Chapter 10

Yang Rui didn't know if it was Qian Bicong, but he just went on his way, wandering around. In fact, there wasn't much to see in the French Concession. At that time, Shanghai didn't have many skyscrapers or the beautiful French plane trees of later generations. The whole place felt like a large county town. After a few rounds, he lost interest and quickly returned. At dinner, he saw the two Hu brothers come back and called them out to eat together. They found a decent restaurant, ordered a table full of dishes, but the Hu brothers didn't dare to use their chopsticks. After Yang Rui finished eating, the table was still full of dishes. With no other choice, they packed them up for a midnight snack. Yang Rui only took two dishes, leaving the rest for them.

In the following days, Yang Rui was engrossed in copying books. One Sunday, while he was deeply absorbed in his work, he heard someone knock on the door. When he asked who it was, the person outside only said, "Sir." Yang Rui, feeling helpless, hid his notebook and went to open the door. There stood Qian Bicong, looking dejected, without his usual spirit.

Yang Rui's mind was still in the book, so he just let him in and asked him to sit down. At that moment, Mrs. Huang ran up and spoke to Qian Bicong in a rapid Wuxi dialect, her expression agitated, but her words were soft. Yang Rui could only vaguely hear something about dropping out of school. Qian Bicong looked miserable, and Yang Rui, seeing this, hurriedly consoled him, "Mrs. Huang, don't be angry, let's talk it out calmly." He brought over a chair and asked Mrs. Huang to sit down.

Mrs. Huang was very agitated and didn't sit down. She only said thank you to Yang Rui and then complained, "Mr. Yang, the young people these days are really disobedient. They don't study properly but follow others to drop out of school. Sister Wu would be heartbroken if she knew. He refuses to admit his mistake and won't go back to school to beg the teacher for mercy to return to class. He's as stubborn as a mule, neither listening to reason nor punishment." Mrs. Huang sighed deeply and went downstairs.

Dropping out of school was a big issue, and Yang Rui was speechless. He asked Qian Bicong, "Did you really drop out?"

Qian Bicong nodded without a word.

Yang Rui asked again, "Why did you drop out? I thought you were quite studious."

Qian Bicong said in a low, gloomy voice, "There's a teacher surnamed Guo in the neighboring class who is very bad. One day in class, he saw an ink bottle on his chair and said someone was playing a trick on him. He demanded that a few students find the person who put the bottle there. Later, a few students falsely accused three others, and he wanted to expel those three. The whole class saw this and pleaded for mercy, but he gave everyone a major demerit. Everyone was不服 (unconvinced), so the whole class petitioned the school administration. The administration said the class was causing a disturbance and wanted to rebel, so they expelled the entire class."

Hearing this, Yang Rui felt it was unbelievable. Expelling a few students was one thing, but expelling the entire class was unheard of.

Qian Bicong continued, "The whole school found out and sent representatives to argue with the administration, but the administration insisted on expelling the entire class. We couldn't stand it, so we also dropped out in protest."

Yang Rui asked, "Who is the school administration?"

Qian Bicong said, "The administration is Wang Fengzao, and he has now resigned."

Wang Fengzao, this person appeared in novels about the First Sino-Japanese War, seemingly as the ambassador to Japan. He caused the failure of all the Beiyang Army's codes due to an accidental leak, and he was a bookish person, no wonder he was so strict with the students. Knowing this person wouldn't listen, Yang Rui asked, "Isn't your school run by Sheng Xuanhuai? Would he allow this?"

Mentioning Sheng Xuanhuai, Qian Bicong's voice darkened, "Sheng Xuanhuai is in mourning at home and says he won't see anyone. The next day, no one came to persuade us when we left the school."

Hearing Sheng Xuanhuai's actions, Yang Rui knew there was no hope. This dropout issue seemed unsolvable. He sighed, "What do you plan to do now?"

Qian Bicong was silent for a long time. Yang Rui looked at him, and he became agitated, saying, "I've caused everyone trouble. I was part of the joint protest, and now everyone has dropped out. They don't know where to go. They say..." He sobbed, "They say they will start their own school, but now, one, we have no money, and two, we lack teachers..."

Seeing his state, Yang Rui patted his back, poured him some water, and consoled him, "Thinking this way shows that you are a responsible person, and that's a good thing. You stand on the right side, and what you did was right. This situation got out of control, but it's not your fault. Wang Fengzao is a very unclear-headed person. Actually, you didn't harm everyone; you helped them."

Qian Bicong looked up, staring at Yang Rui in surprise. Yang Rui didn't dare to mention the First Sino-Japanese War. He continued, "Nanyang Public School was a good school, but without you, it's no longer a good school. Because you left, you took a spirit with you. In the future, students from Nanyang Public School will be mindless servants. But you, after this experience, will be more likely to succeed than those who have a smooth path. The best way to comfort someone is not to say it's okay if they made a mistake, but to say what they did was right. In the future, Nanyang Public School, which later became Jiaotong University in Shanghai, focused on science and engineering because of this incident. Sheng Xuanhuai, to prevent further incidents, ordered the school to stop offering liberal arts classes, so the school became entirely science and engineering-focused. This spirit was later brought to Peking University, shaping its free and inclusive school culture."

Yang Rui's comfort was effective. Qian Bicong stopped crying, calmed down, and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, sir, for your guidance. Bicong didn't dare to come, but now everyone is discussing starting a school to prevent dropping out. The school lacks Western education teachers. This time, I came to ask you to teach us business, and I hope you will agree."

