Insufficient balance

  You Yun walked with her hands clasped behind her back, leading the way slowly. Chen Ke walked alongside her. Xue Xilin and Hua Xiongmao followed behind them, and the group walked slowly along Baochang Road. You Yun didn't make a sound, and everyone else felt too embarrassed to speak. Unlike men who put their hands behind their backs, You Yun's slender fingers were crossed, elegantly clasped together. Behind her, Xue Xilin had never been satisfied with You Yun drinking with foreigners, and Chen Ke seemed to feel that the way she walked was full of girlish charm. But in Xue Xilin's opinion, it was "rather frivolous". He caught up with Chen Ke and said, "Wen Qing, I have something to attend to on my side. Now that we've found Miss You, I'll take my leave first." After speaking, he left without even looking at Chen Ke.

  After hearing Xú Xī Lín's words, Yóu Yuān also didn't make a sound, and his pace slowed down even more. Chén Kè saw that Yóu Yuān's pace was increasingly like the kind of sauntering gait often used by young girls when they were sulking, and he almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Why hold back when you want to laugh?" The soft tone of Nangong's southern accent was clear and crisp.

  Chen Ke didn't say a word, but Hua Xiongmao caught up with him in a few strides and walked shoulder to shoulder with Chen Ke. He replied: "Girl, at least we just beat the devils, you should also hurry up. Those two devils don't look like they'll give up easily. In a while, they'll bring people over, and I and this Brother Chen can take care of ourselves, but it's hard for us to fight the devils on one side and protect you completely."

  "You're scared, so you want to run away with your tail between your legs?" You Yun replied nonchalantly.

  "I'd naturally run, but Brother Chen probably wouldn't want to. Leaving you two brothers to be surrounded and attacked is something I couldn't do. Let's find a place to quickly settle this matter, we'll send you home, then we'll head back too. It's convenient for everyone."

  Although the words sounded impolite, they were also reasonable. Yu Xun snorted coldly and walked into a nearby teahouse. In the afternoon, there weren't many people drinking tea, so when they saw the three of them come in, the waiter quickly led them to an empty table with the best location. Yu Xun ordered a pot of Bi Luo Chun tea, and the waiter hurried off to brew it. The three of them sat around the table. Chen Ke only then took a closer look at Yu Xun. Her skin was delicate and white, but her face was long, with a pair of thin eyebrows under which her bright eyes sparkled. It seemed that the incident of beating up the foreigner earlier had made Yu Xun very happy, and there wasn't a trace of anger in her eyes.

  "What instructions do you gentlemen have for me?" You Yun, who had stopped speaking English since earlier, sat properly at the edge of the table with elegant demeanor, looking quite like a refined lady from a good family. The image of her leaning on one hand and holding a wine glass in the other, as if drunk, was nowhere to be seen.

  "In the lower village, I heard from a friend that Miss Youyu is familiar with the people of the foreign firm. She wants to buy some foreign cloth and dyes. If possible, she also wants to buy other mechanical equipment." Chen Ke said.

  "I only know some people who deal with chemical products, I can get dye, but I don't know anyone who deals with cloth sales."

  "Could I trouble Miss You Yun to get in touch with him and give me a better price?"

  Yu Yun looked Chen Ke up and down before answering: "One or two taels of silver. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to contact the person for you."

  Chen Ke had originally intended to just pay the money and consider it a friendly gesture. However, when he looked at You Yun, he discovered that she was glancing at him out of the corner of her eye before seemingly nonchalantly turning back to drink tea. Chen Ke immediately swallowed his words, no matter how he looked at it, this Miss You seemed completely uninterested in one or two silver coins, and what she wanted to say had not been said.

  He absolutely cannot say the wrong thing, Chen Ke told himself silently in his heart. If he said the wrong thing, then there would be no future cooperation. "Do you really want this silver?" Chen Ke suddenly asked in English.

  You Yun heard this and her body trembled slightly, almost dropping the teacup in her hand onto the table.

  "You seem so carefree, Miss You Yun, and I too have had such days. But I was unhappy, feeling that my abilities were not being utilized. If it's just a few pieces of silver, I think it would be an insult to you." Chen Ke's English proficiency was limited, so he chose his words slowly, afraid of causing any misunderstanding.

