Shang Yuan, despite having retired, was still very well-informed. At least someone was very selectively passing some news to him. Hearing words about "Chairman Chen being dissatisfied with XXX", Shang Yuan had no reaction at all.

Having made revolution with Chen Ke for over thirty years, Shang Yuan understood Chen Ke thoroughly. Chen Ke wasn't a hard guy to see through. If one were to say Chen Ke had something unique, it was just that Chen Ke could do some things others couldn't. For example, through many years of practice and work, Chen Ke became increasingly materialist. The only thing Chen Ke was dissatisfied with was himself. For a lazy guy like Chen Ke, thinking of ways to solve problems exhausted his time and energy; where would he have the leisure to express dissatisfaction with facts?

The struggle over the political line at the upper levels had become increasingly intense. The only thing Shang Yuan felt fortunate about was that this was limited to a struggle over the line, and had not reached the level of intense personnel struggle. In the years since retiring, having read so many history books and so much first-hand material from the Manchu Qing, Shang Yuan was very afraid of meaningless personnel struggles.

Back when Lu Huitian had conflicts with radical land reform comrades in Hubei over line issues, Chen Ke insisted on not using forceful means to replace people. Personnel struggles never solve the fundamental problems of line struggles; tearing down a windmill won't stop the wind from blowing. Even among many windmills, Lu Huitian's windmill couldn't be considered poor; at most, one could say the foundation of this windmill was rooted in the bedrock of the bureaucratic system. In the current situation, one couldn't even accuse the bureaucratic system of being subjectively against the people, because that wasn't a fact.

Society has its own laws of operation. Revolution is not about creating a perfect blueprint and making everyone in society a piece of the puzzle within it. Revolution is about destroying the old institutions in society that hinder people's self-development, allowing everyone to live better and obtain a broader space for development. Of course, Shang Yuan knew that now was not the time for him to come out and speak.

Because his body was getting weaker, Shang Yuan no longer went to the National Archives. He lived a secluded life on ordinary days, only periodically sending people to the Archives to borrow some materials. When the guard informed Shang Yuan that Li Yujian's daughter had come to see him, Shang Yuan was holding a document from the Qianlong era. Qianlong was a very interesting fellow; in his era, he carried out a great destruction of many "black materials" of the Manchu Qing, so much content had to be found by looking for clues in existing documents.

"Please let her in." Putting down the materials in his hand, Shang Yuan said somewhat surprisedly. Although they were both in Beijing, Li Yujian tried his best to avoid meeting Shang Yuan; the relationship between these two fellow disciples remained distant. The last time he saw Li Yujian was a few years ago when sweeping graves with Chen Ke at the cemetery. Li Yujian's daughter was also present that time.

"Uncle Shang Yuan, my father passed away." Li Yujian's daughter spoke fairly calmly, but mentioning her father's death, this fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl still couldn't help her eyes turning red.

Li Yujian had spent the first half of his life trying hard to advance his career, and only got married after the liberation of Beijing. He was over 30 then. He was nearly 40 when he had this child. The last time Shang Yuan saw Li Yujian's daughter was at night, and he couldn't see clearly. Looking carefully now, the little girl certainly looked quite like her father, but one could still see some shadows of Mr. Li Hongqi in her brows and eyes, especially that forehead and eyebrows, which were simply a replica of Mr. Li Hongqi.

Seeing this child, and hearing the news of his junior brother's death, tears flashed in Shang Yuan's eyes. Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, he let the little girl sit beside him. After handing the little one a towel, Shang Yuan said seriously, "There, there. If there's anything you need Uncle's help with, just say it straight. I am your grandfather's student, your father's senior brother. You must not keep it from me if there is anything you need me to do."

Hearing these words from someone of her own family, the little girl couldn't help sobbing for a while. After a bit, she wiped her tears with the towel and continued, "Uncle Shang Yuan, my second uncle has already helped me hold the funeral for my father. Before my father passed away, he asked me to give you a letter. He said this is the letter my grandfather left for you. Although he is very sorry to give it to you only now. But he also only made up his mind before he died. I'm sorry, Uncle Shang Yuan..."

Speaking of this, the little girl started sobbing again, whether from fear or something else.

Shang Yuan was very clear about his junior brother's nature. Being able to make up his mind to give this letter to Shang Yuan before he died could be considered quite an improvement. Shang Yuan said gently, "There, there. Our business as fellow disciples is our business, it has nothing to do with you children. Don't be afraid. Uncle Shang Yuan is happy to see you. Regardless of how we were before, he is gone now, what else is there for us to say?"

Hearing this, the little girl finally seemed somewhat relieved. She took out a thick letter and handed it to Shang Yuan. The envelope had already turned somewhat yellow due to age. And this letter appeared to have been looked at many times; the edges of the envelope and letter paper had obvious signs of wear.

Thinking that this was left to him by his teacher, and recalling his teacher's voice and appearance when he was alive, Shang Yuan felt a wave of melancholy in his heart. The letter was divided into two parts: two thin pages were the letter written to Shang Yuan, and the other part was a stack of manuscripts.

"Wangshan, I am not long for this world. I have taught you everything I learned in my life. Your achievements far exceed mine. Having a disciple like you, I die with no regrets." Seeing the familiar handsome handwriting, Shang Yuan's eyes couldn't help but moisten again.

