing many hardships, they all looked quite mature.

  After a few cups of wine, everyone started talking about their own situation. Chen Ke suddenly had an idea and slowly steered the conversation towards the Boxer Rebellion. The several Shandong men's faces all turned gloomy. The leader, Xu Youli, said: "Originally we were fighting foreigners in Beijing. Later the government suddenly turned on us. If it wasn't for Wu Dage leading a hundred or so of us to escape first, we would have died in Beijing."

  After hearing this, Wu Xingchen's face changed greatly. However, his previous intimate behavior with Chen Ke and his words "we are all our own people" seemed to suggest that these brothers really didn't think there was a problem. But Chen Ke lightly patted Wu Xingchen's arm, his expression showing understanding. Wu Xingchen couldn't help but force a smile, listening to everyone's conversation.

  Xu Youli finished speaking, and everyone nodded in agreement. "When we returned home, that son of a bitch Yuan Shikai was killing our brothers from various routes in Shandong Province. We could only run back to Hebei Province and stayed in Cangzhou for several years. A few days ago, Wu Dage suddenly sent someone to find us and asked us to come to Shanghai to help out. So we came."

  "Did you come by boat? Are you seasick?" Chen Ke hastily said some casual topics.

  "Yeah, we took a boat all the way here. In Cangzhou, we also caught some fish, nothing special. It's just that the smell on the boat was too strong. Not very energetic." Xu Youli said, after finishing, Xu Youli carefully looked at Chen Keji for a moment, "Mr. Chen, Wu Dage said he wants us to be your bodyguard, what's going on?"

  "There are bad people in Shanghai who want to harm me. So I ask everyone to help me out for two months. After these two months, I will go somewhere else." Chen Ke introduced his situation.

  "How many people are over there?" Xu Youli asked.

  "They don't have many people either, having one brother like you by my side is enough," Chen Ke replied.

  "Do they have guns?" Xu continued to ask.

  "It's mainly during the day, and at night there's nothing. During the day they don't dare to fire their guns." Chen Keming knew he wasn't telling the truth, but he couldn't say that a gun battle would erupt in broad daylight.

  "That's for sure, brother," Xu Youli replied firmly.

  "I trust everyone." Chen Ke smiled and said.

  After the banquet was over, Wu Xingchen arranged for several Shandong heroes to stay, and then rushed to the workshop. As soon as he entered the door, Wu Xingchen saw that there was no one around him, so he sat down opposite Chen Ke, "Wen Qing, what do you mean?"

  "I just remembered this matter and asked casually." Chen Ke smiled and said, "Wu brother, you are the Boxer, I am the revolutionary party. That's great."