Hebei is far drier than Jiangnan, and it should have been windy a few days ago, and there was a lot of dust on the ground and table of Pang Zi's house. Chen Ke didn't care about this. Anyway, jeans are inherently dirt-resistant, and Chen Ke sat on a dusty stool. He still likes the dry autumn days in the north, the autumn tigers are very fierce, but in the house, when the wind blows, it is very cool and comfortable.

Pang Zi on the main seat is not tall, about 170, with a thin body, strong muscles, and two brilliant eyes, which looks like he was born in martial arts. Contrary to the indifferent and vigilant attitude when they first met, Pang Zi immediately became enthusiastic when he learned that Chen Ke was a person sent by Wu Xingchen.

There was no tea, and there was a small gap in the pottery bowl with white water poured into it, Chen Ke was really thirsty, so he picked up the bowl and drank it all in a few sips. Wiping the water from the corner of his mouth, Chen Ke said, "Let's do it again." ”

Pang Zi continued to water Chen Ke, and then asked, "How is Brother Wu lately?" ”

"He's good. This is his letter to you. Chen Ke took out the letter from his travel backpack.

Pang Zi took the envelope, but his eyes fell on the zipper of the travel backpack. This kind of thing that opens and closes as soon as it is opened, especially the sound when it is opened, attracts Pang Zi's attention. This thing looks much more convenient than a package.

However, Pang Zi is also the leader of the party, although he is curious, he still does the right thing first. He tore open the envelope and looked at Wu Xingchen's letter.

Wu Xingchen is literate, especially after joining the party organization, Chen Ke also gave Wu Xingchen a special cultural tutorial class. In other words, Chen Ke and Wu Xingchen learned to write traditional Chinese characters together. So there is no typo in the letter written by Wu Xingchen to Pang Zi.

"Brother Wu has grown up since joining the revolutionary party, and I don't know many words in this letter." After reading the letter, Pang Zi smiled and said, "Two Mr. Chen, Brother Wu said that you are a revolutionary party, but is it true? ”

Chen Ke said with a smile, "Brother Wu is also a revolutionary party now. We are all one party. ”

Pang Zi smacked his lips after hearing this, "Two Mr. Chen, Brother Wu said in the letter, come to me in a few days, let you two say hello first." This journey from Shanghai to our place is definitely not as simple as saying hello. ”

There was no one else in the room, and for the sake of safety, Chen Ke still lowered his voice, "Brother Wu should have said what we were going to do in the letter." I haven't read the letter, but Brother Wu said that Brother Pang was going to get up and make a fuss, so we made a special trip here. ”

"Believe me, Brother Wu said that Chen Xinglian said that," Pang Zi said with a smile, "The surname Chen is not a good thing." ”

Hearing this, Chen Tianhua's face changed slightly, but Chen Ke didn't feel it at all. On the contrary, he asked with interest: "Brother Pang has suffered a lot of losses from scholars before?" ”

Seeing that Chen Ke heard his words, Pang Zi said hatefully: "In the year of Gengzi, the imperial court sent some scholars to pit our Yihequan. It's enough to eat that loss. Pit twice more, and my little life will be gone. ”

"Brother Pang is worried that I will poke you to make a fuss this time, and then I will stick to your light for nothing?" Chen Ke said with a smile.

"Then what is Mr. Chen doing here? Is it still occupied? Pang Zi asked-for-tat.

Chen Kezhengse replied: "I came to Hebei Province to hire some people. Why did you come to see Brother Pang? Brother Wu said let's take a look, and I came. Brother Guo Pang wants to get up and make a fuss, and I want to persuade Brother Pang not to rush into action. ”

Hearing this, Pang Zi was unmoved and refused to answer. Everyone was silent for a while, and Chen Ke asked, "Brother Pang, I don't know if there is an inn in this Gaojiazhai." ”

"Since I'm here, I'm naturally going to arrange a place for the two of you to live. This Mr. Chen's words are too obvious. Saying this, Pang Zi's face was not enthusiastic at all. He picked up the letter and read it again, then got up and led the two to the wing. There was only an earthen kang in the wing, and Pang Zi brought a straw mat over and brought a bed and futon for the two of them.

"The two of them look like happy people, so let's just take a moment."

Chen Ke scratched his head, in the past few days, he has not been able to take a good bath by boat or train, "Brother Pang, is there a place where I can take a bath?" ”

Hearing such a request, Pang Zideng laughed a little maliciously, "Take a bath?" There is a river on the east side of the village, and you can go there and wash it. ”

"Thank you." Chen Ke didn't care.

