1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 260 Unify thinking! Only then can we arrange work!

Soon after many members in the audience finished their calculations, some immediately showed joy on their faces.

"Mom, does that mean if my wife and I form a production team and work on ten acres of land a day, then all the work points from those ten acres will belong to our family?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a member of the club immediately retorted.

“Shugen, do you think you’re some kind of super-powerful ox that drinks oil? You claim to work ten acres a day? If you were really that capable, our production team wouldn’t have managed to cultivate this much land. You don’t work any more than me every day.”

"I was just giving an example. Besides, even if I could really work ten acres a day, I would have done the same as everyone else before! Putting in more effort wouldn't mean consuming more food!"

"Working more in the team will only earn you ten work points, I'm not stupid."

"Besides, Xishun, you always dawdle when it's time to do your work, as if everyone knows you're trying to save food. But you won't be able to take advantage of me anymore, I'm not going to team up with you."

Upon hearing this, the other party immediately retorted angrily.

"Who said I was deliberately dawdling? I was just hungry and didn't have any energy!"

"Do you think I like being in a group with you? Let me tell you, there are plenty of people who want to be in a group with me."

"I don't believe it. Besides your wife, who else would let you keep taking advantage of them?"

"Who said I've always been taking advantage of others? It's just that I'm not in good health and can't do heavy work!"

The two of them were getting louder and louder, and it looked like they were about to start arguing.

The production team leader's face turned green; he now wanted to kill both of them.

What do these two idiots think this place is?!
They argued regardless of the occasion, and the two of them even went so far as to expose the shortcomings of their production team right in front of their superiors. Wasn't that putting them in a very difficult position?

So he immediately spoke in a low, deep voice.

"Shugen, Xishun, you two shut up. If you really want to argue, wait until we get back and I'll let you two have a good argument."

Upon hearing their captain's words, the two instantly calmed down and realized that they were in the middle of a large meeting!
He noticed the stares of those around him.

The two immediately quieted down, after all, they knew that family scandals should not be aired in public, because if word got out, people in their production team would be accused of being cunning.

They like to deliberately shirk their duties in order to save food rations, which will make it even harder for the men in their team to find wives in the future.

Su Wenchen, sitting on the platform, had also heard the little incident earlier, and it wasn't surprising to him.

Because most farmers, you could say, may not understand much advanced knowledge.

But he's always been quite cunning inside.

Most people won't just stand by and watch themselves suffer a loss.

Often, if just one person is found to be slacking off, and if they are not dealt with seriously immediately, they will gradually corrupt the entire group.

Later on, when everyone started to shirk their responsibilities, it became impossible to deal with the situation.

Because the whole group is like this, it's impossible to reverse the situation by dealing with just one or two people.

This is why Su Wenchen wanted to break away from the previous work schedule.

Because during his previous investigations, he visited many production teams in the area. There wasn't much saline-alkali land that had been treated before, which contributed to the low grain yield.

However, the fact that many people deliberately shirk their duties in order to save food is also part of the reason.

The more people want to save food, the less effort they are willing to put in. The less effort they put in, the less saline-alkali land they can manage, and naturally, the slower the growth of grain production will be.

So it becomes a vicious cycle.

Many members, after hearing the argument between the two people, felt that this solution seemed like a good thing for most people who were willing to put in the effort.

Because those who don't want to put in any effort and just want to stay in the collective and coast along will definitely not have anyone to form a production team with them.

However, some people still asked.

"Boss, is the ration that work points can be exchanged for the same 300 jin of rations you mentioned earlier?"

"If we earn more work points, can we exchange them for more food rations?"

Clearly, for the members at this stage, the need for food is far greater than the need for cash, and basically no one cares how much cash to exchange at the end of the year.

Because that's something you only think about after you've eaten your fill.

Before Su Wenchen could speak, an old man interrupted him.

"Isn't that obvious? In the team, we exchange work points for food! Otherwise, would we give you 300 catties of rations for free? You young man, you're always thinking about unrealistic good things."

Upon hearing this, the other party muttered.

"I'm just asking! What if there's something good about it? And each person in the team can exchange for 200 jin, so what if the farm can exchange for a little more?"

Su Wenchen simply laughed.

