The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

"That's exactly what's happening. Officials at all levels are evaluated for their management positions, while they're evaluated separately for technological innovation and progress. Add to that some labor activists, and this separate evaluation process is truly unacceptable."

"Yes, there's no distinction between high and low in labor, only different positions. We don't care what's going on outside. In our revolutionary base, only the working people are respected, and a person's value is measured solely by their labor. It has nothing to do with background or education; it all depends on your ability to work. My ideal is to build a society where all workers are equal."

"Haha, that's perfect. Everyone works and makes a living based on their own abilities, and no one can bully anyone else. Then I'll get a huge advantage."

Zhang Yinghao also laughed and said, "Mr. Juancheng's ability is obvious to all. This commendation also has your contribution."

"Okay, I'll refuse."

Zhang Yinghao expressed his position to the comrades present. He tapped the table lightly and said, "Let's leave it at that for now. There's definitely more to discuss. This is a good opportunity. The standards, core, and key points for commendations should be studied by the comrades. What is the new system? This is the new system. Let's discuss this rule as a group and let everyone know about it."

"Chairman, is this too big?"

"No, no, no. How many people are working on this entire railway construction site right now? Are there over 100,000 troops? We don't dare discuss it now because there are so few people. In the future, we will have to manage the entire country. You may be in charge of hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of people. Then we will be even more afraid to discuss it. We must ensure transparency in the system in this regard. The system applies not only to the comrades below, but also to us. If you don't let the comrades below speak, how can we know?

What do the comrades below think? How do we know their demands? Without discussion and debate, how can the comrades understand what this system is really about?

What?"

Zhang Yinghao smiled and continued, "Don't be afraid of anything going wrong. These evaluation criteria weren't just something we came up with in the office. They were developed based on actual conditions. There are bound to be comrades below who aren't convinced. We can listen to their opinions and improve the evaluation criteria. This is something we've all never had experience with, and no one knows how to do it, so this is just the beginning..."

As Zhang Yinghao expected, he set aside two days to publicize the standards for commendation, and commanders had to discuss the standards with the soldiers in person.

The engineering command units also received military training and were required to go into battle when necessary. Therefore, they were all under the leadership of the Military Commission and considered part of the revolutionary army. The same model of branch-level formations was followed, with the engineering command unit also following military organization. A small engineering regiment consisted of over a thousand men, while a large regiment could even have over two thousand. Therefore, discussions were conducted on a company-by-company basis.

Merit is divided into four parts, among which labor is calculated based on average labor. Any unit, regardless of size, will be rated accordingly as long as its average labor in ordinary labor meets the standard.

Geng Biao was the leader of the six groups. He knew that the original assessment criteria based on the total workload had to be modified due to the different number of people in the large and small groups.

The cadres and soldiers all felt this was a sound idea. More work, more pay; less work, less pay—the comrades were very supportive of this. Once the collective reached a certain standard, everyone, regardless of their work, would receive a basic reward. This, while ensuring that those who performed well received the highest pay, was a smooth process of discussion.

"The engineering company is responsible for repairing the carts and tools. Can you repair them better next time? The tools broke down after a short time, affecting our work."

"Can the hoe and shovel be sharpened? They become dull after just half a day of use."

"You are using the shovel incorrectly. You can't poke hard with the tip of the shovel." Some comrades who felt that they had not completed enough work began to shift the blame and discuss the responsibility of the tools.

"The comrades from Team 8 are responsible for guarding the entire construction site. It's freezing cold and they can't sleep all night. They deserve to be rewarded."

"Yes. We caught quite a few thieves." "What happened to those thieves in the end?" "The leader seemed to have been shot."

Without a moderator, discussions tend to focus on different things. Some comrades are more concerned with the various incidents that have occurred, while others prefer to inquire about news and discuss gossip. This is true of any discussion; without guidance, it can easily stray from the topic. The more people there are, the more likely the topic will veer off track, ultimately losing its original purpose. However, all members of the Progressive Party have received relevant training, especially the instructors and political commissars, who know how to proceed.

"Comrades, let's discuss these later. Let's talk about labor skills." The instructor of the Sixth Company was named Xiao. Like most cadres, he was only in his early twenties this year. Seeing that the discussion had turned into a casual chat, Instructor Xiao quickly interrupted the topics.

He continued, "...Mastering labor skills allows you to work quickly and effectively. Labor skills involve technical expertise. Of course, if you invent something that improves labor efficiency, you can apply for a special contribution award or an invention award... Management not only includes how to work, but also how to rest, how to recover, and how to reduce work-related injuries. This is about teaching everyone how to manage themselves..."

