Chen Ke understood the changes within the Party better than anyone else. He had seen such changes at least once before. Moreover, he had read many records related to such changes from even earlier times. So when Shang Yuan couldn't help but ask if Chen Ke knew which way the wind was blowing within the Party, Chen Ke didn't answer directly, but instead responded with a famous quote.

"The ultimate causes of all social changes and political revolutions are to be sought, not in men's brains, not in their growing insight into eternal truth and justice, but in changes in the modes of production and exchange. They are to be sought, not in the philosophy, but in the economics of each particular epoch. The growing perception that existing social institutions are unreasonable and unjust, that reason has become unreason, and right wrong, is only proof that in the modes of production and exchange changes have silently taken place."

The People's Party had many "modes of thinking," and this passage from Engels definitely ranked in the top twenty. Especially in recent years, it had been quoted by Chen Ke even more frequently. Shang Yuan understood Chen Ke's meaning as soon as he heard it, yet he did not feel as if he had just woken from a dream; instead, he felt even more uneasy.

Chen Ke continued, "China used to be an agricultural country, so it inevitably had to be paired with that set of feudal things. In terms of Chinese history, our ancestors had already done the best they could. Now that China is transforming into an industrial country, that original feudal system really isn't suitable anymore. And we all come from the old era; we inevitably carry the brand of the old era. One of the essential natures of any living being is to believe that what they are doing is correct. Even if humans have reason, have rational thought, this biological nature isn't so easily removed. It's normal for everyone to feel unadjusted now. If someone felt very adjusted, that would mean that person isn't normal."

Shang Yuan was amused and exasperated by Chen Ke's *chuunibyou*-sounding words. "Putting it that way, you, Chen Wenqing, are the most abnormal person in China then?"

Chen Ke was very clear that he was abnormal. What normality was there to speak of for a time traveler in an era a hundred years ago? So he continued, "Now many comrades say I am indulging capitalism. I must admit, I have indeed been doing so recently."

"Why?" Shang Yuan knew Chen Ke was about to say something surprising.

"I oppose capitalism, but I have always supported capital operations. With the current tendency within the Party, the flavor of leftism is getting stronger and stronger. Of course, leftist comrades are still good comrades! But in the situation I see, feudalism is rising from the dregs, and these feudalists are now disguising themselves as leftists." Chen Ke's tone was quite vicious.

It took Shang Yuan several minutes of thought to understand this passage, and he laughed too. "In this way arose feudal Socialism: half lamentation, half lampoon; half an echo of the past, half menace of the future; at times, by its bitter, witty and incisive criticism, striking the bourgeoisie to the very heart’s core; but always ludicrous in its effect, through total incapacity to comprehend the march of modern history. The aristocracy, in order to rally the people to them, waved the proletarian alms-bag in front for a banner. But the people, so often as it joined them, saw on their hindquarters the old feudal coats of arms, and deserted with loud and irreverent laughter."

Chen Ke smiled with full malice. "There is nothing new under the sun. The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his 'natural superiors', and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous 'cash payment'. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation. The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers."

This content should have triggered profound political reflection, but Marx's writing was excellent, and the translation was equally powerful. These pungent and profound words stimulated Shang Yuan's sense of joy, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Chen Ke also spoke with a smile, "So that's why Marx and Engels are mentors. Heh heh, this really isn't a joke. If it were me, even if you beat me to death I couldn't grasp such a profound essence, nor organize such refined language."

"Haha, that's right. If it were you, you'd just hold a meeting directly, pull a long face, and demand everyone engage in criticism and self-criticism! Haha!" Shang Yuan laughed until he rocked back and forth. After laughing for a good while, Shang Yuan wiped away the tears that had come from laughing and said seriously, "But Wenqing, after you read these things, at least you know what to do and know what will happen. I read them and just read them. If you asked me to handle some past matters, I could still do it. But asking me to lead the country forward, I really can't do it."

Chen Ke said in a very arrogant tone, "So that's why I'm an abnormal person!"

