Chapter 58

  The curtains of the carriage were drawn, as if they didn't want Chen Ke to see their destination. Chen Ke estimated that it shouldn't be so boring, but he also didn't intend to stir up trouble for no reason. There was no lighting inside the carriage, and there wasn't much light outside either, both people remained silent in the darkness.

  "Brother Bo, how many people do we need to cure?" Chen Ke was a bit concerned about this. According to the historical books he had read, many people in Beijing were infected back then, especially military officers. Chen Ke didn't understand Wu Xingchen's sales strategy before. He thought that as a northerner, Wu Xingchen would definitely sell a lot of medicine in the north. But Wu Xingchen only sold medicine in Shanghai and the south, never selling to the north. Only rich people could afford the medicine, it seemed like Wu Xingchen didn't want to save them at all.

  As Chen Ke had expected, Bu Guanshui replied, "First treat ten people." From the sound of it, there was a lot to do afterwards. It seemed that they would have to transport another batch of medicine from Shanghai. Perhaps feeling that this task was also embarrassing, after answering this question, Bu Guanshui fell silent. Chen Ke tried to make small talk with him, but he didn't respond much. After saying a few words, Chen Ke also stopped talking. The horse carriage continued on its way, and it wasn't convenient to pull the curtains open. In the darkness, Chen Ke felt bored and started humming a tune loudly.

  The first verse is about two tigers, facing this Beiyang military officer, Chen Ke couldn't help but think of this song. "Two tigers, two tigers, running fast, running fast. One has no ears, one has no tail, how ridiculous." As soon as he finished singing, he heard the sound of Bu Guanshui bursting into laughter from across the way.

  "What's wrong, Bo? If you think I'm annoying, I won't sing anymore."

  "It's nothing, Mr. Chen. I think these lyrics are quite interesting. You go on. Sitting in this dry car, singing a song isn't bad either."

  "I'm not a singer for sale," Chen Ke laughed, "If Brother Bo thinks singing is fun, then Brother Bo can sing a song from the Northern Ocean's military song to listen. This way, you sing one, and I'll sing one. Isn't that fair?"

  After hearing Chen Ke's words, Bu Guan Shui let out a long sigh of disappointment.

  "What's wrong?" Chen Ke felt strange, and didn't have to be so reluctant to sing a song.

  "Mr. Chen, I see you're a foreign student. Do you have any knowledge of military songs from other countries?"

  "Not very clear."

  "Ah..." Bo Guan Shui seemed a bit disappointed and let out a sigh.

  "Brother Bo, you're a soldier after all. Sighing like this is really unbecoming of a military man."

  Perhaps it was listening to Chen Ke's nagging, Bu Guan Shui also felt that he couldn't cope, and he said with a bit of self-abandonment: "I took on an errand, letting me create a military parade music. Letting me go into battle is no problem, but asking me to write a melody, isn't this a joke?"

  "Let Brother Bo create this song, it's because he has the talent for it. Just let him do his best."

  "It's not like that. The top didn't even think about taking this hot potato and just randomly pushed it down."

  "Anyway, Brother Bo, just take a few more days to respond, it's fine if you can't do it. Or simply come up with a song and be done with it. No need to worry so much."

  "I think so too, but you have to have a good song to fool around with. The song for the military parade is not just any music, using another song to deal with it, the horse's head doesn't match the donkey's mouth."

  "Hmm... Brother Bo, listen to this tune."

  Chen Ke's voice imitated the prelude of the military horn and other instruments, sounding quite comical, and Bo Guan Shui burst out laughing. However, towards the end, the majestic tune of "Red Alert 3" Soviet side's "Infernal March" quickly caught Bo Guan Shui's attention. As soon as Chen Ke finished humming, Bo Guan Shui immediately sat down beside him from across the room, "Mr. Chen, is this a foreign military song?"

  "No, I wrote it myself after listening to a foreign military song."

  "Is that really so?" Bu Guan Shui immediately became excited, "Then..." He said halfway through, but Bu Guan Shui stopped. He asked in a disbelieving tone: "Mr. Chen, this piece of music..."

  Chen Ke knew that Bu Guanzhong was worried that he would deceive him. If Bu Guanzhong wrote a poor original, at most it would be considered poorly written. But if this were to happen with foreign military music during the Northern Ocean's military parade and people found out, it would be a serious crime. Writing poorly is an issue of ability, but using foreign military songs to deceive others is an issue of character. The two had just met, so Chen Ke knew that Bu Guanzhong didn't trust him.