"Since the two gentlemen don't care, then please take care of yourself." After speaking, Pang Zi went out.

After tidying up the bed a little, Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua took soap and towels, and as soon as they left the courtyard gate, they saw a bunch of children watching around the courtyard gate. I saw the two of them come out. The dolls scattered in a hurry, and then hid behind something, or stood far away and watched the two strange adults. In their bright eyes, there is curiosity and incomprehension. After walking a short distance to the east, Chen Ke felt that someone was pulling the placket behind his back, and when he turned his head, he saw that a doll had run away screaming. His friends laughed one by one. Very happy. The doll hadn't run far yet, and there were already other children trying to run over, but they were glared at by Chen Ke, but they were standing on the ground, not daring to act rashly. But as soon as Chen Ke turned around, it didn't take long for the children to continue the game.

In these years, life in the countryside is like this, and the scope of everyone's activities is so small. Coming from the outside, that's a big rarity. Not to mention people who dress up differently. Not only the dolls, but also many adults were watching the two outsiders, and everyone was evaluating these two people one after another. Occasionally, a girl and daughter-in-law of a certain family would go out or come over, and when they saw Chen Ke and them, they immediately hid aside as if they were frightened. Chen Ke didn't bother to care about this, if he went to the countryside by himself in the future, this kind of thing should definitely be uncommon. Let's get used to it. His attention was on the scenery around him.

This is a common village in the north, with yellow adobe courtyard walls, and even the walls of the houses are mostly adobe walls. Pang Zi's house is quite magnificent, there are tiles on the main house, and many people's roofs are simply thick thatched roofs. Looking through the half-covered gate or the low wall, most of the yard was hung with worn-up corn. There are also bundles of sorghum stalks piled up by the wall. The occasional bunch of dried chili peppers added a lot of joy to the yard. The old wooden door is pasted with a door god, and the colorful paper is a little white under the wind and rain, and the statue of the god on it has been blurred. The air smells of plants, animals, and dust.

In such a shabby atmosphere, Chen Tianhua said: "This village looks pretty good. ”

Hearing this, Chen Ke really didn't know how to answer, in all fairness, the countryside was like this. Not to mention 1905, even 90 years later, in 1995, the northern countryside that Chen Ke has seen may not have changed much.

Spotless wooden floors, snow-white walls, floor-to-ceiling glass doors on balconies, fabric sofas, and large European-style double-layer curtains. Cities may need to. In the countryside, Chen Ke may not really feel much interest in it. Chen Ke has also seen a lot of villages, and in comparison, this village at least looks good. At least in the evening, when there is smoke in the house, parents begin to urge their children to eat. Fang Cai also followed Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua's children with great interest, and ran back to his house one by one like birds returning to the forest. Perhaps because of the presence of outsiders, many families closed their doors after calling back their children.

In October, the evening breeze is already cool. Walking side by side on the empty dirt road outside the village, Chen Tianhua saw that there was no one left and right, and then asked, "What does this Brother Pang seem to think of us?" ”

"The people of the Boxer Rebellion hate foreigners the most. Now there are also Manchus. It is said that he especially hates fake foreign devils. When I was in Beijing, I lost my head because I had a pen. This Pang brother is already very polite to us. ”

"The Boxers are so fierce in Beijing?" Chen Tianhua didn't believe Chen Ke's words.

"At that time, the leader was a prince. I don't know which one it is, but that guy represents a group of people who hate Westernists to the core, and it's not unusual to incite them to do so. ”

Chen Tianhua listened to this explanation and was silent for a long time. Although he was accustomed to Chen Ke's way of looking at problems, this sharp evaluation made Chen Tianhua feel very wrong. "Wen Qing, don't you seem to be angry at these perverse acts?"

"Of course I'm angry, but I'm not angry now. They will inevitably do this, and when we liberate China, we will lock up this group of people, and kill the heads of those who deserve to be killed. There's nothing else we can do. ”

"That's all there is to it." Chen Tianhua replied.

After walking for a while, I finally saw the river that Pang Zi said. Chen Ke believes that this river is certainly different from later generations, and there is absolutely no industrial wastewater or civil wastewater mixed in it. Sure enough, as Chen Ke thought, this riverbed has a large amount of sand, and the river water is relatively clear. It's autumn, and the temperature has dropped a lot. The water in the river is warmer than the temperature. I took a good shower. It was already completely dark.

