Back to 1978

Chapter 205: Selling seeds
"Grandma, please talk to my brother. I want to be an official, too. Can you ask him to find me a position?" Daxiu squatted in the main room, stroking Erxi's dog head lying next to the stove, stuffing firewood into the stove, and said to grandma who was frying peanuts in front of the pot:
"Last time when school was electing a class monitor, all my classmates chose me, but the teacher didn't let me be the monitor in the end!"

Grandma just smiled without saying anything. She kept her ears open to the sounds coming from the west room and her eyes studied the color of the river sand and shelled peanuts in the iron pot until they started to smell good. Then she said to Auntie Chen Chunxiang who was holding a basin next to her waiting to be filled:
"Almost done, serve it out."

"Ah, Mom, what's so good about being a team leader? They've been arguing like a war for less than two minutes since they came into the house. Hu Saner was so angry that he ran away. We even had to give them some peanuts to eat..." The aunt kept nagging at grandma, but her hands were moving fast. She used a sieve to pick up the peanuts from the river sand and put them into the prepared basin. After she was done, she finally had time to scold her daughter:

"Get out of the way! Stop bothering me! You threatened your classmates before the class meeting, and you think you're right? Didn't you see your mother apologize to them? And you're electing the class monitor? How dare you? I'm embarrassed to go to your school!"

"You'll get used to it if you go there more often. I'm popular." Daxiu muttered.

Grandma took the steel bowl filled with dry fried peanuts from the aunt and said, "Take a rest. I'll take it in for them."

"I'll go, Mom. You go back to your room and rest for a while. The room is full of smoke and it will choke you." Auntie reached out to take the basin from grandma, but grandma stopped her with her arm, winked at her daughter-in-law, and lowered her voice:

"It's okay, I'll go check it out, they won't smoke when I go in."

After saying that, grandma held Peanut in her arms and lifted the curtain to go into the west room where Xie Hushan lived. As soon as she lifted the curtain, huge clouds of smoke rushed out into the main room, and the smell of smoke was so strong that it seemed to choke people.

Grandma, who usually hated smoking, had no change in expression at this moment. She walked in as if nothing had happened, smiled as she put the peanuts on the kang, and said to the dozen or so production team leaders who were squatting or sitting in different positions on the kang and on the ground, but all with the same ugly expression:
"Eat some peanuts to fill your stomach."

Seeing the grandma come in, a dozen people who had originally had ugly expressions stood up and politely declined. Peanuts are considered a precious thing in the countryside. In order to ensure grain production, the team basically does not plant them or plants very little. They mainly plant one and a half acres of peanuts in their private plots. After the harvest, they keep the peanuts for oil extraction. Also, during the New Year, they fry some and use them as dried fruits to appease children or give them to the elderly as a side dish during drinking.

It was not a festival, but the old lady brought a pot of fried peanuts to entertain the guests, which made everyone feel embarrassed. Several production team leaders who were close to the grandmother spoke up at this time:
"Sixth Aunt, I'm sure we're bothering you. This is not a personal matter, not directed at you, nor at the Xie family. It's just that Hu San'er didn't handle this matter the right way, and we want to persuade him to think again. Please don't get angry about this."

Grandma sat on the edge of the kang, looked at everyone in the room with a smile, and said softly:
"I'm fine. I don't know anything. How can an old lady who eats while looking at the sky get angry? I was just outside listening to you guys arguing anxiously. I was afraid that you would get angry. You can't compare to that kid Hu San'er in anger. He has a bad temper and can make people angry to death with just one word."

"It does stink a bit, but I never noticed it before. This guy is really embarrassed." A production team leader said:

"Let's be honest, when Han Laogou was in a meeting with everyone, he never spoke like Hu San'er. How could he be the captain? He is the emperor. Shouldn't everything be discussed beforehand? But he suddenly took charge of everything. When everyone came over to ask a few questions, he started to argue, then left everyone behind and slammed the door and walked out. What kind of thing is this?"

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

They chose Xie Hushan as the team leader, and they let him do whatever he wanted. Even when he appointed people based on personal connections, everyone, including Han Lagou, had to accept it.

There are now two teams in the brigade, and all members of Xie Hushan's brigade are from the third team.

Yang Shuangxi, the former brigade accountant and branch discipline committee member, had worked diligently for many years and had a good interpersonal relationship. He was laid off just like that and now he has been forced to return to be the discipline committee member.

