Dear readers, Crimson here solemnly announces that from now on, the daily update time will be moved from 12:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Thank you all for reading. ^^

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As the Spring Festival approached, the liveliness in Anhui Province far exceeded that of previous years. This was especially true in the old base areas, where the atmosphere was extraordinary. Batches of New Year's goods were transported into the cities, where various factories then hauled them away to distribute to their workers. Workers carried large and small bags back home. Under the People's Party's industrial system, the number of workers who had transitioned to urban residency had reached over twenty thousand. During the agricultural slack season, temporary workers employed in factories or on construction sites could double that number. And this only included those who could be fully classified as "industrial workers." The laborers in the various farms and livestock farms established by the People's Party could actually be called "agricultural workers," but this portion of the labor force had not yet been included in the base area's worker statistics.

This was a change of epoch-making significance. When capitalist industry rose, it was spontaneous in nature, engaging in industry for profit. A system that completely combined industry with a social system—in this spacetime, the People's Party's base area was a pioneer. The National Defense Science and Industry Commission possessed the largest industrial system. As the Chairwoman of the Commission, You Gou never imagined she could be this busy. Spring Festival benefits, year-end bonuses, and Spring Festival gala activities for tens of thousands of people. Then there was the scheduling for the Spring Festival: shifts, time off, and duty rosters for various departments. While You Gou didn't need to arrange every detail personally, the various factories had no experience with this. Telling everyone specifically what to arrange still required You Gou to step in.

Different enterprises had different situations, so you couldn't just apply a one-size-fits-all approach. To get even more detailed, workers were returning to their rural homes to visit relatives, and everyone had to rush back after the Lantern Festival. Leaving aside other matters, during the "Spring Festival travel rush," the fleets on the various waterways couldn't rest at all. It was only now that You Gou understood just how necessary it was to have a complete plan. The shipping department had established a work-rest schedule from its inception. Work two days, rest one day, but there were absolutely no standard holidays. The more it was this kind of holiday, the more everyone had to be on duty.

As one of Chen Ke's die-hard supporters and one of his political pillars, You Gou no longer had her previous optimistic praise for this. Having finally finished arranging the work, You Gou went directly to find He Zudao. The military system where He Zudao worked didn't really have a Spring Festival; the various troops were stationed in different places to begin with, and while the Military Commission could usually stay at the base headquarters, during such important festivals, they instead had to go out to various locations to comfort the troops. You Gou made an appointment to talk with He Zudao before he set off. If it were anyone else, He Zudao might not necessarily have been willing to squeeze out his precious time. But for You Gou, He Zudao did his utmost and finally managed to rush to You Gou's residence in the evening.

As soon as he entered You Gou's house, he smelled the scent of alcohol and meat. The People's Party's supply system included "alcoholic beverages," but the quota for each person was very low. Each person only got one bottle of wine a year. Moreover, this alcohol supply could be exchanged for other things. He Zudao never expected that You Gou would actually cash in this quota.

"Zudao, come, drink with Big Sister," You Gou said heartily.

If it were before, He Zudao would definitely have been flustered. Now, He Zudao responded calmly, took off his military greatcoat and cap first. After hanging up his clothes, he washed his hands, then sat opposite You Gou and began to drink.

After three rounds of drinks, You Gou exhaled. "Zudao, you also participated in the last training session. What's your take on the stuff Wen Qing said?"

"I don't have any take on it, just do the work honestly," He Zudao replied with a smile.

You Gou glared at He Zudao. In her eyes, He Zudao was becoming more and more like Chen Ke in some ways, such as his seemingly heartless answer just now. Yes, everyone knew that you only get results if you do the work, but You Gou felt like she couldn't swallow this breath. She said angrily, "Wen Qing won't tell us anything. We've known each other for more than two years, and he's just been fobbing us off with so much nonsense in between, right? He always says, 'These things rely on everyone, I trust the comrades.' In reality, which of these things is he not fully aware of? He just coaxes us like children!"

He Zudao didn't comfort You Gou. He asked very seriously, "Sister You Gou, let me ask you. If Chairman Chen had told us everything back when he first met us, do you think we could have reached this step today?"

You Gou was instantly choked off. She hugged her arms across her chest and remained silent in contemplation. After a long while, You Gou replied sullenly, "If he had said it, at least we could have avoided many detours, right?"

"If Chairman Chen had said it back then, we absolutely wouldn't have reached where we are today." He Zudao bluntly pushed You Gou's words back. "No need to talk about too long ago. Just consider when we first arrived at the base area and encountered the flood. How many people stayed willingly? And how many stayed only because they couldn't leave? At that time, Sister You Gou, you led the team to save people personally. You should know better than anyone, right?"

