Whether you want to or not, objectively everyone has to go through it 24 hours a day. Chen Ke's feeling is that there are too many things and not enough time. Looking for a house, Wu Xingchen went to Zhang Luo in person. Lecture, Chen Tianhua took over Wu Xingchen's whip. Chen Ke took Xie Mingxian to give a lecture at Beijing Normal University, and after he came back, he began to prepare for honeycomb coal, and the whole day passed.

The next day, the He family came to buy medicine early in the morning, and then Bu Guanshui came to invite Chen Ke and them to dinner. I finally got these things done, and I will continue to lecture in the afternoon. After returning from the lecture, Wu Xingchen took Chen Ke to see the house.

When he got up early on the morning of the third day, Chen Ke was ready to receive those people who He Ruming had found. The gathering place is a teahouse not too far from the Beijing railway station. At half past ten in the morning, there were only thirteen of the twenty people who said yes. In the face of such efficiency, He Ruming also feels quite good.

Chen Ke couldn't say anything, so he had to continue to wait. He recalled the early history of Grandpa Mao in his head, and it was said that when he was an old man doing things alone, he failed in business and did not last long in the army. Some theories say that the chairman took the marriage money given by his father-in-law and paid the party fee. Only then did he join the party organization. But when the first year comes, there will be 10 or 20 national deputies, and there will be hundreds of party members in the whole country. Grandpa Mao has enough comrades to work with.

And he started from scratch, and at this stage he is only eight party members. There are also some people who are not party members, but just clerks. Not to mention that there are guys like Wu Xingchen who have an unclear revolutionary position. Whose methods should we learn in order to open up the revolutionary situation? When Mr. Li Dazhao formed the party, he was already a world-famous scholar, and Chen Duxiu was a famous literati. They raise their arms and always have a great appeal. Chen Ke also imitated these people, but the early party organization was even more unpredictable, and there were a large number of anarchist collectives*. Compared with the later party with steel discipline, the early party organization was the same as that of a family.

The growth of the Party was accomplished in the test of blood and fire, and the premise of the test was that there were sufficient manpower. Chen Keyou reflected on the original purpose of his trip to Beijing, which was to gather enough manpower. And this group of people must be those who are dissatisfied with the existing system. If they just want to come to their own place to eat and drink, or to work and get money, as soon as they hear the news that officials and soldiers are coming to suppress them, they will immediately scatter as birds and beasts, or simply "strike back" and attack the People's Party.

Thinking of this, Chen Ke's gaze at those people also became critical.

He Ruming didn't pay attention to Chen Ke's expression, he just sat there in an official position. Although he is no longer an official of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, he does not want to change his approach. is always maintaining his "official authority". Chen Ke saw that the people below were sitting at the table and didn't dare to say anything, everyone was not very old, from their twenties to their thirties. They looked at He Ruming's eyes and felt a little uncomfortable. Chen Ke felt that he could not lead He Ruming's accumulated dissatisfaction to himself. He stood up and picked up the teapot and poured tea for everyone.

You need to be particular about doing things, and even in the 21st century, the rules for pouring tea are quite big. It is a common custom to pour tea first for an older person. Chen Ke just started pouring the tea one by one counterclockwise. He Ruming is not the last one casually, but he is just a very ordinary treatment. Although Chen Ke poured tea for He Ruming, his attitude was extremely respectful. He also said, "Lord He, please drink tea." But He Ruming's expression was already a little dissatisfied. Chen Ke knew that He Ruming had noticed this detail, and whether other people could notice it, Chen Ke was not sure. But those who have a heart should know the meaning of this move.

As expected, He Ruming didn't drink the tea, and his face became unhappy. Originally, he had told Chen Ke that he would not stay here for dinner at noon. At about eleven o'clock, He Ruming got up and said goodbye after a while. Chen Ke didn't hold back, and watched He Ruming, who was humming angrily, leave, and he continued to pour tea for everyone in the order of Fang Cai.

As soon as He Ruming left, the atmosphere in the venue began to liven up. Some people let out a long breath, some people simply smiled, and the depressed atmosphere was swept away. Many people looked at Chen Ke's eyes, and there was already a slight kindness and respect in them.

"My name is Chen Ke, and I am the apprentice of Mr. Xi Yanfu, the chief teacher of the Water Master Academy." Chen Ke stood up and introduced himself.

"You are Mr. Yan's apprentice."

"Are you also a student of the Sailor Academy?"

Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau and Beiyang Naval Academy have a deep relationship, and when they heard that Chen Ke was Yan Fu's apprentice, everyone immediately became full of respect for Chen Ke. Seeing this, Chen Ke regretted it, maybe he shouldn't have offended He Ruming. But the so-called water is difficult to recover, unless Chen Ke crosses again, there is definitely no way to do what he has done again.

"Are you all from the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau?" Chen Ke then asked.

"My name is Xu Tianqi, and I am from the steel workshop."

"My name is Xu Erba, and I am from the mechanical workshop, and there are three people here."

Some of the people reported their own homes, and some helped introduce others after reporting their homes. The thirteen people who came were all from the Machinery Bureau. This was really beyond Chen Ke's expectations, originally he didn't trust He Ruming's ability, but he didn't expect that the person he found might be really qualified.

People in the 21st century may not be able to make friends with others, but the aspect of treating people equally is definitely first-class. Chen Ke's attitude towards everyone was the same, and these young people were frightened by Chen Ke's background, and seeing that Chen Ke did not have the "official authority" like He Ruming, they were all enthusiastic.

While Chen Ke was talking to everyone, people arrived one after another. Some of the people are from the East Bureau, and some are from the West Bureau, so they naturally sit on both sides, faintly forming two camps. It's almost time to see that people are coming, and the big private room is already crowded.

During the conversation, Chen Ke probably learned that among the eighteen people now, eleven workers, five technicians, and two engineers were originally engaged in the manufacture of steam engines and firearms in the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau. As for their origins, most of them are northerners, and only Xu Tianqi and Xu Erba are from Anhui.

Chen Ke continued, "Everyone comes from all over the world, sitting here for a common goal. What exactly is this goal? Who can say. ”

Everyone looked at each other, what the hell is the goal of gathering here? Since the Tianjin Machinery Bureau was destroyed in the year of Gengzi, everyone is basically semi-unemployed. These people all rely on the Tianji Machinery Bureau to eat, and the Tianjin Machinery Bureau will have no financial resources. As soon as He Ruming gathered everyone, in order to be able to eat together, these people received the call and went to Beijing.

"I'll start with that." Xu Erba was the first to speak, "I'm a poor talent, I can't pass the exam, so I went to Beijing and wanted to have a chance, and after a few days in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, the bureau collapsed." I came here to make money, and when I return to my hometown, I can have some savings, so that I won't be able to lift my head when I see the villagers. ”

Hearing this, the atmosphere became a little lively, and Yin Ergou, who was born as a worker, said: "I didn't want to make a lot of money, as long as I can eat enough and marry a daughter-in-law." ”

Such a simple pursuit made many people laugh.

"I got married with the scriptures, and I have no plans to marry another daughter-in-law. But seeing my daughter-in-law frugal all day long, I felt uncomfortable. I want to make money. Xiao Qi, who was born as a small landowner, said.

In the end, the consensus reached by the young people attending the meeting was two words: "earn money". While he was talking, he saw a man standing at the door. The first to see this person was Xiao Qi, and he immediately changed his face like a cat and mouse. When the others saw Xiao Qi's appearance, they all looked at the door, first the people in the East Bureau stopped talking, and then the people in the West Bureau were speechless. The young people stood up one after another, but no one spoke, and the welcome party, which had been quite active, immediately fell silent, as if it had suddenly changed into a memorial service.

The young man at the door looked like he was 30 years old, tall, with a long face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his expression was indescribably serious, with his pale complexion.

Seeing a bunch of acquaintances there, this person stepped into the courtyard. Yin Ergou was already a little frightened, "Lord Qin." He shouted timidly. Judging from his appearance, everyone knows this person, who should be a senior cadre of the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau.

The Lord Qin walked up to Chen Ke, "May I ask who is Mr. Chen Kechen?" His voice was slender and soft, but there was no emotion in it, and he had a very businesslike attitude.

Chen Ke replied, "I am." ”

That Lord Qin looked at Chen Ke for a moment, and then said, "My name is Qin Tongren, and Lord He sent me here to participate in Mr. Chen's factory. ”

As soon as Qin Tongren joined, the atmosphere of the meeting immediately changed. The young people, who had already had a tendency to get along, are now trembling. It seems that this Qin Tongren was quite prestigious and means back then.

Chen Ke naturally can't let outsiders dominate the situation, and there must be no less process to follow. Qin Tong people also have to introduce themselves. This request did not make Qin Tongren feel uncomfortable, and he said his resume calmly. He studied at the age of five, went to a Catholic church school at the age of ten, went to Germany to study in middle school at the age of twelve, was admitted to the Humboldt University of Berlin at the age of sixteen with excellent grades, graduated from Humboldt University at the age of twenty, majored in mechanical engineering, returned to China in the same year, and began to work in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau.