  "If you don't believe me, then I have nothing to defend myself with."

  "That's not what I meant." Bo Guan Shui hastily explained, "Does Mr. Chen have any other songs? He can't just have written this one, right?"

  "What I wrote were mostly songs about love and romance, as for military songs, there aren't many."

  "Any song will do, sing two."

  "That's still what I said earlier, I'll sing one song and Brother Bo has to sing one too."

  "If Mr. Chen is not afraid of being scared to death, I have no problem." Bo Guanshui laughed and said.

  Chen Ke did not decline and first sang a classic military song "Little White Willow".

  After finishing the song, Bu Guan was silent for a long time before sighing: "I didn't know there were military songs like this in the world."

  "That's all I can say." Chen Ke didn't want to boast either.

  In the darkness, Bo Guan Shui mustered up his courage to speak several times but gave up each time. Finally, he said solemnly: "Mr. Chen, compared with your song, our Northern Army's military anthem can be scrapped. I just want to ask Mr. Chen to sing one more song. Just one will do."

  Chen Ke didn't pretend, and he sang another extremely famous song "Camel Bells". This Bo Guanshui seemed to really understand music, Chen Ke only sang once, but heard that Bo Guanshui already had a sigh of emotion, and was actually moved to tears by the song.

  "Mr. Chen, what you studied abroad was music, wasn't it?"

  "How is it possible! I studied chemistry, didn't I?" Chen Ke said with a tone of certainty.

  Bo Wang didn't want to get entangled in this matter either. "Mr. Chen, I know you composed that piece, I have an impolite request..."

  "That military review song, I can help Brother Bo with it."

  "That's great."

  After this, the relationship between the two naturally became much closer. On the contrary to their initial silence, they started chatting. Bo Guanshui was from Zhejiang Songjiang Prefecture, but when he was young, his father went to Hebei and became a county magistrate, so Bo Guanshui also followed him to Hebei, and as a result, his Shanghai local accent could no longer be heard. When the Qing government sent students to study at German military schools, his father managed to get Bo Guanshui in as well. After returning to China in 1903, he joined the Beiyang New Army. As a formal graduate of a foreign military school, Bo Guanshui was considered equal to a jinshi (a high-level degree holder), so at a young age, he could become a second-class military officer. However, he didn't have any strong connections, and his rapid promotion to a high position made many people jealous. Bo Guanshui's main job was translating foreign military books, which was essentially an idle post with no real power. Instead, all sorts of strange and trivial matters were assigned to him, such as writing military songs.

  It turned out that there were such twists and turns in the story, and Chen Ke finally roughly understood. But Chen Ke still had some doubts, "Brother Bu, I can understand writing military songs. How did the matter of treating illnesses also find its way to you?"

  "It's hard to say." It seems that Bo Guanshui is also quite depressed about this. The military officers who fell ill this time are of high birth, and no one knows how the higher-ups knew about Chen Ke, anyway, they let Bo Guanshui take Chen Ke to treat his illness. As the saying goes, "the bigger the official, the more people he can kill", Bo Guanshui didn't want to go, but when the order came down, he had no choice but to obey.

  "It's fortunate that Brother Chen is also a talented person. Although this matter is quite frustrating, being able to get to know Brother Chen can be considered as turning a misfortune into a blessing."

  As they spoke, the carriage arrived at its destination, a barracks outside the city. Bo Guan went to say a few words and then had Chen Ke follow him in on foot. This was Chen Ke's first time entering a barracks, and it was so dark around that he couldn't see anything. The distant barracks buildings were hazy. The two of them arrived at the corner of the military camp, and after opening the door to enter, they saw that there were lamps lit inside. There were several rows of beds, with several sick officers lying on some of them. In the middle of the table, a group of officers had gathered, their faces covered in boils, yet they were all together gambling at pai gow. On the table was a pile of silver coins, and the officers' mouths were full of curses as one of them threw dice into a bowl in the center. It seemed like they were in the heat of the game.

  With such high mental quality, Chen Ke really admires them. However, he immediately thought that this group of people wouldn't have been infected multiple times, right? But the third stage isn't like this, looking at their appearance they should be in a curable first stage.

  The officers saw Bo Gu come in and all sat up from their sickbeds. However, those few gamblers had not stopped yet. The dice were jumping around in the porcelain bowl with a "ding-dong" sound. The one throwing the dice was staring intently at the bowl, so focused.

  "Everyone rise." Bu Guanzhong said.