You Gou pursued her lips and didn't make a sound. You Gou knew very well how difficult this revolutionary road was and how many hardships they had gone through. Even if it was out of utter hatred for the old era, and although You Gou had never once thought of leaving the team, when she thought of her life as the eldest young miss at home, You Gou absolutely couldn't say she hadn't missed it.

"If we hadn't experienced so much, if everyone hadn't suffered so much hardship and endured so much sin, we simply wouldn't have the opportunity to understand the things Chairman Chen tells us," He Zudao said to You Gou very seriously, looking into her eyes.

You Gou really didn't like He Zudao's attitude. Her purpose in inviting He Zudao to dinner was to find someone to vent the gloom in her heart to, and incidentally to scold Chen Ke for being dishonest together. She never expected He Zudao to follow Chen Ke so firmly. You Gou sneered, "You, the Great Commissar, are doing your political work on me now."

He Zudao wasn't affected by You Gou's words at all. He continued in a steady tone, "Sister You Gou, precisely because I do political work, I feel that what Chairman Chen did wasn't wrong at all. He was also forced not to tell everyone these things. When he felt he could tell everyone, didn't he reveal everything?"

"Then why didn't he say it before?" This was the point You Gou couldn't accept the most.

"Because before, everyone couldn't count as a true People's Party member yet." He Zudao's answer was very straightforward.

"What?!" You Gou never imagined He Zudao would say such a thing. She jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. You Gou pointed her left finger at He Zudao, her long, narrow phoenix eyes almost glaring round.

He Zudao looked at You Gou very calmly. "None of us were qualified Party members back then. I think Chairman Chen not speaking then was for our own good."

You Gou was so angry she laughed coldly. "Very good, Zudao. Well said. You've really grown up!"

"Sister You Gou, as a matter of self-cultivation for a Party member, the first thing is to seek truth from facts, right?" He Zudao asked.

You Gou never lost her composure like this usually. She quickly realized that being so agitated wasn't appropriate. Coupled with He Zudao's calm attitude, You Gou quickly recovered her usual coolness. She sat back down, calmed her emotions, and then replied, "That's right. Indeed, we must seek truth from facts."

"Then what is the end point of life?" He Zudao continued to ask.

"This..." You Gou couldn't answer for a moment.

"The end point of life is death," He Zudao gave the answer.

Hearing He Zudao state the cruel fact in a calm tone, You Gou felt her breathing pause involuntarily. An inexplicable fear suddenly surrounded You Gou. She tried to refute He Zudao's words but found she couldn't come up with a better argument.

"So how long is our life? The Buddhists put it well: life is between breaths. When our troops fight, heaven knows where a bullet might fly from and hit you. Heaven knows when an artillery shell might fly over and blow you to death. With the standard of that Beiyang Army bunch, most of the bullets that hit you weren't aimed at you originally. You breathe in this breath, and if you can't breathe it out, you're dead. I've seen too many such things on the battlefield." He Zudao's voice was calm and gentle. Just listening to his tone, one couldn't imagine that He Zudao had passed through a hail of bullets many times and brushed past death many times.

You Gou originally had a feeling about He Zudao, that he was her little brother. Listening to He Zudao describe death so simply and calmly, You Gou suddenly realized that this young man sitting opposite her, who was younger than her, had unknowingly grown into a man. She couldn't help but frown again.

"Sister You Gou, only after experiencing these things more did I start to understand Chairman Chen. Because Chairman Chen is a true soldier. As a soldier, if before the battle you only think about achieving a complete victory, about establishing great merit, about wearing red and flowers and parading on a horse after the war—then I won't say anything else, but when the charge bugle sounds, he definitely won't be able to charge out. Those who can charge out are those comrades who think of nothing, who have trained countless times on ordinary days, and who just prick up their ears waiting to hear the charge bugle sound before the charge." Speaking of this, He Zudao's voice became a bit agitated.

"Before the charge, the enemy's artillery rumbles. When attacking a city, you can see the enemy's rifles densely pointed at you. What do you do? If you charge up stupidly, you're absolutely dead. So usually, military training—lying down, taking cover, crawling forward, throwing grenades, shooting—not a single one can be missing. Sweat more in peace, bleed less in war. This isn't a slogan; this is a fact proven by human lives."

You Gou listened quietly. Although she wasn't quite sure why He Zudao was telling her these purely military matters, You Gou seemed to see the cruelty of the battlefield with her own eyes following He Zudao's narration.

