Even without He Rui answering, Director Zhou of the Foreign Affairs Office already looked displeased. He glanced at He Rui, and seeing the rather dismissive expression on He Rui's face, he asked, "Did Kolchak really ask if we have time over here?"

Hearing Director Zhou raise such a reasonable question, He Rui simply took the telegram, then called the telegraph office and instructed them to send foreign telegrams to the Foreign Affairs Office first in the future.

After that, He Rui made a call to the Military Commission, ordering them to strengthen border defenses. Only then did he head out for his grassroots inspection. It was now September, and He Rui's inspection began in Siping, Jilin Province. As the city with the highest level of industrialization in the entire Northeast, Siping's scale had probably reached its limit. The urban population had reached one million.

Getting off the train here, He Rui didn't stay but headed straight for a town called Majiaji. In all the reports He Rui had seen, Majiaji was one of the very few towns still carrying out water conservancy construction right before the grain harvest. He Rui didn't know why they were doing this. Precisely because of this, He Rui really wanted to come and see.

Since there was no notification, the cadres of Majiaji didn't know He Rui had come; they had only heard that a chaotic inspector had been sent from above.

Coming to welcome He Rui was a simple and honest middle-aged man surnamed Ma. Officer Ma was very sincere and didn't speak much. He seemed a bit cramped when meeting He Rui and the others. When He Rui asked about the specific work in the town, Officer Ma's answers were equally cramped. According to Officer Ma's account, He Rui went to inspect it personally the next day. From a distance, he saw many colorful large flags planted on the high ground of the construction site, and the masses were divided into several teams, working around the different colored flags.

It was obvious that the town relied on flags to guide the grouping of work.

When He Rui reached the high ground, people came hurrying over. These few people were wearing clothes covered in mud, and the red scarves around their necks revealed their identity. They should be the town's leading cadres.

Sure enough, when the leader saw He Rui, he shouted in surprise, "Chairman He, why have you come?"

In the report, it was stated that this cadre was named Ma Dayou. He Rui felt that Ma Dayou should have participated in training and seen him. But He Rui had given lectures to thousands of cadres and had no impression of this one. So he asked, "Comrade Ma Dayou, which training session were you in?"

Hearing He Rui say this, Mayor Ma Dayou answered happily, "Reporting to the Chairman, I am a cadre from the third session, and I also participated in the sixth session of training."

He Rui nodded and continued walking towards the high ground. Ma Dayou and other cadres followed He Rui. Ma Dayou tentatively asked, "Does the Chairman have any comments on our work?"

"I heard you started work before the harvest, I just came to see what was going on," He Rui replied.

Ma Dayou looked puzzled. "Chairman, didn't the Mayor tell you?"

He Rui shook his head. "I just came to look. I didn't see the Mayor after arriving in Siping."

Ma Dayou hurriedly explained, "Chairman, the river in our town has very little water. After consulting with the water conservancy cadres, they said this place isn't suitable for building ponds and that it would be best if we could connect to water from other reservoirs. The city said they wanted to organize collective training, so I submitted a report to the city saying that instead of collective training, it would be better to dig a water channel here."

Only then did He Rui understand what was happening. Local collective training was a requirement of the Military Commission. The purpose was to prepare for drawing personnel during wartime. Although the troops would train new recruits, daily organizational discipline was still completed through training carried out at the grassroots level. Just like how students in every school have to run exercises every day during the school term.

Knowing the reason for Mayor Ma Dayou's unusual action, He Rui didn't evaluate the matter but stood on the high ground looking at the project. Just as Mayor Ma Dayou said, the masses of the town were building a water conveyance channel connecting to the Banshan Reservoir. After watching for a while, He Rui asked about preparations for the autumn harvest.

Ma Dayou hurriedly explained, "Chairman He, all the sickles and farm tools are ready. I've checked every single household."

He Rui nodded slightly. In the training received by village and town mayors, only a few courses were about political and ideological work. Most of the learning content was about how to engage in production more effectively and how to organize the masses for production.

After so much training and accumulated experience, the village head checking production preparations door-to-door was one of the simplest and most effective methods. After checking the autumn harvest preparations, when the harvest began, the village and town heads would personally take the lead in starting the reaping.

