Chapter 43

  Among the 127 members of Huangpu Book Society, 58 were students from Fudan Public School. After Fudan Public School officially started classes, the workshop that served as the temporary headquarters of Huangpu Book Society immediately became quiet during the day. Early in the morning, all comrades rushed over. Chen Ke immediately convened a party meeting.

  Due to the opening of Fudan Public School, the number of people who could go to work on the construction site immediately decreased. The course was changed to be taught in the evening. This had a great impact on the party meeting. So everyone agreed that the party meeting would be changed to a morning gathering, and the specific content would be discussed in the evening.

  Wang Qianni's request was nothing special, selling to Chinese people is selling, and selling to foreigners is also selling. Since even the molecular formula has been made public, everyone basically has no great interest in it. As for Yan Fu's affairs, nobody reacted at all. Chen Ke stared blankly at his comrades, and his comrades also stared back at him.

  "Don't you have any suggestions?" Chen Ke asked.

  "You've already refused, what else can we say?" Huaxiong Mao retorted. Everyone seemed reluctant to bring up the topic again.

  "I think the literary youth did it right." Zhi Hui finally made a comment.

  "I didn't say he was wrong either. This is a matter of personal preference for Wen Qing. I don't think it's necessarily appropriate to discuss it here," said Hua Xiongmao.

  "What's personal?" Chen Ke's eyes widened after hearing this comment. "United front is one thing, but political stance is another. The reason I'm doing this today is to tell everyone that in the face of the party, there aren't so many personal matters."

  Seeing Hua Xiong's astonished expression, Chen Kuang waved his hand. "We'll talk about this later tonight. Does anyone have anything else to say? My speech is over."

  "If possible, we need to add some manpower on the construction site. Compared with the original plan, the workload of the construction site has increased," said Hua Xiongmao, who was holding back his urge to argue.

  "Isn't it much earlier than planned?"

  "Now that dormitory building is about to be completed. I think since we've already made a lot of progress, let's just speed up and finish the work in one go. It's not very suitable to occupy Brother Zhou's workshop for too long." Hua Xiongmao suggested.

  "Make a plan. See how many hands are needed. Report back tonight."

  Everyone reported on their own affairs, and there were no particularly urgent matters, so the morning meeting was dismissed. The school and hospital are in one direction. Huaxiong Mao and Chen Ke followed a group of students behind them, and everyone walked towards the school in a lively and noisy manner.

  According to what Wen Qing said, reporting to a teacher is also necessary? Hua Xiongmao's voice had a hint of puzzlement. Chen Ke didn't even agree to become an apprentice, let alone the fact that this teacher betrayed the revolution. Not to mention that it was the famous Yan Fu who first proposed taking Chen Ke as his disciple. To others, this would be an honor, something to brag about. Honestly, Hua Xiongmao thought Chen Ke was just showing off in disguise. He didn't expect Chen Ke's thoughts to be completely different. He actually treated this as a big deal, as if not reporting it would be a huge mistake.

  "It's not a notification, but must be recognized by the party committee. Once joined the party, without the recognition of the party organization, no party member is allowed to privately find a mentor, let alone other political groups." Chen Ke's voice was slightly stern.

  "Why?"

  "There is a provision in the organizational discipline. Go and see for yourself."

  "I can't join any other political party, I understand. But becoming an apprentice is a bit too much to ask, isn't it?" Huaxiong's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  Chen Ke also furrowed his brow, his tone filled with a strong sense of advice. "Indeed, it's not close to human nature, but this is the party organization. Joining the party itself carries a kind of ideological and political identification, let alone personal relationships. All thoughts and politics of party members must be consistent with the party. Otherwise, what's the point of forming a party? The party isn't just a group of people huddling together for warmth in winter; it's a political organization fighting for a common goal."

  Hua Xiong walked with his head down for a while before responding: "Wen Qing is right."