He wiped his eyes before continuing to read. In this letter, Mr. Li Hongqi only raised one question. The Master said: The people of old had three failings; the people of today perhaps do not even have these. The madmen of old were uninhibited; the madmen of today are merely dissolute. The dignified of old were reserved; the dignified of today are merely quarrelsome. The simpletons of old were straightforward; the simpletons of today are merely deceitful.

"Previously reading Confucius's works, I only felt admiration as for a high mountain. After witnessing the revolutionary theories of the literary youth, and reading again, I finally understand where the ancient sage was truly sage. The Master said: The three hundred poems of the Book of Odes may be summed up in a single phrase: Thought without depravity (Si Wu Xie). If China can be like this, it would be the greatest fortune!"

After reading the teacher's brief letter, Shang Yuan understood why his junior brother Li Yujian only handed this letter to him before dying. With Li Yujian's temperament, he was naturally extremely unconvinced that his father Li Hongqi thought so highly of Shang Yuan. Shang Yuan felt very regretful about this.

In terms of intelligence, or even scholarship, Li Yujian was actually not far behind Shang Yuan. At least after Li Yujian went to the National Library, although colleagues considered him a very affected and intolerant person, he was not bad at scholarship. If there was any problem with his life, it was that Li Yujian wanted to be a person considered by others to be "Si Wu Xie", but he did not transform himself into a "Si Wu Xie" person.

People who are naturally "Si Wu Xie" do not exist. According to human nature, if hungry one wants to eat, encountering good food one will eat desperately. If thirsty one wants to drink, encountering refreshing drinks one will drink desperately. Men seeing beautiful women will have a reaction and want to pounce immediately. Encountering setbacks one will be depressed, will be angry. These things are instinct, basic reactions written in human DNA. In the view of the world, the appearance of these actions in social life is definitely "having depravity". But this cannot be called "thoughts having depravity". Because these instincts don't need thinking or cogitation at all. As a physically existing material body, it naturally emits such reactions.

Like Chen Ke, like Shang Yuan, these people knew they wanted to do these things, they knew they could do these things. The reason they refrained was precisely because they had their own selected work.

Just like Xunzi said: "If a man’s will and purpose are cultivated, he can be proud in the face of wealth and eminence; if his sense of duty is heavy, he can make light of princes and dukes; he examines himself internally and external things are light. The tradition says: 'The gentleman uses things; the small man is used by things.' This is what it means. If the body labors but the mind is at peace, do it; if profit is little but righteousness is great, do it; serving a chaotic ruler and succeeding is not as good as serving an impoverished ruler and following the right path. Therefore, a good farmer does not stop plowing because of floods or droughts, a good merchant does not stop trading because of losses, and a gentleman does not become lazy in the Way because of poverty."

People forcefully twisting their nature to do this will naturally appear 'wild and uninhibited', 'dignified and reserved', 'foolish and straightforward'. Why? Because they are unhappy inside. Any person who works seriously, both physically and mentally endures considerable pain; it would be strange if they felt happy and comfortable. They don't say it, they don't show it, because saying it is useless, and when attention is highly focused, they even leave these feelings behind. After finishing work and the brief excitement and joy ends, these unhappinesses are naturally recalled. Can this be pleasant? Can this be happy?

People who can't cross the finish line, who can't complete the work, are destined not to get the benefits that can only be obtained by crossing the finish line. These people see those successful ones finally walking to the finish line, getting the results that are inevitably obtained after passing the finish line. They only want to not bear the inevitable pain, only want to not experience the process, and directly step across the finish line. Since they can't do it themselves, they can only delusionally hope that others think they are those who can pass the finish line. Thus they choose to disguise themselves, trying to disguise themselves to look like those who can pass the finish line from the outside. The performance of such people is naturally 'wild and dissolute', 'dignified and quarrelsome', 'foolish and deceitful'.

For those whose purpose is to do things, naturally "everything helps them"; for those who only want results, it becomes "everything harms them". If they haven't seen successful cases, and don't have a certain degree of intelligence to understand this kind of success, they can only choose to give up. In this way, they might die early, or find their own path, finding work they can do. If they have a little "cleverness", and can understand some things, and thus pretend to be "Si Wu Xie", that becomes harming others and themselves.

Thinking of this, Shang Yuan couldn't help sighing. From this perspective, the more developed the technology and the smoother the information, the more people will peddle "success studies". If one asked Lu Huitian to believe in the brightness of human nature, Lu Huitian would definitely answer in a very troubled tone: "Can we not mention such a feeling-hurting topic as trust?"

To be like Chen Ke, firmly believing that the people can definitely liberate themselves, truly required immense courage.

Thinking it over, Shang Yuan couldn't help leaning back. Only then did he suddenly discover that his junior brother Li Yujian's daughter was sitting well-behaved beside him. Human DNA can inherit many things, but acquired virtues cannot be inherited. But looking at this cute little girl, sitting seriously and silently beside him, that steady appearance made Shang Yuan feel an indescribable sense of cherishing.

Seeing children is equivalent to seeing what the real world will look like after one's death. This seemed to be something Chen Ke had said. These children have infinite possibilities; they are inheritors, and inevitably also pioneers. If one cannot hold expectations for these children, how terrible would this world be.

Thinking of this, Shang Yuan felt he could understand Chen Ke's thoughts again. Since the future is destined not to be a simple repetition of the past, why can't one exert a bit more effort now and hold a sliver more expectation for the future?