"As of now, the base area's finances only have no issues with cash expenditures. The finances are not balanced, and the entire economic structure is completely imbalanced." Qin Wu'an was rarely agitated, but this time his voice was uncharacteristically loud, and his face was flushed with anxiety.

"You noticed?" Chen Ke responded with a look of admiration and relief.

Qin Wu'an couldn't understand where Chen Ke's confidence came from. "The base area is currently living completely beyond its means. Without imports and exports, the entire fiscal system would collapse. We are standing on the edge of a cliff, with one foot already in mid-air. Once foreign trade fails to keep up, we'll fall immediately."

Balancing income and expenses is an easy concept to understand—how much you earn and how much you spend. This idea doesn't even require specialized mathematical study to grasp. It is the perspective of individuals or groups who lack the power to issue currency and must rely on other currency systems to participate in society. For a political entity like the People's Party, which bears the responsibility of currency issuance, fiscal balance is merely an operational tool they need to "create" to run the country. Not only can they achieve a real "balance of payments," but they can even fabricate balance from "imbalance."

Before becoming the Minister of Finance, Qin Wu'an had only learned these concepts in Party lessons and cadre training schools. At that time, he felt they were shrouded in mist. It wasn't until he personally became the Minister of Finance that he truly saw the imbalances in the People's Party's economy.

To give a simple example, the base area had invested heavily in the steel industry, spending immense financial and material resources. From the direct perspective of a commoner's "balance," it should be normal for input to lead to output. In reality, it was not that way at all.

Looking at the reports, since the base area's first iron smelting furnace was built, steel production growth was not a smooth curve but a stepped growth model. A completed steel mill has a designed capacity; what it strives to reach from the first day of operation is that design capacity. Once that capacity is achieved, what's needed is to maintain it. To increase steel production, one must continue building steel mills and adding more blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces. Thus, for a steel mill, "not completing the production task" was the norm. As for increasing production, unless higher quality ore was obtained while the number of blast furnaces remained unchanged, it was a completely misunderstood concept.

The problem was that before seeing this fact with their own eyes, the vast majority of comrades in the People's Party, except for Chen Ke, held incorrect perceptions. Even after attending classes on the subject, when it was time to make mistakes, the comrades were not negligent in doing so.

To expand capacity, the only way was to increase investment and add equipment. To maintain capacity also required more investment. Equipment wears out, and later maintenance is a gold-swallowing tiger. Investment in maintenance might even be more expensive than purchasing new equipment directly.

That wasn't even the worst of it. Many unseen problems would arise during equipment operation, and solving them required investing large amounts of capital into scientific research. Qin Wu'an finally understood why Chen Ke placed such importance on compulsory education. From a national perspective, rather than focusing on elite training—one person for one specific role—large-scale implementation of compulsory education was actually more efficient and effective.

Compulsory education also required money. Teachers were people too; they couldn't just face northwest three times a day, open their mouths wide, and shout the incantation "Blow, blow me full!" to stay alive. Teachers' salaries, school construction, and the purchase of educational equipment all required money. For instance, among Qin Wu'an's hundreds of new subordinates proficient in the abacus, the Ministry of Finance selected those they were satisfied with from tens of many thousands of junior high school graduates. Those who failed the abacus exam were not hired at all. The issue was that simply providing abacuses to schools across the base area cost the Ministry of Finance a massive sum. If that money were used to hire assassins, it could have killed those few hundred people dozens of times over...

"Chairman Chen, the base area's operations are currently maintained entirely by cash flow. If even the slightest problem occurs in foreign trade and the cash flow is affected in any way, it would be a catastrophic event for our base area. Investing in Guangdong requires a massive upfront investment that we cannot afford." Qin Wu'an stated his position.

Chen Ke did not answer Qin Wu'an's question immediately; his heart was filled with joy. If Qin Wu'an were judged by the standards of a qualified Finance Minister, he was at least not qualified currently. However, from a progressive perspective of the comrade before him, Qin Wu'an's understanding of society and the world, in both depth and breadth, was far beyond that of an average person. More coldly put, Qin Wu'an already possessed the qualities of a ruling class; he was already able to see part of the truth and dared to look directly at it.

"Minister Qin, why aren't you afraid at all?" Chen Ke asked an off-topic question.

Qin Wu'an was not fooled by this small trap. He replied seriously, "Our base area's precious metal reserves are decent. Even if the finances are imbalanced, with the current circulation of RMB and the supply of goods, there won't be a run on the banks."

