Chapter 54

  Under the leadership of Chen Ke in the gatehouse, they met with Mr. Gu Hongming and had a cordial conversation with the host. The meeting of the Shanghai Party branch was being held enthusiastically. The meeting had been going on for half an hour, but the atmosphere at the party meeting did not become more enthusiastic as the discussion progressed, on the contrary, a depressing mood enveloped the conference room.

  The current Shanghai party branch has five members left, including Qi Hui, Hua Xiongmao, You Ou, He Zudao and Qin Wuan. Chen Ke's original intention is also very clear, hoping that comrades can give full play to their subjective initiative and complete the social survey work. Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua did not just drop their responsibilities and leave. Before leaving, the two completed their tasks and clearly assigned tasks to members of the Huangpu Book Society. Everyone also expressed no problem. At least when the two left, there was no problem on the surface.

  You Yun has lectured to these people from Huangpu Book Society, Qi Hui Shen has been in charge of coordinating the affairs of the book society, and Hua Xiong Mao is responsible for site work. Everyone was still cooperating very happily at first. But the work became more and more difficult. The most critical thing is how to analyze the obtained data.

  "How to talk to the common people is very important. It's not just about being polite." Hua Xiongmao has the most experience in this regard, unfortunately, he is now tightly bound to the construction site, and the first dormitory building will be completed soon. Except for the necessary party meetings, Hua Xiongmao moved to live on the construction site.

  "You should tell this to the team members, it's no use telling me. I'd like to go to the front line myself, but I really can't get away." Qi Hui was under a lot of pressure, and a red pimple appeared on his chin. It was clear that he was suffering from a fiery temper. "Let Wen Qing stay in Shanghai and take charge."

  "Wen Qing had already finished writing his report. The key now is to let the students go and investigate personally." Hua Xiongmao was also depressed, Chen Ke didn't like playing "clever tricks", but he couldn't help leaving a set of his own manuscript. Regarding the textile problems at the end of the Qing dynasty, Chen Ke had discussed it many times on the 21st century forum before. Based on the content of those discussion posts, Chen Ke wrote a report.

  At the end of the Qing dynasty, with the development of China's textile industry, the demand for cotton increased rapidly. However, small-scale farmers were extremely insensitive to market changes. No matter how high the price of cotton was, scattered farmers cultivating small plots of land could not possibly switch to producing cotton. Farmers who planted grain could hardly guarantee a warm meal, let alone care about the issue of cotton.

  Landlords who own a large amount of land are even less likely to increase the area for planting cotton. The reasons for this are more complicated. Simply put, the ultimate goal of landlords is to increase their own land ownership. Generally speaking, the best way for landlords to increase their land is to hoard grain and wait for years of disaster, when they can expand their land by buying out farmers who lack food. Farmers will not easily sell their land unless they are desperate. Farmers will only reluctantly sell their land in order to survive. Planting cotton absolutely cannot achieve this effect. Grain can be eaten, what's the use of piling up a heap of cotton?

  Moreover, the merger itself may not necessarily achieve better economic results. The expansion of land area means an increase in tax payments. Moreover, the small-scale peasant economy directly leads to the dispersion of land. The landlord's land is not all connected together, but rather scattered throughout the vast rural areas. These realistic situations have led to the landlords being unable to develop and utilize their land more effectively. On the contrary, collecting rent is most suitable for this situation.

  "What one man can do, dozens of people can't." Qi Hui said with a sigh. He had read the report and Chen Ke's analysis was very detailed, his conclusions were quite convincing. Qi Hui actually had doubts, no matter how he looked at Chen Ke, he didn't seem like someone who had been to rural areas before, but his views on rural areas were quite insightful.

