Hearing the old man's analogy, Shen Rongru laughed and said, "Actually, this involves the third level, that is, the level of national security. If we can be content with eating, then of course we can coexist peacefully with Western countries. But if we also want to eat meat, we will not avoid competing for meat with foreigners, and at this time, it will involve national security issues. ”

"Imperialism will not die, this sentence will not be outdated at any time. The old man commented.

Shen Rongru said: "However, there are some people, even a considerable number of people, who think that this sentence is outdated. ”

Indeed, there are quite a few people who think that this sentence is outdated. The old man repeated Shen Rongru's words, and then continued: "They say that as long as we give up our position, others will accept us. They do not know that the conflict between countries, on the surface, is a clash of positions, but in essence a clash of eating meat and. People think that the meat in the world belongs to them, and you only deserve to eat. If you want to eat meat, you will offend their interests. The two world wars were not caused by differences in social systems, but because the new colonial countries wanted to seize the interests of the old colonial countries, and the wars took place. ”

Shen Rongru said: "On this point, there is also a great debate among our students, one group of people believes that the future world will be the same, while the other school believes that the rise of China will inevitably lead to the containment of international forces, and I and some older scholars are inclined to the latter view. ”

The old man said, "I support your point of view. ”

Shen Rongru said: "Thank you." This brings me to the third level of questioning. From this level, a country as big as ours must not completely rely on the Western economic system for its industry, otherwise, once it suffers a blockade from abroad, our economy will collapse completely. In addition, as an independent power, we must have a strong defense industry that is independent and self-reliant, so that we can resist aggression and defend peace. And an independent and powerful defense industry must be built on a complete and huge industrial system, and any bit of the industrial system will become our Achilles' heel in wartime. ”

"Well said!" said the old man, "We used to take the road of independence and self-reliance, but now we are proposing reform and opening up and actively introducing foreign technology and capital, which is right, but the four words of independence and self-reliance will never go out of fashion." There is an important premise for our opening up to the outside world, that is, we should be the mainstay, and we must never hand over our lifeblood to foreigners. ”

Shen Rongru smiled slightly, he knew that the old man's statement actually announced the end of the theory of international cooperation. This theory can of course also be used to guide microeconomics, but at the level of national policy, it has no value.

"Gao Lei is a talent, he still has some ideas of his own, which is worthy of recognition. ”

The old man began to identify the initiators of the great international collaboration. This is a private conversation, and there is no need to avoid it, so the old man can directly name Gao Lei. For the old man and Shen Rongru, Gao Lei belongs to the next generation and can be commented on.

However, after all, he is still too young and not stable enough on major issues involving the national economy and people's livelihood. In addition, his recent report on cheating on the admission of a graduate student at the University of Technology also shows that he is not open-minded, which is very different from you old scholars. The old man said.

"I know that. Shen Rongru said, "Because the official of the Heavy Equipment Office he reported is my current graduate student, named Feng Xiaochen." According to some comrades, Gao Lei's report on him has something to do with Feng Xiaochen's academic research work in the blues coffee salon. ”

"It's not terrible to have academic arguments, but because of academic arguments, using administrative means to crack down on them is not commensurate with a scholar's status. ”

Facts have proved that his report is untrue, and Comrade Du Xiaodi's academic ability has been recognized by his international peers. Professor Cai and Feng Xiaochen were not at fault when it came to her admission. ”

The old man nodded, then changed his words and said, "Hehe, speaking of your student Feng Xiaochen, he is indeed a character." It is not easy to push Gao Lei into a desperate situation. ”

He only played a leading role, and the Blues Coffee Salon was funded and established by the Heavy Equipment Office, which naturally did not support the theory of international collaboration. Shen Rongru gave an explanation. Feng Xiaochen definitely wanted to report such a thing to him, so he was very clear about the cause and effect.

The old man said: "Feng Xiaochen's ability is not limited to setting up a blues coffee salon, he is also very good at his work in the rearmament office, I am afraid you don't know, Dong Lao and Comrade Fan Ze have a very high evaluation of him." ”

"Feng Xiaochen is very active and eclectic. He has a deep family history, is proficient in mechanical expertise, and knows five foreign languages. The most rare thing is that he has a sense of the overall situation, and he is a decent person, and he always puts the interests of the country first in doing things, I think this should be the main reason why Dong Lao and Minister Meng appreciate him. Shen Rongru said.