On the way back to the village, Chen Tianhua asked Chen Ke, what should he do before Brother Wu Xingchen came?

"Let's try to do a social survey and see how the village is doing. Anyway, I have to go to the countryside in the future, and this step is absolutely indispensable. Chen Ke replied.

"Wen Qing, do you think you can really make a name for yourself in the countryside?" Although Chen Tianhua accepted Chen Ke's ideas, he still did not believe in the rural revolution.

Chen Ke pointed to the dark surroundings, "When we came here today, we saw such a vast area. With such a vast world, what can't be done? The enemy is the weakest in the countryside, but China is made up of countless such villages. As long as we can seize the leadership of these villages, there is no enemy that we cannot defeat. ”

"How many people are there in a village? How many villages do you have to add up to have a population of Shanghai? I thought it might be better to start an uprising in Shanghai. Chen Tianhua said.

"Shanghai has a large population, and I won't say anything else, even if the Shanghai uprising is successful, what will we eat? Where does the food come from? ”

"You can buy it, right?"

"Buy? Where does the money come from? ”

"It's about the same by collecting taxes."

"Collecting taxes? Whose taxes are collected? Why do the rich pay us taxes? The concession is the richest area in Shanghai, and if we collect taxes from the concession, what will foreigners do? Chen Ke asked with a smile.

Chen Tianhua was silent. Chen Ke can understand Chen Tianhua, what kind of oil and water can be squeezed out of such a small village? And this is different from densely populated cities, it really feels so empty here, from Xingtai to here, the mule walked for almost a day. The two walked from the village to the river for more than 20 minutes. This is the case in rural areas compared to cities. The vast land is dotted with small gathering points. There aren't too many people in each of the small villages. It is absolutely impossible to support the revolution. It takes a long time just to get the news, and what a strong organizational ability it takes to make full use of the human and material resources of these villages. Chen Ke has read some materials on how much energy the party invested at the grassroots level, and he can understand it theoretically. After arriving in the countryside in person, Chen Ke also felt a strong sense of powerlessness.

The two went back to Pang Zi, and the door was closed. knocked on the door, and Pang Zi, who opened the door, invited the two to have dinner together. Sorghum flour, pickles, polenta. There is also less salt in the dish, not to mention oil. Crude fiber, less oil, less salt. Chen Ke remembered a joke from a friend from the past, "60-year-old food definitely meets the standards of the so-called healthy diet in the 21st century". Thinking of this, Chen Ke also had a happy look on his face.

Pang Zi looked at Chen Ke's great interest in eating, and looked quite happy, but felt a little surprised. "Mr. Chen seems to be tired of eating wine and meat, and wants to change his taste." Pang Zi said heartily.

Chen Ke was not angry, "You can't get tired of eating this thing with wine and meat." ”

"I'm not good at hospitality, I don't have chickens, ducks and fish, don't be surprised by Mr. Chen." Pang Zi said with a smile.

As Chen Ke walked through the village, he heard the cries of many chickens and ducks. He suddenly remembered something, "I see that we have a river here, but I don't know if we can catch earthworms and catch fish and shrimp to feed chickens and ducks." ”

"Of course I will. It's not enough to feed food. Pang Zi replied.

"Brother Pang, there is actually a way to raise earthworms. Horse manure and cow dung are mixed with straw and straw, and earthworms are raised in the same way as manure, and after mixing the soil. Earthworms eat strong and grow quickly. At least the chickens and ducks still have enough to eat in the winter. It is indeed much better than feeding food. ”

These are all very common breeding techniques in later generations, but Chen Ke firmly believes that Pang Zi has never seen it. It's still easy to fool Pang Zi.

Sure enough, as Chen Ke said, Pang Zi sneered disapplauded: "Mr. Chen will coax people, and earthworms can also be raised?" ”

"Brother Pang must have caught earthworms too, so let me ask, where is the best place to catch earthworms? Is it mud, or grass, or under a tree? Chen Ke asked.

Pang Zi thought about it for a while, but he really didn't pay attention to it. While Chen Ke was eating, he discussed with Pang Zi. The so-called truth became clearer and clearer the more it was debated, and after some discussion, Pang Zi remembered that as Chen Ke said, where there was humus, there were many earthworms. Listening to Chen Ke's methodical talk, it didn't even look like he was lying. Pang Zi had never believed in fake foreign devils, but after listening to it for a while, he found that he actually believed Chen Ke's words a little. It's really weird.

