Chapter 39

Chen Ke had counted the members of the Huangpu Book Society, a total of 127. This expansion training was not mandatory. After 10 minutes of instruction and practice, everyone finally managed to count off according to Chen Ke's orders.

"1"

"2"

"3"

"..."

"15"

The first row finally finished counting off.

"Have you eaten? Why are your voices like mosquitoes? Count again." Chen Ke's voice was not harsh. The young people in the front row were a bit better, but many in the back row were still chatting and laughing.

After a burst of laughter, the counting did not start. Chen Ke shouted loudly, "Start counting off." All the young people were startled, and the smiles on their faces clearly faded. The students in the first row began counting off again.

Discipline and obedience start with standardization, and formation training is just the first step. This first step took an hour, and only then did these students form a ten-by-eleven square.

Teaching everyone to march in step, starting with the left foot, took another half an hour.

Aligning to the left and to the right took another half an hour.

When the square moved forward together, the originally neat formation began to disintegrate after just ten meters.

Chen Ke was not discouraged. According to the memoirs he remembered, it took a long time to train the Red Army, who were mostly farmers, to turn left and right. The students' performance today was already very good. Military training is never a short-term process; even the most basic training takes several days. Today was only one day.

When the disorganized formation finally reached the designated position, Chen Ke ran over with a calm face, directed everyone to re-form, and started the training again.

Three hours passed quickly. Everyone was clearly very tired. Chen Ke shouted, "Dismissed." The students scattered as if they had been granted a great mercy.

Military training is not an easy task. Just giving the commands made Chen Ke's throat sore. Watching the young people retreat to the shade to rest, Chen Ke wiped the sweat from his forehead.

However, not long after, everyone's attention was drawn to an unnoticed spot. Chen Ke turned his head and saw Yan Fu, still wearing the same clothes as the last time they met, standing there watching everyone. Chen Ke had been so focused on the training that he didn't notice when Yan Fu arrived. This unexpected appearance made Chen Ke reflect on his morning response, but he couldn't find anything wrong. Since that was the case, Chen Ke didn't want to play any clichés. He simply approached and greeted Yan Fu politely.

"Are you training soldiers, Wenqing?" Yan Fu asked, his attention not on Chen Ke but on the group of young people.

"How could that be? It's just a bit of military training to instill some organizational discipline." Chen Ke couldn't read Yan Fu's expression, but he noticed that Yan Fu's gaze on the young people was particularly focused, as if he was observing the training's effectiveness. Chen Ke suddenly remembered that Yan Fu was not just a simple intellectual. Although in later times, Yan Fu was best known for "On the Origin of Species" and for introducing Western learning to China, he had worked at the Beiyang Naval Academy for many years and eventually became its president. In terms of training soldiers, Yan Fu was no amateur. With this in mind, Chen Ke dared not speak and stood by Yan Fu, waiting for him to speak.

Yan Fu收回目光，这才问道：“文青当过兵？”

“没有。”

“今天是第一天练兵么？”

“这是军训，不是练兵。”陈克再次纠正道。

Yan Fu收回目光，这才问道：“Wenqing, have you served in the military?”

"No."

"Is this the first day of training?"

"This is military training, not soldier training." Chen Ke corrected again.

Yan Fu nodded slightly, "To be able to train to this level on the first day is quite remarkable."

Chen Ke didn't want this old senior to comment further on his hard work. Although Yan Fu didn't seem to have any ill intentions, such evaluations could lead to who knows where.

"Mr. Yan, are you passing by today?"

"No, since Wenqing refused to see me, I had to come and visit in person." Yan Fu smiled.

"I really had something today." Chen Ke said frankly.

"Regarding the matter of the pharmaceutical factory we discussed last time, I have already talked to the Shanghai Daotai. He wants Wenqing to treat some patients in Hankou."

"My medicine can only treat patients in the first and second stages. I hope Mr. Yan is aware of this." Chen Ke quickly said.

"I read the printed materials from Wenqing and have a general understanding. I also brought a copy. The Shanghai Daotai, after reading it, believes it should work."

"This medicine is toxic and might kill people." Chen Ke added quickly.

"Ha, Wenqing is indeed cautious. You mentioned this several times in the 'Huangpu Review.' The Daotai definitely saw it. My original intention was to promote this medicine to Nanyang and the Beiyang Navy. But Mr. Yuan wants us to help him first. This matter requires Wenqing's involvement."

"I can't leave. Can I send a capable person to handle it?"

"That's also fine."

"Should I go see Mr. Yuan first?"

"No need. The Daotai has already assigned someone to handle this. Wenqing can send someone to find this person."

"I'll arrange it right away. Please wait a moment, Mr. Yan." Chen Ke quickly walked towards the construction site.

