#251 - Chapter 251: Positives outweigh negatives

"Didn't they just borrow a batch of professors some time ago? Isn't this a bit too greedy?" asked Shang Yangping, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

"We can't say it like that. We are in a special period now, and all walks of life are in a state of shutdown. But even if work stops, people still need to eat, right? We have to solve the problem of feeding so many people every day, and the pressure on us is already particularly high. Look at the situation now, how much food can each person receive every day? There are also a particularly large number of people in Kyoto who rely on the treasury for food. Where do the supplies come from?" said Chen Guanxuan, the Minister of Finance.

"This is true. I don't know what the situation is like on your side, but people come to me almost every day to report their difficulties, hoping that I can reflect the situation to the higher-ups and solve everyone's livelihood problems. But what can I do? We are now eating reserve grain. This reserve grain will run out one day, right? What will we do when it runs out?" said Jing Cheng, the Minister of Culture.

"I wonder how the fully enclosed planting project at the Ministry of Agriculture is progressing?" asked Shang Yangping, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

"No news means it's still in the experimental stage. Planting takes time. You don't need to ask, you won't see any results in a day or two," said Chen Guanxuan, the Minister of Finance.

"I went there a few days ago. According to Councilor Yao, it is still in the optimization stage. Especially for wheat, there are still two problems that have not been solved. One is the problem of artificial pollination, and the other is the problem of light. The artificial pollination of the last batch of experimental crops was not ideal, and the yield was very low. In addition, during the ripening stage, it is necessary to maintain a high temperature of thirty degrees Celsius and a light duration of more than ten hours per day inside the enclosure, which consumes a lot of energy and can easily lead to the collapse of the entire closed ecosystem. They still need time to repeatedly adjust the parameters, which will be a very time-consuming process," said Jing Cheng, the Minister of Culture.

"Distant water can't quench immediate thirst!" Chen Guanxuan shook his head.

"So the question now is, should we agree or disagree with the Huatong Business Association's application to establish a business school? Should we lend them experts and professors or not?" Jing Cheng asked.

"I think we can lend them, but not for free. These are all treasures of our China, the top talents in related industries. If they want to obtain so many experts without paying some cost, it would be too disrespectful to talent," said Chen Guanxuan.

He was preparing to fleece these professors for some benefits.

"Well, I think Councilor Chen's words make a lot of sense. I also agree to lend them, but the other party must show sincerity," Shang Yangping echoed.

Baili Ji nodded, looked at He Jinghui, the Minister of Security, and Pang Lejia, the Minister of Legal Affairs, and said:

"Councilor He, Councilor Pang, what do you two think?"

The two of them had not spoken, and had been listening quietly from the beginning.

"Speaker, if you ask me, I definitely disagree. The Huatong Business Association is developing too fast. In just a few days, they have established a very high level of influence in the 20 resettlement centers they have already cooperated with. If this continues, I am afraid that one day they will become too big to control. Moreover, so far, we have not fully grasped their details. If they take actions that are detrimental to China, the consequences will be quite passive," said He Jinghui.

Baili Ji nodded and said nothing more. Instead, he continued to ask:

"Councilor Pang, what do you think?"

"Many of the laws and regulations before the outbreak of the virus are no longer very applicable. I think this matter can only be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Let's talk about the Huatong Business Association's application to establish a business school first."

Everyone focused their attention.

Due to the nature of the Legal Affairs Minister's profession, Councilor Pang's words were very clear, and everyone wanted to hear his views.

"To weigh whether the business school should be approved, we should consider two points. The first is what is their purpose in establishing the business school? The second is what is the impact on China?" Councilor Pang paused here, and then continued to speak slowly:

"I think the first point is easy to judge. Their purpose in establishing the business school is nothing more than to pave the way for their own development and cultivate some high-level management talents. I think this is understandable. If a company wants to develop, talent is naturally the first priority."

"Then, does their approach have an impact on China? Is it a positive impact or a negative impact? In my opinion, it has an impact, and the positive impact outweighs the negative. First, let's talk about our first cooperation with the Huatong Business Association. At that time, the council borrowed a lot of crystal cores from the Huatong Business Association in order to purchase ultrasonic transmitters. Let's talk about the establishment of branches in various resettlement centers this time. As far as I know, all the resettlement centers that have cooperated have completed the basic resumption of work and production. People's living standards have been significantly improved. And the entire social atmosphere has been completely renewed."

Everyone nodded when they heard this, except for He Jinghui, the Minister of Security.