Ji Ye never expected to see Li Shouxian again, let alone become classmates in the People's Party's cadre school. Three years had passed in the blink of an eye since they parted in Guangde County. In 1908, Ji Ye was just a 17-year-old girl who had just joined the Guangfu Society, her heart set on avenging her brother. Now, she was a senior cadre of the society.

Tao Chengzhang had learned that the People's Party was starting a new round of cadre training. Chen Ke was dizzy with work, so Tao didn't disturb him too much. After asking for 500 rifles and corresponding ammunition, Tao Chengzhang again stated that if the People's Party needed help in the war against the "foreign devils," they must notify the Guangfu Society.

Not long after Tao Chengzhang returned, Xu Xilin sent someone to ask if comrades from the Guangfu Society could attend the cadre study sessions. Chen Ke didn't care much about this; the education on class struggle within the People's Party was not yet complete, and a few more students wouldn't make the situation worse. Thus, a group of young comrades from Xu Xilin's faction in the Guangfu Society, including Ji Ye, arrived in Xuzhou.

Ji Ye didn't know what tone to use when speaking to Li Shouxian. Finally, she chose a most ordinary greeting: "Brother Li, long time no see."

"Comrade Ji Ye, hello." Li Shouxian's attitude seemed unchanged from three years ago. Facing an old acquaintance, he politely replied, "Also, just call me Comrade Li Shouxian. We don't have 'Brother Li' or 'Brother Zhang' here."

"Oh, Li... Comrade Li Shouxian, when I was in Changxing County, many of the things you said came in handy. Thank you!" Ji Ye said earnestly.

Zhejiang currently had three forces. The largest was the Beiyang Army, which occupied most of the province. The Guangfu Society headquarters, led by Cai Yuanpei and Tao Chengzhang, occupied southern Zhejiang and had some influence in neighboring Fujian. The third force was Xu Xilin's group, based in Changxing County, occupying three counties in western Zhejiang.

The Guangfu Society had deep ties with the People's Party, and Xu Xilin had known Chen Ke the longest. Ji Ye knew that not only did the Beiyang Army consider the Guangfu Society a branch of the People's Party, but even within the society itself, many believed Xu Xilin's group had already joined the People's Party.

Xu Xilin didn't care about such evaluations, nor did the comrades within his group. They were originally the most daring and capable fighters in the Guangfu Society. After being severely wounded during the attack on Nanjing, they were taken back to the base areas by the People's Party for treatment. At that time, Xu Xilin had his comrades learn from the People's Party about local affairs and base area construction. After they recovered and received education, Xu Xilin led his troops to Changxing County, adjacent to the People's Party base areas, to establish their own base.

Ji Ye and others quickly became cadres in Changxing. The county had a strong tradition of silk and tea production. Xu Xilin's group, following the People's Party's lead, soon gained significant profits. Especially after the People's Party's silk and tea trade severely impacted competitors in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Xu Xilin's group decisively reached contracts with the People's Party, not only avoiding the impact but fully utilizing the disruption to expand their influence into two neighboring counties.

Xu Xilin only received news long after the People's Party's Wuhan Party School session ended. When news of this training session reached him, he naturally wouldn't let it pass.

"No need for thanks. It's good that they're useful; it shows you've been studying seriously," Li Shouxian said politely. "I still need to register. Let's talk again when there's a chance."

Ji Ye couldn't force him to stay, so she said, "Oh, then goodbye, Comrade Li Shouxian."

As soon as Li Shouxian left, several female cadres from the Guangfu Society, who had been unable to contain themselves, swarmed around Ji Ye, chirping, "Is this the Captain Li you always mention?"

"Wasn't he the mayor of Wuhu City? Why is he here to study too?"

"It's not Captain Li, it's 'Brother Li,' right?"

Being surrounded like this, Ji Ye felt embarrassed. "What are you all talking about!"

"You said it, not us," said He Xiuning, a female cadre of the Guangfu Society, smiling. "What's there to be embarrassed about? I think Comrade Li Shouxian is quite good."