Accountant Zhao from Team 3 suddenly became the accountant of the brigade.

The deputy team leader used to be the production team leader of Team 9, but now he is the deputy team leader of Team 3, Ma Laowu.

Ma Laowu is so shameless that he actually agreed to it. At his age, he works under other people's kids and still acts like he's so proud of himself for holding two deputy positions.

Even the women's director of the brigade was laid off and replaced by Liu Fenglian, the women's team leader of the third team.

It can be said that except for Ge Baosheng's position as the militia company commander, all other positions in the brigade have been replaced.

So what? Everyone nodded. As long as Xie Hushan was willing to lead them to make money and live a good life, there was nothing that could not be exchanged.

As a result, after this guy took office, the first thing he did was not to teach them how to do side jobs! Instead, he taught them how to do agriculture!
This is why everyone got angry and started arguing with him. We have been working the land for our entire lives, so do we need a young boy like you to teach us how to grow crops?

"Hey, if I were you, I would have said that Hu San'er would have been beaten to death outside. It's just that you uncles and uncles in Zhongping let him have his way and spoiled him." Seeing that no one touched the peanuts, grandma stood up on her own initiative, slowly grabbed the peanuts in the basin, and distributed them to everyone in the room, without any impatience in her mouth:

"If you ask me, you shouldn't have let him do whatever he wanted. What was your purpose in choosing him? Have you all eaten more salt than he has eaten rice? Why did you believe his lies, right?"

At this time, the female team leader Wu Tiemei took the peanuts from grandma and said with a sigh:
"Aunt Liu, Hu San'er is not as disappointing as you say. He is indeed capable. The bicycles in every household of the third team are real. Every family sends people to trade shrimps, skins and fish, and the money they bring back is not fake. We just want him to have this good idea so that we can share in the glory. We are poor and have no money. We can't give him any real benefits, so we can only flatter him for the sake of face and go along with him. As long as he helps us research some side jobs, let alone Ma Laowu being the deputy team leader, we have no objection to the dog at home being the deputy team leader. But you said that he wants to mess around with agriculture now... Who in this room needs him to teach us how to farm?"

Another person next to him also said angrily:

"Yes, we all know about farming, so we don't need him to teach us. Hu San'er means well, and we understand that, but changing the seeds is not something we can just say. We asked Han Laogou to inquire with the county agricultural bureau through the commune's agricultural technology station. There is an experiment to increase yield and plant densely, but that thing has not been officially popularized yet. The agricultural bureau has planted more than ten acres in the experimental field, and it has not been promoted yet, but he has taken on this matter. Isn't this a joke? Who knows if the new seeds are suitable for the soil and water in Zhongping? If they are not suitable, there will be no harvest. What will the more than 2,000 people in Zhongping Brigade eat next year?"

While everyone was talking to him, grandma distributed peanuts to everyone. Then she sat back on the edge of the kang and looked at everyone kindly with her old eyes. Now that everyone in the room had peanuts in their hands, naturally no one had time to smoke.

After everyone finished complaining to her, grandma nodded calmly:
"I understand. This is a serious matter. You can't let him do what he wants. I think this brat has been to Hong Kong Island and was sent back as a spy to sabotage Zhongping. If this causes Zhongping to be unable to get food, then Chunchun is a spy. You might as well get rid of him without delay. I'm scared."

"Not really, Aunt Six, you're overthinking it. How could Hu San'er be a spy? Even if there was a spy, is Chiang crazy? He sent spies to the countryside just to destroy the food rations of thousands of our people. If there really were spies, they might as well blow up the Yaoshan Coal Mine! There are so many places in Yaoshan worthy of spies' destruction, how could Zhongping be involved!" Someone said with a smile after hearing the old lady's words.

"That's right, Aunt Six, you're going too far. The seed thing was invented by the County Agricultural Bureau, not Hu San. If you say so, if the County Agricultural Bureau doesn't conduct experiments, Hu San'er's spy work can't be carried out. You, relax, people won't accuse your grandson and bully him. It's just that when it comes to farming, your grandson is really not as good as us old farmers."

"Is it possible that the County Agricultural Bureau is a spy? Deliberately making seeds that don't produce grain to deceive farmers?" Grandma nodded in sudden realization and then asked.

