Public lectures in China in 1905 were a wonderful thing. For ordinary people, learning is the business of those who read. The ordinary people of Shanghai now also know that foreigners are also doing education, which is better than what China is doing. In any case, learning has nothing to do with the people. Therefore, the posters and propaganda everywhere, as well as the advertisements published in Shanghai newspapers, do not make the people have any special care for learning.

The rise of Shanghai as a place has brought more employment opportunities as a treaty port, and the construction of the city is far from keeping up with social development. Chen Ke never liked to visit Shanghai, which in 1905 was a city full of slums and shantytowns. In addition to the fact that the concession and a few old towns of locals still have a bit of a look, Chen Ke described the city as "not as good as the county seat in China in the 80s". A large number of people have moved into Shanghai to seek a living, which has directly contributed to the small and chaotic living area of Shanghai in the coming decades.

The old workshop of Zhou Yuanxiao's house is the building that is most in line with Chen Ke's aesthetics, large and spacious. The drying area of several hundred square meters is very satisfying. As soon as he went out, the crowded alleys, dilapidated buildings, and large shantytowns could not make Chen Kesheng feel the urge to go shopping.

With such a terrible urban construction, it is completely conceivable that the barrenness of the entertainment life of ordinary people is completely imaginable. Therefore, although the people do not like to learn, they are willing to go and see the excitement.

The location of this lecture is not far from the teahouse where Chen Ke and You Wei first met, and it is a piece of ground that the British helped coordinate. When Qi Huishen announced the address at the party meeting, the three people who participated in the beating of foreigners at that time, whether they were beating people or watching the beatings, couldn't help laughing. It's inexplicable to make Qi Hui deep. You Wei even explained things clearly with a smile, and the comrades attending the meeting also burst into laughter. Hua Xiongmao didn't say anything, Chen Ke was actually a guy who didn't agree with each other and waved his fists, which greatly deviated from everyone's impression of Chen Ke. As for Miss You You, who can poke people with chopsticks, she can't imagine it.

Qi Huishen ridiculed You Wei and called him a heroine. You smiled and pulled out a Swiss Army knife from his pocket. This was extorted by her from Chen Ke. "Next time I poke someone, I'll use this. Absolutely no chopsticks or anything like that. ”

Hearing this, Qi Hui grinned deeply, and didn't dare to say anything more.

The venue is at the corner of the street, and a field of more than 100 square meters is circled with ropes. It's also very open. The keynote speaker for the first part is Yu Yau. In those days, there were no microphones, and the lectures were all shouted by people, and it didn't make any sense to make it too big.

On the first day of the lecture, more than 300 people unexpectedly came. About half of them are lively, and the other half is really parents who come to see the strength of the teachers in the new school.

It is clear from the advertisements and leaflets that this lecture is a professional lecture by teachers from the newly opened Shanghai Renxin Medical College. The new school has a strong teaching staff, and Mr. You is an international student. In those days, international students who came back from Germany, in the eyes of ordinary parents, were as knowledgeable as the sky.

When You Gui walked up to the podium in a light gray suit, embroidered shirt, and low-waisted leather boots, the audience below didn't know what was going on for a while. You Mao's dress can only be called "trendy" in this era. There was a humming whisper from the crowd below. No one knew what this lady who looked completely out of the law was going to do. You Wei raised her left hand and looked at the watch that Chen Ke insisted on her to wear, and many of the glittering things that wealthy parents had seen or heard of. There was another commotion below.

"Hello everyone, I am a teacher from Shanghai Renxin Hospital, and my name is You You. I will tell you about today's public class. The clear voice of You Wei spread far away, and people in front and behind could hear it. At this moment, the audience blew up the camp, and a young woman went to study in Germany, which was appalling even in Shanghai. Not to mention that this woman has to give a lecture to everyone. Some people were very disappointed and began to leave the scene with swearing, and more people rushed forward to see the woman's face more clearly. The women who can go to Germany to study are naturally from rich and noble families, and although there are many women who come out to work on the beach, there are really few rich women who are willing to show up and give lectures.

Qi Huishen, He Zudao, Qin Wuan and others in the front row hurriedly stood up, and it took a while to maintain order.

When You Yu took out a white candle and lit it, there was a burst of laughter from the crowd. You Wei's face became flushed, in fact, as soon as he stepped onto the podium and looked at the eyes of hundreds of people below on his face, You Wei felt a little dizzy, the skin on his face was tense for a while, the hair on his back was straight, and his steps were a little soft.