Because the wives of Tao Chengzhang and others had joined the Guangfu Society, and because of female revolutionaries like Qiu Jin, there were many women in the society. Xu Xilin's western Zhejiang group followed the People's Party's charter in their system, strongly encouraging women to participate in social labor. A significant number of women had already taken up leadership positions. Among the hundred Guangfu Society cadres who came to study, forty percent were women.

"If you keep this up, I'll get angry!" Ji Ye furrowed her brow.

Seeing Ji Ye was truly angry, He Xiuning smiled. "Alright, alright, we won't say it anymore!"

Just as Ji Ye turned around, she heard someone behind her pinching their throat and imitating her voice: "Brother Li!"

In unison, all the female cadres giggled.

"What are you all doing in the school?" a man shouted in Hubei-accented Mandarin.

Ji Ye, about to flare up at her companions, froze. Two cadres wearing armbands strode over. These were comrades responsible for disciplinary inspection. Noise and shouting were not allowed in the school—a rule emphasized during enrollment. However, the two inspectors clearly didn't know how to handle a group of women. They stopped about ten paces away, exchanged glances, and then shouted, "Hurry back to your dorms!"

The female cadres didn't know how to respond and, hearing this, scattered like birds back to the forest.

"What should we do next time we encounter this?" the Hubei inspector felt that simply dispersing them wasn't a solution. There were many female cadres not just from the Guangfu Society but also within the People's Party.

The other inspector, speaking Jiangxi-accented Mandarin, replied, "Then let's increase the number of female comrades on patrol in the inspection team." There were female inspectors, but the male comrades hadn't assigned them much patrol duty. Now, it seemed inappropriate.

Huaihai Province was the newest base area, and it was lacking in both the number and construction of cadres. This was why Chen Ke held the training here. Another reason was that traveling ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books. Socialized large-scale production is first built on a sufficient understanding of society as a whole. Chen Ke felt one of his advantages was having visited so many places to see friends. A person whose activities are confined within a hundred *li* of their home doesn't easily grasp such concepts.

The Twenty-Five Thousand *Li* Long March was able to forge a powerful army not only because the force endured so much hardship but also because the long journey opened their eyes. It allowed these predecessors to walk the great land on their own legs. This vision alone was something ordinary people couldn't achieve.

Now, it seemed unlikely that the People's Party would face the same cruel historical situation as the historical Party, so broadening the comrades' vision and letting them see the full picture of China was a crucial step.

The information the Guangfu Society female cadres had on Li Shouxian was outdated. Li Shouxian had already been promoted from Mayor of Wuhu to Secretary of the Wuhu Municipal Party Committee, the true top leader of the Wuhu region. Li Shouxian had long forgotten about Ji Ye. Although he remembered her upon meeting, the reason he didn't want to say much was not to avoid her but because he was in a hurry to attend a policy discussion. Li Shouxian had made up his mind to have a good argument with Xu Yuanshan at this meeting.

When he entered the meeting room, the large conference table made of five tables was already full, with only two or three seats left. Li Shouxian's target, Xu Yuanshan, had already arrived.

As soon as he sat down, Li Shouxian said, "Comrade Xu Yuanshan, I want to ask you what exactly you meant yesterday by saying we should allow the existence of the private sector."

This was a sharp topic. Xu Yuanshan's boldness had far exceeded the expectations of many comrades. He dared to publicly propose a suggestion about the People's Party incorporating the private sector into the social management system.

In the recent work of the People's Party in the Wuhu area, the conflict between state-owned and private enterprises was intense. Li Shouxian was very concerned about this.

Facing Li Shouxian's seemingly aggressive question, Xu Yuanshan didn't know what Li Shouxian wanted to say. He replied, "We should allow some private enterprises to exist, and in some industries, we should also allow them. For example, the catering industry."

"Catering isn't an issue in the core areas. In the entire industrial chain, catering is just a terminal industry. I want to ask about your view on the existence of private enterprises in the overall industrial structure," Li Shouxian immediately replied. He came prepared and wouldn't let Xu Yuanshan brush him off.