  "I myself feel that I have the ability to achieve great things, but if I don't meet like-minded friends, can't form a team, and don't have a good way to run the team, I'm just a failure. So, I want to try working with you, Miss You Yun. Since you spend money on wine every day, you won't mind a few pieces of silver. If I can earn money, wouldn't it be more than just a few pieces of silver? I hope you can give me this opportunity to try and fulfill my ambitions."

  Yu Yun slowly put down the teacup in her hand, turned around and looked at Chen Ke carefully. Chen Ke's square face was serious, but when Yu Yun looked at him like this, Chen Ke grinned like a child, "Please believe me, Miss Yu".

  "Are you sure you can succeed?" You Yun asked.

  Chen Ke looked straight into You Huan's eyes, "I will definitely try my best."

  He nodded slowly and said, "Two days later at noon, come here and wait for me."

  Two days is neither long nor short. Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin spent the whole day with the people from Guangfu Hui, while Hua Xiongmao and Chen Ke became very close. After fighting against foreigners together, Hua Xiongmao and Chen Ke became more and more like-minded. Whenever they had free time, Hua Xiongmao would ask Chen Ke to talk about revolutionary matters. Chen Ke chose topics that he could discuss with Hua Xiongmao and told him some things. Hua Xiongmao listened very seriously and asked Chen Ke questions whenever he didn't understand something.

  Two people strolled through the streets of Shanghai, half the time discussing revolution. Hua Xiongmao was relatively cautious and didn't speak recklessly in crowded areas. Now, Chen Kezheng stopped at a spot with dense pedestrian traffic to look at posters. There were really many posters this year. Except for the lack of 21st-century adhesive small advertisements covering every inch, the density of advertising was not low considering the current economic scale.

  In the 21st century, Chen Ke himself was not much different from an ordinary otaku and was not a very patient person. However, after returning to this world, the huge environmental changes also brought about huge changes in him. At least he can now patiently watch things he never liked watching before. The content of the poster is indeed dazzling. What Chen Ke is most interested in is a yellow paper printed poster.

  "Now opening an English supplementary class in Hongkou District, returning to China to teach. Excellent teaching environment, affordable fees. Sign up at Hongkou District..."

  The address is obscured by a large red paper with handwritten brothel advertisements, "Huichun Building now has Japanese girls, elegant and refined in appearance, gentle and virtuous in temperament. Welcome to visit the elegant gentlemen. Address..."

  The address was torn off, but under this poster, on another large white paper, a text was written in bold and cursive script: "Suona blowing drums, weddings and funerals, filial piety. Our store accepts white joy." The address was intact, but Chen Ke had no interest in reading further.

  Most of the posters were advertisements for various goods, from daily necessities to service industries. Chen Ke had always wanted to set up a tutoring class, or even a school. This was not only something he had promised Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. More importantly, the tutoring class was an important place for the Communist Party to discover and develop comrades.

  Hua Xiongmao wasn't interested in these things, watching Chen Ke carefully flip through page by page. Hua Xiongmao finally couldn't help but say, "Literary youth, what do you want to buy? I think these advertisements aren't very reliable."

  "Zheng Lan, what about we set up a tutoring school?" Chen Ke asked. Huaxiong Maozi Zhenglan, the two had already addressed each other by their courtesy names.

  "Supplementary class?" Huaxiongmao felt this sentence was a bit strange.

  "It's just like a Western-style school. If we can make money, why don't we just set up a school ourselves?"

  "It's good to run a school. But where does the money come from?"

  "Mainly it's the school building. The school has to be in the city, if it's too far from the city that won't do. As for teachers, I'll teach personally, or you can come and teach too." Chen Ke smiled.

  Hua Xiongmao burst out laughing after hearing that, "Are you going to open a martial arts school? Letting me teach students would be quite good too."

  After finishing the poster, Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao walked together towards their residence. "Zheng Lan, do you really want to make a revolution?" Chen Ke asked while walking.

  "What's wrong with making revolution? The key is that you, Wen Qing, must take out a set of procedures. If you let me go and make assassinations, that's not okay." Hua Xiong Mao said calmly.