Someone said with a smile: "Don't say that, how is it possible? If there are spies in the Agricultural Bureau, they must have been lurking for many years. Wouldn't our commune's agricultural technology station become a spy base?" Grandma smiled and said: "Then I don't understand. In your eyes, the County Agricultural Bureau is not a bad person, and Hu Saner is not a bad person either. But why do they want to cheat us in Zhongping and stop us from harvesting food?"

"Aunt Liu, are you trying to make a point with us?" A production team leader came back to his senses and said with a smile while peeling peanuts in his hand.

Everyone also looked at the old lady, and only now realized that the old lady did not come in simply to give peanuts to everyone, but came to help her grandson.

"I don't have much knowledge, but I raised my grandson. It's impossible for him to betray the folks in Zhongping who watched him grow up. That doesn't make sense. How can you use a cannon to shoot at your family? Besides, you all look at the happiness of the third team buying bicycles. In fact, before the purchase, Lao Wu and Accountant Zhao also quarreled with him, and my grandson even overturned the table." Grandma looked at them and said calmly:
"I don't understand what a main business and a sideline business mean, but as the saying goes, a family of a thousand people is headed by one person. When the head of each family goes to work in the fields, the head cannot only know how to cut wheat but not how to break corn. He must know everything. My grandson has the final say on the sideline business, so can't he have the final say on agriculture? If he has no final say, why would we elect him for such a job?"

"Besides, since you've chosen him, why not let him try? At least you have to give him a chance to speak. I heard you guys quarreling as soon as you came in, and you didn't even let him finish his words."

"You are right. Hu San'er doesn't know how to grow crops as well as you do. But even if he doesn't know how to grow crops, he must know that if the more than 2,000 people in Zhongping can't get enough food, they will get angry with him. He is a cunning man and knows the big things."

……

While my grandmother was talking to the people who came to question Xie Hushan, Xie Hushan rushed into the offset printing factory and dragged Yang Limin out:
"Uncle, it's not easy to do mass work. They are all damn troublemakers. Let the government organize a severe crackdown and execute a bunch of them. I see that if you line up the 18 production team leaders in Zhongping and execute every other one, there will be nine that slip through the net. They are all as shallow-minded as the pockmarks on Chen Damazi's face!"

Yang Limin was dragged out in the middle of winter wearing only a sweater. He was shivering with cold. He didn't have time to talk. He went back to the house, put on his military coat and walked out again. Then he looked at the angry Xie Hushan:

"This is retribution for you, kid. Have you tasted the pain of being a troublemaker?"

Xie Hushan held Yang Limin in his arms and walked towards his home, with white mist coming out of his mouth:
"I really don't understand. I finally understand why Han Laogou praised you for doing a good job in ideological work. This job is really not for humans. Before I could say a few words, they all took advantage of their seniority and didn't let me open my mouth. They started to talk to themselves. He was happy, but did he listen to me? No, these old guys just kept talking about their own reasons! You can't really scold them like you scolded Ma Laowu, because Ma Laowu has a good temper and he will be scared when I lose my temper, but these uncles really dare to beat me."

“你是怕挨揍没处说理去，所以才找我来了？”杨利民出来没戴手套，此时双手合拢在嘴边哈着热气笑道：“行，难得谢队长求我，说吧，什么思想工作做不通，我帮你。”

Xie Hushan took off his gloves and handed them to Yang Limin, then put his hands in his coat pockets:

"As soon as I became the team leader, I was like a goose that lays golden eggs in everyone's eyes. They wanted to reach under my butt and dig out the golden eggs on the day I was elected. A dozen production team leaders chased me every day to ask about my side jobs! Those side jobs are random. More than 2,000 people who don't farm are doing side jobs. Wouldn't the commune and the county think I was a spy who was destroying agricultural development and have me executed?"

Yang Limin put on gloves and followed Xie Hushan. He took off his glasses and wiped the mist off the lenses as he walked.

"You are right. Although the slogan has changed, we cannot encourage the masses to abandon their jobs and chase money. The newspapers and documents have all said that agriculture should be the mainstay and sideline products should support farmers."

Xie Hushan said angrily in front:

"Right, no one in Zhongping is as studious as I am. I study newspapers every day to figure out what the people in the newspapers are thinking. The slogan is that we can develop sideline businesses while ensuring agricultural production, but you can't put the cart before the horse. So if everyone wants to develop sideline businesses, they must first do a good job in agriculture, free up some labor, and then put the freed labor into sideline work. Is this my understanding, okay?"

"No, you are sure there will be nothing wrong with this. You are used to being cunning." Yang Liming said in an affirmative tone.

