Inside the luxury liner's ballroom, the pianist was playing a beautiful melody. A group of tycoons was chatting in the salon when they saw young Coolidge walking toward them. Seeing him looking refreshed, everyone recalled the beauty who had been flirting with young Coolidge for the past two days. In this circle, no one took such things seriously; the group of tycoons, who had experienced all sorts of things, continued chatting and laughing.

Young Coolidge ordered a martini, raised it, and downed it in one go. He ordered another, carried it to an empty seat in the salon, and sat down. Seeing the tycoons looking over, young Coolidge still felt somewhat uneasy, so he casually found a topic. "May I ask what 'FC Currency Alliance' means?"

Most of the tycoons knew that F stood for France and C for China. The FC Currency Alliance likely referred to the recent cooperation between the Franc and the Chinese Yuan, a relationship not yet substantial enough to be called a system. However, the tycoons felt the term definitely carried a mocking tone, though they didn't understand where the punchline lay.

Seeing no one speak, Prescott Bush explained, "FC, according to Pinyin, can be the first two letters of the term 'Fei Chai' (废柴). In Southern Chinese dialects, 'Fei Chai' refers to a person who is a loser, waste. This is a term cooked up by the British; perhaps those Hong Kong people in Britain came up with it."

Hearing this explanation, the tycoons and young Coolidge finally understood. Although they still couldn't quite grasp the humor of the homophone in Chinese, they felt they had glimpsed something. Especially Britain's attitude toward the FC Currency Alliance proved even more that Britain indeed felt the pressure.

This advance party consisted of relatively industrial tycoons like Rockefeller in steel, oil, and railways; financial tycoons like Morgan had not come. Rockefeller raised a question: "China has announced it will no longer adopt the gold or silver standard, yet the exchange rates of the Chinese Yuan and Franc against the Pound and Dollar haven't dropped much. The FC Currency Alliance doesn't look like a loser."

The industrial tycoons didn't chime in. It wasn't that they looked down on Rockefeller or were unwilling to answer, but rather they didn't know what to discuss. Theoretically, both the Franc and the Renminbi had decoupled from precious metals; the printed matter called currency in both countries only contained national credit. Now that the exchange rates of both countries weren't dropping, it meant the trading partners of both countries didn't consider their economic situations to be bad. Such a situation indeed exceeded American experience; fiat currency possessing only national credit implied enormous risk.

Young Coolidge was going to China this time firstly because his father hoped his son could gain experience, and secondly because he himself was interested in China. Seeing the tycoons remain silent, young Coolidge's gaze swept over the silent tycoons. When he looked at Prescott Bush, he saw Bush raise his eyes and ask, "Mr. Coolidge, what do you think?"

As a graduate of Yale Law School, young Coolidge answered immediately, "Could it be because both countries have centralized systems?"

Once this was said, the tycoons were stunned. Rockefeller lit a cigar, signaling young Coolidge to continue. Young Coolidge then simply explained the difference between unitary states and federal states, as well as the characteristics of unitary states adopting a centralized system. When young Coolidge finished, Prescott Bush asked, "Mr. Coolidge, do you think the Chinese government must abide by agreements because it possesses moral legitimacy?"

Hearing this judgment, Rockefeller, while puzzled by the characteristics of Chinese culture, couldn't help but be somewhat moved. The reliability of a government constrained by morality was indeed relatively high, but Rockefeller also found it very strange: how could a government be constrained by morality?

So Rockefeller asked, "Mr. Coolidge, does the morality you speak of refer to ethics, or does it refer to public interest?"

"The public interest in Chinese culture refers to rights that every single person should enjoy. If this right isn't universal, it cannot be called moral," young Coolidge explained. Ever since his life was saved by medicine developed in China, he had developed a strong interest in China. And the more he studied, the more interesting he found it.

"Just now you said that the legitimacy of the Chinese government is built upon this morality. In other words, the Chinese government might damage corporate interests to prove that its administration has executed policies conforming to morality?"

"Yes. However, this approach can also be interpreted as China having no bias against enterprises; what they care about is entirely the economic impact produced by their own policies. Being able to formulate and execute such policies is enough to prove that the Chinese government is a modern government."

Hearing such an analysis, the tycoons were all thinking. Rockefeller smoked his cigar slowly, feeling that the line of thought proposed by this law school graduate was truly interesting. If the He Rui government was truly as young Coolidge described, a sincere negotiation with He Rui could determine whether to invest in China. Although at this stage American entrepreneurs all believed China held many risks, Rockefeller felt an impulse rising within him. This impulse wasn't unfamiliar; he had felt a similar mood when he decided to invest his capital into the oil industry.