Geng Biao listened to the company instructor's explanation and felt quite proud of himself, thinking that his regiment had done a good job. However, his comrades seemed to have a different opinion.

"Coach Xiao, if we master labor skills, we can do things quickly and well?" a comrade asked doubtfully.

"Correct."

After receiving the instructor's approval, a comrade immediately criticized us: "I don't think you explained enough to everyone. You just urged everyone to work, and when we asked about it, you got upset."

"Yes, we didn't teach you about labor skills from the beginning. When we asked you, you said you'd understand after you did more. I've done so much, but I still don't quite understand why other comrades always do more than me. I'm not lazy at all and I don't steal."

"Yes, we all worked very hard. Even if we didn't get first place, it's impossible for us to be ranked so far behind."

"that is....….""

Listening to his comrades criticizing him in front of the regiment commander and others, Instructor Xiao was a little confused. He quickly said, "Weren't we told to discuss and study in class after finishing the work? Wasn't there any discussion?"

"We're working two shifts, instructor. I'm exhausted as a dog. I went home, ate, showered, and fell asleep on the bed. What are you discussing?"

"Yeah, I'm so dizzy working every day, how can I think about this kind of thing?"

"We didn't discuss it in class. Everyone was busy working."

Geng Biao had thought his regiment was doing well, but the reality was completely different. Even the instructor didn't know how to solve the problem. He fell silent as he heard everyone start to complain. If Zhang Yinghao were here, he would have easily solved the problem. Instructor Xiao, after all, had no experience, so he could only let the soldiers continue to complain, which was quite harmful.

Geng Biao had been in a good mood, but upon seeing this situation, he immediately frowned and asked, "Instructor Xiao, what's going on? How do you teach this?"

"It was indeed difficult at the time," the instructor answered honestly. Geng Biao's explanation failed to calm him down, but instead intensified his anger. He pointed at the instructor and scolded him, "What difficulties? Are you going to stop working just because you have difficulties?"

The instructor didn't expect Geng Biao to suddenly get angry and was stunned for a moment.

This behavior made Geng Biao even more angry. "As an instructor, you're responsible for teaching your colleagues how to work. Otherwise, why are you wandering around the construction site all day?"

Geng Biao got angry and started talking without thinking. His criticism immediately turned into personal attacks.

Instructor Xiao was a young man in his twenties. He felt extremely aggrieved when he heard Geng Biao scolding him in front of his comrades for "wandering around on the construction site all day long." Instantly, Instructor Xiao's eyes turned red.

"Captain Geng, I... I don't just arrange the work for my comrades every day. I do as much as they do. You're not right. I'm not just hanging around."

Geng Biao was furious at Instructor Xiao's resistance. "Bullshit! What's your job? Your job is to manage everyone. How can you just work on your own? Then what are you doing as an instructor? If there are rules, you have to follow them."

The comrades inside the company were watching the clash between the regimental commander and the instructor. Some were stunned, but others were watching the excitement with their eyes wide open. If only they had some sunflower seeds, they could have slowly appreciated the situation. Although it's said that watching a show is not afraid of trouble, no one dared to stir up trouble. They all sat upright, ready to watch the show. After all, such a long period of discipline was no joke.

At this point, Instructor Xiao was already in tears after being scolded by Regimental Leader Geng Biao. Seeing Instructor Xiao like this, Geng Biao suddenly felt much happier. However, seeing her tearful eyes, he wondered if he had been too harsh.

At this moment, Instructor Xiao was heard saying in a tearful voice: "Captain Geng, you don't understand science."

"I don't understand science? I don't understand your mother! Tell me, how come I don't understand science?" Geng Biao said angrily.

Instructor Xiao choked up a few times, swallowed twice, and finally suppressed his emotions. He slammed the merit evaluation standards on the table and said loudly: "This new evaluation standard was just given to me yesterday. You are applying it to your previous work. You are not seeking truth from facts, and your attitude is not scientific."

This was true. Instructor Xiao received the new standards yesterday, and after reviewing them, he realized his previous efforts had fallen short. Furthermore, the purpose of this discussion wasn't to settle old scores, but to promote the new standards and engage comrades in the discussion. However, Geng Biao personally participated in the development of these standards, completely believing that his subordinates should be evaluated according to them, oblivious to his own differences with Instructor Xiao on this matter.