"Haha, this comrade is right, there really is such a good thing, the work points exchanged don't count towards those 300 jin."

"In other words, for every extra work point you earn, you can earn an extra mouthful of grain on top of the 300 jin of grain ration."

"However, the distribution of these basic rations is only free if you reach 70% of the normal work points standard."

Su Wenchen thought for a moment, then explained in a way that the club members could easily understand.

"In other words, if all the male laborers are between twenty and forty years old and have earned a thousand work points this year, you must earn seven hundred to receive three hundred catties of free food."

"If you only earn 500 work points, then this year you will only be given 150 catties of free food rations, and you will have to use work points to buy the rest."

"If you only earn ten work points this year, then you will only receive thirty catties of free rations."

"Regarding the exchange limit per person, a farm worker can exchange a maximum of 200 jin of grain with work points on the farm. In other words, as long as you work hard enough to meet everyone's standard next year, you can get a maximum of 500 jin of grain next year."

The last two hundred jin actually represents the grain produced by Huanglou Commune itself in a year, plus the grain allocated to the region over the past two years.

Therefore, 500 jin per person is their current total grain.

Strictly speaking, what Su Wenchen did this time wasn't a direct household contract responsibility system, but rather using grain to motivate the commune members and mobilize their initiative.

The reason why the original communes did not use this method was not because they did not know how, but because most local communes simply could not obtain that much grain.

Su Wenchen was able to use this method because he was able to obtain large quantities of grain from the region.

The success of Blue Water Farm's directly affiliated brand and Moonflower Rabbit actually played a significant role in this.

Because you have achieved remarkable results in the past, many people, even if they are not optimistic about what you are doing now, will at least be skeptical and rarely directly refute you.

If you're from the commune, you can just go to the region and ask for three million catties of grain, saying you want to make this area the livestock center of East China.

The local leaders probably thought the other party had lost their mind.

However, if Su Wenchen said the same thing, the other party would hesitate, because few people would bet that someone who has created a miracle once would definitely fail next time.

After Su Wenchen finished explaining, a heated discussion immediately broke out.

Many people did not expect that 300 jin of grain would be distributed free of charge if the work standard was met.

"Oh my god, this is great! Does that mean we can earn 300 pounds for free with just a little work?"

"What are you thinking? You think it will be the same as before, where you can only earn a maximum of ten work points a day? From now on, work points will be variable. The more you do, the more work points you will earn. Do you think everyone's work points will still be the same as before?"

Upon hearing this, the joy on some people's faces instantly faded.

Because although you earn more, it seems like you also have to do a lot more work.

In particular, they were allowed to freely form production teams. How were they supposed to continue just getting by?

Even if they themselves knew that they definitely couldn't form production teams with members who were as unwilling to work as they were.

By then, the production team will be left with a bunch of lazy bums, and they probably won't even be able to finish the daily chores!

Immediately, someone expressed their dissatisfaction.

"Boss, didn't you say each person would receive 300 jin? Why do we have to earn a certain number of work points before we get paid? Aren't you going back on your word?"

"Besides, some people have limited capabilities, so why can't we distribute them uniformly?"

"Yes, we're all part of a team. What's wrong with some people doing more if they're capable?"

Su Wenchen raised an eyebrow and looked at the group of people.

Upon noticing that these individuals looked significantly better than the other members, Su Wenchen could tell from their expressions that they were definitely the type who only wanted to take advantage without putting in any effort.

In fact, there are always people like this.

Sometimes, these people even live more comfortably than those who are honest and hardworking.

Therefore, Su Wenchen coldly replied.

"First of all, this standard is not based on adult male labor force statistics, but is calculated separately. The standard for the elderly is also based on the elderly, but the standard line for the elderly is lower, and the amount paid will be slightly lower!"

"Secondly, the reason why we can't just send them out directly is to prevent lazy people like you from developing this kind of thinking."

"As for the collective you mentioned, from now on the farm as a collective, you will no longer be commune members or production team members, but farm employees."

"As long as you work to the standard of most people, you will be able to get the same quota as urban workers."

“You don’t even need to spend money or use food coupons to buy them.”

“If anyone feels that it is inappropriate and thinks that the old production team system was better, then you can say so directly.”