"In the entire industrial chain, we naturally cannot give up basic industries. I insist that in the whole industry, unless absolutely necessary, we should not open up any industry," Xu Yuanshan replied.

"Is that so?" Li Shouxian furrowed his brow.

This confused the comrades. Li Shouxian had seemed aggressive at first, as if he intended to launch a fierce attack on Xu Yuanshan. Unexpectedly, after a simple explanation of the key issue, Li Shouxian seemed to be backing down.

"Comrade Li Shouxian, what is this about?" asked Shang Yuan, who was attending. He knew Li Shouxian was highly valued by Chen Ke, which was why he was assigned to Wuhu. Wuhu's own resources were already considerable, and the People's Party had opened many new factories there. In the areas downstream of Wuhu along the Yangtze, a significant portion of silk cocoons were reeled in Wuhu, and raw silk was woven into silk fabric there. Not to mention that the People's Party had built the Ma'anshan iron mine almost simultaneously with the Zaozhuang iron mine, giving the Wuhu area true heavy industry. Many comrades who had been to Wuhu said that in terms of current prosperity, Wuhu was probably second only to Wuhan in the People's Party base areas.

For a cadre in charge of such a prime area to be so agitated was not a matter of momentary impulse.

Li Shouxian steadied himself and said, "In Wuhu, they call me 'King Yama Li.' As you know, Wuhu is a rice market. In the past two years, private rice processing enterprises have gone bankrupt one after another in competition with our People's Party. Recently, someone even offered two thousand taels for my head."

It wasn't surprising for private enterprises to go bankrupt in competition with the People's Party's state-owned enterprises. Many comrades didn't sympathize with these bankrupt businesses; instead, they felt a sense of pride. But for someone to dare offer money to hire an assassin, the merchants in Wuhu must be very bold.

Li Shouxian didn't intend to discuss the attempted assassination. He began to describe the current problems.

The formation of a "rice market" required two factors: first, being centrally located in a rice-producing area with wide sources for easy concentration; second, convenient transport with developed water and land traffic. In ancient times, water transport was particularly emphasized. Regarding the identification of the "Four Great Rice Markets," there have long been two versions. Aside from Jiujiang in Jiangxi, Wuhu in Anhui, and Wuxi in Jiangsu, the controversial ones were Changsha in Hunan and Shashi in Hubei. With the People's Party's current base areas, if counted as the Five Great Rice Markets, they already possessed three: Wuhu, Jiujiang, and Shashi.

Another element of becoming a rice market was rice processing. Husking rice required specialized equipment. The rise of the Wuhu rice market was a recent occurrence.

"In the eighth year of Guangxu of the late Qing, Lord Li Wenzhong (Li Hongzhang's posthumous title) requested permission to move the grain market from Zhenjiang's Qihaokou to here." It was a fact that Li Hongzhang fostered the rice market, but the actual operator was Zhang Qiaoye (Zhang Yinhuan). During the Tongzhi era, he met Li Hanzhang (Hongzhang's brother), the Grain Intendant of Guangdong. In 1882, Li Hanzhang was the Governor-General of Huguang, Li Hongzhang was the Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, and Zhang Yinhuan was the Customs Tao-tai of Wuhu. Li Hanzhang urged Zhang Yinhuan to come forward and, under the banner of prospering Wuhu's commercial port, suggest to Li Hongzhang to rely on the court's power to order the Zhenjiang rice market to move to Wuhu. Li Hongzhang advocated that letting the rice merchants move voluntarily was the best policy. As a result of the discussion, specific preferential measures were set, making it profitable for rice merchants so they would move voluntarily for profit. Zhang Yinhuan personally went to Zhenjiang, using ties of shared origin to build relationships, and promised the Guangdong and Chaoshan rice gangs: the Wuhu Customs Tao-tai would issue exclusive rice industry licenses with agency monopolies in Wuhu; grain packaging costs would be paid by the seller; and foreign steamer freight wouldn't be increased—the cost from Wuhu to Shanghai would still be calculated based on the Zhenjiang-to-Shanghai rate. Sure enough, the Guangdong and Chaoshan rice gangs flocked to Wuhu to invest and open rice shops. Following them were more than 20 shops from Nanjing and Yantai gangs. The four great rice gangs were the backbone, prompting the rise of the rice market where "rice piled like mountains and sold like rivers."