This is not a lecture with Chen Ke and them, everyone is an acquaintance, and You Yu thinks it is very good. This is not a lecture to the progressive youth in the workshop, everyone has some knowledge, at least they can be polite.

The costumes of the masses varied, with many wearing short clothes and long robes and horse coats. The vast majority were men, and the women were at the side of the venue with their children. You Mo now finally understands that "if you want to be poor, go to the next level." The meaning of it. This podium is not very high, more than half a meter. But this is enough for You Wei's gaze to cover all the audience, especially You Wei's gaze can also pass over the audience and directly see the street, where many pedestrians see You Wu on the stage and look here, and even the second-floor windows across the street are opened, poking out the heads of men and women from inside.

After settling down, You Yu turned around and wrote on the blackboard the theme of this lecture, "The Story of Candles".

To be honest, in 1905, although the masses loved to watch the excitement, everyone was curious that they had never seen a woman lecturing, and they all wanted to come forward to take a look at this female gentleman. But there are at least some basic etiquette on the scene. Although You Gui is too shocking to give a lecture on stage as a woman, the newspaper foreshadowing before the debut, as well as You Gui's behavior of looking at his watch in public, make everyone a little in awe of this "female gentleman". Moreover, this course was originally a popular science textbook prepared by Faraday for children's lectures, and the content was mostly experimental, lively and lively. It is not for advanced science education, but only for the purpose of popularizing science. Therefore, the lessons are very simple and easy to understand.

Everyone in the audience, whether rich or not, has used candles. I also know that people have to inhale. Therefore, from the composition of the air, the burning of candles, and a few simple experiments, everyone can understand that the air is actually divided into two kinds, one that can breathe and one that cannot breathe. I understand why the firewood can be extinguished by attaching it in a pot or covering it with earth. The masses are so simple, simple truths, simple experiments, and immediately make everyone feel that they have gained a lot. I have a lot of respect for this beautiful lady on the stage.

When You Yu announced that the day's course was over, I don't know who shouted hello first, and the applause immediately came one after another. You Yu blushed and bowed slightly, and then fled off the podium as if flying. This normal behavior of a girl caused a louder applause.

You Wei loosened his tie, and Qi Huishen applauded and greeted him, "Well spoken." If it was before, You Hui would have said something to Qi Huishen, but at this time, hundreds of pairs of eyes looked in the direction of You Hui, and she nodded slightly, "I'll leave now." Qi Huishen hurriedly greeted the waiting rickshaw driver and sent You Yu back to the workshop.

As soon as You Miao left, parents came over to ask about Qi Huishen's new school, where is the location, when will classes start, where is the female gentleman from Fangcai, and what classes are taught in this school. Qi Huishen was surrounded by so many enthusiastic parents and fully appreciated the feelings of You Gui Fangcai. He simply stood on the podium and loudly briefed the situation of Shanghai Renxin Medical College. He Zudao and Qin Wuan were responsible for distributing the "Huangpu Review", which included the content of today's lecture and the introduction of the school in this issue of the Huangpu Review.

I thought that the parents would disperse, but I didn't expect that not only did they not have it, but more questions were raised. Is it true that this school does not charge tuition, and how do medical students find jobs after graduation. The middle school attached to the medical school, and the nursing school attached to it. What's going on with that hospital? Will this lesson be taught tomorrow?

"Wen Qing, you guessed completely wrong!" Qi Hui complained in his heart. The day before the start of the class, Chen Ke believed that there would not be too few or too many people who could come to the class. But there shouldn't be too many parents who come to inquire and sign up. Qi Huishen also thinks so. I didn't expect so many people to ask questions, which was really beyond my expectations.

This is not the most exaggerated, it is not easy to answer the questions of parents, but it is not that some people come here to probe their brains, it is obvious that they are coming to see the excitement. After looking at it for a while, they tentatively inquired, and heard that there was a beautiful lady here who was giving a lecture. Looking at the longing and lust of those people, He Zudao and Qin Wuyang's faces changed greatly. They all replied that there would be no lectures here tomorrow. And then drove these people away.

The next day's pomp and circumstance was amazing, the night before, after Qi Huishen reported the situation, Chen Ke asked Qi Huishen to go to contact people overnight, and through Qi Huishen's father Qi Si'e, he borrowed two foreign devils from the British. Both of these men are poor Russian ghosts, but they are tall and tall. This is to fill the scene of the British school, and the British are willing to help. The two grey cattle of the Tsar had each agreed on a pay of fifty pence a day, and the two of them went to the two corners of the stage, and then stopped the field. The number of people who came to attend the lecture the next day was several times that of yesterday, and the venue that was somewhat vacant yesterday was packed today, and even the streets were full of people.

