After Christmas, London resembled a half-drunk, half-awake reveler, with everyone and everything shrouded in the scent of alcohol.
In the morning mist, a carriage moved slowly forward, its driver cautiously managing the reins to prevent the horses from stepping on the necks of the drunken bodies lying on the ground.
Inside the carriage sat two British gentlemen.
Churchill pulled out a bag and said to Wardhouse, "Sir, would you like some gingerbread?"
Gingerbread was a small cake eaten during Christmas, typically made with flour, ginger, honey, brown sugar, almonds, candied fruit peel, and spices.
Wardhouse raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to exchange it for a cigar?"
"Haha, why would I?" Churchill replied with a grin.
Wardhouse remained skeptical. "Really?"
Churchill sighed. "I'm not that bored."
He then handed Wardhouse a piece of gingerbread.
Wardhouse took it, but instead of immediately pulling his hand back, Churchill extended his hand, as if expecting something in return.
With a smile, Churchill said, "The great and noble Viscount Kimberley won't lose out, right?"
Wardhouse sighed and reluctantly handed him a cigar.
Churchill expertly cut the tip off the cigar, lit it with a match, took a deep drag, and asked, "Sir, regarding the opinion polls, I've already told you my thoughts. What do you think?"
Wardhouse pondered for a moment and asked, "Are opinion polls really that powerful?"
As he spoke, he lit a cigar for himself and opened the window to let the smoke out.
Honestly, he felt Churchill was overestimating the importance of opinion polls. Could they really compare to "Yes, Prime Minister"?
Wardhouse said, "Professor Lu is a mere writer. His novels, poetry, and plays may be influential, but to suggest he could cause as much trouble as the editors of major newspapers seems far-fetched."
Churchill shook his head. "Consider what he writes. Setting aside 'And Then There Were None,' 'Yes, Prime Minister,' 'Generation,' and 'The Answer,' which one lacks incitement? Not to mention his articles in The Manchester Guardian."
Wardhouse began to reconsider, but he forgot to puff on his cigar, causing it to burn for a long stretch, and the cylindrical ash collapsed onto the carriage floor.
Churchill extended his right foot, using the sole of his shoe to scatter the ash before gathering it into a corner.
The two fell silent as the carriage wheels rolled over the cobblestones, creating a gentle clatter, contrasting with the quiet and bustle of the city.
After a while, Wardhouse said, "You're right. I should make some demands."
Churchill smiled. "That's more like it."
Wardhouse, curious, remarked, "Winston, I've noticed you've been eager to offer advice lately."
Churchill didn't respond.
With his bets on both sides, he shouldn't have leaned toward the Liberal Party so quickly, but Cecil's cabinet was showing signs of instability. If Bonar Law came to power within half a year, and Churchill hadn't joined the Liberal Party by then, he might not be able to secure a prominent position.
So, it was time to take a chance!
Churchill said, "Anyway..."
Before he could finish, the light clattering of the carriage wheels abruptly stopped.
Both men looked out the window.
They had arrived at Blighy Road.
Wardhouse instructed the coachman, "Wait here."
Then he turned to Churchill.
"I think before we enter, we should first review our advantages. Firstly, finances..."
Churchill shook his head. "It won't work. Mr. Lu has accumulated quite a bit of income, so money isn't an issue for him. And not just income; 'And Then There Were None' is being reprinted by the Royal Publishing House as a hardcover book, so the royalties are bound to be staggering."
Wardhouse sighed, realizing Lu was indeed a peculiar character. A Chinese man making so much money in London was something even Kong Hongming couldn't accomplish, and Kong Hongming couldn't be considered a pure Chinese either.
Churchill continued, "Secondly, manpower. We probably won't be able to restrict Mr. Lu. With his influence among university students, it'll be too easy for him to recruit people. Even threatening him with expulsion won't stop him."
Wardhouse agreed with this point. "Then there's only one thing left—printing and dissemination."
This hit the nail on the head.
Survey questionnaires first appeared in universities. Since various social science disciplines required fieldwork, students came up with this method.
However, universities had limited resources, and neither printing nor dissemination could reach all corners of society, resulting in a limited sample size for surveys.
This situation persisted until newspapers joined in.
Major newspapers in London sold tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of copies daily, making their readers natural survey participants. By simply adding a page to the newspaper, they could quickly gather data, thus popularizing questionnaire surveys.
Churchill said, "Without the participation of many citizens, opinion polls won't be credible."
Wardhouse understood. "Professor Lu is acquainted with The Manchester Guardian and The Scotsman. When it comes to distributing questionnaires, he'll undoubtedly contact these two newspapers. And we can project our influence through... wait, wouldn't Professor Lu consider other publishers or magazines with publishing capabilities?"
Churchill chuckled. "The Times? Or The Daily Telegraph? How about the Royal Publishing House?"
Upon hearing this, Wardhouse couldn't help but laugh too.
He realized he had been thinking too much.
He signaled to the coachman.
The coachman ran over and opened the carriage door.
Churchill didn't get out of the carriage; he just said to Wardhouse, "Waiting for your good news," then closed his eyes to rest.
Wardhouse stepped forward to knock on the door of Blayard Road.
Soon, the door was opened.
Lu stood at the doorway, making space for them to enter, and said, "Sir, why the sudden visit... Hmm, I understand, you want to discuss the polling project, right? Please come in, watch your step."
The window of Blayard Road, previously sealed with bricks, had been removed and replaced with new glass.
The morning light flooded into the room, leaving almost no blind spots in their sight.
Wardhouse looked around, not understanding what he needed to be careful of, but still cautiously stepped inside.
Just then,
"Meow~"
A cat's meow came.
Wardhouse felt a blur before his eyes, as if something had darted from beside his foot under the table in the room.
Lu apologized, "I'm sorry. This little guy has been quite active lately, jumping onto furniture and making a mess. Yesterday, he even stained my manuscripts."
Wardhouse exclaimed, "Manuscripts? Professor Lu has a new work?"
Lu nodded, "Yes, it's a play. But when I mentioned manuscripts, I was referring to the series of articles serialized in The Manchester Guardian. Recently, I'm planning for a deep collaboration with the Royal Publishing House, so I'm organizing the manuscripts and preparing to hand them over for publication."
"The Royal... Royal Publishing House? Deep... Deep..."
Wardhouse was at a loss for words.
Lu explained with a smile, "Deep collaboration. It means I'm planning for a long-term partnership with the Royal Publishing House. For example, for the polling questionnaire, I intend to commission them for printing and distribution."
Wardhouse: !!!
He looked at Lu in shock.
While inwardly amused, Lu maintained a calm expression on his face.
"Sir Wardhouse, your willingness to invest in the polling project under your personal name, rather than as a member of the Liberal Party or the Honorary Chancellor of the University of London, to be an unsung hero, is truly admirable. By the way, are you planning to use a cheque?"
Not under my personal name...
Not under my personal name, for heaven's sake!
Wardhouse's heart bled, but he could only smile and take out his chequebook.
As he wrote the amount, he said gentlemanly, "As Liberal Party members, we value freedom of expression the most. With a project like this, of course, I'll do my bit."
With that, he forced out a smile uglier than tears.