  This lengthy thesis analyzes many things, and comrades within the party have all read it. However, Hu Xiongmao had spent a few years in the countryside and was very much in favor of Chen Ke's work. But while they may be in favor, the comrades at Huangpu Book Society are not Chen Ke, and when they try to write something like this, who knows how long it will take? The current social survey is just like that - just letting these people collect data on the changes in Shanghai's cotton prices is already quite difficult. Sending people out to gather information for six or seven days results in fragmented and repetitive data, with some prices being completely off the mark. Just looking at the 1905 cotton price, they managed to collect data with differences of over two times.

  "How can these people negotiate with businessmen? They can't even ask for a clear price." Qi Hui deep was in charge of data collation. Looking at all this, he just felt dizzy. According to plan, Qi Hui deep collected as many textile prices from various years as possible. The greatest help in this matter did not come from the students running around on the streets, but from Wang Bin's statistical yearbook of concessions.

  "What does the Wen Qing want us to do? Does it want us to make fools of ourselves?" Qi Hui even had such thoughts when comparing the miscellaneous data collected by Huangpu Book Club with the statistical yearbook of the concession.

  You Yun took charge of drug production, and with the recent sales boom, she didn't participate in the social survey. "I said, you two shouldn't complain here either. Why do Wenqing want to organize a social survey?"

  "It's still not clear about China's current situation." Qi Hui Shen replied in a bad tone.

  "But I remember Wen Qing saying that the purpose of conducting social surveys is to expand the party's membership, right?"

  "Huh?" The gazes of the other comrades fell on You Yun's face at the same time.

  "Conducting social surveys is mainly to find out which comrades can believe in the people's revolution. Before Wen Qing left, I didn't know how many of these people could be absorbed into our organization. That's why we need to conduct social surveys. Looking at it now, Wen Qing's plan is clearly not working. Should we change methods?"

  No one responded after hearing You Yun's words. This was the first time someone had directly and bluntly stated that Chen Ke's approach was not suitable. Everyone couldn't fully accept this small shock for a while.

  "What's going on with Sister You?" He Zu asked first. This child had been very respectful and supportive of You Yun since he knew she was involved in medicine.

  What's the point of asking, anyway? Yu continued, "Since those people aren't cooperative, we can't expect them to have a cultured perspective. Now let's just focus on this report by Wen Qing and reorganize our social survey around it. Let those people realize that the problems pointed out by Wen Qing are the reasons for the current high prices of textiles. This way is faster."

  This suggestion sounds pretty good, and You Yun has no objection to Chen Ke's meaning. According to the new plan, it can also play a role in screening party members.

  Look, some of you are already convinced. Yu Yun took the opportunity to drive the point home: "Let's not even talk about those people, even among us party members, who can write a report as good as this one by the literary youth? Since no one can write it, let's see who can understand it first. A radish that's quick to be pulled out of the mud doesn't need to be washed, once it's in the basket, it's a vegetable."

  Although this statement is reasonable, it has a helpless tone. Hua Xiongmao did not strongly oppose it. However, Qi Huishen could not accept it. Qi Huishen knew that Chen Ke hoped to gather a large number of comrades who could recognize the significance of people's revolution. Didn't Chen Tianhua understand the significance of people's revolution? The original intention of this social survey was also to let young people inclined to revolution discover contradictions through analysis and investigation, and then effectively expand party members. You Xun's statement has some reason, but it is not what Chen Ke and Qi Huishen originally hoped for.

  Qizui didn't speak, and Huaxiongmao also refused to comment. The party fell into an awkward silence. It was Hezudao who broke the silence again. "Let me say a few words."

  Looking at He Zuodao, who was slightly intimidated, You Xuan gave him an encouraging smile. He Zuodao's delicate little face turned slightly red, and his chest puffed out.

  "I followed Wenqing for a reason that everyone knows. Mr. Wenqing and Sister Youhuan have saved my life, which is one of the reasons I must follow them. Since joining the party, I feel that Wenqing's words are understandable and make sense. However, if you ask me to think of these things myself, I won't be able to come up with them in this lifetime. Mr. Wenqing has always thought that he isn't anything special. He believes that what he can do, we can also do. But I think that while we may not be able to do it now, we will be able to in the future. For now, as long as we can find people like me who understand Mr. Wenqing's words and are willing to follow him, that would be great."

