Chapter 48

  Hebei is much drier than Jiangnan, and the wind must have picked up in the past few days. There was quite a bit of dust on the ground and tables at Pang's house. Chen Ke didn't mind this at all. Anyway, jeans are durable enough to withstand dirt, so Chen Ke plopped himself down on the dusty stool. He still liked the crisp autumn days in the north, where the autumn tiger was fierce, but when the wind blew through the house, it felt cool and comfortable.

  Pang Ze, who was sitting in the main seat, wasn't very tall, probably around 170 cm. He had a lean build and well-developed muscles. His eyes sparkled with intensity, giving off an air of being a martial artist. In stark contrast to his initial cold and cautious demeanor when they first met, upon learning that Chen Ke was sent by Wu Xingchen, Pang Ze immediately became enthusiastic.

  There was no tea, but a small crack in the ceramic bowl poured white water. Chen Ke was really thirsty and picked up the bowl to drink several mouthfuls. Wiping the water from the corner of his mouth, Chen Ke said, "More."

  Pang Zi poured water for Chen Ke Xu and then asked: "How has Wu Da Ge been lately?"

  "He's fine. This is a letter from him for you." Chen Ke took out the letter from his travel backpack.

  Pang Zi took the envelope, but his gaze fell on the zipper of the travel backpack. This thing that opens with a zip and closes with a pull, especially the sound it makes when opening, caught Pang Zi's attention. It looks much more convenient than the package.

  Although Pang Zi was also a leading figure in the party, he was curious, but still did things properly first. He tore open the envelope and read Wu Xingchen's letter.

  Wu Xingchen was literate, especially after joining the party organization, Chen Ke even opened a special cultural remedial class for Wu Xingchen. In other words, Chen Ke and Wu Xingchen learned these complex characters together. Therefore, the letter Wu Xingchen wrote to Pang Zi was still without any typos.

  "After Wu Dage joined the revolutionary party, he has made great progress. There are many characters in this letter that I don't even recognize." Pang Zi smiled after finishing reading the letter and said, "Two Mr. Chens, Wu Dage says you two are from the revolutionary party, is it true?"

  Chen Kesheng smiled and said, "Wu Xiong is also a revolutionary party now. We are all from the same party."

  Pang Zi heard this and smacked his lips, "Two Mr. Chens, Wu Dage's letter said that he will arrive here in a few days and let you two greet him first. This thousand-mile journey from Shanghai to our place is definitely not just for a simple greeting."

  "There was no one else in the house, so Chen Ke still lowered his voice. 'Brother Wu should have said what we want to do in the letter. I didn't see the letter, but Brother Wu said that Brother Pang is going to make some trouble, and that's why we came all the way here.'"

  "Believe me, I've seen it," said Pang Zi with a smile, "Wu Xiong said that Chen Xinglian, that old rascal, said so. The guy surnamed Chen is not a good thing."

  After hearing these sarcastic words, Chen Tianhua's face changed slightly, while Chen Ke seemed completely unaffected. On the contrary, he asked with great interest: "Brother Pang, have you ever been taken advantage of by scholars before?"

  Chen Ke heard his own voice outside, and Pang Zi said with hatred: "In the year of Gengzi, the court sent some scholars to bury us Yihetuan. That loss was enough. If we are buried twice, my life will be gone."

  "Brother Pang is worried that I came this time to stir you up and cause some trouble, and then I'd be taking advantage of your kindness for nothing?" Chen Ke laughed.

  "What is Mr. Chen doing here? Is he still trying to join us?" Pang Zi asked sharply.

  Chen Kezheng replied calmly, "I came to Hebei Province to hire some people. Why did I come to see the Pang brothers? Wu Xiang said let's take a look, so I came. If the Pang brothers want to stir up trouble, I'd like to advise them not to rush into action."

  After hearing this, Pang Zi was unmoved and refused to respond. Everyone fell silent for a while, before Chen Ke asked, "Brother Pang, do you know if there's an inn at Gao Family Stockade?"

  "Since you're here, I'll naturally arrange for your accommodation. Mr. Chen's words are too polite." As he spoke, Pang Zi's face showed no enthusiasm at all. He picked up the letter and read it again before getting up to lead the two to the side room. The side room only had a kang, so Pang Zi brought over some straw mats and also got them bedding.

  "Two people who seem to be enjoying themselves, just make do with it."

  Chen Ke rubbed his head. These past few days of taking the boat and train, he hadn't been able to take a proper bath. "Brother Pang, is there a place here where I can take a bath?"