Just as Prescott Bush said, ocean liners were about speed. On October 8, after more than three weeks of sea voyage, the American special envoy delegation and the accompanying tycoons disembarked at Lianyungang. They immediately took a train straight to the Chinese capital. On the train, railway tycoon Samuel didn't look very good, which Rockefeller found amusing. While dining in the dining car, he asked, "Mr. Samuel, the penetration rate of internal combustion engines in China seems very high."

Hearing this, the other tycoons looked up at railway tycoon Samuel. Seeing everyone's gaze, Samuel mocked himself, "Historically, Chinese workers also performed excellently in building railways. It seems perhaps I shouldn't have come."

Since Samuel was so frank, everyone felt a sense of sympathy. Although they had seen some news about China's industrial development, American concern for China was mostly focused on its successes in political, military, and diplomatic fields; concern for China's industrialization was actually limited. Seeing with their own eyes that most of the trains running on Chinese railways were internal combustion engines, Rockefeller asked Bush, "It seems France didn't just provide industry to China, but is helping China upgrade its industry."

Prescott Bush nodded. "Gentlemen, China is so large that France cannot possibly swallow it in one bite. I invited you all to come because I believe we should gain profits in this process."

The tycoons nodded one after another. France's population was only 40 million; an industrial population of this scale couldn't possibly swallow a large market of nearly 500 million people. American industrial capacity was far higher than France's and should obtain a share in the Chinese market matching American industrial strength.

Seeing the tycoons eager to try, Prescott Bush said, "Soon it will be China's National Day. I will try to secure opportunities for you to attend the National Day banquet from Chairman He Rui."

If possible, He Rui very much wanted to change the National Day from October 10 to October 1, because the legal lineage of China in He Rui's heart came entirely from New China, not the Tongmenghui or the KMT. But politics is quite serious, so He Rui could only accept it.

As a national leader, He Rui couldn't act like a child. After reading the list provided by Prescott Bush, which contained many large enterprises still renowned in the 21st century of the US, He Rui's mood improved significantly. "I welcome these gentlemen to China."

On October 11, an article titled "Has Rockefeller Defected to the Communist Party?" was published in *The Times*. *The Times* made a big fuss about the appearance of a group of American business tycoons at the Chinese National Day banquet, fiercely attacking these capitalists of capitalist society for caring about nothing but money.

The article even quoted Lenin's famous saying: "Comrades, where will the rope to hang capitalism come from? The capitalists will sell it to us!"

It was no wonder *The Times* was so agitated. In British eyes, China and France were already cooperating. Now that the owners of large American enterprises had run to China to attend the Chinese National Day banquet, it equated to the three joint communiqués between China and Britain bringing no substantive economic benefits to Britain. After France got there first, the US also began striving to enter the Chinese market. Britain naturally felt a sense of betrayal.

By October 13, America's right-wing newspapers, which focused more on ideology, also began to fiercely attack this group of capitalists who cared about nothing but money. However, *The Wall Street Journal* reported on the matter with great interest: "...Will these American entrepreneurs ultimately choose to accept the challenge of huge risks? Imperfect commercial laws, socialist ideology—these are all huge threats to American corporate investment in China. More importantly, with the establishment of the FC Currency Alliance, will these American enterprises be willing to accept the unstable Franc as payment currency?"

These verbal and written condemnations seemed fierce, but American tycoons were still the ruling class in the capitalist world. Within the ruling class, rules and morality still had to be observed. Questioning and criticizing this group was one thing, but trying to destroy them would be breaking the rules. Capitalist countries didn't do that.

So when the American tycoons saw these newspapers in China, they didn't really take the content seriously. Especially Rockefeller; he was waiting for a meeting with He Rui. This was a rare meeting opportunity, and Rockefeller was quite expectant about what would come out of it.

At noon on November 15, not long after Rockefeller sat down in a private room at a restaurant in the capital, the door opened, and He Rui walked in. Rockefeller stood up and sized up He Rui from close range. There were many silver threads in the black hair of this 39-year-old man, but they didn't make He Rui look old.

He Rui looked relaxed and full of vitality. As soon as the two sat down, He Rui asked straightforwardly, "Mr. Rockefeller, I have read the introduction about you. In the oil industry, your company is a very powerful enterprise in the world."

Rockefeller smiled. "But your country's Ministry of Land and Resources doesn't seem to welcome our investment in China."

He Rui answered frankly, "Oil is a strategic asset concerning our national security. It's not that we don't recognize the strength of the Rockefeller Company, but in this field, we cannot bear the risk."

Rockefeller appreciated He Rui's attitude. Even in refusal, He Rui showed no negative emotion, only clearly stating China's position. So Rockefeller also answered frankly, "If that's the case, our company cannot invest in China in the oil sector. According to your Ministry of Land and Resources' description, China's oil is located too deep, and the cost of such cooperative extraction is too great."

