"Chairman, we have completed the trials for spray and drip irrigation. The results are good, but the cost is too high. It cannot be promoted in the near term." Director Lu answered very straightforwardly.

He Rui had long known this would be the result, so he did not press further. When looking at problems from a national perspective, cost is the primary consideration. Even if a country is powerful, it cannot withstand constant financial subsidies.

Director Lu did not believe He Rui would enforce the new irrigation technology, so he added, "Chairman, this technology has been placed in reserve. If the price of new plastic pipes continues to drop, we will implement this irrigation method in water-scarce regions. However, the promotion of plastic greenhouses has very good prospects."

He Rui nodded but did not pursue the topic. These were technical issues, and once He Rui opened his mouth, he would be discussing strategic issues. The two sides were simply not on the same channel.

Director Lu did not elaborate further on the current trends of these technologies, bringing the topic back to the previous report. "Chairman, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce have formulated several plans for importing grain. Within a price difference of less than 15%, the minimum grain import from the United States can reach 2 million tons. It is now certain that the price of grain imported from the United States is the lowest."

Hearing the report, He Rui formed a numerical concept. Currently, the competitiveness of Chinese industrial goods was rising rapidly, and trade with most partners was basically in balance. The only exception was the trade with the United States, a major producer of both grain and industrial goods, where China was at a comprehensive disadvantage. The United States was truly strong; this was a strength determined by resource endowment. Moreover, the American system was well-suited to its current resource endowment. Forty-one years ago, China might have possessed the strength to confront the United States, but it did not possess the strength to overwhelm it.

After sending Director Lu away, He Rui pondered his strategy towards the US. The specifics were indeed troublesome. He Rui wrote down the most fundamental question: "Can strategic mutual trust be built between China and the United States?"

Although nothing could be said to be inevitable, He Rui truly had little confidence in building mutual trust between China and the US. If mutual trust could not be established, He Rui would have to consider a grand strategy of war with the United States.

During this period, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull continued to visit Chinese officials. Departments unrelated to Sino-US relations politely declined Secretary Hull's requests for meetings. The Ministry of Education, which was relevant to Sino-US relations, was currently led by an acting Vice Minister following Zhou Shuren's resignation. Secretary Hull believed that the He Rui administration contained a large number of personnel who had studied in the US, so even if the government couldn't be called pro-American, it should at least be easier to communicate with. However, after talking with the Vice Minister of Education for a while, Hull found the enthusiasm from the Chinese side to be limited. This limited enthusiasm was entirely focused on inviting or hiring American science and engineering experts to lecture in China or take positions in Chinese research departments. For instance, China's newly formed forestry and agricultural soil analysis projects had many vacancies in their research groups.

Secretary Hull considered America's liberal arts majors, including political science and law, to be excellent departments. Yet the Vice Minister of Education, who had a background in science and engineering, showed absolutely no interest in them. It reached a point where Secretary Hull couldn't help but ask, "China has hired a large number of European legal scholars; why is there discrimination against the United States?"

According to general international norms, publicly accusing the other party of "discrimination" was a severe allegation. Unexpectedly, the Vice Minister of Education replied calmly, "We never discriminate against anyone. It is simply that the legal concepts of the United States differ too greatly from those of China. Our judicial system is closer to the Civil Law system, which has a vast gap with the Common Law system. As for academic exchange in politics, we cannot accept racist political concepts."

Secretary Hull considered himself a mild-mannered man, but hearing this, a rush of anger went straight to his head. "This is prejudice on your part!"

The Vice Minister's emotions remained stable as he answered composedly, "Whether it is prejudice or not, every country has a different view. I believe that until Black people in the United States obtain rights equal to those of White people, there will also be huge divergences in political exchange between our two nations."

Secretary Hull wanted to warn the Vice Minister that if China continued to hold such an attitude, it would affect the number of Chinese students going to the US. However, he did not say this aloud, because Secretary Hull knew very well that threatening China was meaningless. Moreover, up to this point, Secretary Hull had discovered something very interesting: the attitudes between China and the US seemed to present a wonderfully symmetrical state.

Before departing for China, Hull had a discussion with President Roosevelt. Even though he was focusing almost all his energy on the domestic economy, President Roosevelt still took the time for this meeting. Hull was deeply impressed by a passage from President Roosevelt: "...I believe the Soviet Union and China are utilizing American technology and equipment to perfect their own technological systems, which is not advantageous to the United States. Hull, you also know that many people within the US have a very negative evaluation of these two countries."

Hull believed that before his election, Roosevelt could disregard being labeled a "Communist" because American voters knew Roosevelt could not possibly be a Communist. Now that Roosevelt was elected President, he had to avoid such insinuations. Because Roosevelt had to bring along some fellows considered to be socialists to fight against the old traditions within the US together. Therefore, the best method was to express a relatively tough stance towards the Soviet Union and China.

The Chinese side's attitude towards the United States also appeared very distant. But beyond the political mistrust between the two countries, they were exactly the same when it came to making money. As long as it benefited their national needs and interests, neither China nor the US would refuse.