  Upon hearing this request, Pang Zidong couldn't help but smile with ill intentions, "Take a bath? There's a river on the east side of the village, you can go there to wash."

  "Thank you." Chen Ke was nonchalant.

  "Since neither of you minds, then please go ahead." After saying that, Pang Zi walked out the door.

  They tidied up the bed a bit, and Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua took some soap and towels. As soon as they walked out of the hospital gate, they saw a group of children gathered at the entrance, staring at them. When they saw the two men come out, the kids scattered in all directions, hiding behind something or standing far away to stare at these two strange adults. In their bright eyes, there was curiosity and puzzlement. After walking east for a short distance, Chen Ke felt someone tugging on his collar from behind. He turned around to see a kid who had already shouted and run away quickly. His little friends were all smiling and happy. The kid hadn't run far when other children tried to come over, but Chen Ke glared at them, and they stood still, not daring to move. However, as soon as Chen Ke turned his back, the kids continued their game after a short while.

  This is what rural life is like, everyone's activity range is just that small. When someone comes from outside, it's a big novelty. Not to mention people who dress and look different. It's not just the kids, many adults are also watching the two outsiders, whispering and evaluating them. Occasionally, some girl or daughter-in-law would come out or walk towards them, catch sight of Chen Ke and his companion, and immediately hide away like they were scared. Chen Ke didn't bother to pay attention to these things, thinking that if he came to the countryside again in the future, this kind of thing wouldn't be uncommon. He might as well get used to it. His attention turned to the scenery around him.

  This is a common village in the north, with yellow earth walls and many houses also having earth walls. The Pang family's house is relatively luxurious, with tiles on the main building, while many other families' roofs are simply thick thatched roofs. From the half-closed gate or low wall, you can see into the courtyard, where corn is often hung in bunches. There are also bundles of sorghum stalks piled against the walls. Occasionally, strings of dried chili peppers add a festive atmosphere to the courtyard. The old wooden door has a door god pasted on it, with colorful paper that has faded and become white from wind and rain, making the image blurry. The air is filled with the smells of various plants, animals, and dust.

  "In this atmosphere of breaking old things, Chen Tianhua said: 'This village looks pretty good.'"

  After hearing this, Chen Ke really didn't know how to respond. To be honest, rural areas are all like this. Not to mention 1905, even in 1995, 90 years later, the northern rural areas that Chen Ke had seen may not have changed much either.

  Spotless wooden floor, snow-white walls, floor-to-ceiling glass doors on the balcony, fabric sofas, European-style double-layer curtains. The city may need it. In rural areas, Chen Ke didn't necessarily think he was very interested in this either. Chen Ke had seen many rural areas, and compared to them, this village at least looked okay. At least in the late afternoon, every household had smoke from cooking, and parents began to urge their children to eat dinner. The children who were just following Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua with great interest, one by one like birds returning to their nests, ran back to their own homes. Perhaps because of the presence of outsiders, many households closed their doors tightly after calling back their children.

  It was already the tenth month, and the evening wind had a cool bite to it. Walking shoulder-to-shoulder on the empty dirt road outside the village, Chen Tianhua looked around to make sure no one was listening before asking: "This Brother Pang seems to have some opinion about us."

  "The Boxers hated foreigners the most. Now there are still Manchu people. It's said that they especially dislike fake foreigners. In those years in Beijing, some people lost their heads just because of a fountain pen. This Brother Pang is already being very polite to us."

  "Is the Boxer Rebellion so fierce in Beijing?" Chen Tianhua was somewhat skeptical of Chen Ke's words.

  "At that time, it was led by some prince. I forgot which one, but the guy represented a group of people who hated the foreign affairs clique to the bone and stirred up such an unremarkable thing."

  Chen Tianhua listened to this explanation, and was silent for a long time. Although he had already gotten used to Chen Ke's way of looking at things, this sharp criticism made Chen Tianhua feel very uncomfortable. "Wen Qing, you seem to never get angry about these injustices?"

  "Of course I was angry, but now I'm not angry anymore. They will inevitably do so, until we liberate China and put these people in jail or execute them as they should be. Besides this, what else can we do?"

  "It can't be helped," Chen Tianhua replied.

  After walking for a while, they finally saw the river that Pang Zi had mentioned. Chen Ke believed that this river must be different from those in later generations, and it absolutely didn't have any industrial wastewater or domestic sewage mixed in it. As expected, just like Chen Ke thought, the riverbed contained a lot of sand, and the water was quite clear too. It was autumn now, and the temperature had dropped by a lot. The water temperature was actually higher than the air temperature. They took a refreshing bath. By then, the sky had completely darkened.

