The wind rustled through the leaves, carrying the faint sound of wind chimes. The intense heat of the afternoon sun had subsided, and its rays fell through the gaps in the trees onto the eaves below.

The window was open, allowing sunlight to stream inside, revealing the room's furnishings: a bed, a square table, a wardrobe, a chair... Near the window, Ning Yi wrung out a towel on the wooden stand where he kept his water basin, wiping the sweat from his body.

"...There's this girl, and her name is Xi'er, and of course, she has black hair..."

Shirtless, Ning Yi stood there, sharing his story idea with the person in the room. Sunlight illuminated the various scars on his body, but thanks to consistent exercise, he showed no signs of aging. He was not yet forty, and his well-built physique radiated power. Many outsiders considered him a martial arts grandmaster on par with Zhou Tong and Lin Zongwu. Furthermore, his long tenure in high positions had instilled in him a composure far beyond that of ordinary people, enough to bring immense pressure to his enemies in any situation.

Except when he was in front of his family, when he would occasionally reveal some unconventional sides... And after their relationship had deepened for nearly a year, Shishi had begun to accept some of his strange eccentricities. For instance, the story he was telling now, called "The White-Haired Girl," clearly contained some unconventional ideas.

"Can I meet her?" Shishi asked.

Ning Yi paused, taken aback. "...Huh? What?"

"You emphasized that her name is Xi'er. It sounds like she's a real person..."

"...There's no one. It's just a story outline."

"So, any name will do..."

"Uh..." Ning Yi, still looking powerful, stood there with his hands on his hips, looking up in thought. "...Well, yes, any name will do, but for example, let's call her Xi'er. Don't mess with me."

"You're telling me a story; of course, I'm listening carefully..." The woman in the *dudou* (a traditional Chinese bodice) sat up on the bed, hugging her legs, and murmured softly, a smile playing in her eyes.

"Xi'er and her father depended on each other for survival. After the Jurchens left, they settled down in Dai Mengwei's territory. But Dai Mengwei's side didn't have enough to eat, and they were starving. The local village chief, gentry, elders, and the army colluded together to do business, finding these people a way out: selling themselves to our Huaxia Army to work..."

As he spoke, he wrung out the towel and handed it to Shishi by the bed.

"...Here, I think, we can find a way to show the evil of Dai Mengwei's gang. They induce people to sign thirty-year contracts, giving them very little money. Xi'er and her father were forced to do this. At first, they only wanted to sell one person, and of course, the father volunteered. But the money itself wasn't much, and the father was old and not worth that much. Xi'er was pretty... No, not pretty, she was strong and built like an ox, able to work harder than ordinary men, so the local gentry forced them, father and daughter, to sell themselves both..."

Ning Yi frowned slightly as he spoke. He walked to the side to pour water, while Shishi thought about it.

"Something's not right here," she said. "Many of the people in Dai Mengwei's territory are outsiders who were driven in. Even the locals have had their families' wealth mostly destroyed. It's understandable for a father and daughter to rely on each other for survival, but once they have to leave, they shouldn't have so much attachment to their homeland. Since the father can sell himself and doesn't have much money, leaving a daughter behind would mostly mean she would follow him... If you want to show the badness of those gentry, you have to think of another way..."

"...I also feel like something's not right," Ning Yi scratched his head, then waved his hand. "But, anyway, that's the idea. Because Dai Mengwei and his men are very bad, Xi'er and her father were forced to sell themselves to our Southwest. In the Southwest... the factory owners are also very bad. They sign thirty-year contracts, don't pay wages, make them work day and night, and use various methods to restrain them, such as deducting wages. The wages are already meager, and they deduct them for the slightest mistake..."

"It's not just that," Shishi got out of bed in her silk pants. Ning Yi watched her, casually elaborating, "The factory owners also keep *haonu* (powerful slaves), the kind of thugs that are the villains in all stories. They usually don't allow these indentured workers to go out and wander around, fearing they'll escape. If they escape, they're dragged back and beaten, hung in the courtyard and whipped, and secretly, they've definitely beaten people to death..."

"Also, there have to be dogs. Since they keep *haonu*, of course, they also keep vicious dogs. Whoever dares to escape is not only chased by people but also by dogs, who will bite them half to death. And to show the evil of these people, the dogs eat better than the people. For example, Xi'er and her father usually only drink porridge, but the dogs eat meat buns..."