  Finally, that person has reacted. He turned his head and saw Bo Guan Shui, and quickly got up. "It's General Bo. What instructions do you have."

  "This is Mr. Chen who will be examining everyone. He will now treat everyone."

  "Cut!" The careless sieve-thrower said, "Watch your points, we'll continue later."

  Is this what they call the elite Beiyang New Army? Chen Ke couldn't help but think it was unbelievable. But looking at their demeanor, their mental quality wasn't bad.

  Chen Ke had done a lot of work in treating illnesses. He asked about the condition with ease and familiarity, then gave each person an injection. After observing for a while and seeing that everyone was fine, Chen Ke pulled out a bottle of mineral water and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be off."

  "Is that all?" Bo Guan Shui was very surprised.

  "Afterwards, I have to get injections every day. However, I'm only worried that I won't have time to come over each time. I'll leave the medicine here and also leave the method for getting injections, following this method will definitely be fine."

  After finishing, Chen Ke asked for paper and pen, and wrote down the detailed usage method and precautions. Bu Guan Shui received the order to invite Chen Ke over to treat the illness, since it was already treated, there was no reason to keep Chen Ke around.

  Bo Guan Shui said as he sent Chen Ke out of the military camp, "Mr. Chen, this car belongs to He Da Ren. You can just sit in it and go back directly. I'll visit you tomorrow."

  "No, I'm busy tomorrow." Chen Ke immediately refused. If Bu Guanshui had entered his residence wearing the uniform of the Northern Army, it was uncertain whether Pang Zhi and others would directly kill Bu Guanshui or not. Even if Pang Zhi spared Bu Guanshui's life, how would this vengeful hero treat Chen Ke?

  "But I really want to get this song done as soon as possible. Mr. Chen, please help me."

  "Is there a piano in the barracks?"

  "No."

  "Hmm, I wonder if Brother Bo and Lord He know each other?"

  "It's nice to meet you for the first time."

  "Then you need to find a place with a piano. When I composed that piece, it was played on the piano."

  Bo Wang thought for a moment and asked: "Does Mr. He's family have a piano?"

  Chen Ke didn't expect Bo Guan Shui to be so clever, and he hastily said, "This isn't what I meant."

  "I understand, Brother Chen, how about we go see Lord He tomorrow afternoon?"

  "Hmm, how about Bo brother wearing casual clothes to He Da-ren's place tomorrow? I'll go there at 9 am. Please wear casual clothes."

  Although Bo Guan didn't understand why Chen Ke made this request, since he needed something from Chen Ke, he agreed.

  On the way back by carriage, Chen Ke thought about this matter over and over again, but didn't know what was inside. However, after returning, no matter what, He Ruoming had to explain it clearly. This was considered owing Chen Ke a favor. Without giving Chen Ke a reason, it would be hard to convince him otherwise.

  As Chen Ke had expected, He Ruming was waiting for him. As soon as Chen Ke came in, He Ruming asked about his experience of treating the illness this time. After listening to Chen Ke's answers one by one, He Ruming finally felt relieved.

  "To be honest with you, one of the people who got sick is a young relative of an old acquaintance. When I heard this news, I thought of you and had you run all this way."

  "As a medicine maker, saving people is part of my job. Lord He doesn't need to worry about it."

  "Bohemian, how should this medical bill be calculated?"

  "Twenty taels for one. But don't worry, sir, it's just the beginning. Let's talk after we've cured everyone." Today, they cured ten people, and Chen Ke believed that He Ruoming's family might not have two hundred taels of silver ready.

  He Ruoming didn't really mean to pay, he suddenly asked: "Wen Qing, the thing you mentioned last time, I've thought about it, do you have any detailed plans?"

  Is the loss inside the dike compensated outside? He Ruoming asked about the beehive coal, and Chen Ke was quite surprised. However, since he had the opportunity to promote his own project, especially with He Ruoming's extensive connections, Chen Ke wouldn't refuse. He explained the specific implementation method of this project.

  Listening to Chen Ke's detailed presentation of the beehive coal project, He Ruming occasionally nodded slightly. It was quite different from the plan he had heard before at the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau. The core of Chen Ke's presentation was the two words "making money". Every step had to generate income, and every penny invested had to be justified by benefits. Market analysis, cost control, production efficiency, revenue curve, these terms that seemed to make sense but were not quite understandable kept coming out of Chen Ke's mouth.