Hearing this, Chen Ke couldn't help but ask, "I wonder if Mr. Qin knows You Wei and Wang Bin?" ”

It was only at this time that Qin Tongren's expression changed slightly, and he replied: "The year I graduated, they had just been admitted to Humboldt University, and Mr. Chen knew them?" ”

"They're my friends." Chen Ke replied.

Qin Tongren didn't care about this, he continued to introduce himself. In Tianjin Machinery Bureau, Qin Tongren worked from engineer to deputy chief engineer. It wasn't until after the year of Gengzi that Qin Tong was forced to leave. In the past two years, Qin Tong people have also been at home.

"Mr. Qin, everyone comes from all over the world and gathers here for a common goal. What does Mr. Qin think this goal is? Chen Ke moved on to the next question.

Qin Tongren glanced at the crowd, "It should be to do something, everyone makes some money." ”

Chen Ke thought that this brother would sing a high note, but he didn't expect it to be such an answer, but he really admired it.

After counting the number of people, there are now nineteen people, and there are exactly twenty with Chen Ke. Chen Ke was not ready to wait any longer, and directly began to talk about the plan to build the factory. The plan has been talked about many times, and it is nothing more than the benefits of honeycomb coal and the social significance of honeycomb coal. These narratives have only one purpose, which is to make a lot of money for the benefit of the country and the people. Chen Keshen is calm and relaxed, and he is full of confidence. After all, the people attending the meeting have worked in factories, and they are military enterprises, and their knowledge is not ordinary. After listening to Chen Ke's clear and clear statement, they all came to their senses.

Yin Ergou wanted to speak, but he didn't say anything. He glanced at Qin Tongren. Qin Tongren's expression was calm, he didn't mean to express his position, seeing Qin Tongren's expression, Yin Ergou swallowed the words back into his stomach. Others are also afraid to express their opinions.

Chen Ke looked cold, if Qin Tongren didn't speak, others wouldn't dare to say anything. He asked Qin Tongren directly, "Mr. Qin, what do you think?" ”

Qin Tongren thought for a moment, "Mr. Chen, you haven't finished talking about that key place, and I don't know what to look at now." ”

This is very reasonable, after Qin Tongren finished speaking, several people nodded slightly.

Chen Ke nodded, "How much is the coal shipped?" Does anyone know? ”

No one answered.

Chen Ke put a piece of paper on the table, told everyone the retail price of coal, and then told everyone the way ordinary people use coal, and then calculated the actual cost price of a piece of honeycomb coal. At this rate, the price of honeycomb coal used by a household is actually half cheaper than that of burning briquettes. Everyone sighed in unison, everyone looked relaxed, and they all felt that this business was bound to make a lot of money.

Only Qin Tongren slowly frowned.

When Chen Ke saw this, he was secretly happy in his heart. It would be great if Qin Tongren's frowning reasons were the same as what he thought.

Chen Ke looked at the crowd with a smile and began to list the new data on paper. A strong coal miner can make a thousand pieces a day if he makes honeycomb coal. If these people come to the door to fetch coal in person, the price can be very low. If you earn 50 yuan a day, you can take care of your life. As long as the coal hammer can be popularized, the honeycomb coal plant can be closed. Of course, Chen Ke is too much, no matter what kind of coal miner, he can't do the amount of 1,000 yuan a day when he is tired to death. But this is to set the stage for the rest of the story.

When everyone heard this reasonable explanation, the people who had been looking relaxed all had gloomy faces. Qin Tongren was different from everyone else, and his face softened.

"I want to compete with these people who make their own coal, and I can beat them. There is only one way. Chen Ke said this, but did not continue. He wrote four big words on the paper - "machine production".

A few of them said "um" in unison. Although Qin Tongren wanted to keep his composure, a smile finally appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"We use machines to produce honeycomb coal. Twenty of us can produce 100,000 to 200,000 pieces a day. Establish a honeycomb coal transportation system for the entire city of Beijing. Definitely cheaper than those who make their own coal, and the coal is better than theirs. Even if we only earn 20 yuan for 1,000 pieces of coal, we produce 100,000 pieces of coal every day, which is a hundred times that of those people, and each person can earn almost 1,000 yuan a day. And no one can compete with us. In this way, the honeycomb coal yard can survive. ”

This kind of naked modern competition mechanism relies on efficiency and price to overwhelm all competitors. Yin Ergou is quite smart, and after hearing this, his breathing is a lot shorter. "Mr. Chen, I'll follow you." Speaking of this, he didn't care about other people's eyes focused on him, "Lord He said very clearly, I have to do any hard work here." Hearing what you say, I feel capable. I'll do a good job with you. ”

To everyone's surprise, Qin Tongren said in a tone that was always calm: "This thing is capable. Everyone's eyes fell on Qin Tongren. Everyone followed Qin Tongren and expressed their stance that they would do a good job here.