  He Zuodao has always been portrayed as a good boy who never expresses his own opinions. Today's speech is already very proactive, although everyone thinks that He Zuodao only said this to support You Xizhong.

  The People's Party's internal democracy can be said to be the strongest among all parties now, but any organization will have a so-called "seniority" problem. This has nothing to do with party discipline, but is a very realistic human nature. He Zuodao, since he didn't have any heavyweight performances before, his current speech cannot immediately play a leading role either. However, the atmosphere of internal democracy has been built for several months, and everyone has started thinking about He Zuodao's words. The fact that people pay such attention to He Zuodao, who is relatively weak in position, is enough to prove that Chen Ke's efforts have played a significant role.

  Among the people's party, He Zuodao's position is not "the lowest", Qin Wu'an's qualifications are even weaker. Seeing He Zuodao's statement, Qin Wu'an was also encouraged, "I request to speak," he said.

  Seeing Qi Hui nodding deeply as the chairman of this meeting, Qin Wu'an said: "Does everyone think I'm still a qualified party member?"

  Qizhishen was a very intelligent person, and upon hearing this remark, he already knew what Qin Wuan meant. Indeed, as Qizhishen had anticipated, Qin Wuan supported He Zudao's viewpoint, stating that what was needed now were party members who were qualified to obey the Party discipline, rather than revolutionary talents like Chen Ke. You Yun's suggestion was very reasonable.

  Qī Huìshēn glanced at Huá Xióngmào, who also happened to glance over. Both of their gazes contained some helplessness. Originally, Qī Huìshēn's idea was that he and Huá Xióngmào would set the tone for this matter, and then proceed according to this tone. However, in the current situation, following the organizational discipline of the People's Party, the minority must obey the majority. Now it is clearly three to two, and if a vote were held, Yóu Ou's new plan would surely win.

  For the possible failure of the vote, Qi Hui still doesn't care much. The problem is that if the resolution passes, it would completely overturn Chen Ke's original plan. Moreover, Chen Ke's plan at the time was not the result of a vote, but just his opinion. So once the new resolution passes, this becomes the decision of the party organization. According to the discipline of the People's Party established by Chen Ke himself, even if Chen Ke returns to Shanghai and does not conduct a new discussion and vote within the party, he must obey this resolution. Regarding this matter, Qi Hui feels an inexplicable sense of injustice.

  Qī Huìshēn is now in a dilemma. If he insists on executing the established policy towards Chen Ke, he will first face an unworkable situation. The People's Party has never encountered such a situation before. With Chen Ke, Chen Tianhua and Wu Xingchen all leaving Shanghai at the same time, Qī Huìshēn and Huá Xióngmào are considered the "two giants" within the party. However, in terms of seniority and prestige, they cannot be considered the second-in-command. Yóu Suí is not much worse than them. If Qī Huìshēn insists that the original plan was made by Chen Ke, he will inevitably be suspected of "using a tiger's might to intimidate others". He has always been mindful of the subtle rivalry between him and Huá Xióngmào. Personal emotions are hard to verify. It is not good to grasp at shadows. Moreover, although Chen Ke did have such plans, party discipline is repeatedly emphasized as the most important thing, and it was also established by Chen Ke. If someone mentions this, Qī Huìshēn will immediately fall into a self-contradictory situation.

  Just as Qi Hui was deep in thought, he heard You Yun say: "Then let's put this issue to a vote." This was the last thing Qi Hui wanted to hear, but according to organizational discipline, since You Yun had proposed a vote, as long as one more person agreed, they would have to hold a vote. Sure enough, He Zuodao supported You Yun's proposal: "I agree to put it to a vote."

