After receiving a scolding from Shang Yuan, the governors and provincial party secretaries were led by Shang Yuan to Chen Ke's office. These comrades felt even more uneasy in their hearts. The People's Party placed the utmost importance on institutions, and as provincial-level cadres, they had all undergone various institutional training. From the knowledge they had gained from this training, Shang Yuan could strip someone in the administrative department of their position, but he could not touch those provincial party secretaries. However, as the Party Chairman, Chen Ke's authority allowed him to dismiss provincial party secretaries with just a meeting.

Upon seeing Chen Ke, the provincial party secretaries immediately stepped forward and said, "Chairman Chen, we were wrong."

Hearing this, Chen Ke couldn't help but laugh out loud. He stood up and said, "Comrades, please sit."

This was one of Chen Ke's good points. Whether he was happy or unhappy, he never used oppressive means physically against people. Because he had been made to stand in the corner, beaten, and made to kneel as a child, Chen Ke didn't think there was anything wrong with his parents' way of thinking and doing things back then. However, Chen Ke felt that muddled people just didn't understand; even if you beat them to death, they still wouldn't understand. Once they understood, they would understand without needing to be beaten. Therefore, some physical stimulation was completely useless and might very well trigger hostile emotions in the other party.

After everyone had sat down, Chen Ke said, "Comrades, when a person does something, they might feel that they don't like doing it, but they must do it. I don't think it's likely that someone knows doing something is definitely wrong, knows that doing it won't achieve their goal, and yet still insists on doing it. Of course, there is a premise here, which is knowing how to achieve the goal. If one simply doesn't know how to achieve the goal, then no matter what choice is made, it's not strange."

This was Chen Ke's own experience. In Chen Ke's original timeline, in order to make money, to get rich, to "realize his own value," he was anxious like a stray dog all day long, rushing about like a fish that had slipped through the net. He tried every possible way to seek the correct path, yet no matter how he went, he couldn't get it right, or rather, no matter how he went, he couldn't get the result he wanted. After traveling through time, Chen Ke no longer used his own methods. Instead, he lowered his head, calmed his mind, and focused on copying the correct answers. After copying for eighteen years, he had copied out the current results. Therefore, Chen Ke didn't feel there was anything shameful about making mistakes. From the perspective of historical materialism, if there hadn't been the previous reckless behavior, it would have been impossible for Chen Ke to have his current sudden awakening. Since he himself had been so reckless, Chen Ke felt that unless they were born anti-social elements, normal people simply hadn't been able to pass those hurdles to improve themselves, rather than them insisting on doing so.

The governors and provincial party secretaries looked at each other in dismay. The reason for presenting auspicious signs was naturally to make the Central Committee happy, hoping that the Central Committee would recognize their achievements. Some people believed that even if these unusually huge crops were not the norm, it might not be impossible for all crops to become this huge in the future. Of course, there were also some who were making an attempt to see if the practice of presenting auspicious signs could win the favor of the Central Committee.

Reality indeed dealt a heavy blow to the comrades who hoped to win the Central Committee's favor. Shang Yuan's methods were intense and his attitude was clear-cut. Even though Chen Ke did not get angry, his words showed no sign of approval for the practice of presenting auspicious signs.

The governors and provincial party secretaries didn't dare to make a sound, but Shang Yuan was very daring. He asked Chen Ke, "Chairman Chen, do you think some comrades are truly muddled? Or are some comrades pretending to be muddled while understanding perfectly well?"

Chen Ke replied, "I think this is primarily a problem with the Central Committee; the ideological training is insufficient. What is the ideological foundation of our People's Party? First is science, second is democracy. Regarding this matter, I feel that the comrades' approach was unscientific. I think the government should organize training classes to strengthen scientific viewpoints, and at the same time, try to eliminate the occurrence of such things by perfecting the system. Of course, the Party should also organize training classes to resolve this issue ideologically."

With the Party Chairman, the State Chairman, and the State Premier singing a duet like this, the faces of the governors and provincial party secretaries turned almost green. The People's Party had conducted several rectification movements, and organizing training classes was, in a sense, a deprivation of duty. In the anti-feudal training classes back then, some comrades failed to graduate after more than three years of "labor practice" and were finally sent directly back to their hometowns. Shang Yuan's anger might end with writing a self-criticism and conducting ideological self-criticism, but Chen Ke's approach looked a lot like a reshuffle.

Now some people could no longer sit still. The provincial party secretaries sprang to their feet. "Chairman Chen, I was wrong. I will definitely change!"

"Sit, sit down and speak." Chen Ke said unhurriedly. After the comrades sat down uneasily, Chen Ke continued, "Even without this matter, I would have suggested that the organization conduct comprehensive studies. It's just that after this incident, the studies have been moved up. The problem everyone has now is not whether it will happen, but when it will happen. Everyone should not have unnecessary psychological burdens. Making this kind of mistake is very normal; not making this kind of mistake would be abnormal."

