Over the Lan River.
A passenger boat drifted downstream.
Zhong Shenxiu wore a white suit, had a crew cut, and even sported a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He looked exactly like a foreign student returned from overseas.
Beside him, Qin Weiyin was dressed like a maid, following closely behind her young master every step of the way.
"The scenery south of the Yangtze is truly lovely."
Standing on the deck and gazing at the beautiful green mountains and clear waters on either side of the great river, Zhong Shenxiu could not help sighing.
"Though the scenery is beautiful, the human world is full of suffering."
Just then, a man who looked like a progressive young man walked over from nearby.
His slicked-back hair gleamed, and he wore a black suit with a tie—the height of fashion at the time.
Picking up from Zhong Shenxiu's last remark, he said, "Ever since the trade routes were opened, foreign matches, foreign cloth, and foreign rice have poured in by the ton, all selling at extremely low prices. The people of Jiangnan have suffered beyond measure. Who knows how many weavers have gone bankrupt because of it, while farming families have been forced to sell their sons and daughters... Yet in the end, all the profits have fattened that ten-mile foreign market... Every person of insight today ought to unite, devote themselves to Western Affairs, establish factories, and resist the invasion of Western Regions commerce!"
"My brother, you have some very perceptive views. My name is Fang Lang, and I greatly admire your opinion."
Zhong Shenxiu revealed a moved expression.
In this era, it was common for young people with shared aspirations to go through fire and water for one another over a single sentence.
The man had probably seen his