  On the way back to the village, Chen Tianhua asked Chen Ke, "What did you plan to do before Wu Xiong arrived?"

  "Let's conduct a social survey and take a look at the situation in this village. Anyway, we'll have to go to the countryside later, and this step is absolutely necessary." Chen Ke replied.

  "Intellectual, do you really think you can make a name for yourself in the countryside?" Chen Tianhua had accepted Chen Ke's ideology, but he still didn't quite believe in the rural revolution.

  Chen Ke pointed to the vast expanse of blackness around them, "Today when we came here, we saw such a vast area. With such a broad sky and earth, what can't be done? The enemy's strength is weakest in rural areas, but China is made up of countless villages like this one. As long as we can seize the leadership of these villages, what enemy can't be defeated?"

  "How many people are there in a village? How many villages would it take to equal the population of Shanghai? I think it might be better to start an uprising in Shanghai." Chen Tianhua said.

  "The population of Shanghai is huge, and let's not mention anything else. Even if the uprising in Shanghai is successful, what will we eat? Where will the grain come from?"

  "Can I buy it?"

  "Buy? Where does the money come from?"

  "It's about time they stopped relying on taxes."

  "Collect taxes? Whose taxes are we collecting? Why should those rich people pay taxes to us? The Concession is the richest area in Shanghai, if we collect taxes from them, what will foreigners do?" Chen Ke asked with a smile.

  Chen Tianhua fell silent. Chen Ke could understand Chen Tianhua, what kind of benefits can be squeezed out of such a small village? Moreover, this is different from densely populated cities, it really feels so empty here, from Xingtai to here, the mule walked for almost a day. The two of them walked from the village to the riverbank, and they had already walked for more than 20 minutes. Compared to the city, rural areas are like this. On large tracts of land, small gathering points are scattered all over. Each small village has very few people. It is absolutely impossible to support a revolution. Just spreading the message takes a long time, and to fully utilize the human and material resources of these villages, what kind of strong organizational ability is needed? The party had invested so much energy in the grassroots level back then, Chen Ke had read some materials, he could understand it theoretically. After personally arriving in the countryside, Chen Ke also felt a strong sense of powerlessness.

  The two returned to Pangze's place, and the gate was already closed. After knocking on the door, Pangze invited them to have dinner together. Corn flour steamed buns, salted vegetables, corn porridge. There was even less salt in the dishes, let alone oil. Coarse fiber, little oil, little salt. Chen Ke thought of a friend's joke from before, "60-year-old food absolutely meets the standard of healthy eating in the 21st century." Thinking about this, Chen Ke also had some happy expression on his face.

  Pang Zi looked at Chen Ke eating with great relish, looking very happy, and unexpectedly felt a bit surprised. "Mr. Chen seems to be tired of wine and meat, wanting to change his taste." Pang Zi said brightly.

  Chen Ke didn't get angry either, "This kind of food and wine is something that you can never get tired of."

  "I'm afraid I haven't made adequate preparations for your visit, Mr. Chen, and there's no chicken, duck or fish to be had." Pang Zi said with a smile.

  Chen Ke walked through the village and heard a lot of chicken and duck sounds. He suddenly thought of something, "I see that we have a river here, but I don't know if we can catch earthworms and fish to feed the chickens and ducks."

  "Of course we will catch them. Just feeding them is not enough for humans to eat." Pang Zi replied.

  "Brother Pang, actually there is a way to raise earthworms. Mix horse manure and cow manure with straw and rice straw, ferment it like compost, mix it with soil, and then raise the earthworms in it. The earthworms will eat well and grow fast. At least in winter, chickens and ducks will still have enough food to eat. It's indeed much better than feeding them grains."

  These are common breeding techniques in later generations of cross-dressing literature, but Chen Kejian believed that Pang Zi had absolutely never seen them before. It was still easy to fool Pang Zi.

  As Chen Ke said, Pang Zi sneered in disbelief: "Mr. Chen is good at coaxing people, can even raise earthworms?"

  "Brother Pang must have caught earthworms before, so I'll ask him, where is a good place to catch earthworms? Is it muddy ground, grassland, or under trees?" Chen Ke asked.

  Pang Zi thought for a moment, and indeed had not noticed before. Chen Ke ate while discussing with Pang Zi. As the saying goes, "the truth becomes clearer through debate", after a discussion, Pang Zi remembered that it was true as Chen Ke said, where there were rotten places, earthworms were more numerous. Listening to Chen Ke's logical explanation, it didn't seem like he was deceiving people. Pang Zi had always been skeptical of fake foreigners, but after listening for a while, he found himself somewhat believing Chen Ke's words. This was really a strange thing.