Shishi listened to these descriptions, walked to the stand, wrung out a towel, and smiled softly. "If we have factories like this in the Southwest, wouldn't it be your fault? Are you trying to say that Dai Mengwei's side is bad, or that our Huaxia Army is bad?"

"Anyway, that's roughly the idea. Just get the gist," Ning Yi waved his hand in the air. "Saying Dai's bad deeds isn't the point, and saying the Huaxia Army's bad isn't the point either. Anyway, Xi'er and her father lived a miserable life. They were sold here, worked their lives away without money, and suffered all kinds of oppression. After less than a year, Xi'er's father died. They received very little wages. It was almost New Year's, and the girls on the street were all dressed up beautifully. Her father secretly went out to buy her a red headband or something as a New Year's gift, but when he came back, he was discovered by the evil slaves and vicious dogs, beaten half to death, and then died before the New Year's..."

Speaking of this, the mood in the room became slightly somber, but since there was no fundamental basis to support it, Shishi simply listened quietly.

"Xi'er, after her father's death, was further exploited, working day and night, tired and heartbroken. After a year, her hair turned completely white, so she's called the White-Haired Girl. Then they finally couldn't bear it anymore, and the factory erupted in rebellion. They... rushed out of the factory, captured the boss, scattered the *haonu*, killed all the dogs, and went to the streets to tell the world that this was wrong, and our Huaxia Army shut down the factory... Anyway, I've even thought of the theme song: 'The north wind blows, the snowflakes flutter, snowflakes fluttering, the year arrives... Woo woo woo woo...'"

As the story reached its second half, the plot obviously entered the realm of nonsense. Ning Yi spoke quickly, sang a few lines of the song with a straight face, and finally couldn't help it, sitting on the chair facing the door, covering his mouth and laughing. Shishi walked over, also smiling, but her face clearly showed a thoughtful expression.

"Why write this story?" Ning Yi's way of expressing things was often unconventional, with a strange sense of humor, but overall, he wouldn't do anything without a purpose. Shishi considered the things in the story. "Recently, I've heard people talk about things on Dai Mengwei's side. They can't support many people and secretly sell people over here. And we do have people secretly taking advantage of this. Like General Li Rulai... Of course, I shouldn't say that..."

"There's nothing wrong with saying Li Rulai's name," Ning Yi sat there, smiling calmly, and replied, "After the war last year, as a general who surrendered, he always wanted to bring the Wuchao's ways here. First, he secretly colluded and inquired in various ways, hoping to get a good position commanding troops. After that didn't seem likely, he spread the word that the Huaxia Army should pay attention to 'buying bones with a thousand gold.' I reminded him to put down his old ways, learn to listen to orders, wait for arrangements, and not seek personal gain... He thought I was determined not to give him military power, so when Chengdu started attracting investment from outside, he simply started making money."

"I've heard about this. Yu Hezhong came over and told me about General Li, saying he was learning from the ancient generals who 'self-defiled'..."

"Lao Yu still hasn't made much progress," Ning Yi sighed. "Ancient generals 'self-defiled' because their achievements were so great that they overshadowed the ruler, so they showed the ruler that they only wanted money. What can Li Rulai do? Even if I gave him all the troops back, it would only take one charge to defeat him. At first, he hadn't changed his bad habits, colluding in secret. Later, he realized that the situation was different in the Huaxia Army, so he chose to take a step back and show me that he didn't want military power, only money. He thought this was an equivalent exchange for his merit..."

He shook his head at this point and stopped talking about Li Rulai. Shishi also stopped asking and walked over to gently massage his head. Outside, the wind blew, and the light of the approaching evening shifted and flickered. The wind chimes and the rustling of leaves sounded for a moment.

"Are you... worried that our factories here will become like that... or are some factories already like that?"

Shishi asked carefully.

Ning Yi closed his eyes. "Not yet, but in two or three years, it should happen."

"Will it become that bad? Is there no way to prevent it?"

"If we let it develop on its own, it might take twenty or thirty years, or even if we restrain it well, the scale of this phenomenon won't be too large for three or five decades. We've only just started developing these things, and the technological accumulation for large-scale deployment isn't enough yet..." Feeling Shishi's fingers pressing on his head, Ning Yi said softly, "However, I'll arrange for it to appear sooner..."