Chen Ke nodded. "From an economic perspective, whether it's a socialist or capitalist system, as long as it's an industrialized polity, the economy is a credit economy and a confidence economy. The Western powers have spent centuries plundering the world, and the gold and silver they've accumulated serve as the pillar of their confidence. Speaking strictly economically, our base area needs confidence and credit even more than they do. This can be seen very clearly from our development process. The people believe in us. Without the people's trust, without the support built upon that trust, we are nothing."

Qin Wu'an listened quietly. Chen Ke generally had two faces. The one most commonly seen was the vibrant face of a revolutionary leader. At those times, Chen Ke was full of enthusiasm, possessing a considerable charisma that gave people the confidence to overcome all hardships and miseries. It was a strong feeling of egalitarian progress.

When discussing fundamental issues at the execution level, the cold face he had now—very calm, discussing facts and reality without personal emotion—would reveal itself. At these times, Chen Ke looked down upon the world from a commanding height, pointing out the reality beneath the surface. Qin Wu'an wasn't quite sure which one was Chen Ke's true face.

"Minister Qin, in your view, do people have confidence in a growing child, or in a senile old man who has no external power at all?"

"Definitely in one with a future," Qin Wu'an replied.

"Therefore, we need a larger layout. Even if these layouts bring a greater economic burden, as long as others are powerless to attack this weakness of the base area, then this weakness does not exist. As long as everyone believes the base area doesn't have this problem for now, then this problem won't erupt temporarily. That is a fact."

"The fact that the problem hasn't erupted doesn't mean it doesn't exist..." Qin Wu'an was quite puzzled by Chen Ke's confidence.

"That's why we must move forward. If you want to solve a problem, you can't do it by staying here. It's precisely because we've progressed to this stage that such a problem has appeared. If we were back when we first arrived at the base area during the flood, there wouldn't be this current imbalance. But would that mean our economy was healthy? Quite the opposite. Back then, we couldn't even survive. The current fiscal imbalance is because our industrial development is insufficient, and everyone is spending their hard-earned money on this basic infrastructure. Not just agricultural irrigation, but industrial construction, education, and the perfection of social organizations. It's because this money was invested that you look at it and say, 'Oh! There's a problem on the books.' If everyone stops here and stops moving, not only will the problem be unsolvable, it will grow larger and larger. To solve this problem, we must continue moving forward. Whether the current problem can be solved by moving forward isn't certain, but new problems will immediately appear. This is true for economic development and social development. Problems always exist. There will never be such a thing as a once-and-for-all solution."

To Qin Wu'an's ears, what Chen Ke said almost rose to the level of philosophy. It wasn't that he didn't understand or couldn't accept this argument, but Qin Wu'an found that he hadn't truly prepared himself mentally to face problems that would never stop. "Where is the end of this road?" he seemed to ask both Chen Ke and himself.

"The end is when we die. So don't be afraid of death. Life is this hard; once you're dead, it's over. Just lie on the ground and go to the other world. In my view, death is actually quite comfortable—no more worrying about how to survive," Chen Ke laughed.

Hearing this, Qin Wu'an first gave a bitter smile and then couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. Finally suppressing his laughter, he wiped away the tears that had come from laughing. "Chairman Chen, looking at the current situation, it really is so. One must shoulder so many responsibilities while alive, fearing and worrying every day. Once truly dead, one never has to worry about this again."

Chen Ke was very satisfied with Qin Wu'an's reaction. Those who weren't sincerely trying to get things done would fear death. Actually, looking at the world from the perspective of a doer, there were too many things that were "worse than death." For these people of character, death was not scary. "Minister Qin, since we've brought our heads with us to carry out the revolution, as members of the People's Party, we have an obligation to the country of China, and we have an obligation to the revolution. This has always been my view. So, no matter how difficult it gets, we must persevere. Don't be afraid; there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome."

Qin Wu'an nodded seriously. He was one of the earliest comrades to follow Chen Ke. The rise of the People's Party was a dreamlike result, built not by thinking but by doing. It was precisely because he had personally participated in this process that Qin Wu'an understood more clearly that the People's Party's success was entirely the result of the comrades completing every single link of the success. It had nothing to do with what one thought.

"I will compile this fiscal expenditure after I return," Qin Wu'an said very seriously, his smile fading.

"Good," Chen Ke replied calmly.

"..., Chairman Chen, I admire you to the point of total submission. I want to ask—never mind new problems—in your view, how long will it take for us to resolve the current issues?"

Chen Ke considered it very seriously. "New problems will definitely be more troublesome. You must be mentally prepared. As for the current problems, as long as there are no major mistakes within three years, it will take about five."

Although he didn't know exactly how Chen Ke calculated this five-year period, and five years certainly didn't make Qin Wu'an feel relaxed, receiving such a clear statement from Chen Ke made him feel much better.