  "Assassination won't happen naturally. I have some ideas about the charter though. But, Zheng Lan, why did you want to join the revolution?"

  "It's obvious now that anyone with eyes can see, if there isn't a revolution today, there will be one tomorrow." Hua Xiongmao didn't know whether he had always liked walking with his hands behind his back or if it was after meeting You Yun that he started doing so. Anyway, at this moment, he walked leisurely with his hands behind his back and said, "I just can't stand the faces of those officials. They all look like human beings but are actually very despicable."

  "Is that all?" Chen Ke felt unconvincing.

  Hua Xiongmao looked at Chen Ke for a moment, seemingly hesitant to speak, but ultimately made up his mind and said, "Wen Qing, I have some reputation in Shaoxing. In recent years, those rascals and scoundrels have been increasing in number. Although the newcomers are not decent people, they are not bad either. However, this world is declining bit by bit, with no signs of improvement. Not only in Shaoxing, but also when I go out to do business in various places, I see that it's all like this. The foundation of this world has already been shaken. If we don't make a revolution, it's unlikely that things will get better."

  "What is the foundation of the world?" Hua Xiong Mao looked like he was acting impulsively, but he could see this point, and Chen Ke really didn't know how to evaluate him.

  "The imperial court can no longer save the world, but what you said last time about a new system, Wen Qing, is quite impressive. I'm not someone who hasn't encountered revolutionaries before, many people have asked me to join them and I've all pushed them away. Getting along with revolutionaries like Wen Qing is truly a delightful thing. Wen Qing seems to know how to carry out a revolution. This world won't work without a revolution, but those revolutionary parties' nonsense manifestos are really unbearable to listen to. When Wen Qing talks about revolution, it sounds feasible after listening. If Wen Qing asks me to join, I think I won't decline." Hua Xiongmao finally spoke his mind.

  "Hua brother, you're at least a martial arts champion!" Chen Ke asked incredulously.

  "Can't a martial arts expert rebel? We can do better than the imperial court in everything after we take power." Hua Xiong said with a big smile, "The key is that you, Wen Qing, need to come up with a more detailed plan. I'm good at knowing my own limitations, I can only handle small things, not big ones."

  This made Chen Ke speechless, and he didn't know whether to say that Hua Xiongmao was a born revolutionary or a born pragmatist. In this era, let's just consider Hua Xiongmao as a comrade, Chen Ke thought to himself.

  The day agreed with Yu You had arrived, and Chen Ke was woken up early by the light. The time difference doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's actually quite deadly when you really experience it. Shanghai is thousands of kilometers east of Zhengzhou, which means every morning they welcome dawn even earlier. Chen Ke looked at his watch on the bedside table, and it was already 4 o'clock in the morning.

  The weather was cool in the early morning, and Chen Ke didn't want to waste time either. He washed up a bit and started practicing his horse stance inside the house. As the sky got brighter, others also got up one after another. After breakfast, Xu Xilin went out. Qiu Jin didn't go with Xu Xilin; she said she wanted to meet Youlan, that generous woman.

  In the morning, the three of them strolled around the street. As it was almost noon, everyone had already gathered at the tea house from last time. Chen Ke glanced at his watch, 11:45. Autumn across from him couldn't help but lift up her wrist to glance at her watch, and just as she put down her wrist, she heard someone behind them say, "This sparkling brilliance is dazzling."

  Turning his head, he saw You Yun standing behind Chen Ke with two men. The last time he saw You Yun, she was wearing ordinary Chinese women's clothing, with her long hair tied up. This time she was wearing a Western-style suit, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. Behind her were two men, both in their twenties or thirties. The taller one wore the usual Western-style suit of foreign company employees, with short hair. The shorter one wore a long gown and a horse-hair cloak, looking like a businessman.

  Three people stood up from the table, and You Yun brought two more over. "There's another sister here, I'll just sit with her then." After saying that, You Yun confidently stood beside Qiu Jin. The two who came with her seemed to be used to this, and after greeting Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao, Hua Xiongmao gave up his seat on this side. The six of them sat down at the table.