Geng Biao, instead of calming down after hearing Instructor Xiao's rebuttal, flew into a rage. "Get lost! You just did what I told you to do, and all you know is making excuses for me. You don't need to be an instructor anymore. Reflect on your own mistakes first."

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Chapter 229 and 30 combined:

One of the phrases that the liberated areas are most afraid of hearing now is not seeking truth from facts and not being scientific. Because without a realistic attitude and not being scientific, mistakes will be made. If mistakes are made, they will have to go for training and study, and only after completing the study can they be reassigned to work.

It is not only shameful to go to training and study for mistakes, but the jobs assigned to them are almost always demoted. Many comrades are directly transferred to grassroots work after learning. The demoted jobs are almost never as good as the previous ones. Moreover, they cannot stop working during the training period and must undergo labor reform.

Let comrades know the significance of labor.

Under Geng Biao's forceful attitude, Instructor Xiao was almost speechless. Finally, with a look of defiance on his face, he managed to utter, "My position is not decided by you alone, Commander. Besides, swearing is not allowed in the army! You're acting like a warlord."

The army had specifically explained the three disciplines and eight points of attention, and what kind of behavior corresponds to what kind of style, so Instructor Xiao directly said that there was almost nothing wrong with Geng Biao's warlord style.

Geng Biao was furious after hearing this. Unable to contain himself any longer, he went up to Instructor Xiao and grabbed his collar. "You're not allowed to curse? I'm going to beat you up! What can you do?"

The comrades who had just been watching the excitement were stunned. They hadn't expected Commander Geng to actually start a fight with the instructor. They no longer dared to sit there and watched. The more alert ones rushed to break up the fight. Geng Biao's guard was closest and reacted the fastest. He quickly stepped in between the two and said, "Commander Geng, hitting and swearing are not allowed in the army."

Seeing that his guard not only did not support him but also told him the rules. This was the person he had always treated as a confidant, Geng Biao felt deeply betrayed and felt inexplicably humiliated, which made him even more angry. He shouted: "Who are you listening to?"

The guard was not frightened by this. Instead, he said to Geng Biao sternly, "Captain, what you are doing is a violation of discipline."

Seeing that the guard was still trying to stop him, Geng Biao shouted, "Who do you listen to? Me, or this instructor?"

The guard was so anxious that he couldn't help but reply, "I only listen to the guard company and the political security department."

The Army’s Political Security Department is directly under the Army’s Political Department. The current Political Security Department also has business ties with the Political Security Bureau newly established by Zhang Yinghao.

After hearing this, Geng Biao felt truly unintentional. He instantly understood that this seemingly powerful regimental commander was actually just an ordinary staff member. In this military, it was difficult for him to even cultivate a few trusted confidants. Even at the highest level, one still had to be a human being.

"Public servant, public servant..." Geng Biao kept repeating in his heart.

"He is truly a public servant!" After understanding his situation, Geng Biao suddenly sighed deeply and felt a little disheartened. What was the point of all his efforts? He let go of Instructor Xiao and pushed his guard hard.

"Go away! I don't need a guard anymore."

Geng Biao's conflict with the company instructor was quickly reported to higher authorities through various channels. One of the fundamental disciplines of the revolutionary army was unity between officers and men; beating and scolding subordinates was absolutely unacceptable, not to mention that one of the topics of this training session was equality between officers and men, as well as equal labor.

The issue between Geng Biao and the guards alarmed the army's political security department. The political security department was responsible for the arrangement of guards at all levels.

This was a death order issued by Hao when he formed the unit. This applied to everyone within Zhang Jian's family. The guards' job was to protect the commander's daughter, but it was also their job to prevent cadres from making major mistakes. They also had another, less secretive, job: if a cadre acted treasonously, the guards were to immediately report it to the Political Security Department, and in extreme cases, they could even arrest them.

So while guards were supposed to protect the safety of cadres, they were definitely not their personal subordinates. Geng Biao's actions had caused the Political Security Department to take notice. Even Li Wei, the new head of the military's Political Security Department, was alarmed by the clash.

Geng Biao's case is not the only one or two that happened. In this merit appraisal discussion, the relationship between cadres and soldiers is far from being as close as it seems.

It is equivalent to officers and soldiers being one. Even if Geng Biao made mistakes, Instructor Xiao also has his own shortcomings. There are also many cadres and political commissars like Instructor Xiao.

Definitely a lot.