"Mr. Chen has never farmed the land?" Pang Zi asked.

"Haven't planted it. However, I have a friend who used to raise earthworms to feed chickens, and the results were very good. ”

As soon as he heard this, Pang Zi immediately confirmed that Chen Ke must be talking nonsense. However, as soon as this idea arose, Pang Zi felt hesitant. Pang Zi has also seen the world, whether he is talking nonsense or not, you can see the look on his face. Chen Ke's expression is frank, if he can deceive people like this, it can only be said that Chen Ke is really a guy who is too insidious. The meal was not much, and it was eaten quickly. Chen Ke yawned, "If there is nothing else, Brother Pang, I will go to sleep first." ”

After Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua fell asleep, Pang Zi carefully closed the door and returned to his room. When Chen Ke went out to take a bath, Pang Zi secretly checked the backpacks that Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua left in the house. In addition to a dozen books, there are also a bunch of small bottles. It's all tightly sealed. All that's left is a change of clothes. The strange zipper on the bag, Pang Zi didn't understand the principle. But it's really convenient, it opens as soon as you pull it, and you close it when you pull it.

He took out Wu Xingchen's letter and read it again. The letter should have been written by Wu Xingchen. Pang Zi did invite a few old brothers to come over and discuss the matter of "making trouble" together. That's what the letter says. The letter told Pang Zi that Chen Ke was a revolutionary party and had extraordinary knowledge. Wu Xingchen thought that letting Chen Ke participate should be of some help. Pang Zi knew that Wu Xingchen, like himself, hated fake foreign devils the most. I didn't expect that I hadn't seen each other in the past few years, but I actually started to make friends with these people. It really puzzled him.

Pang Zi met Wu Xingchen when he was in the year of Gengzi. At that time, Jing Tingbin, as a martial artist, was also a well-known figure in Xingtai. As a relative, Pang Zi followed Jing Tingbin to practice martial arts. In the year of Gengzi, the Hebei Boxers entered Beijing, and Pang Zi carried Jing Tingbin on his back and wanted to enter Beijing to see the excitement. When he arrived in the capital, he was also a kung fu person and a small leader.

At that time, Wu Xingchen was the helmsman of the Heaven and Earth Society, but he concealed his identity and became a leader. There are dozens of people under him, and he often meets with Pang Zi. The two fell in love, and Wu Xingchen told Pang Zi not to trust the court. Later, before the imperial court and foreigners joined forces to suppress the Boxers, Wu Xingchen notified the brothers of the locks and told everyone to run quickly. Many people didn't believe Wu Xingchen's words, but Pang Zi did. As a result, not long after the two escaped from the capital with their men, the suppression of the Boxers happened.

The two of them can be regarded as "famous", Pang Zi didn't dare to go home, so he simply followed Wu Xingchen to Shandong and took refuge in Zhao Sanduo. Zhao Sanduo led the Boxer to launch an uprising, and the troops were divided into three routes. Wu Xingchen stayed in Shandong, and Pang Zi followed Zhao Sanduo back to Hebei. Jing Tingbin and Zhao Sanduo "resisted foreign donations", proposed to "sweep away and destroy foreigners", and launched an uprising together, Pang Zi was very active as a cadre. The uprising failed, Jing Tingbin was executed by Ling Chi, and Zhao Sanduo died of hunger strike in prison. Pang Zi had to flee to Shandong.

When he arrived in Shandong, he learned that the uprising in Shandong had also failed, and Yuan Shikai bloodily suppressed the uprising in Shandong. Wu Xingchen's whereabouts are unknown. Pang Zi had to flee to Cangzhou. It was only this year that I returned to my hometown. He has always been in contact with the surviving brothers in Shandong, and suddenly learned that Wu Xingchen was still alive in the previous paragraph, and after the failure of the Shandong uprising, Wu Xingchen fled to Shanghai. Pang Zi asked the brothers over there in Shandong to inform Wu Xingchen and come to him together to discuss important matters.

Unexpectedly, Wu Xingchen actually sent such two foreign devils to come first. However, Pang Zi believes that Wu Xingchen should not have taken refuge in foreigners. "Forget it, anyway, looking at the letter, Brother Wu will be here in the next two days. We'll talk about that then. Thinking of this, Pang Zi blew out the candle and fell asleep.