Training the Heavens

Chapter 68 Border Pass

Last year, Beijing first started the pilot work of issuing identity cards. Based on the experience gained, nine major cities including Shanghai, Tianjin and Nanjing also carried out pilot projects, and then carried out the organization of issuing certificates across the city.

The specific process is that each block is under the unified coordination and leadership of the government street office, with the grassroots police station as the core unit, and is implemented starting from each household registration section (now uniformly called a district).

Each household registration section is equipped with 5-6 staff members to assist in the work. They are all borrowed by the government from enterprises and institutions in the jurisdiction to cooperate with the household registration police to complete a series of tasks such as household registration verification and registration.

For metropolises like Shanghai and Beijing with a population of over 10 million, it is obviously impossible to complete the issuance of certificates in a short period of time with just a limited number of staff. Historically, it took Beijing five years to issue identity cards to all residents over the age of 16 in the city, and Shanghai's progress is similar.

So far, Gao Jialin has not yet obtained an ID card, and due to historical inertia, even if he has an ID card, when he goes to other places, it is still the letter of introduction that determines whether he can buy train tickets and accommodation.

When he arrived at the editorial department of "Mengya", the editor-in-chief first approved a note for him to collect his royalties. According to the tiered royalties standard based on the number of copies printed, Gao Jialin could get 30% of the basic royalties for the additional 200,000 copies of the book, which was more than 1,200 yuan.

Gao Jialin took the note, and the editor-in-chief spread out the paper and asked, "Where do you plan to go for field research during the summer vacation?"

"I plan to go to the Special Economic Zones and southern cities such as Guangzhou to see what the forefront of reform and opening up is like." Gao Jialin replied that he was going out this time to see if there were any opportunities to make money.

There is a saying nowadays that "East, West, South, North, and Center, if you want to make a fortune, go to Guangdong", so the first target must be Guangdong.

Hearing that Gao Jialin wasn't going to Yunnan or Guangxi, the editor-in-chief was finally relieved. "It would be nice to go to the forefront of reform. Reform literature is a popular topic nowadays. Ke Yunlu's "Rising Star" caused a huge sensation last year. If you can write a work like that, then my letter of introduction will not be in vain."

"Rising Star" tells the story of 32-year-old Li Xiangnan who came to Guling County in the Yellow River Basin to serve as the top leader. As soon as he took office, he launched drastic reforms, which were warmly welcomed by the people. However, he offended the local conservative forces and was eventually squeezed out of Guling County.

It will be made into a TV series next year, with the most popular young actor Zhou Liqing playing the role of Li Xiangnan.

"I don't have enough experience yet to write a work like 'Rising Star,' but I can guarantee that next semester I'll be able to produce a work that will satisfy you!"

In fact, if you want to write it, you can change the story of Li Dakang building roads in Jinshan County and it will be a good article. Unfortunately, it is a bit inappropriate for Gao Jialin, a college student, to write such an article, so let's wait a few years.

"Don't worry, collect more materials now. It won't be too late to write after you graduate and join the company. I'll give you a letter of introduction first, and then let Xinliang take you to apply for a border pass. A letter of introduction alone is not enough to go to the Special Administrative Region!"

The song "Spring Story" goes, "In the spring of 1979, an old man drew a circle on the edge of China's South China Sea. Cities rose up like myths, and mountains of gold miraculously gathered..."

The circle mentioned in the song later became the dividing line between the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the non-special economic zone, namely the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone management line, commonly known as the "second line".

The Special Administrative Region was established in 80. To facilitate management, a 84.6-kilometer management line was built between the Special Administrative Region and the non-Special Administrative Region with barbed wire. The road surface along the line was paved with granite slabs, and a 3-meter-high barbed wire fence was installed on the north side of the road.

To enter the "inside the customs", you need to show a "Border Management Area Pass" or "Special Pass to the Border Restricted Area" stating that you are going to the special zone, commonly known as a "border pass".

Applying for a border pass requires three steps: political review by the employer, verification by the police station, and processing by the public security bureau. The application process is complicated. Without the help of the magazine, Gao Jialin would have run around and not been able to get it. While he was talking, the editor-in-chief had already written the letter of introduction and took out the official seal to stamp it. Gao Jialin took it and saw that it read:

Our co-author Gao Jialin is going to Guangzhou, the Special Administrative Region and other places to study and collect folk songs. Please contact us and provide us with assistance.

Best regards!

Gao Jialin's eyes fell on the last two words "He" in the letter of introduction. This word would rarely be seen in the future, but now it is one of the most frequently appearing words in official documents.

He, a verb, originally means "to carry" or "burden", such as "carry a hoe", "carry a gun", and "load". Here it expresses emotion, meaning that I want to make you suffer and I thank you for it.

After thanking the editor-in-chief, Gao Jialin went to the Finance Department to collect the money, and then, accompanied by Niu Xinliang, took the political review documents and other materials to the police station to apply for a border pass. Zhang Changqing was very supportive of Gao Jialin's field trip during the summer vacation, and prepared the documents for him without saying a word. He also told him that if he had the opportunity, he could go to universities in Guangzhou and the Special Administrative Region for exchanges, so that he could carry out his work in the future when he joined the All-China Students' Federation.

Gao Jialin was very busy running back and forth several times, and he also had to take the final exam during that time. Fortunately, the border pass was finally issued before he went home.

The border pass is divided into two pages, with the Shanghai Municipal Bureau's interleaving seal in the middle. The document number is on the upper left, and personal information is below, including name, gender, age, unit, and address. A one-inch photo of the person is also attached.

Below is the reason: study and field trip; destination: Special Administrative Region; transit point: Guangzhou; remarks: valid for multiple round trips.

The upper right side is stamped with the Shanghai Municipal Bureau's special border management seal, and below is the validity date, which only gives Gao Jialin one summer vacation. If he wants to go again next year, he will have to apply for a new certificate.

After getting the documents, Gao Jialin carefully kept them close to his body, bought a bunch of gifts, went to the train station to find an acquaintance to get him a hard sleeper, and comfortably embarked on his journey home.

After arriving in Xi'an, I found an acquaintance of Section Chief Xie of the Yinxia Post Office, took a ride and returned to northern Shaanxi. I visited the homes of Section Chief Liu of the Education Bureau and Section Chief Xie of the Post Office. The next day, I continued to take the mail bus back to Kuanzhou County, and then took a shuttle bus home.

After entering the village, there was another commotion. The villagers greeted Gao Jialin warmly and called him to their homes for dinner.

When I arrived at the door of my house, I saw that three brand new brick kilns had been built. A small courtyard was surrounded by red brick walls. The middle of the courtyard was smoothed with cement and was filled with newly harvested wheat. There was also a circle of red bricks embedded in the entrance of the cave, which looked particularly imposing.

"You're back, mother. Kill a chicken and cook some food. Make steamed buns with new wheat flour for the child!" Seeing the child coming back, old man Yude grinned happily.

Gao Jialin had a great appetite and ate several free-range chickens that were raised on insects and steamed buns made from newly ground wheat.

Everyone in the village knew that he had just returned home today and must have a lot to say to his family, but no one came to disturb him. After dinner, Gao Jialin continued to tell his parents about the interesting things that happened in college.

Just as he was speaking happily, a voice suddenly came from outside, "Uncle Yude, I heard that Jialin is back?"

(End of this chapter)