You Gou's class is even more eye-catching, and the volta-column battery has done experiments such as electrolysis of water. Seeing the gases that can be burned from the water was a huge upend for the audience. The eyes of everyone looking at You Wei were not just in awe, but in fear. In the eyes of many people, this female gentleman may be a Taoist priest. The water that can extinguish the fire is actually composed of gas that can support combustion and gas that can burn. Isn't this a spell or what?

When You Wei finished the lecture and was about to leave, there were already female parents who stopped You Wu first, and they looked at the female gentleman in awe, and the female parents praised You Wei's knowledge and asked countless questions. You Wei was also moved, this was the first time she was so respected after returning to China. To be honest, after You Yu returned to China, he was actually not taken too seriously. Before meeting Chen Ke, even if it was a cooperative partner, the man was either jealous of You Kuo, or he was in a deep-seated attitude of contempt and deliberately kept his distance from You Kuo.

After meeting Chen Ke, everyone respected each other very much and got along very well. But Chen Ke's knowledge is far above You Gui, and You Gui doesn't feel that he has anything remarkable at all. Only now, although everyone may not understand her knowledge, but the respect and respect from the heart make You Yu really realize the power of science. The women who asked questions were full of hope that their children would be as knowledgeable and knowledgeable as Youyu. In the face of these people, You Wei was even a little moved.

Qi Huishen also kept calm, he separated everyone and hurriedly sent You Wei to the rickshaw, and he and He Zudao, Qin Wuan and others began to continue to answer questions. It took almost two hours to barely clear the site.

In the evening, the party meeting discussed the matter. The comrades attending the meeting were no longer the original few people, including Qin Wuan and others who joined the meeting.

"I really didn't expect that people are so eager for science now." Qin Wuan praised. Chen Ke spoke very well of Qin Wuan, who was born in a family of ordinary small workshop owners in Songjiang, the third son in the family, and studied in the church school. Later, he worked in a cloth shop. Later, this cloth shop fell, and Qin Wu'an had nothing to do for the time being, and he met Qi Huishen at that time. Later, Qi Huishen pulled him to listen to the class. This young man has a calm personality, is not impatient or impatient, and is also very hard-working in doing things. Chen Ke intended to train Qin Wuan into a backbone personnel.

"We have to find an engineering team to start construction." Qi Hui said excitedly.

"I've found all the people, just wait for Wen Qing to see me." Hua Xiongmao said.

"Then as soon as possible."

The next day, Chen Ke and Yuwenba both met. Before meeting, just listening to the name, Chen Ke felt that Yuwen Badu might be a tall and powerful guy. After meeting, it really surprised Chen Ke, Yuwen Badu was not low, and the whole person was round. In his thirties, the crown of his head has taken on a Mediterranean shape. On a face as round as his body, his complexion was ruddy, his eyes were very flexible and he turned his thick lips, and his thick lips were actually pink, looking like a baby who had eaten milk. Originally, in most people's imagination, Yuwen Badu's voice should be as sharp as a baby, but as soon as Yuwen Badu opened his mouth, it was like a deep voice like a religious preacher, and there was a sense of oppression that pointed directly at people's hearts. Such a huge contrast made Chen Ke feel a little shocked.

"I heard that Brother Chen is looking for us, and there is work for us to do." Yuwen Batu's attitude was very sincere, at least his voice was sincere.

Chen Ke was very skeptical that he was fooled by this obvious gap in Yuwen Batu, but he couldn't look at Yuwen Badu's mind. He settled down, and talked about business with a cold look and emotion. Sure enough, seeing that Chen Ke quickly regained his composure, there was a trace of panic in Yuwen Badu's expression.

Yuwenba's price is very high, and Chen Ke argues for it. Whenever Batu began to use his strong and reliable voice to try to prove his grievances and want to raise the price, Chen Ke's cold and firm voice stopped Batu's attempt.

"Brother Yuwen, this account is not calculated like this." Chen Ke smiled gently, and then began to settle accounts for Yuwen Badu. From the cost of food, wages, including wear and tear of clothes, in case of work-related injuries. Extrapolating from such a series of numbers, the total amount is more than half of the price of Yuwen Badu.

"It's not this algorithm, Mr. Chen, according to your algorithm, we will starve to death." Yuwenba shook his head again and again.