"Although I feel regret, the field of cooperation can only be this way," He Rui said.

Although he said he felt regret, Rockefeller saw no trace of regret on He Rui's face. And He Rui continued, "However, in other fields, we still have much room for cooperation. For example, the manufacturing and production of oil equipment; this has little relation to national security."

Rockefeller initially wanted to obtain oil extraction rights in China. Since he couldn't get them, he felt the field of cooperation with China had become very narrow. As for the production of oil extraction equipment, this investment was indeed too large, and the risk increased accordingly. Although oil extraction equipment was also for digging holes, the cost and technical content were not as simple as drilling a water well. The price of a set of equipment could easily be tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand dollars, and the investment in an oil production area could likely reach millions or even over ten million dollars.

Throwing down so much investment, the risk faced was not just the investment being confiscated by the Chinese government, but the likelihood that the investment would fail due to insufficient demand in China.

So Rockefeller told He Rui his concerns directly. He saw that He Rui was not only unsurprised but not even astonished. This made Rockefeller feel very interested; he even birthed a conjecture: if He Rui were not a politician controlling immense power and resources but a businessman, how would his business ability be? Would he achieve success to the same degree as He Rui's military and diplomatic victories?

He Rui spoke up. "I think your worry is superfluous, Mr. Rockefeller. China has many oil fields. Although these oil layers are buried very deep, the geology is stable and the reserves are large. Moreover, oil extraction and usage will be a very long-term source of profit, and oil usage will grow at a high speed. So the situation of insufficient market in China that you worry about will not happen. Even with the current market, you don't need to view investment in the Chinese market as purely limited to the China region; the Soviet Union and Japan both have demands. Japan's oil-producing area is on Sakhalin Island; although the annual output isn't large, it is still demand. As for the Soviet region, its demand is very large and is a long-term demand. Mr. Rockefeller, do you believe China and the Soviet Union can cooperate long-term in this field? If you believe so, then investing in China means you also simultaneously obtain the Soviet market."

At the mention of the Soviet Union, Rockefeller wanted to scratch his head. If China made Rockefeller feel unsafe, the country of the Soviet Union made Rockefeller feel full of threats, so Rockefeller did not consider long-term investment in the Soviet Union. He didn't even consider investing at all.

But this also sparked Rockefeller's curiosity. "Mr. Chairman, why does China think the Soviet Union is cooperable? I wonder if you could tell me the real reason?"

"The real reason is not complex. China is willing to bear the financial risks for the Soviet Union. I think you may have heard that China and the Soviet Union adopt trade on credit; there isn't even much currency circulation between the two countries. From the perspective of European and American economic thinking, this risk is so large as to be completely unacceptable. But from the perspective of a socialist country, this risk is within an acceptable range."

Rockefeller became truly curious. "Could you explain more clearly?"

"The goods the Soviet Union buys from China are not for profit, but to improve the living standards of the Soviet people. As a socialist country, we can understand the Soviet government's needs and accept the commodity prices the Soviet Union pays based on this need. Of course, we won't sell at a loss, but we can accept a long-term profit margin that isn't high."

Rockefeller followed He Rui's line of thought. When he felt he understood the principle of Sino-Soviet trade, he couldn't help shaking his head and sighing, "Oh, God!"

Indeed. Rockefeller couldn't understand why China would be willing to pay for the Soviet Union's construction. People who did this were destined to be madmen, or self-righteous fellows.

After sighing, Rockefeller continued to ask, "What is the reason for China doing this?"

"Do you know about China implementing land reform, where the people have all been allocated land?"

"Yes, I have heard of it."

"The purpose of land reform is to ensure the people don't starve to death. But if the people want to increase their income, they need more employment opportunities. At this stage, China's domestic consumption power is very low. The Soviet Union possesses vast land and abundant resources; their consumption power is much higher than ours. So even with meager profits, the Soviet demand is large. Through trade with the Soviet Union, China can increase domestic employment opportunities and enhance China's consumption ability. Even if we only earn a few cents per shirt, as long as the sales volume is large enough, we Chinese people still earn money. Many littles make a mickle; it can also increase the income of the Chinese people."

"...Mr. Chairman, I don't mean anything else. But your description makes me want to sympathize with you. Because the brilliant victories you have achieved in military and diplomacy, compared with your current description of your mindset, make it impossible for me to believe these sentiments come from the same person."

"Hehe, I can understand." He Rui smiled. "So, China bears the financial risk, and the Soviet Union is a very large market. I wonder if this judgment can give Mr. Rockefeller greater confidence in investing in China?"