If we were to say who was the most hardworking person in the Zhongping Production Brigade, it would definitely be Xie Hushan. He read the newspapers every day to study what was said, and figured out how to speculate and profit from these policies. For him, words that other grassroots people could not understand at all were the key to finding a way to make money.

Xie Hushan turned around and saw Yang Limin lowering his head to wipe his glasses. He simply stood there waiting for him, taking out a cigarette and saying:

"I thought that ordinary agricultural development in our brigade has reached its limit. Zhongping Brigade is a model harvest brigade famous in the region and the county. There is no room for improvement in agricultural skills alone. If we want to make further steady progress, we can only rely on science and technology. So I paid for the dinner myself and asked Minister Jiao to introduce me to several leaders of the County Agricultural Bureau to ask how to increase production."

"Under the attack from Moutai and Zhonghua, these leaders gave their reasons. The first was fertilizer. Needless to say, the brigade has no shortage of fertilizer. The second was seed breeding. The corn and wheat seeds currently planted by the brigade should be replaced with higher-yield varieties and planted according to the new farming methods."

"The bureau's experimental station has been testing a new corn variety with dense planting on more than ten acres of land. The yield per acre has been 950 kilograms for three consecutive years. Because of my relationship, the other party said that if Zhongping is not afraid of taking risks, it can plant the new corn variety they cultivated after the New Year and harvest. They don't want our brigade to pay for the seeds of 5,000 acres of land. They found a way to use the national policy of supporting rural areas to find loopholes. The only expense is to let their technicians come down to observe the data during the planting period to provide a few meals. Is this a good thing? Apart from other things, how much money can be saved on the seeds of 5,000 acres of land?"

After hearing what Xie Hushan said, Yang Liming put his glasses back on his face and his joking expression disappeared. The yield per mu does not refer to the annual grain output of one mu of land, but refers to the output of corn alone.

That is to say, the data from the experimental fields of the Agricultural Bureau shows that one crop of corn can yield 950 kilograms. If it is planted on the land of Zhongping, and if wheat is included, it means that the total grain output per mu of Zhongping Brigade has a great chance of exceeding 1,500 kilograms.

There is a reason why Zhongping became the model harvest brigade of Bingyang. The yield of corn per mu is more than 700 kilograms, and the yield of wheat per mu is more than 400 kilograms, with an annual output of more than 1,200 kilograms per mu. This is enough to make Zhongping a Feng Shui treasure land that is envied by farmers in other places in Bingyang County, and it can make Han Laogou publicly attack the agricultural machinery cadres at the commendation meeting.

If the yield per mu exceeds 1,500 kilograms, will the people of Zhongping have to tie a rope when they go out? Otherwise, they will fly up to the sky and walk shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

In comparison, another production brigade thirty miles away had similar terrain and topography, but the corn yield per mu was only a little over 600 kilograms, and the wheat yield was only over 250 kilograms, with the annual yield per mu barely reaching 900 kilograms.

Seeing the way Yang Limin was staring at him, Xie Hushan said directly without him asking:
"Don't think about it. I know you said that if Zhongping doesn't do it, you can let other brigades do it. It's not that I'm selfish. The county agricultural bureau also disagrees. The soil composition is not good. In the whole of Bingyang, Zhongping has the most fertile soil. Giving the seeds to other brigades is not a problem. The county agricultural bureau is afraid of delaying their production. If Zhongping doesn't do it, they will send it to a brigade in the neighboring county with suitable soil for a small-scale trial planting."

"What about the risks?" Yang Limin asked.

Xie Hushan said: "But there are risks. First, the small-scale planting in Zhongping is different from the experimental field. Pests may not be discovered in time. After all, technicians can take care of the dozens of acres of land. If it is 5,000 acres, the team will need to arrange labor to cooperate with technicians to observe in time. Second, they said that the corn in the experimental field of the Agricultural Bureau is the result of sufficient fertilizers. There is no guarantee that the brigades will have such a yield. In other words, Zhongping must have money to purchase fertilizers. Third, if the production is reduced or under-produced, the team cannot blame the county agricultural bureau."

"The grain stored in our granary is enough for us to eat. We can survive even if we don't produce grain for a year. Why am I doing this? Because if we are the first batch to plant, we can use the harvested grain not for eating but for selling seeds, which are much more valuable than ordinary grain."

(End of this chapter)