If the villagers were left to arrange production themselves after the land distribution, someone would definitely mess it up. Only with such a degree of organization could it be ensured that many things would not go awry.

After inspecting Majiaji, He Rui stayed in Majiaji that day, preparing to see the next day if the specific work was as Mayor Ma Dayou had said.

As for the specific content of the work, it was originally a tutorial written by comrades within the party based on actual work. It was taught to these cadres during school training. He Rui didn't need to ask at all to know what the village and town heads were going to do.

Early the next morning, He Rui was woken up by his secretary, who looked nervous. "Chairman, there has been some conflict with the White Russians on our border."

He Rui asked, "Through what channel was the news sent?"

The secretary hurriedly answered, "Chairman, it was sent via the telegraph line."

"Oh..." He Rui felt very satisfied. The current technical level was far inferior to the 21st century, and naturally, it was impossible to have telephone and network access in every village. However, He Rui still tried his best to connect telegraph lines between counties and towns. At this time, border information being transmitted directly via telegraph lines was indeed much more convenient.

Although he learned that a conflict had broken out on the border, He Rui's itinerary remained unchanged. In the Northeast Government and within the Civilization Party, He Rui was indeed in a leadership position. But this did not mean that all matters had to be decided by He Rui. Establishing various party schools, military academies, and cadre training schools was for the purpose of enabling party members, the army, and cadres to possess the ability to solve problems.

Going with Ma Dayou to see the farm tool preparation area first, he saw that the farm tools in the warehouse were arranged very neatly, and the various records of borrowing and the hand tags for borrowing were prepared very completely.

On the way to the farmers' homes, the sound of children reading aloud came from a place. He Rui stopped and pointed there. "Is that a school?"

Ma Dayou hurriedly answered, "Yes. The kindergarten has also started classes. Does the Chairman want to see?"

He Rui decided to go to the kindergarten first. As soon as he entered the door, he heard children crying loudly. Walking in, he saw a comrade who looked very fierce leading some old men and middle-aged women in looking after a group of little cuties.

Not all the little cuties were crying; some were just crying along instinctively because others were crying. After crying a few times, the little cuties stopped.

Seeing the Mayor come in, the comrade with the fierce appearance hurriedly came up to welcome him. Seeing He Rui, the comrade with the fierce appearance shouted in surprise, "Chairman He!"

He Rui felt this comrade looked a bit familiar. Thinking carefully, he remembered. "Is it Comrade Ma Wenliang?"

Ma Wenliang was overjoyed and hurriedly came up to salute. "Chairman, I took the toddler training course!"

He Rui nodded. "That's right, I lectured on child psychology in that course. I still remember you."

After exchanging a few words, it was confirmed that Ma Wenliang was the town's kindergarten director. The kindergarten director had been to the city to receive training; this was the arrangement. Ma Wenliang couldn't help but sigh that the content learned in class had all been proven correct when taking care of the children. "Chairman, the teachers in the school said that children are about the same as small animals. Children need company, but adults may not necessarily be able to do it."

At this point, Ma Wenliang looked at the group of attendants around him and the Mayor standing beside him, hesitating to speak.

He Rui looked at Kindergarten Director Ma Wenliang and had no intention of forcing him to speak out about his difficulties. This visit was for inspection, to see if the grassroots had completed organizational construction according to the party, government, and military arrangements. It was not to solve the problems encountered by grassroots cadres. So no matter what difficulties Ma Wenliang encountered, they were not the purpose of He Rui's trip.

So He Rui said, "When is your next training?"

Ma Wenliang shook his head. "Chairman, I haven't received the notice yet."

"Hmm... is there a study meeting in the city?" He Rui still hoped that there could be better training within kindergartens and schools.

Ma Wenliang replied, "I haven't heard of that either."

He Rui nodded but didn't say anything more.

Leaving the kindergarten, he went to look at the school. He saw that the teachers in the school were all young people under twenty. The children were noisy, and their relationship with the teachers looked quite good.

When asking the school teachers about the training time, the teachers immediately stated, "Report, we rotate training once every two months. Our next training starts in two months."