After finally calming down these governors and provincial party secretaries and ordering these comrades to go back immediately and wait for the study notice, Chen Ke announced the end of the meeting. Shang Yuan did not feel the slightest bit satisfied. He asked Chen Ke seriously, "Chairman Chen, how serious do you think this atmosphere within the Party is?"

Chen Ke replied equally seriously, "This is not an atmosphere within the Party; this is the normal reaction of everyone within a system. Science and democracy are concepts at the social level. How can biological instincts projected onto the social level be so easily eliminated?"

Shang Yuan did not intend to let Chen Ke off easily. This seemingly profound attitude couldn't bluff someone like Shang Yuan. He continued to ask seriously, "Then why wouldn't you do this, I wouldn't do this, and many comrades wouldn't do this?"

"There are two reasons for not doing this. The first is simply not thinking about problems in this way. The second is knowing to be afraid, knowing that doing so will definitely result in punishment, so not daring to do it. I have always said that if going east is wrong, going west is definitely wrong too," Chen Ke replied.

Shang Yuan already understood what Chen Ke meant. When he didn't understand back then, Mr. Li Hongqi had told Shang Yuan that if a person demanded to feel both capable and self-respecting, then they were done for. If they expected others' evaluation of them to be "both capable and self-respecting," then they had reached a hopeless stage.

*Must first suffer in their will, labor in their muscles and bones, starve in their skin and flesh, empty their bodies, and confound their conduct...*

A guy with an empty belly who fails at everything he does, if he thinks he is very capable, isn't that a huge joke? If such a person not only feels he is very capable but also uses the future "possibility" of "thus Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on this person," which hasn't happened at all, to defend his current pathetic situation, it is absolutely proof of insufficient mental normality.

To shoulder a great responsibility, one must "tempt his heart and harden his nature, increasing his inability," and one must struggle out of the quagmire by one's own strength. To put it cruelly, these real feelings cannot be felt by someone who hasn't crawled out of the quagmire after exhausting work, foaming at the mouth, and becoming dizzy. That is wisdom that can only possibly be obtained after he crawls out of the quagmire and relies on his increased ability to struggle for a longer time, finally having the spare energy to reflect.

*You cannot talk to a well frog about the sea, for it is confined by its space; you cannot talk to a summer insect about ice, for it is limited by its time.* What the hell can people still struggling in the quagmire understand? If they really understood, wouldn't they have come out of the quagmire?

"Indeed, we must have more training!" Shang Yuan originally felt that Chen Ke's approach of opening training classes was too mild, but now he felt that doing so was very correct.

Seeing that Shang Yuan had figured it out, Chen Ke continued, "The system must be strengthened, and the system must be perfected. How can it be so easy to awaken ideologically? For those comrades who have already awakened, the system is the best tool in their hands. For comrades who haven't awakened but know to be afraid, the system is a tool to restrain their actions, and also the best tool to protect these comrades from taking actions that hurt themselves and others. What kind of system to establish, why establish such a system, our philosophy, the scientific socialism and scientific communism we follow, as well as our scientific understanding of human behavior and human society itself—what exactly are these cognitive things, and how to build a system centered on philosophy on the basis of reality—this is the core content of this study. In the final analysis, it is still science and democracy."

After this practical experience, Shang Yuan had intended to go back and consider the government's training content, but he stopped and turned back to ask Chen Ke, "Chairman Chen, previously you said you had made countless mistakes that were low-level to the point of being shameful. I thought you were just joking about yourself. But now I suddenly believe your words are true. If not for that kind of deeply felt pain, you couldn't have this kind of tolerance you have now. But this raises a new question. If you made so many unforgivable mistakes, normally speaking, dying dozens of times wouldn't be too much. How did you survive until now?"

This question was asked well. Chen Ke first frowned, then soon couldn't help but smile. "Because the environment I lived in was very superior and very wealthy. After I failed, I only had to pay with my future, but I wouldn't lose my little life. Moreover, although social competition is fierce, everyone is only fighting for those opportunities. Few people want to beat me, this loser, to death after winning the competition. That's why I could survive and continuously accumulate my experience and understanding."

Hearing Chen Ke's explanation, it was Shang Yuan's turn to frown. The vast majority of the mistakes Chen Ke committed were of the unforgivable level. How tolerant must a society be for no one to beat Chen Ke to death after he made mistakes and messed things up? Even without society punishing Chen Ke, even a wealthy and powerful family couldn't be so tolerant of a prodigal son like Chen Ke. According to those mistakes Chen Ke mentioned, the family wouldn't even adopt measures of exile, but would directly execute Chen Ke.

...No wonder Chen Ke never mentioned his background. Shang Yuan suddenly felt he understood some of the reasons. If Shang Yuan's children made as many mistakes as Chen Ke, even if their future achievements were limitless, Shang Yuan didn't think he could forgive their past behavior. Such reckless behavior was a heinous crime.