  "Mr. Chen Ke, this is my friend from the foreign firm, Wang Bin. This is a friend of mine who dyes fabrics, Zhou Yuanxiao. Ah, and this sister, I'm You Yun, now a idle person." You Yun made the introduction with great ease.

  "My name is Chen Ke, this is Ms. Qiu Jin. This is Hua Xiong Mao. Mr. Wang, Mr. Zhou, nice to meet you both."

  After exchanging a few pleasantries, You Yun said: "I've brought the person here, I don't know what Mr. Chen Ke has in mind. Wang Bin is from the foreign firm, you can ask him whatever you want."

  "Thank you, Miss You." Chen Ke smiled and nodded, "Mr. Wang, as far as I know, there should be foreign businessmen with white cloth in their hands wanting to sell goods. Please inform me about this matter, Mr. Wang." Chen Ke's words were actually nonsense, he himself was absolutely impossible to know such news. The reason for saying so was to bully Wang Bin a bit. Just now when seeing Wang Bin, Chen Ke noticed a small detail, Wang Bin subconsciously followed Miss You's movements before acting, looking like he respected the lady. But in this era, there would be no such "gentlemanly demeanor". Chen Ke had seen people like this before, mostly lacking their own opinions. Since Miss You was obviously a strong-willed woman, Chen Ke chose his own strong words.

  As expected, Wang Bin hesitated slightly, speaking somewhat stutteringly, and indeed did not seem very decisive. "There are a few, however. They were all made of Indian white cloth. Moreover, these batches of goods have been transported for over a year now. The quality of the cloth is not good."

  "Has the cloth rotted?" Chen Ke asked in a relaxed tone.

  "It's not that serious, it's just improper storage, and the color started turning yellow. It can't be sold at a good price now."

  "How much?"

  "Over twelve hundred."

  "Can we see the goods this afternoon?"

  "Of course."

  "Can Brother Dye King provide it?"

  "Okay."

  "It's not urgent for now. Let's have lunch first. It's already noon, we can't go on an empty stomach, right?" Chen Ke said with a smile.

  Having determined the general direction, everyone started chatting idly. You Yun was very interested in Qiu Jin's watch, and after Qiu Jin put on the watch, she didn't wear her bracelet anymore. You Yun pulled Qiu Jin's wrist to take a look, then asked Qiu Jin to take off the watch for herself to see. For this lovely girl, Qiu Jin liked her very much, so she took off the watch and handed it over to You Yun. You Yun looked carefully for a while, then put the watch to her ear to listen, but frowned. She handed the watch back to Qiu Jin and said to Chen Ke: "May I see Mr. Chen's watch?" Chen Ke took off his own watch and handed it to You Yun, who looked at it carefully before handing it back to Chen Ke.

  "Mr. Chen, this watch isn't cheap," said You Yun.

  "A watch, what's cheap or expensive about it? As long as it works, that's all that matters." Chen Ke replied.

  "Haha, Mr. Chen really has money. I read in Germany that this watch is worth several thousand taels. You can use it for a sentence, tsk tsk. It's impressive." Yu Yun's tone was full of sarcasm.

  "What's so special about this watch?" Chen Ke became interested after hearing that. He himself bought a watch purely for the sake of etiquette. When discussing formal matters, wearing a watch made him look more formal. As for Chen Ke himself, he usually checked the time on his mobile phone. As for the quality of the watch, Chen Ke didn't understand it at all.

  "Tourbillon. This watch uses a tourbillon. Just by looking at how the hands move, it's different. Listening to the movement inside, it's even more distinct."

  "It seems that Miss You is indeed from a wealthy background, I'm just a fake, never understanding what's inside. Miss You is an expert at playing with appearances. Sorry, sorry."

  The words were originally meant to liven up the atmosphere, but unexpectedly, You Yun's face turned gloomy after hearing them. A faint shadow seemed to be cast over his young face, and he suddenly fell silent, his previous carefree smile gone.

  Qiu Jin didn't want the banquet to become awkward, so she patted You Yun's arm and said, "Sister, let's not talk about this with those people. I heard you can also drink a bit of wine. I'm someone who likes to have two cups. Come on, keep me company and have some wine."