"Brother Yuwen, what do you say should be counted?" Chen Ke looked at Yuwen Badu, who was a little angry, and asked in a relaxed tone.

After some bargaining, the price finally began to enter the final "decisive juncture". Yuwen Badu almost tried to convince Chen Ke with a sincere cry. Chen Ke unceremoniously killed Wuwen for his daily salary.

Yuwen Badu reluctantly gave in. It's not so easy to make money in this day and age. Chen Ke's proposal is a one-month project, which can make a lot of money. But Chen Ke's next move almost drove Yuwen Badu crazy. A detailed engineering plan was handed to Yuwen Batu. There are detailed regulations on various engineering quantities. How to reward and how to punish are clearly written. After reading this plan, Yuwenba knew that he had met a veteran. He pointed to several obviously unreasonable places and told Chen Ke that it was absolutely impossible to lift such beams in such a short time.

Chen Ke was unmoved, he pointed to the instructions next to those places, Yuwen Badu only needed to provide the manpower on the plan. The erection of scaffolding and lifting equipment are the responsibility of Chen Ke's side. In the past few years, it was up to the engineering team to build a house by themselves, and it was completely contrary to common sense for the entrusting party to come up with such a detailed design document. Yuwen Badu asked Chen Ke, if it can't be completed according to the construction schedule, then whose salary is it? Chen Ke pointed to several related contract descriptions, which had detailed explanations.

Faced with such a flawless contract, Yuwen Badu finally gave in completely.

sent Yuwen Batu away, and Wu Xingchen came to the door. He fulfilled his promise, he brought five people, and at first glance he was a practitioner. This can't be slackened, Chen Ke took everyone to the restaurant where they drank together a few times before.

At the banquet, Wu Xingchen introduced these people to Chen Ke one by one, Chen Ke looked at a few people, everyone was in their twenties, and two of them still had scars on their faces. Everyone has a Shandong accent. may have experienced a lot of wind and frost, and everyone's expressions are quite stable.

After a few glasses of wine, everyone talked about their respective situations. Chen Ke's heart suddenly moved, and he slowly led the topic to the matter of Yihequan. When several Shandong heroes heard this topic, their expressions were gloomy. The one at the head is named Xu Lili, and he said: "Originally, we were fighting foreigners in the capital. Later, the government suddenly attacked us. If it weren't for Brother Wu running away with our 100 people, he would have died in the capital. ”

Hearing this, Wu Xingchen's face changed greatly. But he was quite intimate with Chen Ke before, and said, "We are all our own people." "It seems that these brothers really think it's okay. But Chen Ke patted Wu Xingchen's arm lightly, and his expression revealed a very understandable look. Wu Xingchen couldn't do anything about it. He had no choice but to smile strongly and listen to everyone.

After Xu Lili finished speaking, everyone nodded. "When we got home, Yuan Shikai's bastard was killing our brothers in Shandong. We could only run back to Hebei and stay in Cangzhou for a few years, and a few days ago, Brother Wu suddenly sent someone to find us and asked us to come to Shanghai to help. Here we are. ”

"Coming by boat? There is no seasickness. Chen Ke hurriedly said something lighter.

"Well, I got here by boat. In Cangzhou, we also fished, and we didn't get dizzy. It's just that the smell on the boat is too big. Not so bad. Xu Lili said, after speaking, Xu Lili looked at Chen Ke carefully, "Mr. Chen, Brother Wu said that he wanted us to be a guard, what the hell is going on." ”

"There are bad guys in Shanghai who want to fight me. So please do me a favor for two months. After these two months, I will go somewhere else. Chen Ke introduced his situation.

"How many people are there?" Xu Lili asked.

"There aren't many of them, and it's enough for me to have one of our brothers by my side." Chen Ke replied.

"Do they have guns?" Xu Lili then asked.

"It's mostly during the day, but not at night. During the day they did not dare to use their guns. Chen Keming knew that what he was telling was not the truth, but he couldn't say that there would be a shootout in broad daylight.

"Then our brothers will definitely be able to do it." Xu replied.

"I can trust everyone." Chen Ke said with a smile.

After the banquet was dispersed, Wu Xingchen arranged a place for several Shandong heroes to live, and then rushed to the workshop. As soon as he entered the door, Wu Xingchen saw that there was no one around, and he sat down opposite Chen Ke, "Wen Qing, what do you mean?" ”

"I just remembered it and asked casually." Chen Ke smiled, "Brother Wu, you are the Boxer, and I am a revolutionary." That's good. ”