Shishi frowned, silently chewing on the meaning of these words.

Ning Yi murmured, "In two to three years, some factories around Chengdu will see this phenomenon. Workers will be oppressed, some people will die, and resentment will arise in their hearts... But overall, they've only experienced life and death, famine, and cannibalism in the past two years. They're content now to be in the Southwest eating their fill. In two or three years, their resentment won't be enough. At that time, you have to be prepared, to have stories like 'The White-Haired Girl.' The criticisms of Dai Mengwei and the Southwest can all be included. The important thing is to make it clear that these thirty-year contracts that treat people like animals are wrong. The people under the rule of the Huaxia Army have some basic rights that need to be rooted in the highest law. Then, with this consensus, we can amend some unreasonable absolute contracts..."

"...At that time, we'll let some people take to the streets. Those workers, even if their resentment isn't enough, can be roused after some agitation. We'll establish this kind of communication method from top to bottom, so that the people understand that their opinions can be heard, will be valued, and will be amended. Once this kind of communication starts, we can slowly adjust it..."

Shishi thought for a moment. "If people really taste the benefits of this, I'm afraid some bad things will also happen, such as there will always be some foolish troublemakers..."

"Kill the rioters. Pay attention to the leaders. It's no fun if they're just causing trouble for no reason," Ning Yi replied calmly. "Overall, the symbolic meaning of this matter is greater than the practical significance. However, this symbolic meaning must always be there. Compared to us now seeing the problem and having a righteous official uphold justice for them, the fact that they themselves have resisted and received rewards is more beneficial to them, and may even be recorded in history books in the future."

Shishi gently massaged his head, silent for a moment. "I have an idea..."

"Hmm."

"If... if, as Li Heng said, we've already seen this possibility and taken some measures, it's possible to prevent the things you're worried about from happening for twenty or thirty years, or even a hundred years, right? Why must we make this happen sooner? In two or three years, if we force people to riot, force people's hair to turn white, some people will die. And even if people die, the symbolic meaning of this matter is greater than the practical significance. Their success in taking to the streets is because of you. If you're replaced by someone else in the future, they won't succeed in taking to the streets again. At that time, they will still bleed..."

"Success in taking to the streets doesn't lie in expressing that taking to the streets is really useful, but in telling them that there is a path here, that they have the right to fight for themselves," Ning Yi said with his eyes closed. "It's still the same principle as before. The essence of society is the law of the jungle. In the past, every dynasty's so-called social reform was one interest group defeating another interest group. Perhaps some people in the new interest group have more conscience, but as long as a group is formed, it will always demand benefits. These benefits are distributed internally and are not shared with the people... And in essence, since the new group can defeat the old group, it means that the new interest group is stronger, and they will inevitably take away more benefits. Therefore, the upper class wants more and more, and the people get less and less. In two or three hundred years, no dynasty can survive..."

"The meaning of democracy is that people who know how to discern can know who is good for them, and they will channel their strength upwards to support those good people. When ordinary people are included in the interest group, when benefits are distributed again, the people will not be completely excluded. People who can be responsible for themselves will actively join the interest group to demand their own benefits... To put it bluntly, it's also the law of the jungle, but in this way, the cycle of order and chaos every two or three hundred years may be broken."

"The early stages of democracy have no practical effect," Ning Yi opened his eyes and sighed. "Even if everyone is literate and able to read, there won't be many who can cultivate the ability to take responsibility for themselves. Most people are simple-minded, easily deceived, have incomplete worldviews, and lack their own rational logic. Letting them participate in decision-making will cause disaster..."

"But in any case, the development of this matter has its inevitable process. When everyone doesn't even have the idea of rights in their minds, letting them know through one thing is progress; when they are collectively silent and dare not speak, letting them speak out is progress; when they begin to speak out, and even begin to speak out randomly, telling them to express themselves rationally is progress... Only when these progresses accumulate to a certain degree, when the efficiency of democracy is generally greater than that of a small number of elites, can that cycle of order and chaos really be broken."

"They still don't know that taking to the streets is useful at this time, so give them a symbolic thing. When one day in the future, I'm gone, and they find that taking to the streets is useless, at least they will understand that relying on themselves is the only way..."