This was a good opportunity. In this era, the places that needed effective medicine were mainly port cities. Wherever foreigners went, these diseases spread. Chen Ke originally wanted to discuss with Hua Xiongmeng and send Doctor Wang Qian to handle it. If Doctor Wang Qian went, who would take his place? A name suddenly came to mind, and Chen Ke slowed his steps, eventually turning to Mao Ping.

"Come with me for a moment." Chen Ke said to Mao Ping.

Hearing Chen Ke's idea to send Mao Ping to Hankou to treat patients, Mao Ping was quite excited. First, he could serve the highly respected Mr. Chen, and second, he could showcase his professional skills. Both reasons made Mao Ping feel invigorated. "Mr. Wenqing, I will definitely do a good job."

"I believe in you." Chen Ke said firmly.

On the way, they talked about Mao Ping's medical skills and soon found Hua Xiongmeng. Chen Ke explained the matter. Hua Xiongmeng looked at Mao Ping, who met his gaze with determination, showing confidence in handling the task. Hua Xiongmeng nodded, "Wenqing, should I take Mao Ping to see Doctor Wang?"

"We can't make the final decision. Tell Doctor Wang that all the injections today will be done by Mao Ping, with Doctor Wang guiding from the side. Once there's time, have Mao Ping read the medical records thoroughly." Chen Ke said to Hua Xiongmeng.

After that, Chen Ke turned to Mao Ping, "Read the medical records carefully and see how patients react to the medicine and how to respond. I'm giving you today and tomorrow to do this well."

"I won't let Mr. Chen down."

Watching Mao Ping and Hua Xiongmeng leave, Chen Ke briefed Qin Wu'an on the work and then ran back to update Yan Fu. They agreed that the person in charge would meet Yan Fu the next afternoon, and Yan Fu would introduce him to Yuan Shufan.

With the matter settled, Chen Ke looked at Yan Fu, a bit embarrassed, and said, "Mr. Yan, there's no place to eat around here. I'm cooking with everyone today. Mr. Yan, would you like to join us, or do you have other plans?"

"Is Wenqing going to cook with everyone?" Yan Fu was somewhat surprised. In his view, as the president of the book society, Chen Ke would naturally have others prepare food for him, but he didn't expect Chen Ke to do the work himself.

"Unity from top to bottom. As the president of the book society, if I run away from work, how can everyone respect me?" Chen Ke said casually. For Chen Ke, this was just a basic work attitude. Even in the 21st century, Chen Ke had seen many provincial-level officials personally directing the setup of a national reception meeting and even helping to move tables and chairs. A vice president of a mobile company, after receiving a batch of printed materials, would still squat at the door to check each flyer. Although this vice president would immediately rush to eat and drink with everyone after finishing the work, this level of work ethic was far superior to those who were careless and lazy.

Personal involvement in work is a party tradition. Before the founding of the country, in the face of harsh conditions, the party absolutely enforced the role of leading by example. Even after the reform and opening up, in times of crisis, party members still stepped forward. In the face of major disasters, you could always see those usually unseen figures in the most dangerous places. This was the power of organization.

Chen Ke gained the recognition of others by never shirking responsibility and never seeking special treatment. Cooking and eating with everyone was, to Chen Ke, a very normal thing.

Yan Fu didn't see it that way. As an intellectual educated in a hierarchical and privileged society, Yan Fu felt that enjoying various privileges was natural. As a president, eating with students was clearly inappropriate. However, he had already determined that Chen Ke had rebellious intentions. As a rebel, if Chen Ke couldn't gain widespread support from below, he would have no way out. Chen Ke's actions were not without precedent. Chinese history books recorded many rebels who won support this way. Chen Ke's approach, Yan Fu thought, was quite good. He smiled, "I didn't know Wenqing could cook. I'll have to trouble you for a meal."

"I'll do my best." Chen Ke didn't refuse.

"Comrades, let's start cooking." Chen Ke shouted. Everyone turned to look at him.

The pots, rice, vegetables, salt, soy sauce, and other ingredients were already prepared. Shovels, firewood, and other tools were also ready. Chen Ke organized the students into groups of ten based on the formation. He began assigning tasks to each group. Young people love to be lively, especially with this sudden picnic. After a morning of training, everyone was hungry, and the atmosphere was filled with laughter and joy.

Some were responsible for fetching water, others for washing rice and vegetables. Chen Ke personally led the group to dig stoves and set up pots, while Yan Fu watched from the side. Everyone was assigned a task and was busy. Although the students looked at him with admiration, no one ignored the group to come and talk to him. This was quite rare. Chen Ke's organizational skills impressed Yan Fu.

With many hands, the work was done quickly. The dishes were cooked, and the large pot of steamed rice was steaming. Chen Ke didn't let the students wander freely but had them form a line and sit down neatly.