  He Ruming suddenly had an inexplicable feeling that the young man in front of him was not from the same world as himself. He Ruming wasn't unfamiliar with overseas students, Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau had many overseas students, they talked about things either in grandiose language or clinging to certain professional terms, repeating things that others couldn't understand. Chen Ke's words were straightforward and clear, his expectations for the whole thing were spot on, even if He Ruming didn't quite understand some of the trendy phrases, by linking them with what Chen Ke said, he could roughly guess their meaning. Chen Ke's plan lacked understanding of officialdom habits, but judging from his plan, its feasibility was quite high. After listening to Chen Ke's narrative, He Ruming had already been able to think out a rough outline of the whole thing in his mind.

  After Chen Ke finished speaking, He Ruming had already made up his mind. "Wen Qing, I will recommend a few people to help you. Do you have any requirements for these people?"

  Chen Ke's plan is already quite extraordinary, and Chen Ke's standards for selecting people are even more extraordinary. Three conditions: First, everything must be done by oneself, including moving bricks and hauling coal, and even the transportation of coal in the future must be done by oneself. Second, no gentlemen who sit in offices will be kept. Third, whether there is money or not, it doesn't matter.

  He Ruoming furrowed his brow, "Wen Qing, this request of yours is a bit excessive."

  "Mr. He, forgive me for speaking bluntly, the biggest problem with Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau in the past was that people were not taking their work seriously. On the beehive coal project, I don't want to repeat the same mistakes."

  "Why must you personally go and pull a cart to sell coal?" He Ruoming found this incomprehensible.

  "Who would buy beehive coke and where is the best sales route? I think it should be personally investigated."

  He Ruoming's face suddenly turned gentle after hearing Chen Ke's words, "Wen Qing, you haven't lived in Beijing before, have you? You should know that those Banner people are the most clear about this aspect."

  The rules of the Banner People's Government Office do not allow them to engage in business, nor can they serve as minor officials; they are only allowed to be soldiers. If they don't become soldiers, relying solely on the meager allowance from the Government Office would lead many poor bannermen to starve to death. However, rules are rules, and the bannermen have no way to make a living. As a result, there is a policy from above and a countermeasure from below: the bannermen in the capital city pull carts for a living, which the Government Office turns a blind eye to. Those poor bannermen who engage in the cart-pulling business are familiar with everyone from the royal palace down to ordinary civilians; He Ruoming suggests that Chen Ke hire some bannermen, as they would be more efficient.

  Chen Ke recalled the character of Chang Siye in Lao She's play "Teahouse", who also made a living by pulling a rickshaw. He hastily thanked He Juming for his suggestion, but still believed that he had to personally sort out the sales channels, and it was not suitable to leave everything to others. The two parties agreed to start working on this matter immediately.

  After reaching an agreement, Chen Ke returned to his side, knocked on the door and went back to sleep. He hadn't slept for two days and a night. There were still many things to do tomorrow.

  Chen Ke was woken up by someone, Chen Tianhua was shaking Chen Ke's shoulder.

  "What's wrong, Xing Tai?"

  "Someone is looking for you."

  Another visitor was He Ruoming's butler. Chen Kei glanced at his watch, it was only eight o'clock. Heaven knows why He Ruoming is in such a hurry. After washing his face, Chen Kei rushed to the He Mansion across the street. As soon as he entered the living room, he saw Bo Guanshui wearing casual clothes also in the living room. He Ruoming's face was gloomy, "Wen Qing, didn't you say that out of a hundred people, only five or six can withstand this medicine? How did it happen that as soon as I used your medicine, the person is gone?"

  This question is logically unreasonable, and Chen Ke didn't know how to answer. Measuring the somewhat discomfited He Ruoming, Chen Ke could only remain silent.

  "Wen Qing, say something for once!" He Ruoming glared at Chen Ke, almost yelling.

  "Is it done according to the usage guidelines I wrote?" Chen Ke asked.

  He Ming's hand was holding that piece of paper, and he slapped it on the table. "It's just used according to what you wrote."

  "Are the measurements correct?" Chen Ke asked as he picked up the instructions. After carefully examining them, Chen discovered that they had been rewritten. "Since this is a tiger-wolf medicine, the dosage absolutely cannot be mistaken." Chen said to this point, finally understanding why he felt something was off. He had always worried that the military would get the dosage wrong.

  "It's all according to what's written on this list." He Ruoming replied. Why was it He Ruoming who answered instead of Bo Guanshui, Chen Ke couldn't quite understand.

  Article 58