"Usually trained in a hundred ways, mistakes will still be made on the battlefield. Gripping the grenade, pulling the string, throwing. The throwing distance requirement is at least nineteen meters. If you don't reach this distance, you might be blown up by the grenade you threw yourself. Throwing postures include standing, squatting, and lying down. Under various postures, this set of throwing movements has been experimented with countless times and then summarized. How to swing the hand, how to support the body, how to exert force. Before combat, these basic combat skills have to be practiced hundreds of times, until you don't even have to think about it. Even so, every time we clean up the battlefield, we can find quite a few grenades that haven't had their strings pulled at all. Don't look at how many times they trained before the war; when the fighting really starts, the soldiers get anxious and forget. They take out the grenade and throw it without pulling the string."

Hearing He Zudao speak interestingly, You Gou couldn't help but chuckle. This was the first time she had smiled since sitting down to eat.

"Sister You Gou, the ones I'm talking about are the true soldiers. The kind of soldiers who never think about being combat heroes, nor about wearing red and flowers after the war. There are some comrades in the troops who usually have extremely loud voices and brag about themselves to the skies. Listening to them, they can take care of a squad or even a platoon of enemies alone. But then, once on the battlefield, it's these people—when it's time to charge, they always fall behind, and some people can't even charge out at all. During the march, they always run the slowest. Encountering enemy activity, they are either at a loss or immediately hide in a safe place. In terms of combat results, they always have the fewest. But when cleaning up the battlefield, they violate discipline the most. When it comes time to evaluate merit, look at how energetic they get; they want to snatch even the tiniest bit of credit. On the contrary, those comrades with outstanding war exploits don't like to make a sound at this time."

"Zudao, are you saying I am this kind of person?" You Gou finally heard some flavor in it.

He Zudao shook his head. "Sister You Gou, I don't think you are this kind of person. But I feel there are some things you haven't thought through right now. From my observation of the soldiers, and from my reflection on myself, I feel that most people do things for a purpose. But, once there is a purpose one hopes to achieve, one often deviates from the attitude of seeking truth from facts and becomes unobjective. Just like military production—everyone sets processes, sets systems, and has layers of inspections. Why is this? Because this process, this system itself can produce qualified parts to the greatest extent. If a worker processing parts only thinks 'every part I make must be a qualified product,' instead of focusing on the operation of every step, focusing on the dimensions of every part before processing, can he produce a qualified part? Whether a qualified part is produced has nothing to do with what he thinks, but rather how he does it determines whether the part can be qualified. Even putting all one's energy into doing the work, mistakes will still be made. If one's brain is only filled with the desired result, then I can say, there is no one who won't make mistakes."

Product quality issues were a huge headache for You Gou. Hearing He Zudao speak like this, You Gou instantly felt a sense of finding a kindred spirit. No wonder Chen Ke paid so much attention to the construction of political commissars. He Zudao growing from a child-like youth to his current level was truly beyond You Gou's expectations.

"Sister You Gou, when Chairman Chen hadn't told everyone these things, we still built up our current achievements. To have the current results, we indeed relied on Chairman Chen's wise leadership. However, without so much work, without detailed research into the laws of things themselves, relying only on that seemingly magnificent blueprint, we were destined not to achieve the current extent. Chairman Chen was afraid everyone would go astray, so he kept daring not to say too much. What he told us is actually the true method of doing things: that is, through doing things time and again, through studying and understanding the laws of things themselves, and acting according to these laws, can we achieve our goals. Thinking only of the result is not only useless but also greatly harmful. Of all our combat heroes who wear red and flowers and parade on horses, not a single one is a soldier who thought about these things beforehand. Those boasting comrades, we are going to clear them all out of the troops in this major demobilization. They are a scourge in the troops."

You Gou felt very unhappy listening to the last paragraph. But by this time, she had understood what He Zudao's purpose was in circling around such a big loop. "Zudao, do you mean to say that I don't need to care about what Wen Qing said, just do my own work well?"

He Zudao shook his head, however. He stared at You Gou's eyes extremely earnestly and said seriously, "Sister You Gou, you have very, very excellent qualities. When you do many things, you don't have that many thoughts at all. You can really go all out, not stopping until you reach your goal. But in my view, this is like a kind of instinct. It's just that you are naturally excellent; in these aspects, you can instinctively conform to the objective laws of things. However, you lack a kind of self-awareness. You lack the effort to transform your own thinking according to the objective laws of things. And this is the biggest difference between you, me, and Chairman Chen. Chairman Chen is transforming himself every moment. He always forces himself to face reality, recognize reality, and transform reality. On this point, Chairman Chen is a true People's Party member, and we are all far behind."