At this, Shang Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter. He wanted to press against the tombstone of Mr. Li Hongqi beside him to support his teetering body, but felt that would be very disrespectful, so Shang Yuan simply sat cross-legged on the snow and continued to laugh. After laughing for another good while, Shang Yuan suddenly started sobbing. Wiping away a handful of tears, Shang Yuan sighed, "If only we could have liberated the country ten years earlier, and if I could have reached today's understanding earlier, back then we could have joked together with Teacher Li. Teacher Li was a wonderful person. Such a serious person, but when he told jokes he could make people die of laughter. What a pity."

A few sentences of truly happy joking were enough to relieve all of Chen Ke's pressure. He returned to being that leader of the People's Party, and Chen Ke said seriously, "There is a reason why I indulge the existence and even the expansion of private capital. For the next ten years, China will continue to expand its military and prepare for war. That will be an unprecedented war. We will fight the British, and very likely fight the Americans too, perhaps even fight both Britain and the United States simultaneously for a period of time. In the sky, on the ocean, on land. In jungles, in mountains, on plains, in swamps, in deserts, on ice sheets, in every place the eye can see and cannot see. This war will likely cover every corner of the globe. That will likely be a true total war."

"What does this have to do with indulging private capital?" Shang Yuan was very puzzled.

Chen Ke walked a few steps slowly with his hands behind his back. Having stood in the snow for a long time, his feet were already feeling the stinging pain brought by the chill. "During the war, I will adopt a wartime system. A wartime system, well, is a command system. The feudal system, the official-standard mentality, will definitely take advantage of the wartime system to self-inflate and self-reinforce, finally creating an unprecedented monster. After the war ends, I will set about destroying this monster. Destroying capitalism is absolutely not killing off all capitalists, but replacing the capitalist system with a brand new, more vibrant system. Destroying the bureaucratic system under the war system is the true decisive battle in politics. It's not a bad thing to have some foreshadowing for those times."

Listening to Chen Ke's words, Shang Yuan's greatest feeling was bewilderment. As usual, while Chen Ke was setting about creating, he was also starting to consider destruction. What Shang Yuan didn't understand was exactly what that unprecedented monster Chen Ke described would look like. While he was pondering, Shang Yuan saw Chen Ke extend a hand. "Get up, don't sit there. You'll freeze."

The two discussed work as they walked leisurely toward the cemetery entrance. The future work Chen Ke spoke of involved too much, and Shang Yuan had too many questions to ask Chen Ke, so they would stop every few steps to talk for a while. After a long time, they hadn't walked very far. There was no one in the cemetery, so the guards didn't come too close. When the two finally walked to the cemetery entrance, they discovered there was someone who appeared to be there to sweep a grave. And this person was actually an acquaintance, Mr. Li Hongqi's son, Li Yujian.

Li Yujian obviously hadn't expected the person sweeping a grave in the cemetery to be Shang Yuan. He carefully identified the person beside Shang Yuan and discovered it was actually Chen Ke.

Shang Yuan wasn't too surprised. Li Yujian's nature was actually quite upright and uncompromising; in his essence, he had learned some of Li Hongqi's superficial aspects. Li Yujian didn't really like paying attention to people in his personality. So coming to sweep the grave at night wasn't that strange of a thing.

Stepping forward to exchange a few words, Li Yujian tried hard to speak in a flat tone. "Senior Brother Shang Yuan, tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of my father's passing. I didn't want to make a big scene on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so I came to pay my respects tonight."

It looked like Li Yujian had been waiting outside for quite a while. Although he couldn't see too clearly in the snow, Shang Yuan could hear that Li Yujian's voice was trembling a bit; presumably, he was frozen stiff. Standing beside Li Yujian was a quiet and gentle little girl, dressed in thick clothes, who also looked like she was shivering from the cold.

Shang Yuan felt very apologetic in his heart. He hadn't expected anyone to come sweep a grave on New Year's Eve. And it was Li Yujian, with whom he had a very poor relationship in the past. Just as he didn't know what to say, he saw Chen Ke step forward and extend a hand to Li Yujian. "We are extremely apologetic for delaying your grave sweeping. We are leaving immediately; you can go in now."

Li Yujian hadn't expected Chen Ke to speak so approachably. Seeing Chen Ke take the initiative to extend his hand, Li Yujian paused for a moment before stepping forward to shake hands with Chen Ke. His voice was trembling a little, whether from excitement or the cold was unknown. "Chairman Chen, hello."