"There are several commune secretaries in the meeting room, as well as Director Shi from the county. As long as a commune is willing to accept you, our farm will definitely not hold you back on your procedures."

Su Wenchen's cold and sharp words echoed in the venue.

The secretary of Lizhai Commune, who was sitting below, immediately stood up and spoke.

"Director, we don't need lazybones like this in Lizhai Commune. People who want to eat without working are the kind of people we would drag out every day to be criticized as examples."

Seeing that he had been beaten to it again, the secretary of Liangzhai Commune stood up and spoke up as well.

“We don’t need this kind of person in Liangzhai Commune. In Liangzhai Commune, we always assign tasks to individuals, and we’re not allowed to go back to sleep until we finish our work. This kind of lazybones can’t live in our commune.”

"Director, if you ask me, it's because the management here at Huanglou is too lax. They keep emphasizing collective labor, which allows these people to take advantage of loopholes."

Yang Zhenye, who was standing nearby, turned green upon hearing this.

That damn Secretary Liang, if you want to show your loyalty, fine, but why are you trying to put me down? When you asked me to introduce you to the director this morning, you weren't acting like this at all.

What's wrong? You're turning your back on me right after the introduction?

That's why we say that although you, Secretary Liang, are quite capable, you are not popular and have always been suppressed by Secretary Li of Lizhai!

You deserve it!
However, he immediately stood up, because he didn't want to give his boss a bad impression on his first day.

He even gave a deep look to the few thugs who had spoken up.

You're trying to put a bad word about him in front of the boss, aren't you!
To be honest, in the past, because the commune provided limited support to the production teams below, it didn't really take many measures against people who complained about not having enough to eat and not having the strength to work.

Although this meant that very few people died from exhaustion during the spring planting season, it also made Huanglou Commune the slowest of the three communes in terms of saline-alkali land management.

While communes like Liangzhai Commune, which directly assigned tasks to individuals and didn't allow rest until the work was finished, were the ones that managed the most saline-alkali land and produced the most grain each year, they also had the highest number of deaths annually.

After all, given their background, without external support, they would have to risk their lives to succeed on their own.

However, Yang Zhenye now realizes that he may have been too lenient before.

This has emboldened some people to take advantage of the situation, and they've started thinking they can just get their food by fooling around.

He didn't even dare to dream of such a good thing.

So, right after Secretary Liang finished speaking, Yang Zhenye stood up and said something.

"Director, comrades, I want to apologize to everyone. In the past, I was only thinking about how everyone was not getting enough to eat, so I neglected to manage people like this."

"Don't worry, Director. I will definitely strengthen personnel management in the service department from now on. The days when you could just coast along and get relief food are over." "If they happen again, you can deal with me directly."

Seeing that Yang Zhenye had stepped forward to apologize, those who were still thinking about whether they could take advantage of him as before suddenly realized what was going on.

It seems that things are indeed different now than before.

They quickly ducked their heads, knowing they weren't stupid enough to try and take advantage.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, this leader doesn't seem to be as easily fooled as Secretary Yang was before.

Su Wenchen stopped targeting those individuals, as there was no need for him, given his current status, to pursue those who wanted to slack off.

Since he had made it clear that he couldn't support lazy people, Su Wenchen believed that if these people didn't change their ways, someone would take care of them.

Even if there are changes, people may not necessarily live comfortably, because the remarks made by these people on this occasion have already negated the efforts of the Huanglou Commune leadership.

It was a slap in the face to Yang Zhenye and the entire commune leadership.

Moreover, Su Wenchen could tell from Yang Zhenye's immediate self-criticism that these people would definitely not be given any good jobs in the future.

However, Su Wenchen still held back and reassured Yang Zhenye.

"Comrade Zhenye, don't put so much pressure on yourself. Today's mobilization meeting is not about dealing with anyone's problems."

"The main thing is for everyone to reach a consensus, so that it will be easier for everyone to carry out the work later!"

Su Wenchen's purpose this time was indeed to reach a consensus, so that everyone could carry out their work more easily in the future!

"I'll say it again: the farm is not a place to breed lazybones. After you go down there, all the department heads and production team leaders must make this clear when you get back."

