Time flew by and it was July. The central leadership was going on vacation. On the train to their destination, He Rui and Li Runshi were talking. "Premier, your latest article is excellent. I was thinking, perhaps I should let you be a vice-principal at the Party School."

"I was inspired after seeing a report written by a comrade working in Vietnam." Li Runshi sighed slightly.

"Are you talking about Ye Shengtao?" He Rui asked.

Li Runshi nodded. "Since the Chairman also noticed this report, didn't you write something?"

"What needed to be written has long been written. Right now, I only think about one thing: getting China into the industrial society stage as soon as possible. Many of the views he raised are still the traditional views of scholars from the old era. If I were to write, I'm afraid I would just criticize. I personally identify with Director Ye's sentiments, so it's better not to write."

Li Runshi was stunned for a moment; He Rui's words were quite interesting. After seeing that report, he had also requested the local report. Ye Shengtao hitting someone in that area wasn't serious. Even in China, because the specific facts were unclear and no one died, responsibility could only be determined based on the division of liability after the collision. Li Runshi had even done a little research on domestic legal construction regarding this and had some lamentations about the government's judicial system.

As for Ye Shengtao's case, there were also things that made Li Runshi sigh. The young child was named Li Liang. Because of a comminuted fracture, he was left with a disability after treatment. Ye Shengtao arranged for Li Liang to study in China. When Ye Shengtao went to the Li family to explain this, the Li family was grateful, but requested that Ye Shengtao let their other son go to China to study in place of Li Liang.

Ye Shengtao was a very upright person. Although he could understand the Li family's choice, he told the Li family, "It was Li Liang who was hit by the car, so I can only help Li Liang. There is no need to mention the matter of a substitute again."

Perhaps the Li family felt Ye Shengtao was too good a person, and from the perspective of an agricultural society, the value of a disabled person was greatly reduced. So the Li family played a little trick, first forcing Li Liang to voluntarily tell Ye Shengtao that he was willing to let his brother have the opportunity to study. Ye Shengtao still refused. Later, when Ye Shengtao took people to pick up Li Liang, the Li family hid Li Liang. In the end, Ye Shengtao still used reason and righteousness to make the Li family accept reality. Actually, Ye Shengtao didn't need to go through so much trouble; he only needed to send a word to the French colonial police station, and the Li family would have obediently handed over Li Liang under the threat of violence.

This incident itself was nothing, but the process, and the thoughts Ye Shengtao developed from it, touched Li Runshi considerably. And Li Runshi's article unfolded precisely with a comparison between industrial society and agricultural society, and even included a comparison of the "morality" of the two societies.

Since they were going on vacation and the atmosphere was relaxed, Li Runshi asked, "I wonder where the Chairman thinks the criticism should lie?"

"For China to establish a new world order, we must export culture. This culture includes ideology, systems, technology, etc. I think a more persuasive term should be 'lifestyle'. There will be very many socialist countries in the future. Based on geography, climate, and environment, the manifestation of the socialist system in every country will be different. Just like in China, the mode of production in Mohe in the north is definitely different from that on Hainan Island in the south. Based on different modes of production, lifestyles will also be vastly different. However, Chinese civilization has achieved a relative balance precisely under conditions of various different modes of production and living. This is the Chinese lifestyle. I think Director Ye's understanding hasn't reached this level."

Li Runshi nodded. Lifestyle was indeed a major matter for civilization, but Ye Shengtao not understanding to this level... wasn't a major matter either.

He Rui continued, "A higher level is his sentiment and understanding of industrial society. Industrial society naturally has the lifestyle of an industrial society. Director Ye's sentiment towards industrial society has obvious thinking from agricultural society.

"In an industrial society, the social system, the level of rule of law, and the level of management are already closely related to the broad masses of people. The people's requirements for the industrial lifestyle are higher than in agricultural society, and the requirements are very urgent. 'Paternalistic politics' is very suitable in agricultural society, but it is not suitable in industrial society."

Li Runshi nodded again. He Rui's words were really not intended to condemn, nor did they hold any malice. From He Rui's perspective, not writing anything really protected Ye Shengtao.

"Chairman, what about the higher level?" Li Runshi asked proactively.

"Premier Li explained in the article that the lifestyle of industrial society is a carrier carrying huge wealth. This judgment sees through to the essence of industrial society. Precisely because of this characteristic of industrial society, it appears that the finely operating machine of industrial society itself is creating unease and instability.