Although Wu Xingchen has been away from Beijing for a long time, he still has connections. In addition, after the Gengzi Incident, many people in the capital were killed, and many people fled to other places. As a result, Wu Xingchen actually rented a very large house. Originally a carriage and horse shop, it was occupied outside Beijing during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance. The owner of the carriage and horse shop and his two sons were killed, and the mule and horse carts were also robbed, which was equivalent to the destruction of the family, and only such a yard remained. Wu Xingchen rented it for two years with one hundred and thirty taels of silver. As far as Chen Ke is concerned, it is indeed a very cost-effective deal.

led everyone here, only to see that this place is quite dilapidated. Except for the big one, the others can be said to be useless. The courtyard walls are broken, and the houses are dilapidated. Occupancy is a problem.

Grandpa Mao said that self-reliance is abundant. Chen Ke is convinced of this. Pointing to this dilapidated mansion, Chen Ke smiled, "Do you believe it or not, we can restore this place to its old appearance soon?" ”

Although everyone had not met for a long time, they could already see that Chen Ke had no frame and could talk to him. Xu Erba plucked up his courage and said: "Mr. Chen, I have also repaired a house in the countryside, if you want to repair it here, I am afraid that it will not work for ten days." ”

"In addition to this Brother Xu, has anyone repaired the house?" Chen Ke asked.

Technician Gao Huaide stepped forward. He was born in Tianjin, studied in a private school, and later entered the Tianjin Machinery Bureau. "Mr. Chen, I have also repaired the house."

Others didn't know if they had had a similar experience, Chen Ke saw a few people frowning, but they refused to stand up and speak. Ignoring those people, Chen Ke asked, "If you let two people take twenty people to repair the house." Do you think you can finish it in a few days? ”

"This, twenty people. It will take five or six days. Gao Huaide said.

"It's been almost that long." Xu Erba should also be in harmony.

"That's easy, aren't there twenty people here? You two take the lead, and we all work together to repair the house. ”

As soon as Chen Ke's words fell, there was a commotion in the team.

"Mr. Chen, do you want to repair this house yourself?"

"I'm not going to fix a house."

There are people who are surprised that Chen Ke did this, and there are people who say they don't want to participate. Accounts differ and opinions vary.

Chen Ke stood at the front of the team and glanced around. Seeing Chen Ke's resolute gaze, those who spoke subconsciously stopped speaking.

"Lord Ho should have told me the rules of my place before you come here, everyone has to work. This is our factory in the future, so we have to make everything ourselves. If you want to come here and do what you do well, I can't raise them. I'm here to make a statement, I don't know how to repair a house, and I don't know how to repair a house. But let me do it, I can do it. I'm willing to come out. After saying this, Chen Ke glanced at the team again. I saw that someone was stunned, and someone had an indifferent expression. There are also people who are not convinced and want to stop talking.

"Lord Ho, please come here, I can't embarrass Lord He. You can't let everyone run for nothing. So, if you don't think it's okay and can't accept my rules here, you can ask to leave here now. I'll give you five silver dollars right away. After speaking, Chen Ke took out a money bag from his satchel and checked it in his hand, the money bag was heavily filled with a lot of silver dollars, making a dull noise.

"Don't worry, I said five silver dollars, and I'll cash in."

Seeing that Chen Ke is so determined, and there should be a real guy in the money bag, many people seem to be convinced. Still, two people said they wanted to leave. Chen Ke handed out money in public, and sincerely shook hands with them and said goodbye, wishing them a smooth journey. The others didn't expect Chen Ke to be so decisive, but there was no movement.

"If no one is leaving, let's get started. I'm a layman when it comes to repairing houses. So how to repair the house, I think I still have experience and have more say. My request is to be able to let everyone move in quickly, and I listen to you on how to do it. Chen Ke said with a smile.

Although it was said that he was going to repair the house, Chen Ke didn't really let the two have the final say. On the contrary, according to the party's key in those years, the first thing was to mobilize the masses. One of the core of mobilizing the masses is to involve everyone. These eighteen heroes, including Chen Ke, are all working class. The working class is the most organized.