"After becoming a farm worker, you also need to change your previous mindset of just going through the motions. The farm follows the principle of more work, more pay, less work, less pay."

"If you don't work, not only will you not gain anything, but you will also be punished!"

"If you are unwilling, you can say so. As long as we find a place that is willing to accept you, the organization will absolutely not hold anyone back on their paperwork."

"Furthermore, I believe that even in state-owned factories, the more work you do and the more skilled the experienced workers, the higher their wages!"

"So I hope that after we go down there, everyone will make this clear!"

"In addition, since it is close to the Chinese New Year, the farm will not organize any work before the New Year. The first batch of grain from the region has already been delivered, and each production team will organize people to come and take the grain back."

"We've distributed the food in advance according to the standards of 100 jin for able-bodied adults, 70 jin for the elderly, and 50 jin for children, so that everyone can take advantage of this time during the Lunar New Year to take good care of their health."

"Whether we can receive the second batch of rations depends on whether our work points reach the standard."

"Don't be stingy with your food. You need to eat well to get the strength to work and contribute to the farm."

"That way you'll earn more work points later. If you're reluctant to eat, you won't even reach the standard amount, and you'll earn even less food later. That wouldn't be worth it!"

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, someone immediately spoke up.

"Don't worry, leader. As long as we have enough to eat, we will definitely work hard and contribute to the farm. Those who are always thinking of shirking their responsibilities deserve to have no food to eat."

Most people supported this statement.

"Yes, it's these people who are only thinking about taking advantage, which makes us lose our motivation to put in any effort."

"I think these rotten apples should be kicked off the farm."

These words immediately drew criticism from those who were trying to take advantage of the situation.

Seeing the scene below immediately shift in another direction, Su Wenchen quickly reined in the horses.

It wasn't that he wanted to protect these people, but rather that he didn't want to set a precedent on the farm, because once that precedent was set, similar incidents would inevitably continue to occur.

It even evolved in a way that Su Wenchen didn't want to see.

He has many ways to deal with these people, but he absolutely cannot use this most drastic method.

"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. Today is the mobilization meeting for the establishment of the first branch farm. Everyone here is a farm employee for the first time."

"We don't look at your past performance on the field; we mainly look at your future performance."

"Even if we are to deal with them, we should decide based on their performance on the farm."

"Alright, that's about enough time for today. We still need to allocate rations to each of your production teams later, and I'm sure most of you are getting impatient."

"That's all for today. Each production team, go back and organize your manpower to transport the grain. Meeting adjourned!"

As soon as these words were spoken, no one paid attention to anything else, because nothing was more important to them than food.

As soon as Su Wenchen landed, many production team leaders rushed towards the door.

"Shuanzi, hurry up! You're fast, so get back to the team right away and organize people to come and transport the grain. Get the oxcarts here, and call all the idle laborers over. Oh, and when the time comes, go to the Xiaoyanglou production team next door and see if you can borrow their mules."

"Yang Laonian, you're a real piece of work! I'm still here, and you've already arranged for your team to borrow mules from our production team."

"Shugen and Xishun, don't you two have any sense? What are you standing there for? Go back and call for help!"

"If our production team's mules are borrowed, I'll skin you alive! You two will have to carry the grain back for me, trip after trip!"

After the meeting, Director Shi of Feng County looked at the team leaders of each production team, who were all red-faced and furious.

He spoke directly to Su Wenchen.

"Director Su, our county hasn't been this lively in a long time!"

"Furthermore, I also believe that the work-point system your farm has adopted this time is the best way to maximize the enthusiasm of the members."

He pointed to the group of club members outside who were having a lively discussion.

Every face beamed with undisguised joy.

Su Wenchen smiled as well.

"Director Shi, I think their current happiness has nothing to do with the work-point system we adopted."

"They are simply happy because they can have enough to eat."

"If you don't believe me, go back and distribute the New Year's rations to all the communes in the county. You'll see which commune's members are unhappy."

However, Su Wenchen also knew that the reason why these commune members were excited was not only because of the food rations distributed today.

Moreover, they have higher expectations for the future.

After all, people should live within expectations. Knowing that the future will get better and better will give you a sense of strength to keep going, no matter how difficult things get.

If people don't know where the future lies, even if they are doing well now, most people will lose the motivation to continue striving.