Regarding study meetings, the primary school teachers also had relevant arrangements.

Although He Rui didn't know if the lack of subsequent training arrangements for kindergarten teachers was a problem in the Siping area, at least he had discovered such a problem. Leaving the school, He Rui recorded it, planning to go back and ask.

Just as the inspection reached this point, someone came running quickly towards them. After questioning by the guard, it was learned that new news had arrived. He Rui took the telegram and saw that the previous border conflict was not a simple friction; subsequent fighting had already occurred.

Right in the area of the Tumen River mouth, the Northeast Army border defense troops intercepted a unit of the Russian White Guard attempting to enter Chinese territory, and fighting broke out between the two sides.

He Rui still took no action regarding this. The army had its own organization, and He Rui was not a master of micromanagement; there was absolutely no reason to intervene.

Of course, with the current organizational structure of the Northeast Army, if He Rui were to intervene, almost all officers from top to bottom in this unit would have to be held accountable. Even if not all were dismissed, they would at least have to be suspended for investigation.

After learning the latest news, He Rui continued his inspection work. Majiaji's work arrangement was not particularly outstanding, but there were no organizational flaws either. Every leading cadre had participated in relevant learning and applied what they had learned to their work. From an organizational standpoint, this was a qualified village/town. As for the effectiveness of the work, that would have to wait until He Rui held a symposium with the masses to know.

By evening, a new telegram had arrived. Five conflicts had broken out on the border due to the White Guard attempting to enter Chinese territory. Chief of Staff Cheng Ruofan was preparing to raise the border defense level.

With things at this stage, He Rui still had no intention of changing his itinerary. Various previous intelligence reports indicated that Kolchak indeed felt cornered, but Kolchak had absolutely no reason to invade the Northeast.

Although the Russian Maozi were savage and impulsive, they were not stupid. They knew very well what a full-scale war with the Northeast meant. Unless the Maozi were truly forced into a desperate situation.

That day, He Rui didn't sleep early. Organizing the results of the inspection, He Rui corresponded all the training content with the relevant work in Majiaji. After finishing writing, He Rui couldn't help but yawn. The secretary asked, "Chairman, it's getting late, rest."

He Rui nodded, but walked out of the room yawning. There were quite a few small insects outside the house, but He Rui was already used to it.

Just as Mr. Lu Xun from another timeline wrote in *Mr. Fujino*: '...early winter is already quite cold, but there are still many mosquitoes. Later, I covered my whole body with the quilt and wrapped my head and face with clothes, leaving only two nostrils to breathe. In this place where breath is unceasing, the mosquitoes had no way to insert their mouths, and I actually slept soundly.'

This is the characteristic of the era. Urban young people in the 21st century always have romantic fantasies about the countryside, but few pay attention to the fact that in the reinforced concrete forests of Beijing and Shanghai, the average life expectancy is far higher than in Guizhou.

The so-called longevity villages are not non-existent. He Rui had never traveled to those 'longevity villages' in propaganda and didn't know their true appearance. However, He Rui always believed that it was all commercial propaganda.

But one thing was correct: the temperature in the Northeast in 1920 was lower than in the 21st century. He Rui didn't believe in the theory of global warming, but the overall temperature in the 21st century being higher than in the same period in the 20th century should be correct.

Since the temperature was low, one could wear thicker clothes. He Rui was wearing long sleeves and trousers. He just waved away the small insects, lit a cigarette, and stood quietly in the yard. In the clear sky, the hanging crescent moon was slender and beautiful. This was a sight unseen in 21st-century cities. Such a clear and transparent sky reminded He Rui of the night sky he saw at a space observation scenic spot in Tibet while traveling there.

After a brief relaxation, He Rui drove his thoughts back to reality. The training of kindergarten teachers was not in place, which made He Rui very concerned.

Preschool education is a very troublesome job, but it is also an extremely important one. A saying became popular in the 21st century: 'Fortunate people are healed by their childhood all their lives, while unfortunate people spend their whole lives healing their childhood.'

But knowing this doesn't mean it can be solved. Because a person's childhood is by no means something that can be solved by simple social nurturing; family and living sphere are all the most important things. Unlike the current era, what industrialization talks about is reproduction—not just 'giving birth', but also saving them, and even more so, educating and nurturing them.