Yang Rui pondered for a moment, thinking about his progress in copying books, and said, "Sure, I've already agreed with the bookshop on the publication time. If the classes aren't too many, it shouldn't interfere."

Hearing Yang Rui's agreement, Qian Bicong smiled, "Not many, not many, definitely not many." Yang Rui saw his tears hadn't dried and gave him a piece of paper. He then asked about the school's situation. Qian Bicong said, "The school was just established a few days ago. It's located at Fuyuanli, Nicheng Bridge, and is managed by Mr. Cai, a special class teacher who also dropped out. Currently, over 140 people are settled. Those from Shanghai are staying at home, and those from other places are staying at Fuyuanli. The main issue is the lack of Western education teachers. Subjects like physics and mathematics are easier to find, but teachers for philosophy and business are scarce. Bicong had no choice but to come to you."

Yang Rui thought that China was still focused on learning technology, adhering to the principle of "Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning as the application." There were few translated books on thought and economics, mostly technical books. He then asked, "What about your textbooks?"

Qian Bicong said, "The business textbook is the original 'Wealth of Nations,' but the other volumes haven't been printed yet."

Yang Rui waved his hand, "Use my business textbook. Once my manuscript is ready, I'll give it to the Commercial Press to see if they can print some simple versions for you to use as textbooks. As for the others, try to find other teachers first, and if you can't, come to me."

Qian Bicong agreed and hurriedly went back to the school. Yang Rui sighed as he left: "You're still too soft-hearted."

The next day, Yang Rui finally finished the manuscript for the second volume of economics. At noon, he went to the Commercial Press, found someone to announce his arrival, and was told that Mr. Xie was upstairs and asked him to go up.

Yang Rui went up and met Mr. Xie. After some formalities, he handed over the manuscript and mentioned the textbook issue, explaining the situation at Nanyang Public School. Mr. Xie, being a热心 (warm-hearted) person, said, "I've heard about this. The newspapers are now debating who is right or wrong, but as Jingcheng said, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. The key is that the students need to continue their education. Wait a moment, I'll ask how long it will take to print." He then called the managers of the printing department one by one and said, "The first volume has already been proofread, and we're waiting for the second volume. Proofreading will take three to five days, and typesetting will take about ten days, at least a week. Printing will be faster. In total, it will take at least half a month."

Yang Rui calculated that this would still delay things, but this was the fastest they could do. The factory had its process, and time was needed. He didn't say anything but thanked Mr. Xie sincerely.

As he was about to leave, Mr. Xie thought for a moment and said, "Jingcheng, I'll think about it and see if we can speed up the printing of the first volume. Leave an address, and I'll send it directly to you."

Yang Rui left the school's address and wrote Qian Bicong as the recipient, adding, "I might not be there, so deduct the book payment from my royalties."

Mr. Xie smiled, "No problem, no problem. The library will only charge the cost for these 100 books."

That evening, Qian Bicong came again. He brought a class schedule, which showed that business classes were for higher grades, with two levels, each having two or three classes. Yang Rui asked, "How big are your classrooms? How many students can they hold?" Seeing Qian Bicong's confusion, he explained, "I mean, can you combine two classes for the lectures? This way, I can teach two classes each week, two sessions each time—two sessions together have continuity and are more convenient. Preferably in the morning, or the first two sessions in the afternoon if not possible."

Qian Bicong had never seen such an arrangement but recognized its benefits and remembered it carefully. He added, "Mr. Cai hopes you can visit in the next two days. We've heard that fundraising is making progress, and classes will start in a few days."

Yang Rui thought that scheduling should be discussed in person. He said to Qian Bicong, "Tell Mr. Cai I'll visit tomorrow morning."

Qian Bicong nodded, "Okay, I'll tell Mr. Cai. I'll wait for you at the school tomorrow morning. I'll go back now, sir." He then went downstairs.

The next morning, after breakfast, Yang Rui found a rickshaw and headed to Nicheng Bridge. Nicheng Bridge was near the racetrack, not far from Ruyili. Fuyuanli 21 Lane was at the end, and the further in, the more students there were. When he arrived, he saw a row of three-story shikumen houses. One of the doorways had two signs, one for the Chinese Education Association and the other for the Patriotic School. As he was looking, Qian Bicong appeared from somewhere, bowed, and said, "Good morning, sir!"

Yang Rui was used to his politeness, nodded, and followed him inside. They entered a shikumen, passed through the courtyard, and entered a reception room. A middle-aged man came out, thin, around thirty, with a gaunt face and a sparse goatee, wearing round glasses, but with clear eyes, clearly a learned scholar.

They exchanged greetings, and Mr. Cai said, "Mr. Yang, you are a great talent, I have long admired you."

Yang Rui responded, "Please, please, just call me Jingcheng. Is this Mr. Cai?"

Mr. Cai smiled, "Please, please, I am Jemin. It's all due to everyone's respect."

Yang Rui had to exchange pleasantries again. After the formalities, they sat down in the reception room. Yang Rui, not wanting to beat around the bush, asked directly, "Jemin, how is the school preparing? When will classes start?"

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Note: Cai Yuanpei referred to himself as "Jemin" in his autobiography "Cai Yuanpei's Autobiography." Additionally, in ancient times, people did not always use their courtesy names exclusively.