"View society as a machine; the higher the precision, the greater the instability. For example, if a city's power system has a problem, it affects the lives of millions of people in that city. And the disorder of production and life in a city will consecutively affect the operation of various social industrial chains that the city participates in. 'Pulling one hair moves the whole body' is very obvious in industrial society. Of course, while industrial society possesses instability, it also possesses the characteristic of self-stability. This influence will in turn cause adjustments in the industrial chain. In order to eliminate the influence of unstable factors, the powerful productive forces of industrial society will choose to eliminate unstable factors. Cities with unstable factors will be marginalized, which in turn causes an impact on that city."

Li Runshi nodded again. He had originally felt that this fellow He Rui had a unique feeling about him. He had once thought that perhaps because He Rui had lived for many years in Japan, the most advanced industrial country in Asia, the influence of the living environment caused He Rui's uniqueness.

But now Li Runshi felt this judgment was wrong. If this theory were to be used to judge He Rui, He Rui would have had to live for a long time in a society far exceeding the current world level, and in that society, He Rui would have at least had to achieve academic success to present thinking vastly different from the current world. Because when He Rui explained the future, he didn't show "deduction", but rather that it was "only natural".

At this moment, he heard He Rui continue, "Director Ye is a person who pays great attention to social justice. I appreciate this very much. But the social justice he proposes is more of a feeling, a mindset of the old era. I don't think the justice he speaks of is wrong, but his direction of expectation is not materialist enough. For example, traffic accidents have certain solutions. With the advancement of technology, cameras and information storage devices will appear. In a vast range, and on various vehicles, there will be these devices. Although we can't say they solve 100% of the problems, they can at least solve the majority of problems.

"The industrialized lifestyle, or the Chinese lifestyle, is that justice had better not be late, but arrive as early as possible.

"Besides these, I very much agree with Director Ye's even firmer anti-imperialist and anti-feudal stance after this incident. Facts prove that if imperialism is finished, then if China walks that path, it will also be finished. Domestic people and comrades within the Party, quite a few feel that China is a special existence in the world. Of course I admit China's uniqueness, but on the path of imperialism, so many countries have walked it over the centuries, and they are all finished. No matter how unique China is, it is not unique to the extent that the material world creates a set of rules specifically for China."

Li Runshi listened with a happy mood. "That is exactly so, it should be exactly so. However, Chairman, is Director Ye's view on social unfairness a higher-level issue than social justice?"

He Rui nodded. "The issue of social fairness is divided into levels. What anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism pursue is fairness at a certain level. This kind of unfairness can be solved through revolution, through social systems, and through raising the level of the rule of law. 'The prince who breaks the law commits the same crime as the commoner'—this saying has circulated for so long, proving that the people may not be willing to treat themselves this way, but they are definitely willing to treat others this way. This has a sufficient mass basis."

"Haha." Li Runshi was amused. That unique feeling of He Rui often made him very relaxed when speaking of these cruel things. Precisely because He Rui understood how cruel these views were, his relaxation sometimes really made one want to laugh. But Li Runshi felt that in He Rui's views, there must be unfairness that was even harder to surmount.

"The state is a tool for the dominant class to implement class rule; class nature is the main attribute of the state. The development of productive forces is the main driving force of social progress. Then, the unfairness of capital control can be weakened in many ways. But based on the high ground of the level of productive forces controlled, that is, the 'technological dividend' that has already begun to appear, is the greatest creator of unfairness in the future.

"If one has assets in hand, as long as there is a good operation team, capital dividends can even accept a 5% annual return. Capital gains superimposed with technological gains will inevitably lead to a huge income gap in the future.

"When facing rent-seeking capital, and other capital not engaged in labor, class struggle works instantly once grasped. But when facing technological gains, class struggle may not be particularly effective. Moreover, if heavy taxes are levied on professionals, they will turn around and run. What China loses is not only the country's talent but also important industrial capabilities. This is no longer 'hesitating to pelt a rat for fear of smashing the vase'; if not executed well, it is destroying one's own Great Wall.

"But they indeed cause huge unfairness. How should this be solved?"

Li Runshi thought for a while before asking, "Can China be strong to such a degree? The petty bourgeoisie can actually become the main force creating social wealth?"

"Premier Li, we must have confidence in China. The IQ of Chinese people is the highest in the world. Chinese civilization has created diligent and hard-working Chinese people who can endure hardship. China has a large population and the egalitarianism of a civil society. Is it strange that a large number of outstanding talents appear?"