You Gou had absolutely no anger towards He Zudao anymore. He Zudao's words explained many things You Gou originally hadn't seen clearly. However, from this brand-new angle, You Gou suddenly discovered she had never truly seen Chen Ke clearly, nor had she ever understood Chen Ke. Chen Ke, who worked together, struggled together, and experienced all kinds of hardships and difficulties together with them, seemed like a stranger. This made You Gou feel a sense of loss. Her gaze lowered, but she turned a blind eye to what entered her vision. The thousands of thoughts churning in her heart couldn't sort out a clear train of thought. After a long while, You Gou whispered, "Why did Wen Qing never tell us this?"

He Zudao felt very helpless. From his perspective, Chen Ke had long since stated all of this clearly. Although he didn't want to belittle the Sister You Gou he admired at all, He Zudao couldn't help but think that perhaps this was a problem of a revolutionary's consciousness. The reason You Gou participated in the revolution was her strong dissatisfaction with the old era and her great determination to establish her own achievements. While Chen Ke's reason for launching the revolution was built upon broad knowledge, a profound recognition of objective laws, and a strong belief in the people's revolution and the socialist system itself. The gap between the two was indeed somewhat too large.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

You Gou was silent for a long time again. When she raised her head again, the confusion and disappointment in her eyes had dissipated quite a bit. "Zudao, I know Wen Qing is extremely loyal to the revolutionary cause, and Wen Qing is equally open-hearted with us. Although I can't catch up to Wen Qing's level right now, I don't want to keep being left behind by him like this. Zudao, I want you to help me. Not to speak of reaching Wen Qing's level, at least I have to get to your level. Okay?"

He Zudao immediately felt much more relaxed in his heart. You Gou was indeed not the kind of person unwilling to progress. Having worked as a commissar for so long, He Zudao's breadth of mind and sophistication had opened up quite a bit. He didn't dare tell You Gou that usually, when He Zudao had things he couldn't understand, he always ran to find Chen Ke to talk. Precisely because of this, He Zudao himself could make such progress. He Zudao knew that if he spoke so "honestly," the result would just be creating new misunderstandings and unhappiness for no reason.

He nodded. "Sister You Gou, let's schedule a time in advance."

"No need to schedule then, just say some things you think are the most important right now. You're so busy, and I won't have time at any moment either," You Gou laughed.

"The most important? I feel it's to complete the things one hasn't finished oneself. Go into battle with a light pack, and absolutely don't think about things that don't belong to you."

"How so?"

"Sister You Gou, I feel there are some things you haven't let go of right now. This leads to your motives not being pure. One part of your purpose in participating in the revolution is to prove to your previous social relations that you can accomplish great things. But revolution is a cause that looks forward. Revolution itself is to build a brand-new world, not to prove to the old world that we can occupy high positions."

"Zudao, are you saying my purpose in participating in the revolution is to prove to my parents that I have ability?"

......

......

The originally oppressive atmosphere in the room vanished unknowingly. He Zudao and You Gou discussed eagerly. Then they found the food had gone cold, so they heated it up again. Everyone ate and talked, talking about revolution, talking about ideology, and even slowly talking about the future, and they both felt very happy.

It was getting late. He Zudao and You Gou both still had mountains of work the next day, so the conversation ended at ten o'clock. The two agreed to continue talking after He Zudao returned. When You Gou saw He Zudao to the gate of the residential compound, He Zudao spoke somewhat hesitantly, "Sister You Gou, I think you can actually talk more with Chairman Chen. In this regard, his understanding is much deeper than mine."

You Gou laughed, "Zudao, are you unwilling to talk to me? Do you think my consciousness is low?"

"Absolutely not," He Zudao replied quickly. All night, this was the first time He Zudao felt flustered.

"Then I'll make do with you for now. Wen Qing is busy like that; sometimes I really don't have the heart to disturb him," You Gou sighed.

"Then let's meet when we have time." In the night, He Zudao's blushing face wasn't seen by You Gou.

"Okay, it's a deal. You hurry back, be careful on the road," You Gou laughed.

He Zudao stood still. You Gou didn't know what else He Zudao wanted to say. But she saw He Zudao suddenly extend his hand. You Gou grasped He Zudao's palm.

The weather was already very cold, but both of their palms were hot. After shaking You Gou's hand firmly a few times—a hand that had grown many calluses and whose skin could be said to be somewhat rough—He Zudao let go. He seriously gave You Gou a military salute. "Sister You Gou, goodbye."

"Zudao, goodbye."

He Zudao left with large strides.