The old man smiled and said, "Comrade Rongru, I'm afraid there are still some things you don't know much about, right? This young man is still a hidden multimillionaire." According to incomplete information available to the authorities, he owns shares in at least five companies, which are held in the names of his parents and his grandmother in Germany, but are actually owned by him. The year before last, he went to Hong Kong Island and persuaded Zhang Jiuru to invest 150 million Hong Kong dollars in his business. When Zhang Jiuru mentioned him, he was also full of praise, saying that he was a business genius. ”

"I've heard of these things, but I don't know as well as you do. Shen Rongru replied sneeringly. He had indeed only heard of these things, and he felt that this kind of thing was more sensitive, so he deliberately did not ask Feng Xiaochen about it. Now that I heard what the old man said, I realized that there were really no secrets in the world, and Feng Xiaochen's little trick was not a matter at all in front of the state machine.

The old man said: "The relevant departments have investigated, although Feng Xiaochen participated in those enterprises, he did not use his work convenience to seek personal interests for these enterprises, on the contrary, he also used these enterprises to do a lot of good things for the country." The operations of these companies are basically compliant, and there are no illegal acts. On this issue, I have also exchanged views with several comrades, and they all believe that reform is a new thing, and how cadres should be managed in the reform era is still worth exploring, and Feng Xiaochen's dual identity should still be tolerated by the state as long as it does not harm the interests of the state. ”

"He's a student now, and it's not wrong to hold a stake in the business. In the future, if he is engaged in academic research and does not do specific economic management work, then this kind of behavior is understandable, and many research institutions now encourage researchers to participate in economic activities. Shen Rongru defended his disciple.

"Why, do you want your disciple to inherit your mantle?" the old man asked, and after asking, he replied to himself: "You are afraid that you will be disappointed at this point, he will not inherit your mantle." He is a managerial talent, not suitable for academic research. I have talked with Dong Lao and Comrade Fan Ze that this young man can be cultivated well, and he will be able to become a great tool in the future. ”

"I know, dragons are not in the pool. Shen Rongru said, "However, I still hope that when the leader uses him, he should be gradual and not pull out the seedlings to help him grow." ”

"This is also what Dong Lao and they mean. The old man said, and after that, he sighed with emotion: "How good it is to be young, like the sun at eight or nine o'clock." The world is ours and theirs, but in the end it is theirs. Comrade Rong Ru, let us be a good ladder for these young people. ”

The content of this conversation was not revealed to Feng Xiaochen. He knew that Feng Xiaochen's future was bright, and he only needed to cheer for Feng Xiaochen.

In the aftermath of this talk, the propaganda of international cooperation faded into the media, and the various seminars related to it were either cancelled or overwhelmed, and the participants turned to other theoretical issues as they spoke. Gao Lei's position has not changed, he is still his researcher, enjoying the corresponding treatment, but everyone can feel that he has no past glory. He himself knew this, so he buried himself in reading books all day long, preparing to make a comeback in another field.

The Blues Coffee Salon ended its historical mission, but the organization and name were retained, and it became the most dynamic graduate academic group in Beijing, and its membership was no longer limited to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, but included major universities and research institutes in Beijing. Some members will return from time to time to participate in activities after graduating from graduate school, and then extend their tentacles into many substantive departments.

At the decision-making level, the argument that China needs to build a complete industrial system has been strengthened, and some shelved large-scale equipment research and development plans have been revived and supported accordingly. The reloading office has become fragrant and sweet again, but for Luo Xiangfei, it is more stressful to work. He is over 60 years old this year, and according to the regulations, he should take a back seat and wait for retirement, but the Economic Commission could not find a more suitable person to replace him, so he could only continue to hold on for two years.

On this day, as soon as Luo Xiangfei went to work, he received an official letter, which said: The first unit of the 1700 mm hot rolling mill of the Barting Provincial Iron and Steel Plant in the Republic of Avare, Africa, which was built by Qinzhou Heavy Machinery Factory, has been completed and will soon start trial production. The Ministry of Industry of Avalé solemnly invited the Heavy Equipment Office to send people to Africa to participate in the commissioning ceremony. Among them, they also specially proposed a guest to be invited, who was Feng Xiaochen.