I'll just lie here and take it one day at a time.

It's wrong to criticize someone for not working hard enough without offering them any expectations or rewards.

In Su Wenchen's view, it was all just playing dirty tricks, because if you want a horse to run, you have to feed it grass.

Su Wenchen is now creating expectations for these people, telling them that as long as they work hard, each of them can earn at least 500 catties of grain next year. For the people in this area, this is a very strong temptation.

Su Wenchen also invested a large amount of grain to achieve this effect.

If he only talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk, no one in the community will believe him.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Director Shi shook his head.

"Forget it! I don't have the capabilities of your farm. The New Year's rations may be enough to have a good New Year, but when it comes to the spring planting next year, there won't be any grain to replenish the supplies."

"Moreover, our commune is not like your farm, where you can send out ten tractors at once. Even if you don't use manual labor, the tractors alone can cover 50,000 to 60,000 mu a year."

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"It's not that easy. Although the commune members don't have to use hoes to clear the wasteland themselves, they still have to dig the drainage ditches one hoe at a time."

"Otherwise, if the salinity is too high, even if you plant alkali-tolerant forage grass, it may not survive. Even if it does survive, the yield of forage grass will be too low, which is not worthwhile."

"If only we had an excavator, it would be much faster to dig these small drainage ditches."

However, Su Wenchen also knew that excavators were much more difficult to operate than tractors.

Moreover, excavators are industrial equipment, which is different from agricultural equipment like farm machinery. His current connections are all in the agricultural sector, and he doesn't really know anyone in the industrial sector.

Director Shi chuckled to himself.

"Director Su, you really have a bold idea. Excavators are only used for digging canals and building dams, which requires applying to the higher authorities."

"Back in the 1950s, we dug several rivers here, and each one was equipped with only one excavator. Most of the work was done by manpower."

"How could the higher-ups possibly agree to you using an excavator to dig these drainage ditches for alkali removal!"

"And you even have tractors to help transport the soil when you're digging drainage ditches!"

“Our county is really struggling. We have to rely on manpower to slowly transport goods by carrying them on a shoulder pole or in a basket. You can imagine how slow that is.”

Su Wenchen glanced at the other person and said directly.

"Don't worry, Director Shi. If we can get all of our remaining 40,000 mu of saline-alkali land out of the ground this year, lending a few vehicles to your county won't be a problem."

After all, tractors have a great advantage in reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land, but they can only help transport some soil when digging alkali-digging ditches.

So, in his spare time, it wouldn't hurt to give a few vehicles to the county. Although he wasn't afraid of trouble from the county, maintaining good relations with the locals was beneficial for Su Wenchen.

Especially after they took the initiative to show their goodwill by coming to support us.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Director Shi immediately responded with a smile.

"Then I must thank Director Su in advance. To be honest, there are only four tractors in the entire county."

"Moreover, two of them are old relics from the 1950s. They often break down when we get busy. If we had a few more tractors, our county could save a few more people to dig the canals."

Su Wenchen responded with a smile.

"However, the farm machinery can be borrowed, but the diesel fuel will have to be provided by your county."

"To be honest, our farm is really short of diesel fuel."

"I'm going to a meeting in Beijing in a few days, and I'll have to see if I can get some diesel fuel back!"

Upon hearing this, Director Shi felt a pang of envy, after all, not everyone is qualified to attend meetings there.

However, he immediately said so.

"Don't worry, our county can afford to produce diesel. Director Su, that's all for today."

"From now on, Huanglou Commune will be in your hands."

"In addition, our county will also be counting on Director Su in the future, so please take good care of us."

Su Wenchen quickly waved his hand.

"Hey, Director Shi, don't bring up anything about taking care of others. We're all serving the country and the people!"

"Our farm will definitely step up whenever needed!"

Faced with the other party's politeness, Su Wenchen was certainly not stingy with such empty promises.

After all, this doesn't require him to actually give anything.

When Director Shi heard Su Wenchen's promise, he was somewhat disappointed, but he also knew that Su Wenchen wasn't stupid.

It's impossible to directly promise anything to the county.

Moreover, being able to borrow a few agricultural machines meant that his trip to show goodwill was worthwhile.

(End of this chapter)