Returning to her room, You Gou finished tidying up and lay on the bed. The feeling of complete relaxation made You Gou feel extremely comfortable. The various feelings of dissatisfaction and loss from these past days had kept her mood quite low. It was only today that You Gou let go of this feeling. Recalling the blueprint of the future Chen Ke had spoken of again, You Gou suddenly felt that blueprint no longer had that eerie feeling she first heard. Thinking about it carefully, that future society actually really had a majestic yet delicate beauty. And the words He Zudao said tonight floated in You Gou's mind again: "A true revolutionary must be a person liberated from the old system and old society. That is a person who has liberated themselves and is then able to create a new world."

"Wen Qing, are you really a person who has liberated himself?" You Gou thought. Recalling the clumsy things Chen Ke did when she first met him, You Gou suddenly felt it was very laughable. Then, You Gou suddenly fell asleep.

Chen Ke didn't consider himself a person who had completely liberated himself. He knew deeply that his attitude of being incompatible with the old system and old society was merely because Chen Ke was fundamentally a person living in the future. As for liberating himself, Chen Ke felt that "The road ahead is long and has no ending; I will seek with my will unbending." Leaving others aside, just Chen Ke's own household affairs made him feel somewhat difficult to cope with.

After He Qian moved into Chen Ke's house, Chen Ke moved out to live. So when He Ying asked Chen Ke to definitely go home tonight, Chen Ke knew that going back this time would definitely mean facing some difficult problems. Sure enough, as soon as he got home, He Qian requested Chen Ke to release Sun Yongsheng.

Chen Ke scratched his head subconsciously. This was a rare action for him. "I say, Auntie, when we caught Sun Yongsheng, it wasn't because I had any personal feud with Sun Yongsheng. He was captured during the fighting. Since it's official business, I can't handle releasing Sun Yongsheng as a private matter."

He Qian could understand the logic in these words, but she completely couldn't accept the fact within them.

"Chairman Chen, you are the Chairman of the Anhui People's Government. In Anhui, you are the emperor. You've caught these several hundred Beiyang officers; if you release Yongsheng, there's no loss. Could it be that anyone dares to gossip about you?" He Qian simply used a method of goading.

He Ying's expression changed. Although she felt sorry for her aunt, He Ying's stance was naturally with Chen Ke. He Ying also saw clearly He Qian's goading method.

Chen Ke didn't get angry. He felt that He Qian doing this was completely within the range of what could be understood and accepted. If such a smart girl like He Qian didn't do this, it might have made Chen Ke feel strange.

"Public business is public business, private business is private business. In our Anhui People's Government, public and private are separated very clearly. Auntie, I can't do this for you." Chen Ke's answer was extremely crisp.

"Chairman Chen, then how much money do I need to redeem Yongsheng back?" He Qian changed to another tactic.

"We have our own arrangements for captives. We are not considering the issue of private redemption right now." Chen Ke gave a clear reply.

"Then you can at least let Yongsheng move out first, right?" He Qian lowered her demands.

"Prisoners of war must live in the POW camp."

"Then can you let me move in to be with Yongsheng?"

"Only prisoners of war can live in the POW camp."

After all attempts failed, He Qian's eyes suddenly reddened and she began to cry. Chen Ke stood up without a word. "Auntie, I've explained all the requirements to you clearly. I have things to do tonight, so I'm leaving first." Disregarding what reaction He Qian might have, Chen Ke hurriedly left the house and headed towards his office.

Upon entering the office, he saw Qi Huishen already waiting there. "Chairman Chen, Yuan Shikai has sent someone again."

"Oh? Have they brought the person?" Chen Ke asked.

Qi Huishen's expression was like a smile yet not a smile; it seemed he had encountered something very strange. "The person was brought, but this time Yuan Shikai is a bit strange. The person he sent actually brought us a message. It's about the Manchu Qing Ministry of Army. The message says the Ministry of Army has formulated a strategy to fight other revolutionary parties first and finally attack the base area."

Both Chen Ke and Qi Huishen had access to intelligence transmitted back from the Beijing intelligence station. Both knew of this Manchu Qing strategy. But for Yuan Shikai to show goodwill like this was really a bit bizarre.

"It seems Yuan Shikai really expressed sincerity in order to get us to release people," Chen Ke said to Qi Huishen.

"You're preparing to accept Yuan Shikai's sincerity?" Qi Huishen said with a smile.

"This bit of sincerity naturally isn't enough yet. Bring the person in; I'll talk to him. In addition, select three comrades from the Internal Affairs Committee. I want to let them take our sincerity to meet Yuan Shikai." Chen Ke also said with a smile. This was the one thing he felt happiest about today.