He murmured incessantly. Only when he was with his family would he murmur like this. These murmurs were irritable and even a bit violent, but only in the past year had Ning Yi shown these things to her. So she only tried her best to relax his mind.

At this time, she smiled, "Actually, we've all been saying recently that if *Gewu* (the study of things and principles) continues to develop, when we unify the world, we should really be able to let all the children in the world go to school. The sensible and reasonable people you want should appear soon. Then, it will really be the Great Harmony that Confucius spoke of... Actually, you should be happier."

"I'm not unhappy..." Ning Yi smiled. "...Right, let me tell you something interesting. I thought of something recently."

"Hmm?"

"I heard that when I was very young, one day I was playing at a friend's house..."

"In Jiangning? Who? Do I know them?"

"Don't interrupt," Ning Yi laughed. "That day, I played at their house until noon. I was so happy that I didn't go home. My friend's parents invited me to lunch... After I went home in the afternoon, my father beat me."

"..."

"My father told me that I shouldn't stay at other people's houses until noon. Why? Because other people's families are not wealthy, and maybe they don't have the ability to keep you for a meal. If you don't leave at that time, it's a very ill-mannered behavior..."

He paused here. Shishi thought for a moment. "Some rural areas do say that. But Jiangning... well, your family wasn't very wealthy at that time..."

"Listen to me. From this matter, I learned that not causing trouble for others is a kind of education. Education is doing the right thing. Of course, later, my family became wealthier, and I slowly stopped hearing about this kind of rule... Well, just assume that everyone I came into contact with after becoming a Son-in-Law was rich."

Ning Yi smiled and waved his hand.

"People will summarize some right and wrong things in their lives. What is the essence of these things? Actually, it's about ensuring that their lives don't go wrong. When there are not many things, when materials are not abundant, and when *Gewu* is not developed, these right and wrong things will actually seem particularly important. If you make a slight mistake, if you are a little careless, you may not be able to eat. At this time, you will very much need the help of knowledge and the guidance of wise men, because some of the experiences they have summarized are very useful to us."

"...When *Gewu* begins to develop, and everyone can read, and there are more things to eat and use, what will happen? At first, everyone will respect this knowledge more, but when there is more and more knowledge around, reaching a certain threshold, after everyone's first round of survival needs are met, the authority of knowledge will slowly decline. For them, right and wrong will not strictly reflect in their lives. For example, even if you don't go out to farm, even if you are a little lazy today, you can still live..."

"How could that be!" Shishi stared.

"That's just how it will be. If the fertilizers we are studying become even more powerful, one person can farm enough for ten people to eat, and the other people can lie down or do other things. And even if they don't work so hard, they can still survive... Of course, here I'm mainly talking about the attitude towards knowledge. When they meet their first level of needs, they will gradually transform from pursuing correctness to pursuing recognition."

"..." Shishi looked at him.

"In the past, you would go and ask a teacher, a great scholar, what is the right way to be a person. He would tell you a principle. If you followed the principle, your life would get better, and you would also feel that you had become a right person, and others would recognize you. But when life is not so difficult, you will find that you don't need such profound principles, you don't need to set so many rules for yourself. You go and find a group of people who are just as superficial as you, praise each other, and you get the same sense of recognition. On the other hand, even though you haven't followed any moral standards, you still have food to eat and are living pretty well... That's the pursuit of recognition."

"..."

"Next, things will be even more interesting, because people will go from pursuing recognition to creating recognition. Your ideas are a little strange. You find a few of your own kind, huddle together for warmth, but you know that people outside will look at you with all kinds of strange eyes. Slowly, you will start to become dissatisfied. You want to go further. At this time, you tell others, this is our culture, we are a little strange, but this is a more niche culture. For example, if you like to scold people, scold people's families, and constantly ask others, 'How are your ancestors doing?' you tell others, this is called 'Zu'an Culture.' Even if others don't understand you, you can still despise others. Next, you hide at home and eat shit. You can call yourself 'Golden Culture'..."

"You, you just..." Shishi slapped Ning Yi on the shoulder, "Don't talk nonsense about this. How could that be..."