First of all, Xu Erba and Gao Huaide talked about the architectural characteristics of the house, and then how to repair those broken parts. In those years, the party relied on the "democratic life association" and the "soldiers' committee" to organize a group of peasants. For workers, this model is more efficient. In less than an afternoon, the group had already made a plan to repair the house.

You have never experienced such an organizational model, and in the previous life, everyone was assigned to do what work. They have different permissions depending on their status. Even the incompetent can command as long as they can get permission. Chen Ke's new model is meritocracy, Xu Erba and Gao Huaide have indeed repaired the house, and after getting the opportunity to perform, they are also fully performing. Seeing that Chen Ke didn't have the slightest arrogance, but listened to them carefully, the others were a little dissatisfied. Xu Erba is a technician, Gao Huaide is a worker, and his status in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau is not high. Shen Songwen, who was born as a steam engine engineer, felt dissatisfied, and he also participated in the discussion. However, he had no experience in civil engineering after all, and was quickly dismissed.

Seeing that Chen Ke really hoped that everyone could participate, the two people who didn't dare to come out and speak up also stood up. They also have experience in repairing houses. Different views were put forward on the statements of Xu Erba and Gao Huaide. After some debate, two proposals were finally reached. The red-faced people all looked at Chen Ke, waiting for him to come up with an idea.

"This factory is our factory, although I pay for it, but everyone has to participate in the production and construction of the factory. So my thinking is that this thing needs to be voted on. What does it mean for everyone to vote? It means that after you vote, even if someone else's opinion is approved, you must accept the final plan. ”

After explaining the rules of the game of this "democratic voting", everyone looked at each other. It's all well and good to vote, but if the plan you support doesn't pass, you'll have to listen to someone else. So what does this vote mean for you?

After all, Shen Songwen is an engineer, and his brain is quite flexible. He saw that everyone was taking the test, and felt that the opportunity was rare, so he put forward a set of his own opinions. Obviously, Shen Songwen absorbed some of the ideas of the two plans, and then summarized them according to his own ideas. The core content is a compromise. There was immediate support for this proposal. Seeing the two options become three opposing attitudes.

Qin Tongren, who had been watching in silence, finally opened his mouth. As soon as the deputy chief engineer spoke, it was indeed very different. Qin Tongren suggested that the repair of several damaged parts of the house should be completed quickly. Then fix the broken parts of the roof and walls so that everyone can move in. Repairs will be made elsewhere at a later date. This plan is obviously much stronger than Shen Songwen's. Stick to this "quick check-in", and the rationality of the plan will be clear at a glance.

This was a secret ballot, and in the end, with sixteen votes in favor of Qin Tongren and two votes in favor of Shen Songwen, Qin Tongren's plan was approved. Next, Chen Ke entrusted the four brothers with experience in civil engineering to come up with an overall plan tomorrow.

Party members have always been the focus of imitating and taking the lead, and Chen Ke has full experience in Shanghai. For the next three days, he did not challenge the final plan, and he did not avoid work. With him taking the lead, Qin Tongren showed Chen Ke's style, and others naturally had nothing to say. The division of labor of each project is formulated after everyone's collective discussion, and it is not that no one is lazy, but "what a thousand people point to will end without a problem". While everyone else is working hard, the lazy ones are extremely glamorous. So the project went smoothly. By the afternoon of the third day, the dormitory that had been repaired first was ready to move in. On the sixth day, the other houses were also ready for use. Chen Ke also found white ash and painted the inside of the house a little, and a few days ago he looked at the dilapidated house and felt completely new.

In this process, Qin Tongren's performance was extremely good. Although under the command of a few ordinary mechanics and workers, although all manual work is done. Qin Tongren, an international student, never said a word about hard work, and Qin Tongren, a senior engineer, is very serious about moving bricks and mud. Wouldn't this brother also cross over?

There is a rule in Chen Ke's tutoring that if you despise work such as digging excrement after reading the book, it can only mean that you have read the book in vain. The so-called "gentleman is not a weapon", there is only the work that needs to be done, and there is no work that can only be done. In this era, international students feel that they should do big things, not do these "low-level" jobs. Qin Tongren's performance surprised Chen Ke.

And such serious work did not make others feel arrogant, on the contrary, as long as Qin Tongren went there, everyone's work seemed to be on the right track immediately. The prestige brought by this kind of quality and performance is the most difficult to establish, and it is also the most difficult to shake after it is established, Chen Ke feels that it is not right, according to Qin Tongren's approach, don't really make the honeycomb coal project happen, right? Then I am making a wedding dress for others!