  Looking at Hua Xiong's dejected appearance, Chen Ke punched him on the shoulder and said, "It's just that some things weren't done properly, no need to be like this. Why hold a party meeting? It's for discussing things as they happen. Now we have discipline, but lack rules. There are no precedents, originally it was many party members doing things and then everyone discussing them. It's not just me saying something and that's it."

  Hua Xiongmao just nodded, but didn't say a word. Chen Ke felt that if he continued to talk, it would be like grasping Hua Xiongmao's small ponytail and not letting go. He changed the subject, "Among our classmates behind us, is there anyone you think can be recommended?"

  Perhaps still under the influence of what had just happened, Hua Xiongmao was not very enthusiastic and his tone was much lower. "It's just so-so. Compared to you, Wen Qing is far worse. If I must say, the Japanese students are the ones who work the hardest and are most obedient. The Chinese students are much more clever when it comes to getting things done. But we've only been doing this for less than ten days, let's wait and see."

  "Zheng Lan, I'll let you in on a little secret. Mr. Yan Fu wants to introduce me to Beijing for a trip, and I really want to go. However, before I leave, I hope to teach everyone everything I've learned, so that when problems arise, everyone will know what to do. I believe you can definitely handle the work within your scope." Chen Ke said.

  This can be considered a heartfelt talk. Hua Xiongmao immediately regained his energy after listening to it, and he replied with some excitement: "I will take a good look at the Party's constitution."

  Chen Ke was not satisfied with this answer. However, it's not the time to nitpick now. The hospital arrived, and after greeting everyone, Chen Ke took Mao Ping into the hospital.

  Wang Qinyan highly praised Mao Ping, and got Wang Qinyan's face-to-face recognition. Chen Ke opened the package he was carrying. Inside were enough medicines to treat 30 people. Everyone checked the medicine powder and found no deterioration. Wang Qinyan prepared five sets of syringes and cotton balls as well as alcohol and other items and put them in his personal medical box. After Mao Ping finished checking, he signed a receipt.

  Chen Ke handed over twenty taels of silver to Mao Ping. Mao Ping was also a man of insight, and after carefully checking the amount, he too signed the receipt.

  "You take care of things in Wuhan from now on. Do you still remember what I asked for?"

  "Firstly, I'll be back after I've finished treating my illness. Secondly, I'm going to treat my illness, not sell medicine." Mao Ping replied.

  "Alright. I know you're enthusiastic, but don't do good deeds that end up causing harm. This medicine can be fatal, we absolutely cannot make foolish mistakes or wrong decisions. You have to put your own safety first, if something happens, others will catch you first." Chen Ke instructed solemnly.

  "Mr. Wenqing, rest assured, I haven't finished listening to your words yet, and I absolutely won't let you be caught in Hankou for nothing. Do you have anything else to say?"

  "I've said all I need to say, go now. Have a smooth journey."

  Mao Ping bid farewell and set out on a long journey for the revolution.

  Chen Ke then discussed business with Wang Qiniang. The core issue was only one thing, what price Wang Qiniang could get.

  Wang Qiniang hoped to get the goods at 70% of the current price, but Chen Ke told Wang Qiniang that the lowest was also 95%. "Mr. Wang, selling to Southeast Asia is originally a very profitable business. You say sell to Southeast Asia, I have no way to supervise. This is not that I don't trust Mr. Wang, but I simply don't want to supervise Mr. Wang. So the matter of 70% off can be dropped. I have no way to explain it to others."

  Wang Qinian listened to this and knew he absolutely couldn't persuade Chen Ke. He had no choice but to agree.

  "Mr. Chen, since it's like this, let's talk about the quantity for this month. I need 600 units of medicine first."

  "This medicine doesn't have a long shelf life, Doctor Wang needs to pay attention to this." Chen Ke said calmly.

  "This is natural, medicine things, I will supply Mr. Wenqing twice a month."

  "King Dahfu, are you leaving our hospital now?" Chen Ke asked.

  "No, I like this hospital and I also like working here. As long as Mr. Wen doesn't drive me away, I have no intention of leaving."

