Xu Jia was very gloomy for two consecutive days, so much so that his secretary was very careful when entering, fearing he might do something wrong and provoke Xu Jia. Xu Jia saw all these actions; if it were in the past, he would have criticized these comrades. But at this time, Xu Jia was immersed in his own thoughts, which made his heart sometimes excited, sometimes confused, and sometimes fearful.

Suppressing these emotions and completing the work that needed to be done had already consumed Xu Jia's immense self-control. The one who didn't want to lose composure over other things was actually Xu Jia himself.

Until Xu Jia saw a document, he was immediately attracted by its content. The White Russians had transported another 50 tons of gold. For the gold sent by the White Russians previously, 65% of the payment for weapon purchases was made in gold, and the other 35% was shipped to Britain.

Xu Jia had no interest in money, especially after seeing hundreds of tons of gold in a few months; Xu Jia had lost feeling for gold.

Except for criticizing the comrades who wanted to keep the gold at a meeting, telling them that doing business lies in credit and absolutely not to do things that shouldn't be done, he had put this matter behind him.

In the report before him, the White Russians wanted to deposit this batch of gold in the Northeast Bank and at the same time made a request to sell commodities to the Northeast. The commodities were naturally not grain or other types the Northeast also needed, but commodities like fur. So He Rui decisively ordered that industrial products could be exchanged for consumer goods, or paid for with Northeast currency. But these commodities could only be purchased by the department specifically responsible for imports. He did not agree to the White Russians' proposal to sell freely in the Chinese market.

These contents had limited influence on Xu Jia before, but now they made Xu Jia's imagination run wild. Facing how to solve the meat, egg, and milk consumption problem, He Rui did not order distribution or other methods, but proposed a comprehensive interpretation of the consumer market, or at least an interpretation of part of the consumer market.

In this document facing the White Russians right now, Xu Jia saw three contents: 'consumer goods', 'market access', and 'pricing power'. Especially regarding pricing power, Xu Jia was greatly stimulated.

A big shop bullies customers; a big customer bullies the shop. Xu Jia used to think this was an injustice, but now establishing the concept of 'pricing power', the feeling was completely different.

Exporting grain to Europe this time, the selling price was higher than merchant procurement. Although the pricing power was still in the hands of these European buyers, at least the Northeast had a little 'bargaining power'. Just this part of the bargaining power for bulk commodities increased the profit of the Northeast grain export by a large part.

Looking at the restrictions on trade between the White Russians and the Northeast, Xu Jia had a feeling of identity confusion. The Northeast was in the dominant position of Britain in these trades.

This feeling was hard to describe because the anger and humiliation brought by pricing power and sales markets being controlled by others were offset by the pleasure of dominating other countries, to the extent that the inner anti-imperialist beliefs showed signs of wavering.

Xu Jia never thought he would be eroded by what he regarded as evil; this sense of fear triggered a strong sense of shame. Putting down the document, Xu Jia picked up the phone. When the other end answered, Xu Jia quickly asked, "This is Xu Jia. I want to ask if the Chairman has time?"

Winter nights in the Northeast came very early. At dusk inside the pass, the winter sky was already dark. If it were a local, they probably wouldn't feel it, but Xu Jia clearly felt the difference brought by the region. Also because of receiving good geographical education, he more clearly understood the results brought by the Earth's rotation and the angle between the Earth and the sun.

The same Earth, different nights. This plunged Xu Jia, who originally wanted to rely on wandering thoughts to relieve his emotions, into deeper confusion.

He Rui treated Xu Jia to dinner in the government cafeteria; Wu Youping and Zhuang Jiaxiong were also at the same table. Xu Jia couldn't care about much at this time and asked directly, "Chairman, does imperialism actually have redeeming qualities?"

"Imperialism is a result, not a natural existence. If we treat Russia with an imperialist attitude, we have to bear the backlash of the imperialist model. If we want to maintain an advantage over Russia, we have to maintain the posture of oppressing Russia. Some people think this is fine, some find it unacceptable. Others are lazier; they find it troublesome and hope such a situation can exist forever. In short, I don't think imperialism is the ultimate form of civilization."

After speaking, He Rui picked up his water cup and drank a mouthful of hot water.

Before Xu Jia could continue asking, Wu Youping asked, "The Chairman said before that we should deal with Russia in a non-imperialist model; can it really be done?"

"I think the current leaders of the Bolsheviks can understand the non-imperialist model, so it is possible to achieve it. Of course, people want the situation most beneficial to themselves to last forever, so I can't be sure if Russia will really persist. But overall, I think there is hope. But these are not important. What is important is how everyone views industrial countries now. Modern industrial countries, without exception, are creating markets, creating consumption, creating prosperity. Because markets and consumption are very weak most of the time. If we don't create and maintain them, there is no prosperity to speak of. If we have the ability to create, prosperity is certain. If everyone can't understand this, you won't be able to understand the reason and purpose for our military operations against Japan in the next few years."

Xu Jia felt he could understand He Rui's words, but Xu Jia couldn't quite accept the problem He Rui didn't mention now, which was that all power actually came only from the economy, or at least most of the content came from the economy.

Throwing oneself into war for the economy, for commerce, ran almost counter to Xu Jia's expectations.

So Xu Jia simply spoke his thoughts directly.

After listening to Xu Jia's viewpoint, He Rui nodded. "Xu Jia, and Youping, Comrade Zhuang Jiaxiong, you all have heroism complexes and idealism complexes. This is very good; please maintain these. Idealism complexes will allow you to pass easily when facing huge tests, and not even be tempted by vulgar interests. The principles of political economy I talk about are to let comrades understand the operating laws of the country and society at this stage. In a good organization, everyone gains promotion opportunities by completing work. Those who have the opportunity to become high-level officials are capable without exception. So what assesses high-level officials? It is whether this person has idealism and strong endogenous motivation. Just like Comrade Xu Jia, if you succumb to reality and become an imperialist, you will at most become a mid-level official, implementing high-level arrangements according to KPI assessments. I don't know if you can understand."

Xu Jia was overjoyed in his heart. The reason he felt unease and fear was because Xu Jia worried that his disgust for imperialism would become a shortcoming in He Rui's eyes. Hearing He Rui explain the requirements for high-level officials at this time, the unease was eliminated by more than half.

Before Xu Jia could speak, Zhuang Jiaxiong immediately asked, "Chairman, then what should we call adopting imperialist means against imperialism?"

He Rui laughed. "I think what you mean is adopting means that imperialism can understand against imperialism. I wonder if my understanding of what you said is what you meant?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhuang Jiaxiong nodded repeatedly. "That's it. If we use better means against them, I feel that's called 'a gentleman can be deceived'."

"That is called seeking truth from facts; it is the basic action methodology of our Civilization Party. Imperialism practices the principle of strength, acting according to who they are dealing with. We also act according to who we are dealing with, but for countries willing to cooperate normally, we naturally must cooperate normally. And not practice the principle of strength. If we can't do this, how can we prove that the civilization we promote is more advanced? The name Civilization Party was indeed chosen somewhat casually, but the attitude of us party members toward the world cannot be casual."

Hearing this, Xu Jia still felt heavy-hearted. But he was no longer as powerless and dejected as before. Xu Jia changed the subject and asked He Rui about 'pricing power' and 'market access'.

Everyone ate and chatted, and as the topic deepened, the atmosphere naturally became harmonious.