As Zhang Yinghao had anticipated, things turned out just as he had imagined. While the debate at the top was intense, there was at least room for negotiation and a buffer between mid- and senior-level cadres. When cadres directly discussed assignments with soldiers, it became a zero-sum game, and this mutual negotiation was clearly weakened. Furthermore, many cadres were not ideologically qualified, believing that, "I am the leader, and those below me should obey me unconditionally."

As the director of the Political Security Department, Li Wei felt humiliated. He lamented to Wang Daniu, "How could this problem be so serious?"

Wang Daniu had also rushed back at this time, exhausted. He had just arrived and encountered this situation. After understanding it, he felt the same as Zhang Yinghao and was very happy. Even though he looked tired, he still showed a rare smile on his face.

"The problems this time aren't limited to these. With so much to do and so many tasks to shoulder, many people have started to act recklessly. I've been doing some special research recently, and I've uncovered many problems with the comrades who have been working for a while. Besides being unscientific and undisciplined, they also have a warlord mentality, unfair promotions, and leadership styles that aren't in tune with the soldiers. Of course, it's not all the cadres' fault. Many soldiers in the army like to show off at work, becoming cocky when they achieve something. They demand absolute equality in treatment, everything must be the same, and absolute fairness. These are all problems, and generally speaking, they just have little experience and knowledge."

Wang Daniu is worthy of being Zhang Yinghao's follower. His theoretical level is already very good. Coupled with the practical work during this period, he has now become a capable person.

Li Wei, after all, had considerable work experience, so he quickly regained his composure in the face of these questions. "I'll personally take charge of the security and other matters. These issues do need to be rectified." Then, Li Wei looked at Zhang Yinghao, "Chairman Zhang, what are your thoughts on this?"

Zhang Yinghao knew that lifting the lid was always a good thing; hiding things would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later. If these problems were not exposed, they would only continue to fester until they could no longer be covered up, and that was when a serious disaster would occur.

"This is a good thing. Don't be afraid of problems arising. In fact, the more problems exposed, the better. The earlier these problems appear, the smaller the losses for us and the easier it will be to solve. Of course, we can't be like Comrade Geng Biao, who didn't follow science and, when he couldn't solve the problem, thought about solving the people who created the problem. Of course, we shouldn't just focus on the problems. Comrade Li Wei, Comrade Daniu, now that problems are beginning to be exposed, we can see many very outstanding comrades among our comrades, comrades who adhere to principles, whom we might not have had the opportunity to see before. So rectification is certainly one aspect, but I think it is equally important to promote these outstanding comrades and use them as the main force to build a stronger organizational core. Revolutionary work always requires the sifting of the sand by the waves."

When Li Wei heard Zhang Yinghao call Geng Biao "comrade," he asked, "Chairman, what should we do with Geng Biao?"

Zhang Yinghao listened and said with a smile: "Comrade Geng Biao, haha, I have no opinion on him personally. As for him personally, he is just a little simple and rough in his work, and a little unscientific in his work. Let's send him to a training class to learn some lessons! But for our organization, the Geng Biao incident is a very good case. It can educate our comrades and tell them how they should do things and how they should treat their own comrades.

Just like when we first discussed Jing Tingbin and his group's uprising, Jing Tingbin's life or death, success or failure, is of no concern to us. Comrade Geng Biao's personal transformation is actually irrelevant to our organization; we only care about how much his case can teach us. However, we believe in punishing past mistakes and curing illnesses to save lives. We must give Comrade Geng Biao a chance to correct his mistakes. If he is willing to correct them, then he remains a good comrade. If he refuses to change despite repeated admonitions, then this is not the attitude a member of our Forward Party should have, and we can only expel him from the Party.

The commendation process wasn't limited to the military. Many young people who had joined the Sichuan Forward Party, or those sent to Sichuan by those with ulterior motives, were also assigned to work here. Deng Ziyu was one of those who came here. In his early years, he was wanted by the Qing court for his revolutionary activities and fled to Hong Kong, Singapore, and other places. He joined the Xingzhonghui in 1895 and, in October 1900, was commissioned by Sun Zhongshan to launch the Huizhou Uprising with Zheng Shiliang and others.

After learning the news of the success of the Sichuan Revolution, he was immediately commissioned by Sun Zhongshan and others to go to Sichuan to participate in the revolution, while also observing the Sichuan revolutionary rebels and learning about the Sichuan Revolution.

Before the Spring Festival, when the evaluation was over, Deng Ziyu received his share of prizes: a pair of Liberation shoes, two toothbrushes, an enamel tea stand with a hammer and sickle logo, two bars of light yellow, fine-textured soap that looked appealing, and two canned meats.