  Chen Ke did not mean to drive Wang Qinyan away. Now that everything is unfolding smoothly with Wang Qinyan in charge, nothing has gone wrong so far. Chen Ke now hopes to maintain the status quo.

  In the following days, all sorts of small problems emerged one after another. Hiring people, rushing work, sending medicine, and various other things were complicated and couldn't be done. Chen Kei gradually distributed the workload more reasonably on the one hand, while preparing for social investigation on the other.

  It's strange that since Mid-Autumn Festival, fewer and fewer people from Fudan Public School have come. Chen Ke thought it was because the school was busy, and it wasn't a bad thing if they didn't come, so he could relax and finish his work at hand. Unexpectedly, just a few days later, a student named Murong Pei from Fudan Public School who had joined Huangpu Study Society rushed over in a hurry. As soon as he saw Chen Ke, Murong Pei anxiously shouted: "Mr. Chen, Xiong Mingyang has been spreading rumors at Fudan Public School these days that you are not a revolutionary party member at all, but a royalist. He also stopped other students from coming to the study society. This afternoon, he got into a fight with several people. Mr. Chen, you have to go and persuade him."

  After hearing this, Chen Ke couldn't help but smile bitterly. In his heart, he thought: Kid, Xiong Mingyang said I'm not a revolutionary party, I think it's a protection for me. You're so stubbornly defending me... Are you trying to get me killed?

  This is the classmate Xiong Mingyang, who on Mid-Autumn Festival night dinner, angrily asked Chen Ke to make revolution. Chen Ke had a deep impression of him, Xiong Mingyang was from Sichuan, and he studied at Nanyang Public School in Xi'an earliest.

  Nanyang Public School was a well-known new-style school at that time, but it did not get rid of the shackles of old feudal traditional education; from private schools to new-style schools, there were great changes in management, but still accustomed to using old autocratic and strict etiquette to restrain students. At the same time, teachers also failed to understand the new ideas emerging among students, often leading to opposing emotions.

  On November 5, 1902, during a class in the fifth grade of the public school, teacher Guo Zhenying found a clean ink bottle on his desk and thought it was a prank by students. He sternly interrogated them, but all the students replied that they didn't know anything about it. Guo then threatened to punish the students sitting in the front row, Bei Fenbo and Wu Shiying, giving them three days to confess, or else he would add more punishment. Under threat, one of the students falsely accused Wu Zhengjun of putting the bottle there. On the 13th, the school announced that it was expelling the innocent student Wu Zhengjun at Guo's request, which led to opposition from the fifth-grade students. After arguing with the principal and trying to reason with him, but to no avail, the whole class decided to collectively drop out of school in protest. Before leaving, they went to each class to bid farewell, explain the reason, and express their opposition to this autocratic oppression. This action gained sympathy from all the students in the school. When Principal Wang Fengmao found out, he announced that the entire fifth-grade class was expelled without asking for any explanation. The whole school was in an uproar, causing strong public outrage. The students immediately elected representatives to request the school to withdraw its order. However, the principal refused and lost his temper, deciding to "make an example" of them. This situation further triggered the students' resistance, and after discussion, they decided to collectively drop out of school in protest, explicitly opposing the use of autocratic and arbitrary measures against students.

  Up to this point, the school authorities felt very embarrassed and invited Mr. Cai Yuanpei, a respected teacher of the special class, to mediate. After Mr. Cai's patient persuasion, the students agreed to temporarily suspend their actions. That night, Cai went to visit the supervisor of Nanyang Public School, Sheng Xuanhuai, but Sheng declined to see him with "other important matters". After several negotiations, until the morning of the 16th, there was still no effect. All students decided to pack up and gather on the playground, waiting for a final response. Around 10 am, no reply was seen. Therefore, all students in the school shouted slogans such as "Long live our motherland" in an orderly manner and walked out of Nanyang Public School. Mr. Cai Yuanpei, who had democratic ideas, also resigned in anger and left with the students. Mr. Cai took the students to the "Chinese Education Association" and asked for help. With the support of Zhang Binglin, the head of the education association, the "Patriotic Academy" was established immediately, allowing the withdrawn students to continue their studies.