The Wuhu area not only produced large quantities of rice but also made rice processing its main industry. The People's Party attached extreme importance to industry. While private rice processing enterprises had to buy equipment, the People's Party produced its own. After land reform, to stabilize grain prices in the base areas, the People's Party not only built state-owned farms on a large scale but also implemented the policy of unified purchase and marketing in several major grain-producing areas. Wuhu was naturally one of these areas.

The direct result of this series of policies and their execution was the comprehensive bankruptcy of private rice processing enterprises in Wuhu. The People's Party hadn't targeted them when formulating policies; it had simply ignored their interests. During execution, it hadn't deliberately made things difficult for them. But now, in a time of war, the People's Party occupied a significant section of the Yangtze, and grain merchants from other places didn't dare risk coming here. From 1900 to 1911 in the late Qing, natural disasters were frequent, and shipping grain to disaster areas was a highly profitable business. Who would come to Wuhu to take risks?

Local rice was entirely controlled by the People's Party, and rice from elsewhere wasn't shipped to Wuhu. With the People's Party's own grain processing enterprises being sufficient in number, private rice processing enterprises had no choice but to go bankrupt.

Most of the comrades knew Wuhu was developing well, but this was the first time they heard a real case of the development process. The southern part of Huaihai Province was a plain with much land, and in policy formulation, it was designated as a major grain-producing province. After listening to Li Shouxian's narration, Shang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "It's imaginable for grain merchants to speculate, but won't they ship even a bit of grain into the base areas?"

"Of course they won't. Our grain policy has fixed prices, and grain is the basis for pricing the People's Currency issued in our base areas," Li Shouxian replied, having clearly put a lot of effort into researching these issues.

The base area vigorously promoted household registers and grain booklets, not because Chen Ke had an unusual obsession with ID cards. Complete household management meant the People's Party could roughly estimate the basic grain supply needed. This ensured that even in extreme disaster years, the people in the base area wouldn't be unable to buy grain. Thus, the grain price was fixed at twenty-five cents per *jin* of rice.

With fifty cents, one could buy two *jin* of rice. For a family of four, this could maintain basic survival. This was also the fiscal basis for the stable issuance of the base area's currency. But this price was relatively low compared to other areas, and after fixing this price, grain merchants had no opportunity to buy low and sell high in the base area. No grain merchant was willing to come to the base area for such business.

"Then Comrade Li Shouxian, what is your view on the existence of private enterprises?" Xu Yuanshan asked. Opposite to before, Li Shouxian was now the one being questioned.

"The conflict is very sharp. It's not just the large private rice processing enterprises in Wuhu that are going bankrupt. Now, various handicraft workshops and small workshops in the base area are showing a trend of comprehensive bankruptcy," Li Shouxian replied coldly.

This time, no comrade showed a look of pride. Li Shouxian was right; within the People's Party's current base areas, the bankruptcy of private enterprises, or private workshops, was a very common phenomenon. This truly wasn't the People's Party intending to target anyone; everyone now saw quite clearly that since the completion of land reform, the bankruptcy of these small workshops was a foregone conclusion. Unless the policy changed, those workshops still struggling would not last until next year.

No one expected that many workshops that had stubbornly survived for decades or even centuries would face such complete destruction in just a few years.

"We don't stand on the side of the propertied class. There's nothing that can be done about their bankruptcy," Xu Yuanshan replied. But his voice didn't have a tone of schadenfreude. It was a kind of true helplessness.

"The one who offered money for my head was a rice factory owner in Wuhu. He's a good man. He hadn't done anything heinous before this. He did it because he truly felt our People's Party was too domineering and truly hated me. After his arrest, he even had a mentality of 'acting on behalf of heaven,'" Li Shouxian's voice held a considerable degree of regret.