"Hahahaha." Ning Yi laughed. "It's just a guess... Actually, our development may not be a straight line, and it can even be said that it definitely won't be a straight line. A spiral ascent may be more realistic. We hone our skills to make ourselves better. Overall, it's to meet our own needs. If our material needs are met, then we will start to relax in the spiritual aspect. We don't have to become moral gentlemen. We can say 'Zu'an Culture.' Overall, it's definitely still because our survival ability has increased..."

"But excessive optimism will definitely bring out some problems. After the living space expands, everyone will inevitably encounter inertia, and then awaken for a while after suffering a big loss... After ten or eight more experiences, maybe they can slowly go up another step. So you say the Great Harmony will arrive soon. It won't. Everyone being able to read is just the beginning..."

"It's wrong to tell you to be more optimistic, okay." Shishi hugged him from behind.

"I'm indeed a bit wary of optimism... Right, have you seen Director Lin?" He was talking about Lin Jingwei, the director of the *Gewu* Institute who was injured last month.

"I heard about his injury, and I saw his family, but I haven't had time to go to Leshan recently. How is he?"

"His life was saved, but the burns are severe. It's hard to say whether he can return to his post in the future..." Ning Yi paused. "I held several meetings in Leshan, repeatedly analyzing and demonstrating. Their research work... in this recent stage, is ambitious and eager for success. The things they are researching... many indicators have unnecessarily aggressive advancements. They were too optimistic after defeating the Western Route Army, wanting to bite off more than they can chew..."

"Although there was a problem... it's inevitable. It's just human nature. You also held a meeting, and there were predictions before... Like you said, although optimism will cause trouble, overall, it should be a spiral ascent, right? In other aspects, it must have been much better." Shishi comforted him.

"That's what they say, but if you're too optimistic, you won't have any stones to feel for crossing the river..."

He murmured, sighed, and then smiled helplessly. In the past many years, he had created this army by simulating situations in adversity, constantly squeezing people's potential, and constantly tempering people's spirit and discipline in adversity. Who knew that the light of solving the problem would be seen so quickly. Now that he was walking in a favorable environment, he was a little unaccustomed to it.

Shishi didn't hear his murmur clearly: "...Hmm?"

"It's nothing." Ning Yi smiled, patted Shishi's hand, and stood up.

"Let's go prepare dinner... Oh, right, I have some information here. Take it with you tonight and take a look. Lao Dai is a very interesting person. He has his subordinates sell people and evenly distribute the profits, while having people trick merchant groups with no connections and no background into his territory, and then arresting these people, killing them, and confiscating their things, gaining both fame and fortune. They are going to fight a war recently, and they are a little unscrupulous..."

It was evening, and the golden sunlight fell on the courtyard by the lake. Ning Yi smiled and took out a document, placed it on the table, and then walked out with her.

"...Outsiders can't see clearly and have an ambiguous understanding of Lao Dai. We've collected some evidence, but we're not considering releasing it to the outside world for the time being. In a year or two, your side can find someone to write some stories based on this, and then publish them together with the report, plus the 'White-Haired Girl,' which mainly accuses the black merchants... Forget it, call it whatever you want. It doesn't matter whether it's Xi'er or not. Anyway, it's these types of dramas. They will reach their peak in three years. After the black merchant problem is solved, I will destroy Dai Mengwei's heart."

The sunlight fell, people's voices sounded, the wind chimes swayed, and countless people's lives and countless things were happening inside and outside Chengdu City. Black, white, and gray images were intertwined, making it difficult to see clearly. The great war had just ended, and many people had new lives. Even those who signed harsh contracts would be moved to tears when they arrived in Chengdu and ate warm soup. Everyone up and down in the Huaxia Army was filled with optimism and enthusiasm, and they would suffer unspeakable hardships because of this. On this day, Ning Yi thought for a long time and took the initiative to make an unconventional arrangement. Some people would die because of it, and some people would live because of it. No one could accurately know the shape of the future.

One of the countless things that happened every day in the Huaxia Army. Also on this day, Ning Yi and Shishi had dinner and received news from the north...

A warrior named Tang Minjie—who was also a sinner—was about to return.

At the same time, Ning Ji was heading to Ankang, a large city under the rule of Dai Mengwei, with a heart full of doubts. He would take a boat from there all the way to Jiangning to attend that hero conference, which currently seemed inexplicable.