  Qiu Jin said so, and You Yun also didn't want to spoil everyone's mood. She shouted: "Shopkeeper, bring out the wine and dishes." With this shout, the dinner party quickly began.

  In the afternoon, Wang Bin took Chen Ke and others to see the fabric. Chen Ke didn't understand fabrics, but based on his limited experience, he felt that the fabric was not rotten. However, after getting damp, large patches of yellow stains appeared on the fabric in a deep and shallow distribution. After finishing looking at the fabric, You Xun leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Chen Ke, how do you plan to deal with these stains?"

  At noon when Chen Ke was chatting while eating, he suddenly knew that You Huan was studying chemistry in Germany. He also said in a low voice: "What are you going to use to remove the color."

  "It's probably sulfur dioxide." You Yun said.

  Chen Ke felt satisfied after hearing it, but also a little tense. You Huan was not from a poor background, if she could think of these things, why didn't she do this business herself? Chen Ke found this quite puzzling. Moreover, You Huan had brought people from the dyeing workshop, which meant she was capable of doing it.

  It was as if he had heard Chen Ke's inner voice, You Yun raised his head and looked at Chen Ke with an unfathomable expression on his face. "Don't worry, Mr. Chen. I don't want to compete with you for this business. You said last time that you have the ability to penetrate heaven and earth. I'd like to see how you can do it, Mr. Chen."

  Now making any explanations would only make Yu Yun look down on himself, Chen Ke didn't utter a word.

  After finishing the fabric, they went to see the dye. Chen Ke suggested going to Zhou Yuanxiao's workshop to take a look. Zhou Yuanxiao had not spoken much all along, and upon hearing this request, he simply nodded and led everyone in the direction of his workshop.

  This is a very large courtyard, although it's big, there's nothing inside. A few dyeing racks stand empty and the entire courtyard is cold and deserted, forming a stark contrast with the bustling crowd outside the gate. Zhou Yuanxiao saw the puzzled looks of the people around him and smiled: "My workshop went bankrupt last year. Except for these stoves and bamboo poles, there's nothing left. This time it was Miss You who dragged me here. If you all want to use this courtyard, give me thirty taels of silver, and you can use it as you please. If you're short-handed, pay me some wages, and I'll work for you."

  "Zhou, you've been abroad for so many years. How can you be so self-destructive?" You Yun said with some anger.

  "I only went to high school, what's the use of going to high school anyway? Can't I just start from scratch?" Zhou Yuanxiao burst out laughing, "You, after finishing university in Germany and returning to China, didn't you also hit a wall? Now I'm more open-minded, just do things honestly. Some things, if you can do them, then do them, if you can't, then don't."

  Yu Yun listened to these words and wanted to speak but hesitated.

  It turned out that these people had all been abroad before. It seemed that Chen Ke had really met a group of extraordinary guys.

  The next day, May 14th. Everything went as planned by Chen Ke, and he negotiated a deal with the foreign merchant, agreeing that Chen Ke would buy all of this batch of cloth within thirty days. Chen Ke first spent sixteen taels to buy forty bolts of cloth, and then spent four taels to buy blue-black dye. However, the process of taking the cloth was beyond everyone's expectations. Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao both wore hastily-made masks, personally opening each bolt of cloth from head to toe and inspecting it carefully.

  The fabric had been stored for quite some time, and as they opened each piece to inspect it, the smell inside was really overwhelming, even with masks on, Huaxiongmao's eyebrows were furrowed tightly. As for Chen Ke, from start to finish, he maintained a calm and collected demeanor. He inspected the fabric with ease and his hands moved quickly. By the time Huaxiongmao finished inspecting one piece of fabric, Chen Ke had already looked at three pieces. Chen Ke immediately stopped inspecting and whispered a few words to Huaxiongmao. Huaxiongmao was taken aback, but Chen Ke explained and they talked for a bit more, after which Huaxiongmao stopped inspecting the fabric and instead focused on laying it out. This way, things went much faster. After each piece of fabric was inspected, Chen Ke would also make a record of it.

  "This is indeed a connoisseur." You Yun spoke in a low voice to Qiu Jin.