A question suddenly arose in Secretary Hull's mind: between two such countries, would war break out?

Without giving Secretary Hull time to ponder, the Chinese Vice Minister of Education attempted to end this meeting, which was actually closer to a ceremonial call. Secretary Hull did not insist; after chatting for a few more sentences, he rose to take his leave.

The next person to meet was China's Minister of Commerce, Li Chenggang. Just looking at Li Chenggang's square face gave one the feeling of a soldier's temperament. But Li Chenggang was actually very patient in his work. He quietly listened to Secretary Hull's exposition on the grain trade, then waited for Hull to continue expressing himself. It was only when Secretary Hull asked for Li Chenggang's view that Li Chenggang replied, "I believe Sino-US grain trade will continue. You will not return empty-handed."

Hull did not feel happy. Everyone was in the same line of work; Li Chenggang's attitude was not weak in the slightest. Admitting that Sino-US grain trade would continue was usually followed by stating the conditions under which the trade would end.

Just as Secretary Hull expected, Li Chenggang continued, "If the United States cannot accept the Chinese Yuan, then the purchase volume will have to be determined by the trade volume. However, you need not worry. The quantity of Chinese goods the US is currently purchasing is already quite significant. It won't reach the point where China has no money to pay."

Hull felt no comfort from these words. The trade volume between China and the US was indeed increasing, but it wasn't just grain that China imported from the US. Asphalt, oil, and minerals were all major Chinese imports. Given the speed of China's current industrialization, grain was actually the less important item among these.

Food exports were very important to the US government. Hoover had almost turned the tables previously by relying on suddenly receiving large orders from China. Once the support of the agricultural states was lost, a President was basically finished, likely leading to an inability to be re-elected.

At this moment, Hull decided to state some bottom lines. "If our country expands the import quota for a portion of your country's goods, do you think this would satisfy the Chinese government?"

Li Chenggang naturally would not feel satisfied. Just as the US hoped China would open its market, China also hoped to thoroughly open the door to the US market. The United States was not only the world's most powerful industrial nation but also a very large market.

Next, Li Chenggang began a discussion with Hull. The content focused on trade barriers between China and the US. Hull was only the Secretary of State, not the Secretary of Commerce. If asked to haggle with Li Chenggang, Hull certainly couldn't do it well, nor would he do it. But discussing trade barriers between the two countries was exactly Hull's area of expertise.

After some discussion, the two reached several points of consensus: the long shipping routes between China and the US, China's still relatively weak domestic consumption power, and the mercantilist concepts and policies currently held by both nations.

Mercantilism was the initial economic theory of the bourgeoisie. Arising and developing during the disintegration of the feudal system and the period of primitive capital accumulation in Europe, it conducted the initial theoretical examination of the capitalist mode of production.

In the late 15th century, Western European society entered the period of feudal disintegration, and capitalist production relations began to sprout and grow. The Age of Discovery expanded the world market, giving tremendous stimulus to industry, commerce, and navigation. Industrial and commercial capital played a prominent role, promoting the unification of domestic markets and the formation of the world market, driving the development of industry, commerce, and foreign trade. Alongside the strengthening of industrial and commercial capital, some Western European countries established enlightened, despotic, centralized states, using state power to support the development of industrial and commercial capital. With the development of this capital and the implementation of state policies supporting it, the requirement to explain these economic policies theoretically arose, gradually forming the theory of mercantilism.

Secretary Hull and Li Chenggang discussed happily, and Hull suddenly recalled the hint from the Chinese Vice Minister of Education about not welcoming American political science scholars to lecture in China. Hull sighed, "I hope China and the United States can engage in more exchange of political concepts. I wonder how Minister Li views this."

Li Chenggang shook his head immediately. "We are talking about economic concepts, not political concepts. I have always supported academic exchange, but your country seems to have fallen into a protective impulse regarding capitalism. No matter what, you refuse to admit that capitalism has faults. I can understand this, but I also feel that the current stage is not a good time for political exchange between China and the US."

"Are you worried that China's upper echelons will be influenced by us?" Hull smiled.

Li Chenggang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Haha! Influenced by American political science... Haha!"

If Li Chenggang's reaction had been a retort, or a very cultured expression of his own views, Secretary Hull would have felt fine. However, Li Chenggang's current attitude was very straightforward; Hull felt that Li Chenggang was truly laughing himself to death. This condescending attitude gave Hull a sense of frustration from being looked down upon.

Li Chenggang offered no explanation, instead attempting to turn the topic back to discussing Sino-US trade quotas. This made Hull feel even more slighted. Hull felt that since Li Chenggang dared to laugh like that, why didn't he offer a bit of explanation? Explain to Hull why he looked down on American political science.

Hull felt that even if Li Chenggang wanted to use a disdainful tone to discuss American slavery or the slaughter of Indians, he wanted to have it out with him. Even an argument would be much better than the feeling of being unilaterally despised.