  Xiong Mingyang also participated in the withdrawal. Then with Cai Yuanpei and a large group of students returned to Shanghai, joined Aurora University.

  "Mr. Ma, oh, what did the school say?" Chen Ke asked anxiously.

  "The school just dispersed everyone and took those who fought to the office. There's no other news for now. I'll hurry over to inform Mr. Chen." Murong Yu said anxiously.

  "Thank you. Since it's come to this, I know about it and can't pretend I don't. Now, let's go to school together." Chen Ke replied helplessly.

  "This is for the best." Murong Pei said excitedly, "Mr. Chen, why don't you give a public lecture again? There are many people in school who care about you, and if you give a public lecture, you will definitely be able to win back many students."

  Are you asking me to openly incite rebellion? Chen Ke thought. But in this era, openly inciting rebellion is not a rare thing either. Not to mention Ma Xiangbo's school.

  Chen Ke packed up his things and set off for school with Murong Yu and Xie Mingxuan.

  They entered the office, but there was no one. Murong Yu hurriedly went to find the director of the teaching affairs office, Chen Ke took out his notebook and began to draft a plan. After writing part of it, Chen Ke handed over the first page he had written to Xie Mingxuan.

  Today, we stand here! On the land of China! In Shanghai, this land our ancestors watered with their blood and dignity! Inside a campus of a new-style Chinese university. Before me are my fellow students inside the campus. Outside the walls of the campus stands a nation, a nation groaning in humiliation!

  After that war ended, our nation's pride was gone! The victors rode on our necks, trampling our dignity, the dignity of the noblest nation in the world! Tell me, will you rise up like the heroic martyrs of ancient times, or be slaves?!

  You may say: Mr. Chen, I need a bowl of rice, I need to make a living. That's right, life is indeed very important. But I tell you, there is something more important than life - freedom! That is dignity!

  As long as the French flag still flies above Shanghai, our dignity does not exist! As long as those French and British people lord it over us on our land, our dignity does not exist! As long as this country called China remains fragmented and weak on the world map, our dignity does not exist! As long as when other nations mention the word "China" in conversation, they will sneer at us, our dignity does not exist!

  What we need is not a bowl of rice! But a space to survive! A nation's space to survive! This survival space cannot be achieved by begging and protesting, but by iron and blood!

  When others bully us, even the weakest nations trample on us, we will only shout: We strongly condemn and protest this! Such people are spineless! Such people are despicable! We should use cannons that shake the earth to make our enemies tremble! We should crush their dignity and lives, let them know we are not a nation of cowards who only know how to protest!

  You must remember, a country that only knows how to protest is a country without backbone! A government that only knows how to protest is a government without backbone! When our dignity, territory, and survival space are all trampled on, and the government still shamelessly protests, we don't need it! You will eventually abandon them!

  I am proud, among you people, there are few who are spineless like this! Before me stands an army with 5,000 years of noble and unyielding blood flowing through their veins! This blood once flowed in our ancestors' veins, they never surrendered! Now it flows in our bodies, pulsating vigorously. Tell me, do you want it to cool down?!

  "There are two things that can unite people: a common ideal and a common blood. We have a great ideal steeped in Chinese history, and we will shed our last drop of blood for this ideal! In today's Shanghai, nothing can save our country except this ideal! The Treaty of Nanjing is a great shame! We have the determination and reason to refuse its implementation! Do what you want to do! Just like he led his compatriots in bravely fighting the enemy with the great flag of freedom! If you expect to fight, then go fight! And I will see whether you are slaves or unyielding Chinese!"

  Chen Ke thought Xie Mingxian would say that the article was too sentimental, but unexpectedly Xie Mingxian only made one comment, "Mr. Chen, compared to your usual lectures, this article is empty and lacks substance."

  The 43rd