After the meeting, the key cadres received their respective tasks. The officers looked at Zheng Sirang, appearing as if they wanted to say something but stopped. Zheng Sirang smiled candidly, "This punishment is of my own fault. I hope everyone will not repeat my mistakes."

Cheng Ruofan, who had also attended classes under Li Yidao, couldn't help but sigh, "Sirang, we can't disobey orders just because we encounter one of our teachers."

Zheng Sirang nodded, "I talked with Xu Jia. Xu Jia said I was too arrogant. I've thought about it carefully over the past two days and I feel Xu Jia was right. I was indeed too arrogant, thinking I could win as soon as I made a move. With this punishment, I know everyone has lost some trust in me, but I know I deserve it. In the future, I will be humble and cautious, and never act self-righteously again."

"You should tell this to the Chairman," Cheng Ruofan sighed.

However, Xu Chengfeng said, "I have a train to catch, I'm leaving first."

After speaking, he left. The others also left one after another. Cheng Ruofan didn't know what else to say, so he also bade farewell to Zheng Sirang.

Watching everyone's backs, Zheng Sirang felt a bit melancholy. He realized he hadn't expected the price of a moment's impulse to be so steep, but since things had come to this, apart from accepting the consequences and not making mistakes in the future, there really was no other way.

Seeing everyone leave, Zheng Sirang was just about to leave when he saw Wu Youping walking past him as if in a trance. Zheng Sirang simply didn't say hello and walked away on his own, only feeling very displeased.

If Zheng Sirang could read Wu Youping's mind at this moment, he would not only clear up the misunderstanding but probably also sympathize with Wu Youping's mood. Although walking on the road, Wu Youping's mind was occupied with various organizational structures, especially the organization of the household registration system.

At this time, Wu Youping was already the Secretary of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee and Governor, but this young man had absolutely no mood to celebrate. He got into the car in a contemplative state, arrived at the train station, and Wu Youping's mind was still considering his biggest headache.

It wasn't until he got on the train and the carriage filled with the accents from Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi that Wu Youping was completely pulled back to the real world from his thoughts.

Even in winter, the packed carriage wasn't cold. It happened that a detachment of troops was moving from Fengtian to Changchun. Wu Youping sat neatly with the soldiers and didn't crowd in with these refugees fleeing famine. However, even if Wu Youping wanted to squeeze, he probably couldn't. Inside the carriage for civilians, double the number of people were squeezed onto the seats, and the aisle was full of people standing. As for the space under the seats, it was also packed with people. The windows were wide open, but it couldn't make the stale air much better.

The air was filled with the stench of urine because the toilet was also packed with many people. It was impossible to get in. But even if one could get in, with the density inside the train, it was impossible to accommodate the needs of so many people.

If one had to find a silver lining from this, it was probably that the standing people didn't need to find a place to lean. The overly dense crowd squeezed together, so they could stay upright without any effort.

Jilin Governor Wu Youping hadn't expected things to turn out like this. After the land reform in the Northeast, social order was stabilized significantly. Even if living standards didn't rise rapidly, the people of the Northeast generally felt that society was much safer. Just because of this, the population from inside the Pass (China proper) flooding to outside the Pass (Manchuria) began to surge.

Even in the depth of winter, thousands of people entered the Northeast along the railway or by the Bohai water route every day. The government naturally wouldn't let refugees wander around. Fortunately, the vast majority of refugees came to join relatives, and the household registration system in the Northeast was preliminarily established, so the vetting process wasn't impossible to start.

This led to the current situation. He Rui ordered not to collect train transport fees for refugees who passed the screening, relying on railway transport to send them to the villages and towns where their relatives were. But so many people coming every day caused immense pressure on the local governments.

But Wu Youping really didn't want to dwell on this anymore, so he started chatting with the soldiers in the same carriage. When asked what everyone wanted to do after arriving in Changchun, someone among the soldiers answered with longing: "I want to go to school!"

Other soldiers intended to say something else, but hearing this, they echoed one after another, "Yes, we want to go to school."

Wu Youping knew that the army was promoting education heavily now and provided certification equivalent to elementary school level. Moreover, after soldiers were discharged, they could continue to go to school. In the current moment where adult education was highly promoted, soldiers received training on 'the importance of study' every day, so it wasn't surprising to have such thoughts.

While considering whether the number of teachers was sufficient, Wu Youping suddenly had a flash of insight and an idea for solving the refugee problem.

There are so many teachers being trained now, why not draft a group from the teachers? Currently, there are two rotation teachers for one teaching post. If the number of rotation personnel is increased to three people per post, wouldn't the government staff shortage be solved!

The personnel shortage was finally solved. Wu Youping felt the weight lifted off his chest, and he couldn't help but smile at the soldiers around him, "Yes, go to school, education is essential!"

The population woes were not affecting every government official. For example, Morrison, the Director of the Investment Promotion Bureau, was writing a letter to a British cabinet official in an enthusiastic tone.

"...With the entry of a large number of refugees into the Northeast region, the industrial workforce in the Northeast region has increased rapidly. The increase in the number of workers in machinery manufacturing and arsenals is relatively slow, but the number of personnel in mining, transportation and other departments is increasing very fast. The profession with the fastest growth rate is teachers. Even if the quality of teachers in the Northeast region is far inferior to that of the British Empire, the teacher-to-population ratio is advancing by leaps and bounds. General He's huge investment in education shows his foresight as a politician, and will inevitably bring huge benefits to the Northeast region which steadfastly implements this policy..."

Scratching rapidly with his fountain pen on the paper to write down the description and judgment of the politics and economy of the Northeast region, Morrison was full of enthusiasm. At the end of 1917, Morrison received a letter from London. The letter was written by an influential figure in the cabinet, who invited Morrison to work as a secretary under him.

With Morrison's experience, he naturally knew that the prominent figure wanted Morrison to provide information about He Rui to help him climb the political ladder. Morrison certainly didn't expect to become a cabinet member, nor did he dare to hope to become a member of parliament. But to become a private secretary to a certain bigwig in the cabinet was equivalent to gaining entry to the British upper class. Such an opportunity could not be missed.

Moreover, in Morrison's view, the situation in the Northeast was truly optimistic. The land reform He Rui carried out in the first two years also established a large number of state-owned farms. After more than a year of development, these farms began to show promise, and there would be a good harvest this year.

Industrial development was also quite smooth. The current Northeast had become a force that the British Empire could leverage. If used properly, it could certainly yield even greater results.

After writing this, Morrison took a sip of the tea which had gone cold. After pondering for a moment, he continued to write: "The French representatives in China show clear signs of approaching He Rui. These French people very much hope to enable the pro-French factions in Russia to win through He Rui's weapon support..."