  You Yun, He Zuodao and Qin Wuan all raised their hands in agreement. Hua Xiongmao remained silent for a long time before slowly raising his hand as well. In the end, the Shanghai party organization passed You Yun's proposal with an overwhelming advantage of four to one.

  Chen Ke was unaware that the first truly democratic decision within the People's Party had been born at this time. Of course, even if Chen Ke knew, he would not be angry at all. At this time, Chen Ke, Chen Tianhua and Gu Hongming were talking happily. Gu Hongming was thin and had a lot of wrinkles on his face, but now he looked radiant with joy. He understood Latin and after listening to Chen Ke's detailed explanation of the standard Chinese phonetic alphabet, Mr. Gu was overjoyed. He started discussing the promotion of Chinese phonetics with Chen Ke. Of course, promoting Chinese phonetics wasn't a problem at all, it was just a matter of how to promote it. The Imperial University was both the highest educational institution in the country and the highest education administrative agency, overseeing schools in various provinces. As a teacher, Mr. Gu naturally had ways to do so. Chen Ke could understand Mr. Gu's enthusiasm, but he didn't have any illusions about the effect of promoting Chinese phonetics. The promotion of Chinese phonetics in New China relied on the improvement of the compulsory education system. Even so, without the development of radio and television, and the huge demand for text input in the internet age, Chinese phonetics would not have had such a profound impact.

  Of course, Chen Ke wouldn't be foolish enough to say such things out loud. He just calmly accommodated Mr. Gu Hongming's speech. Later, the topic gradually shifted from pronunciation to translation, and Chen Ke firmly supported using Latin etymology as the basis for translating proper nouns. A key example is "Mediterranean". For Chinese people, this term can be imagined as a sea in the middle of the land, and in Latin, the word "Mediterranean" is also composed of two roots, "middle earth" and "ocean". Chen Ke had read some articles that said some show-off "public intellectuals" foolishly loved phonetic translation, and for foreign proper nouns, they completely followed phonetic translation, turning the exquisite translation of "Mediterranean" into a term consisting of a string of strange-sounding Chinese characters. Chen Ke strongly opposed this.

  Mr. Gu Hongming was very supportive of Chen Ke's views, and he himself was a staunch supporter of traditional culture. The topic of conversation turned to Chen Ke's book again. Mr. Gu did not mince words and directly pointed out the places where Chen Ke's book was unreasonable. As for the unrigorous parts of the book, Mr. Gu explicitly stated that due to the large number of unreasonable contents, a "correction" should be written. The magnitude of this project was well understood by Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua. Chen Ke actually didn't read many history books. He could fall asleep while reading "Zizhi Tongjian". Chen Tianhua was in charge of sorting out historical materials during the writing process of this book, and he had the most say in the matter. The two of them discussed this issue enthusiastically, and Chen Ke almost fell asleep listening to them. In the end, they came up with a result, which was Mr. Gu's suggestion to establish a special compilation group among the students of Beijing University to perfect the book. Chen Tianhua was also moved by Mr. Gu's ability to give Chen Ke face.

  "Wen Qing, Mr. Yan sent over five sets of your books in one breath, and I placed three sets in the library. As soon as they were put away, they were borrowed out completely. This time, I invited you to come over and give a lecture. I wonder if Wen Qing is willing."

  It's a great honor to be able to give a lecture at the predecessor of Peking University, Jingshi University. Chen Ke didn't feel happy and excited, on the contrary, he felt a little nervous. If it was about revolutionary theory, Chen Ke wasn't afraid. If it was about social structure or economic operation, Chen Ke also wasn't afraid. He worried that if students asked him questions about historical issues, his own poor knowledge of history would be exposed. However, the purpose of coming to Beijing was to develop comrades, and lectures were a great platform. Chen Ke plucked up the courage to agree.

  "So how will it start tomorrow?" Mr. Guo asked.

  "I will follow Mr. Guo's arrangements." Chen Ke replied.

  The 54th