Deng Ziyu lay on his bunk, brought the soap to his nose and took a deep sniff. The aroma, mixed with a pungent smell, was refreshing. Putting down the soap, Deng Ziyu sat up slightly irritably.

The Forward Party's revolutionary ideology embraced the core principles of "anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism," a principle Deng Ziyu endorsed. It also held a firm line in the pursuit of social justice. Land reform was acceptable to him, as he had long lived in exile, having opened an inn as a refuge. His family didn't have much land, so this was no problem. However, the Forward Party's ban on secret societies was somewhat difficult for him to accept. After all, he was once the head of a triad, and when he organized the Huizhou Uprising, he secured the support of numerous secret societies in places like Heyuan, which contributed to the rebels' initial successes.

He also discovered that the Forward Party, in practice, had a habit of saying one thing and doing another. According to Deng Ziyu's observation, the Forward Party's entire energy, or at least the vast majority of it, was focused on building a stronger base. The revolutionary rebels in Sichuan seemed unaware that they were now the standard-bearers of the Chinese revolution, or of their considerable influence overseas. The Forward Party emphasized labor over propaganda, and displayed a strong utilitarianism abroad, constantly engaging in business with Western powers. They were even in no rush to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, lacking a strong and radical revolutionary stance. This greatly surprised Deng Ziyu.

A greater stimulus was the internal education of the Forward Party, which stated that "the state is a tool of class rule", "the Forward Party is a proletarian party", "the law is the embodiment of the will of the ruling class", "the ruling class in the base area is the proletariat, and the peasants are the allies of the proletariat", and "labor creates man himself, and history is created by the working masses".

Deng Ziyu viewed these repetitive, brainwashing ideologies as not about overthrowing a tyrannical government but about replacing it with a more powerful and authoritarian one. This was deeply unacceptable to him. He desired to freely discuss revolution with Sun Yat-sen and his colleagues, and to establish a federal government like the United States, a government worthy of the people.

In a state of confusion, Deng Ziyu lifted the soap and brought it to his nose, taking a deep breath. The pungent smell of the alkaline substance lifted his spirits a little. He was no young man who had never seen the world. Life in the liberated areas could not be described as harsh. These rewards and the daily meals were comparable to those of a small landlord. Not to mention the allowances, even a small landlord's home would be no better.

Deng Ziyu's Xingzhonghui was sent to Sichuan to learn how to carry out revolution. They wanted to learn why the Sichuan uprising succeeded, while their Huizhou uprising failed. However, what he learned was drastically different from what he had hoped. He had hoped to learn from the Forward Party how to build a strong revolutionary party and quickly overthrow the Qing Dynasty. However, over the past few months, he had learned most about practical work, which left him somewhat at a loss.

These things might be feasible in the liberated areas where political power had already been established. But for the Xingzhonghui, it was simply unthinkable. If Zhang Yinghao had heard Deng Ziyu's inner thoughts, he would have said: What you need to learn is not revolution, but the art of slaying dragons, the science of success.

The Progressive Party devoted considerable effort to "awakening the broad masses of working people," organizing the people. When productivity remained stagnant, adjusting production relations was the best solution. Zhang Yinghao firmly believed that one of the hallmarks of the ruling class was its ability to manage itself and understand the true nature of society.

The first priority for those who came to Sichuan was to help them understand the current social situation and learn how to organize labor production. During the railway construction project, all those assigned there took part. Deng Ziyu initially assumed that learning to organize labor production meant learning how to "organize the masses to engage in labor production." He never imagined that this meant allowing the students to learn how to organize production through their own labor.

Deng Ziyu had never realized how exhausting it was to engage in production. He had previously been a member of the Triads, where his job was simply to issue orders. When he decided to join the revolution, to raise funds, Deng Ziyu didn't engage in production. Instead, he opened a hotel, even soliciting donations and raising funds from religious organizations to secure initial capital. He had considered the Progressive Party's approach to production, but he immediately rejected it as a slow path to profitability.

Since he wanted to learn about the organization of the Progressive Party and all its experiences, Deng Ziyu had no choice but to bite the bullet and learn to work.

Instead of a group discussing how to do better, a group of people first picked up their tools, buried their heads, and began digging and tamping the earth to build the base. Their palms would be worn out, and calluses would form layer after layer. Their wrists would ache from constant tamping. Even the durable rubber soles of their Liberation Shoes would wear out after a few pairs. In the cold winter, their hands and feet would also get chilblains.