But this requirement is too high, completely beyond what the current Northeast economic level can afford...

While he was considering this, the secretary had already walked out. "Chairman, are you still going to continue working?"

"Hmm... I'm thinking about how to hold tomorrow's symposium," He Rui told the truth, but not the whole truth.

The secretary didn't expect what He Rui was thinking about. He waved his hand to drive away the insects outside, then asked, "Chairman, I saw something seems wrong with the bathhouse in this town today."

"What's wrong?" He Rui asked about this content which fell under the scope of medical and health care.

Bathing can very effectively meet hygiene conditions and is also a good public place for relieving emotions. So the Northeast Government had made certain arrangements. However, He Rui hadn't noticed anything wrong with the bathhouse.

The secretary hesitated a bit before saying, "The fuel arrangement for the bathhouse is provided by the village now. I didn't see any coal over at the bathhouse."

Hearing this, He Rui immediately understood what the secretary had observed. However, it was hard to say whether this matter was a problem of organizational arrangement, or simply because of some problem with coal transportation.

Since he couldn't determine if it was an organizational problem, He Rui decided not to touch upon these issues for now.

Waking up the next day, He Rui immediately received a telegram. The Executive of the White Russian Provisional Government, Kolchak, requested a meeting with He Rui regarding the military conflict.

He Rui finished reading the message and couldn't figure out if this conflict was arranged by Kolchak or if Kolchak's subordinates were acting on their own.

Both were possible. Kolchak, an Admiral, had a very good image and reputation. Just based on these two items, He Rui could understand why Kolchak once fought to the vicinity of Moscow but was beaten to pieces by the Red Army temporarily organized by Trotsky.

An Admiral couldn't possibly command hundreds of thousands of army troops. And Kolchak's own reputation was very good, which further proved that this guy definitely hadn't engaged in much practical work in the army.

As the saying goes, "Even a dog detests the one who has been in charge for three years." He Rui himself felt this deeply. Even though He Rui felt he had tried hard to pay attention to working methods, the accumulated various problems made many comrades quite 'afraid' of He Rui.

So He Rui still made no arrangements. This matter had not yet reached the point where He Rui needed to come out and state his position directly. The Military Commission and the Party Standing Committee both had to discuss this and speak at the meeting.

He Rui felt that by now, it should be time for everyone to be able to make some decisions on their own. When Xu Chengfeng and others graduated in 1915, they were considered undergraduates. Five years had passed; even if they were in a combined Master's and PhD program, they should have graduated with a PhD.

Zhao Tianlin and others were outright PhDs.

It would be too ridiculous if a group of PhDs were still 'waiting for the teacher's instructions' like elementary school students.

The symposium went much better than He Rui imagined. The masses had many opinions, really many. Hearing them, Ma Dayou and other town cadres' faces changed color. He Rui even felt that the fact Ma Dayou didn't directly argue with the masses already proved they were very qualified cadres.

He Rui didn't criticize Ma Dayou because of the masses' criticism. The masses' complaints were basically because Ma Dayou and other town cadres managed too strictly, affecting everyone's daily life. And the masses found that some arrangements provided by the town were neither understandable nor effectively usable. So they had opinions on the work of the town cadres.

When the masses in the town spoke of the judgment of the 'Mobile Court' and felt it wasn't fair enough, He Rui was even somewhat delighted.

The masses' views on the law were naturally different from those of Zhao Tianlin and the gang of law PhDs who studied in the United States; this required adjusting working methods. But the fact that everyone could bring up the Mobile Court already proved that the Mobile Court was operating normally and had judged many cases.

Even though the Northeast had flat terrain and convenient transportation, He Rui was quite satisfied that organizational work had been completed to such an extent. It was even beyond He Rui's imagination.

With the degree of organization reaching this level, He Rui's confidence in fighting a major war with Japan became much firmer.

However, just as the meeting ended, a new telegram was sent. The Military Commission requested He Rui to return to Shenyang to preside over a meeting.

This time He Rui did not refuse. At this stage, convening a meeting was just right.