  "Has Mr. Chen ever farmed before?" Pang asked.

  "I haven't done it myself, but I have a friend who raised earthworms to feed his chickens and the results were very good."

  As soon as he heard this, Pang Zi immediately confirmed that Chen Ke was definitely talking nonsense. However, as soon as this thought arose, Pang Zi felt hesitant. Pang Zi had also seen the world and knew whether someone was speaking nonsense or not just by looking at their expression. Chen Ke's expression was calm and composed, if he could deceive people like this, it could only be said that Chen Ke was a very sinister guy. The meal was already over quickly, and there wasn't much food to begin with. Chen Ke yawned, "If there's nothing else, Brother Pang, I'll go take a nap first."

  After Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua fell asleep, Pang Zi carefully closed the door and returned to his own room. Just now when Chen Ke went out to take a bath, Pang Zi secretly checked the backpacks left in the room by Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua. Inside, apart from over a dozen books, there was also a pile of small bottles, all tightly sealed. The rest were just some spare clothes. The strange zipper on the bag, no matter how hard Pang Zi tried, he couldn't figure out its principle. But it was really convenient, one pull to open, one pull to close.

  He took out Wu Xingchen's letter and read it again. The letter was indeed written by Wu Xingchen. Pang Zi had invited several old brothers to come over and discuss the matter of "making a scene". The letter mentioned this very thing. In the letter, Wu Xingchen told Pang Zi that Chen Ke was a revolutionary party member with extraordinary insight. Wu Xingchen believed that having Chen Ke participate would be helpful. Pang Zi knew that Wu Xingchen used to dislike fake foreigners just like himself. He couldn't understand why Wu Xingchen had started associating with these people after all these years.

  Pang Ze met Wu Xingchen in the year of Gengzi. At that time, Jing Tingbin was a famous martial artist in Xingtai as a Wu Hu. As a relative, Pang Ze followed Jing Tingbin to practice martial arts. In the year of Gengzi, the Boxers from Hebei entered Beijing, and Pang Ze followed Jing Tingbin to take a look at the excitement. After arriving in Beijing, he also became a skilled fighter and became a small leader.

  At that time, Wu Xingchen was the helmsman of the Tiandihui's direct jurisdiction, but he concealed his identity and also became a leader. He had dozens of people under him and often met with Pang Diao. The two were very compatible, so Wu Xingchen warned Pang Diao not to believe in the imperial court. Later, before the imperial court and foreigners joined forces to suppress the Boxers, Wu Xingchen informed the brothers of various factions to hurry up and run away. Many people did not believe Wu Xingchen's words, but Pang Diao did. As a result, the two separately led their subordinates to escape from Beijing, and soon after, the suppression of the Boxers occurred.

  The two were also "famous outside", and Pang didn't dare to go home, so he followed Wu Xingchen to Shandong and took refuge with Zhao Sanduo. Zhao Sanduo led the Boxers in an uprising, dividing his forces into three routes. Wu Xingchen stayed in Shandong, while Pang followed Zhao Sanduo back to Hebei. Jing Tingbin and Zhao Sanduo "resisted foreign aggression" and proposed "sweep away the foreigners", launching the uprising together. As a key figure, Pang was very active. After the uprising failed, Jing Tingbin was executed by lingchi, and Zhao Sanduo died in prison after a hunger strike. Pang had no choice but to flee to Shandong again.

  Arrived in Shandong, only to find out that the uprising in Shandong had also failed, and Yuan Shikai had brutally suppressed the Shandong uprising. Wu Xingchen's whereabouts were unknown. Pang Zi had no choice but to escape to Cangzhou. It wasn't until this year that he returned to his hometown. He had always been in contact with the surviving brothers on the Shandong side, and suddenly learned a while ago that Wu Xingchen was still alive. After the failure of the Shandong uprising, Wu Xingchen had escaped to Shanghai. Pang Zi then asked the brothers on the Shandong side to inform Wu Xingchen to come here together with him to discuss important matters.

  But unexpectedly, Wu Xingchen actually sent these two foreigners over first. However, Pang Zi believed that Wu Xingchen should not have surrendered to the foreigners. "Forget it, anyway according to the letter, Brother Wu will arrive in two days. We'll talk about it then." Thinking of this, Pang Zi blew out the candle and went to sleep.

  The 48th