"Does such an environment really exist?" Shang Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"The development of productive forces is the greatest driving force for social progress, so I believe that in the future everyone will be able to live in such a society." Chen Ke was very confident about this because he had lived in such a world. Beggars in 1923 only begged for food, while beggars in the 21st century already didn't want food, only money. The great abundance of material brought by the development of productive forces also brought a tremendous increase in the tolerance of the entire society towards individuals, and individuals also gained a tremendous degree of freedom. Marx predicted that after the great development of productive forces, human society would enter communism, and at that time, the freedom of personal development for everyone would be the goal of the entire communism. Of course, Marx also believed that in the communist period, labor had become a human need. Laziness must be eliminated; on this issue, Chen Ke had absolutely no humanitarian attitude.

Shang Yuan couldn't understand what Chen Ke was saying. This kind of thing could only be understood by people who had experienced it and reflected on it. Humans always take what they obtain for granted; only after losing it will they feel its preciousness. This is the same for any human being.

This incident of presenting auspicious signs was quickly extinguished under the extremely swift reaction of the Standing Committee of the Politburo. Chen Ke was extremely restrained. In his explanation to the Standing Committee of the Politburo, Chen Ke firmly opposed the direction of expanding the impact of this incident. "It's easy to take down a few muddled eggs, but I'm afraid the people who replace them will be even more muddled. And I am very worried about one thing: there will definitely be conspirators inside our People's Party, the kind of guys who try to fish in troubled waters. So the operation of the system must be guaranteed at all times."

The majority of the Standing Committee members had witnessed the dark side of humanity. For comrades who made mistakes, it was a contradiction among the people. For conspirators, the handling mode for contradictions between the enemy and us must be adopted. Zhang Yu also rarely didn't say any "jokes" about this. He nodded and said, "What if people are taught to be bad? Drawing a tiger and ending up with a dog is the most common problem. If they didn't know there was such a thing, they might not have had so many ideas. After knowing more, it's easier to learn to be bad. How can ideological awakening be something that passes so easily? One really has to die once. Whether a carp can jump over the dragon gate or not, it has to die once."

Zhang Yu was speaking from his own experience, yet Shang Yuan looked at Zhang Yu with an extremely astonished expression. Shang Yuan really hadn't expected that this guy Zhang Yu could describe awakening so vividly.

Xu Dian didn't support Zhang Yu this time. He said calmly, "Aim for the top, get the middle; aim for the middle, get the bottom; aim for the bottom, and you will surely fail. Perfecting the system and seeking truth from facts can at least prevent that group of people who know fear from acting recklessly. For that group of people who will act recklessly, if they know one they will do one reckless thing, if they know ten they will do ten reckless things. Saying anything is useless."

Qi Huishen also joined the ranks of opposing Zhang Yu. "The People's Party is the vanguard of the proletariat. Is it okay for the vanguard to demand of itself the same as ordinary laborers? The clearer the theory, the more specific the system, the more able to link theory with practice, and the more it is with the fundamental interests of the masses, the more people will be able to understand. Harmony with the dust is not the attitude for making revolution."

Zhang Yu, as usual, always had the resolve that 'though thousands of people are against me, I will go.' "Doing it this way means using standards that extremely few people can achieve to demand of the vast majority. If we do this, the atmosphere of telling lies will definitely become popular within the Party, and the atmosphere of learning to tell lies will become even more popular. Without revolutionary consciousness but with a mouth full of revolutionary language, what is the difference between that and the Dharma-Ending Age?"

"Dharma-Ending Age?" You Gou didn't hear what this sentence meant.

Zhang Yu replied, "When Shakyamuni Buddha was about to enter Nirvana, the Demon King said to Shakyamuni Buddha, 'The Sage has no constant heart, but takes the heart of the common people as his heart. Bo Xun (Mara) also has no constant heart, but takes the heart of the common people as his heart. In terms of complying with the common people, Buddha, you cannot compare to me. You have strict precepts and vigorously emphasize the harm of greed, teaching people to stay away from greed. But I comply with the desires of the common people and satisfy the desires of the common people. Without the greed of sentient beings, where would I, Bo Xun, be? In the Dharma-Ending Age, I will tell my demonic sons and grandsons to mix into your sangha, wear your kasaya, and destroy your Buddha-Dharma. They will distort your sutras and destroy your precepts to achieve the goal that I cannot achieve by force today.' Shakyamuni cried after hearing this."

You Gou didn't cry after hearing this, but her face looked very bad.

"I don't oppose this study; making it a rectification movement is also fine. Our People's Party has been invincible so far because we speak the truth and do practical things. We propose solutions after encountering problems. We have patience, ideals, and righteousness. regarding the enemy, we watch them build vermilion towers, watch them feast guests, and watch their towers collapse. We have had so many seemingly incredible victories because we persisted in our practice of seeking truth from facts, and the enemies obediently handed over victory with their own hands. The noose that hangs the enemy is the noose the enemy begged us to buy, and then the enemy hanged themselves. Now we are going to forge a noose ourselves. Are we preparing to hang the enemy, or are we preparing to hang ourselves?"