After shaking hands, Chen Ke bent down and spoke gently to the little girl beside Li Yujian. "Hello."

The little girl looked at the tall and large Chen Ke somewhat timidly, but answered very politely, "Hello."

They exchanged a few common, nutritious sentences, merely telling each other their names, and Chen Ke asked the little girl's age. Then Chen Ke said gently, "It's almost the Spring Festival. What should you say to Uncle me?"

The little girl was stunned, presumably never having seen someone so thick-skinned. "Happy New Year, Uncle."

Without another word, Chen Ke pulled two ten-yuan notes from his pocket and handed them to the little girl. "Uncle also wishes you a Happy New Year. This is New Year's money for you."

Li Yujian was stunned by this seemingly normal but completely abnormal exchange of courtesy. He had intended to decline, but after looking at Shang Yuan, Li Yujian finally said, "If Uncle Chen gives it to you, just take it."

Having received her father's permission, the little girl then put away the banknotes Chen Ke handed over. After looking at them carefully, she put them in her pocket and said to Chen Ke in a much more cheerful voice, "Thank you, Uncle Chen."

"Such a good girl." Chen Ke patted the little girl's head and said to Li Yujian, "You came by bus, right? Now with this delay, I'm afraid you won't catch the last bus back. We'll wait for you outside. Take our car back together."

In his life, Li Yujian was most unwilling to lose face in front of Shang Yuan. If it were anyone else's kindness, Li Yujian would probably have refused. But facing Chen Ke's kindness, Li Yujian felt that if he declined, it would appear too lacking in grace. Plus, he knew his daughter was probably frozen enough. He nodded. "Thank you very much."

More than half an hour later, Li Yujian came out after finishing the grave sweeping. Presumably seeing that the tombstone had been wiped clean once, his attitude toward Shang Yuan was also a bit more polite. It was warm inside the car, and the little girl fell asleep in a short while. After dropping this family off at Li Yujian's doorstep, Chen Ke even helped gently carry the sleeping little girl out and hand her into Li Yujian's arms. Li Yujian only said a thank you and went upstairs holding his daughter.

Sitting back in the car with Chen Ke, Shang Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "Peaceful days are better after all."

Chen Ke gave Shang Yuan a definite answer. "War cannot be avoided, so fighting a big one is better than fighting a small one, and fighting early is better than fighting late. The faster the industrialization process, the less the people will suffer. The simpler the capital operations, the fewer the contradictions. If you want society to progress, you don't need to consider sentimental tenderness. Just like Li Yujian, he doesn't like you. But he speaks little enough, so everyone can instead be courteous and restrained. If he had been affectedly unconventional just then, not only would a circle of people have wasted time with him, but everyone would have suffered in the snow with him."

Since Chen Ke's humanity had evolved to such a level, Shang Yuan could only express agreement.

When Chen Ke and the others returned to Zhengzhou, they immediately began to arrange work. The task received by the propaganda department led by Zhang Yu was to demonstrate the inevitability of speculation and rentierism leading to destruction.

Zhang Yu laughed immediately upon hearing this task. "Whose house is about to collapse?"

"The British have already made this prediction. I think the British fellows are quite right," Chen Ke replied. The British controlled a massive amount of financial data, and Britain was also the first to sense the dangerous atmosphere of the Great Depression.

The 1920s were called the "New Era." Wealth and opportunity seemed to open their stingy doors to the Americans who had just won in the First World War. The entire society flocked to new technologies and new lifestyles. "Conspicuous consumption" became the trend of the times. U.S. President Hoover even dared to publicly shout, "We are in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation."

Zhang Yu was amused. "Many people in the country see the Americans entertaining guests and are incredibly envious. Our propaganda department shouts every day opposing illegal fundraising, but these pyramid schemes spring up repeatedly despite prohibitions. Jiangsu has circled quite a bit of money in this regard. Our state-run stock and bond markets need to hurry up and open."

"No rush. Wait for those people in Jiangsu to be torn to shreds by creditors coming to their doors," Chen Ke replied with a smile like a demon.