Li Chenggang patiently listened to Secretary Hull's expression of displeasure before explaining, "The state is a tool of class rule. American political science does not acknowledge this point. This is the reason why China and the US cannot conduct political discussions at the current stage."

Hull immediately felt Li Chenggang was quite decent. He hadn't mocked the terrible things the US had done in history, but instead discussed the divergences in Sino-US political concepts from a more high-minded angle. A discussion like this did not involve insulting attitudes.

Being in a better mood didn't mean Hull was willing to accept Li Chenggang's view. He rebutted, "The United States believes in Liberalism."

Li Chenggang himself didn't particularly like engaging in verbal sparring, but Secretary Hull's view happened to be content covered in the Party School classes. Since Hull had delivered himself to the door, Li Chenggang didn't want to be polite. "The characteristic of Liberalism is to divide humanity into one group after another. In my view, this is the result of choosing to slice the nation vertically, rather than horizontally. China's political concept is to first slice the nation horizontally, using economic status as the standard. Afterwards, classes and strata are sliced vertically; this vertical slicing is distinguished by different modes of production within each stratum. As for people in the same industry, what skin color or race they are—those are means adopted only when making even finer distinctions."

Hull felt that Li Chenggang's large square face made him look fierce, but he was actually more like a scholar. Because even speaking up to this point, Li Chenggang hadn't used facts like American slavery to attack. Hull had encountered Soviet officials and discussed similar issues with one. When Hull brought up American Liberalism, that Soviet official had said with a look of disdain, "Since the United States is a land of Liberalism, is the freedom of Black Americans the freedom to be slaves?"

When it came to criticizing American racism, China had opened fire even earlier than the Soviet Union. So, expecting to be able to continue the conversation, Hull asked, "Are you going to attack the capitalist system?"

"For the United States, capitalism is a lifestyle. When I said the United States is a vertically sliced nation, I referred to the US giving a fixed view to certain specific ethnic groups. For example, mention Jews, and one thinks of shops and usury. Mention the Irish, and one thinks of dockworkers and crowds doing heavy physical labor. This is the result of the United States' short history, and also the result of the American social system. Vertical slicing means that American political science attempts to avoid class division, to avoid class struggle. Just like Jews and the Irish—among them, there are also divisions between capitalists and laborers. Every different state in the US has its own characteristics. Then the stereotype of a certain state, at least in objective reality, eliminates the distinction of different social statuses within it. In my view, I consider this a method very beneficial to the American electoral system. And my methodology of political analysis conflicts with this view."

"No, no, no!" Secretary Hull immediately expressed his objection. "Your method of analysis will trigger opposition and lead to tearing apart. I know that capitalists and bankers have a very poor reputation right now. If you went to the US, you would find that the American people also dislike capitalists and bankers, believing they should be held responsible for the economic crisis since '29! However, one cannot assume they are a group of bad people just because they are capitalists and bankers. If one did that, there would be no way to explain why the US Congress could pass various laws restricting capitalists and bankers. You must know that in the US, many capitalists and bankers actually strongly support bills that restrict their interests, believing that social public interest should be the highest priority."

Li Chenggang listened quietly. The exchange with Secretary Hull allowed him to understand the views of the American upper class up close, although the reaction of the American upper class itself did not exceed the analysis and exposition in the Civilization Party's lessons.

"Mr. Secretary, you are mistaken about one thing. Capitalists do not become capitalists because of their personal evil or goodness, or because they personally possess certain qualities. If someone successfully becomes a capitalist, it is because his actions and judgments aligned with the capital operation model, so he succeeded. And the capital operation model itself, as I just mentioned, belongs to the American lifestyle. Your explanation just now is still pursuing a kind of vertical slicing, analyzing and explaining with an emotional attitude rather than a rational one. In China, 3,000 years ago, scholars proposed that 'Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, and treat all things as straw dogs; the Sage is not benevolent, and treats the people as straw dogs.' Individual people are naturally different. But to pursue a true explanation, one must extract the commonalities among all different objective individuals."

"The commonality among objective individuals—isn't that human nature?!" Secretary Hull felt it going to his head a bit, and his tone became intense.

Li Chenggang sensed Hull's emotion and answered in an icy tone, "If you have read *On the Origin of Species*, you would probably know that the 'human nature' you speak of does not actually exist."

"We in the United States do not accept the theory of evolution!" Secretary Hull replied decisively.

Li Chenggang was first stunned, then laughed out loud. He felt this fellow in front of him was truly quite straightforward. In Europe, the theory of evolution was already accepted by the upper and middle classes; the lower classes might not understand it due to lack of education, but they didn't necessarily reject it. But the Yanks believed in religion so much, believed God guided the white man to North America. So they were exceptionally stubborn in opposing the evolutionary concepts that could overturn religion.

After laughing, Li Chenggang said seriously, "Then I personally suggest you read Chairman He Rui's paper, *The Role of Emotions in Human Evolution*. It explains your question very well. You'd best take a look. I will send you a Chinese copy."

After Li Chenggang finished speaking, he thought to himself that if Secretary Hull really finished reading it, he would probably be so angry he'd jump in the air.