"I have a question for everyone. We're about to eat. How can we divide the food fairly? How can we make everyone believe that the food is divided fairly?"

This was a very interesting question. No one had ever thought about how to achieve this.

"Who has suggestions? Raise your hand and speak."

Everyone looked at each other. This small task of dividing food, if done fairly and believed to be fair, was not easy. After a while, a student raised his hand. Chen Ke knew this student, An Roshan, a student at Fudan University. "We should elect someone everyone can trust."

Chen Ke let An Roshan sit down and said, "We have so many people, and not everyone knows each other. How can we elect someone everyone trusts? And with over a hundred people, it would take three hours to elect someone. We can have dinner by then."

The students burst into laughter, and An Roshan blushed.

Seeing no one dared to speak, Chen Ke smiled, "The food will be ready soon. If we can't come up with a solution, I can't let you eat. We can't have this training end with grudges."

Another student raised his hand. His name was Lu Huitian, also from Fudan University. "We can find a few people to supervise the distribution of food. We can set very strict rules, like how much rice each bowl should have." As he spoke, Lu Huitian had a new idea, "We can use a scale to weigh each bowl." Some students found this acceptable, while others thought it was absurd. Someone shouted, "By the time you weigh it, I'll be starving." This caused another burst of laughter.

As Lu Huitian sat down blushing, Chen Ke asked, "Do you think the food can be divided absolutely fairly, with no difference at all?"

Most students looked doubtful.

"None of us are gods and can't achieve absolute fairness. We can't accept unfairness because we can't accept subjective intentions to give more to oneself or those we like. As long as it's not intentional, the objective distribution will inevitably result in slight differences. I think everyone can accept these minor differences, right?"

After Chen Ke's explanation, everyone understood the terms "subjective" and "objective." The students nodded in agreement.

"If we find someone to distribute the food, everyone will soon notice that this person gives the most to themselves, which is human nature. So we change the person, but the one in charge still ends up with the most and best food. Everyone thinks this method doesn't work, so we take turns, each person for a day. This acknowledges the right to give more to oneself and gives everyone the opportunity. But today, we only have one chance, and conflicts arise immediately. Or, we can elect a trustworthy person to distribute the food. But even if this person is of high moral character and can be basically fair, they won't give more to themselves but might give more to those they like, which is still unfair."

After saying this, Chen Ke looked at the steam rising from the pot of rice and checked his watch, "The food is almost ready, and we're still discussing this. If we can't come up with a solution quickly, we'll go hungry."

The students burst into laughter again.

"Mr. Chen, do you have a method?"

"Yes, according to you, no method is fair. How can we make everyone feel it's fair?"

Everyone called out. Their interest was truly piqued. Seeing Chen Ke's confident demeanor, it was clear he had a great method. Chen Ke had already ruled out other methods, so what could he propose? Everyone, including Yan Fu, was curious.

"It's simple. We don't need to choose a respected person or set up supervision. First, find three people to divide the rice in the pot into eleven large portions. Then these three people step aside. Each team randomly selects one person to draw lots and choose a large portion, then divide it into ten smaller portions. They can then step aside. Finally, everyone goes up to get their food, and the leftovers go to those who divided the food."

The more perceptive students understood Chen Ke's idea and started cheering. Those who didn't understand pulled the ones who did for an explanation. "The people dividing the food don't know who benefits from more or less. If the division is unfair, they will end up with the least. They will naturally divide the food carefully. And we know this, so we will leave the least for the people dividing the food. This way, everyone will feel it's fair." The person explaining was excited.

This was a simple but clear idea. Everyone understood immediately. They all wondered why they hadn't thought of it. Someone started clapping, and soon over a hundred students were applauding and cheering. Everyone already admired Chen Ke's knowledge, and this further increased their respect. Everyone wants fairness and feels wronged. Chen Ke's method maximized fairness, and everyone was deeply impressed by his wisdom. The dissatisfaction accumulated from three hours of training was now completely gone.

Even Yan Fu couldn't help but clap lightly. After Chen Ke posed the question, Yan Fu had been thinking about how to divide the food fairly. The methods Chen Ke later summarized, Yan Fu had already considered. While they weren't unfair, getting everyone to acknowledge they were treated fairly was extremely difficult. Chen Ke's method allowed everyone to accept the objective unfairness while eliminating the subjective sense of unfairness. Yan Fu, with years of experience in dealing with unpredictable human nature, found Chen Ke's simple solution impressive. Convincing someone is very difficult, but Chen Ke's method provided a clear solution to a problem that usually causes endless disputes.

"Students, stop the noise. Who is willing to volunteer to serve everyone, please step forward." Chen Ke didn't want the noise to continue, and he was also hungry.