  "It seems to be the case indeed." Qiu Jin replied. The object of their praise was definitely not Hua Xiongmao. After saying this, Qiu Jin suddenly asked You Wan, "Sister, how is your friend Zhou Yuanxiao's dyeing skills?"

  "There's nothing to say." Yu Yun replied decisively.

  "But his dyeing workshop..." Qiu Jin hesitated and stopped speaking.

  "Some things aren't about being good or bad at a skill." You Yu's voice was still as firm as ever.

  The cart for transporting cloth was specially hired by Chen Ke through Tao Chengzhang. When the big cart arrived in front of Zhou Yuanxiao's dyeing workshop, Zhou Yuanxiao was already waiting there. As everyone moved the cloth inside, the stove had been lit and hot water had been prepared long ago.

  Qiu Jin and Hua Xiongmao had known each other for a long time. Hua Xiongmao was also from a wealthy family, and these chores were usually done by ordinary servants. After Hua Xiongmao and Chen Ke finished moving things, and took a bowl of water to pour, Qiu Jin asked in her spare time: "Zheng Lan, you are working so hard, it's really opening my eyes."

  Huaxiongmao drank a large bowl of water in several mouthfuls, let out a comfortable sigh, and his clear face was full of satisfaction after work. "Auntie, although I have a quick temper, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't want to work hard. Wencheng does things in an orderly manner, making everything I do clear and understandable, and even labor is interesting."

  Just as they were talking, Chen Ke and You Yun had already brought out a large steamer basket. Qiu Jin and Hua Xiong Mao looked at each other in confusion. The thing looked like a steamer basket, but it was two-tiered. In the lower compartment, Chen Ke and You Yun were whispering to each other as they put some things inside. On the upper tier, there were loose fabrics placed inside. Chen Ke and You Yun both wore rough cloth garments on the outside, and coincidentally, they were both wearing them inside out. That is to say, the back was facing forward, and the button side was on their backs. The two of them arranged the fabrics back and forth, still arguing. From what they said, it seemed like there was something about sufficient contact and oxidation levels. Qiu Jin and Hua Xiong Mao couldn't understand either. After discussing for a while, Chen Ke and You Yun finally reached an agreement, and after arranging the fabrics, they covered the steamer basket with its lid.

  Under the big pot, a fire started to burn, and the water inside the pot gradually heated up. The steam rising from the steamer basket contained not only the musty smell of old fabric but also other mixed odors. While others couldn't help but avoid this strange smell, Chen Ke and You Yun both put on masks and lifted the lid to inspect the fabric together. After another debate about acidity and alkalinity, they finally extinguished the fire. Waiting for a while longer, the two took out the still-hot fabric from the steamer basket and threw it into a large vat filled with lime water. Chen Ke was still kneading the fabric. The pungent smell gradually dissipated, and everyone gathered around to take a look. At first glance, almost everyone's eyes lit up. The fabric, which had been full of deep and light yellow stains before, now looked snowy white. Although upon closer inspection, some traces were still visible, but even those who didn't understand dyeing knew that after using dark dyes, this color would absolutely not be a problem.

  "Wen Qing, I thought you were going to wash this fabric in some complicated way, but it's just a simple steam. " Qiu Zhen said, turning around to look at You Xun who was pulling the fabric, "Sister looks like someone who enjoys life, but turns out she's actually low-key."

  You Yun smiled wryly at the praise, "Autumn sister, don't flatter me. After all, I spent a lot of money studying in Germany, if I couldn't handle these things, wouldn't it be a waste of money?" After finishing speaking, You Yun turned his head, "Brother Zhou, as an expert in this field, what do you think about these fabrics?"

  Zhou Yuanxiao put down the fabric in his hand, with no expression on his face. "It can only be known after dyeing. Now it looks like the color of the fabric won't be too even after dyeing. It can't be sold at a good price."

  The words sounded quite unpleasant, and Hua Xiong's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. He and Qiu Jin looked at Chen Ke together. Not only did Chen Ke not get angry, but he nodded in agreement instead. "I'll leave the dyeing to Mr. Zhou. I have great faith in you."

  Zhou Yuanxiao hummed noncommittally and signaled Chen Ke to continue putting the fabric on the steamer.