Deng Ziyu found many solutions to her problems unimaginable and ridiculous. For example, if she wanted to solve the blood blisters on her hands, the only way was to poke

Breaking the blisters and then re-grinding the calluses can solve the problem.

The method is correct, but it is useless. When the blood blister just broke, the stinging pain made Deng Ziyu very unhappy. The comrades of the Progressive Party

The solution is to encourage each other.

All of this made Deng Ziyu extremely unhappy. He had come to learn about revolution, not to do hard labor. As for wanting to rest just because he had a blister, that was out of the question. Many people said that the Forward Party treated women like men and men like animals, and he deeply agreed. But when he thought of the women working, he could only swallow his saliva and dared not think about it any further. He would never admit that he couldn't match those women.

Deng Ziyu saw something even more remarkable. The so-called organizational system of the society was not the rigid hierarchy of China's clearly defined hierarchy, nor was it the rigid hierarchy of secret societies. Instead, the system emphasized equality for all, including equality in labor and equality between officers and soldiers. It emphasized criticism and self-criticism, requiring everyone to "tell the truth." Or, to put it more simply, as the old Chinese saying goes, you know what you can and cannot do, and if you can't, you have to admit it.

Deng Ziyu had been educated and had a very good foundation in literature. He had also read books such as "The Book of Songs" and "The Analects of Confucius". He knew that Confucius in "The Analects of Confucius" said when talking about "scholars": "A man must be true to his word and resolute in his actions. How can he be a mean man!" However, he can also be considered second-rate.

He discovered that the Forward Party's mission wasn't to cultivate revolutionaries capable of overthrowing the old system, nor was it to cultivate powerful figures capable of commanding a region. Deng Ziyu was astonished that the Forward Party was such a "light-hearted and frivolous" group. Of course, for Zhang Yinghao, the people he was cultivating weren't revolutionaries, but builders and workers.

Yet, Confucius at least classified these "straightforward and mean-spirited people" as the lowest class of "scholars." The Analects records that, after Zilu had asked Confucius about the "scholars," he then asked, "What are the politicians of today like?" Confucius replied, "Alas! Those who are simple and honest are of no account." In other words, in Confucius' eyes, today's rulers were no match for the upright and stubborn little people. Cao Lie's "On the Debate" also states, "Those who eat meat are vulgar and incapable of far-sightedness." Although Deng Ziyu didn't quite understand, he had no choice but to accept it.

But this was just the beginning. First, they learned through labor what they could and couldn't do, even understanding their own limits. Then came the work schedule, where each person voluntarily reported a workload, and the collective daily workload began to be calculated. This proved fatal. Many, including Deng Ziyu, became overly optimistic, believing they could do anything, even reporting workloads based on their perceived limits.

After getting through the first few days, we thought we could accomplish a certain level of work. What we didn't anticipate was that this wasn't just three or five days, or eight or ten days, or even half a month, but months and months. The railway would take years to build. After ten days and a half, many people were working themselves to the bone. Accumulated fatigue and even injuries had left them with no energy, energy, or willpower. The original plan was simply impossible to complete.

Before each session began, some managers would question their colleagues about their persistence. Some admitted their inability early on, while others, unable to complete their tasks for several days in a row, were forced to acknowledge their incompetence. Deng Ziyu, after all, had been a prominent figure before, and he was someone who cared about his reputation. He gritted his teeth and persevered for twenty days before finally succumbing to his body. Even the strongest of men could withstand the relentless intensity of the work.

In fact, even simple assembly line work, not to mention the long hours of physical labor, can still tire you out after a while. The endless work on the assembly line can feel like a dream. Consequently, countless people quit after a short stint, unable to bear the endless, simple labor.

Many who came to Sichuan to explore the revolution simply weren't willing to participate in such arduous labor. They simply took a quick look, or worked for two days before leaving. These people simply couldn't stand the arduous labor, or thought they could learn by watching. Seeing the sweaty laborers, many of them retreated, believing the Progressive Party was torturing them. Some who remained, unwilling to participate in the labor, wandered around and engaged in idle talk. These too have now been expelled by the Progressive Party.

Thinking of the comrades who had already left, Deng Ziyu couldn't help but sigh. While Deng Ziyu was still immersed in his own imagination, Yu Zimo and Shen Ruo, who had also come from other provinces, entered the dormitory excitedly. Yu Zimo said, "Ziyu, haha, our job applications have been approved."