The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 199 The Great Transformation of Xiping Mountain

early morning.

Qian Jin rode his light scooter 75 along the rugged mountain road toward Xiping Production Brigade.

A cool morning breeze, carrying the chill of early autumn, brushed against his face, and the military green canvas bag hanging on the handlebars swayed from side to side with the bumpy road.

This motorcycle has suffered terribly ever since it went to the countryside with him. It used to be so well cleaned that even the wheels had to be wiped clean. Now it's covered in mud, and the tires are badly worn.

Just as Qian Jin was sighing, the wheel rolled over a protruding rock, making his buttocks ache.

After rounding a bend in the mountain pass, the road was still bumpy, but the scenery before us suddenly changed dramatically.

He stepped on the brakes, the tires leaving two shallow marks on the dirt road. He braced himself on one foot and gazed at the mountains and fields ahead.

Terraced fields have been cultivated on the mountain, stretching from the foot of the mountain all the way to the middle of the mountain.

Each terraced field is filled with all kinds of vegetables, which gleam with a lush green luster in the morning light.

Tomatoes hung from the branches like little red lanterns, eggplants shone with a deep purple hue, and bean trellises were neatly arranged with tender green pods hanging down, like strings of jade beads draped over the terraced fields.

Pleasant to watch!

Qian Jin started his motorcycle again and continued speeding along. Before he even reached the brigade headquarters, as the motorcycle passed the edge of a vegetable garden, a loud roar rang out:
"Director Qian! Director Qian! It really is you, Director Qian!"

Qian Jin looked in the direction of the sound and saw a burly man walking briskly down the dirt road between the terraced fields.

The man was wearing a faded blue cloth jacket, his trousers rolled up to his knees, and a pair of liberation shoes covered in mud.

It was Zhou Tiezhen.

Zhou Tiezhen rushed over, took a big step, and grasped Qian Jin's hand, a smile spreading across his dark face:

"Hey, I knew it was you when I heard the loud roar of your motorcycle from far away in the fields. Then I came out to look in the direction you came from, and sure enough, it was you! Hahaha!"

He was speaking while exerting great effort.

Qian Jin wanted to speak, but Zhou Tiezhen didn't give him a chance and started shouting again:
"By the way, Director Qian, our accountant came back yesterday and said you're going to the city?"

"Oh dear, what have you done? Why did you go to the city? Aren't you betraying us peasants?"

Qian Jin said helplessly, "Stop, stop, stop, what betrayal..."

"I was just kidding, haha. I know you must have been promoted, Director Qian. I, Old Zhou, am genuinely happy for you!" Zhou Tiezhen's voice was loud on the ground.

Qian Jin explained, "It might not be a promotion; it could be a transfer to another unit to take charge of other tasks..."

“That’s definitely not going to work. You’re doing such a good job. If you don’t get promoted, I’ll go to the city and complain,” Zhou Tiezhen said, looking rather clueless.

Qian Jin smiled wryly: "Thank you so much, but never mind, let's not talk about this anymore, let's talk about something else..."

"What nonsense! You, Director Qian, are our benefactors in Xiping. We are happy for your promotion. Now that you're here, you're not allowed to leave. You have to eat in our brigade!" Zhou Tiezhen said, pressing down on his arm as if he had caught a rabbit.

His hands were like iron, gripping the money so tightly it hurt his forearms.

"Let me tell you the truth. Accountant Zhou found out you got promoted and went to the city. He rode his bike over to tell me, insisting that I treat you to a meal no matter what."

"Without you, there would be no Xiping as it is today; without you, there would be no Zhou Gu as he is today. Now that guy has gone to the commune to be an official, our whole brigade is proud of him."

His words were rude and impolite.

Qian Jin was not surprised by this.

That's how it is for uncultured people like us.

Zhou Tiezhen never said this, but he always demonstrated it through his actions.

Qian Jin patiently let him speak, and only spoke after he finished: "First, Zhou Gu is not an official, he goes to work."

"Secondly, Xiping has indeed changed dramatically. I'm not being polite; the various high-quality vegetable seeds I brought certainly contributed to it, but the biggest credit goes to our commune members for their hard work and dedication..."

"It's all thanks to the seeds you sent that they're amazing." Zhou Tiezhen was completely convinced. "The things that educated people research are truly different. These vegetables are really good."

"That watermelon is so sweet! Our team earned more money from this season's watermelons than we used to earn in a whole year."

“In the past, everyone knew that Xiping was a well-known production brigade in the county that relied on three things: grain resale, production loans, and relief.”

"But this year we've finally shaken off that 'three-dependent' label! Damn it, we're definitely going to escape poverty and become rich this year!"

As he spoke, he suddenly ran into the field and quickly picked two cucumbers.

He didn't even wash it with water; he rolled up his clothes, rubbed them against the cucumber a couple of times, and handed it to Qian Jin.

"Try this cucumber, it's so sweet! How can it grow so fast and still taste so good?"

Qian Jin countered, "What did you say when other people asked you the same question?"

Zhou Tiezhen immediately said, "We'll just do as you instructed and say that it's because of the good soil and water in Xiping Mountain that the crops we grow are of good quality!"

Qian Jin nodded: "Yes, that's exactly right."

Zhou Tiezhen said, "Yes, that's exactly how we explain it to outsiders. But we're our own people, so can you tell me why this variety is so good?"

Qian Jin smiled wryly and said, "I'm not an agronomist who does scientific research, so I don't know either."

"For example, like you, I only know that a hen lays a lot of eggs and the eggs taste good, but I don't know why the hen lays a lot of eggs!"

Zhou Tiezhen chuckled: "Is that so? Okay, then I won't ask anymore."

“Come on, let’s go back to the brigade headquarters and have a drink of water first, then we can talk slowly.” He glanced at Qian Jin’s motorcycle. “Can I ride this motorcycle too? I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before.”

Qian Jin gestured for him to get in the car: "At most three years, I'll help your team buy a motorcycle."

Zhou Tiezhen laughed and said, "We can't even think about that. Our team needs to solve the food ration problem first..."

"Speaking of this food ration, leader, what's with the variety of pumpkin you sent? That pumpkin is so delicious, oh my god, it's really too delicious."

"I'm not afraid to admit it, but my wife cried when she ate that pumpkin. She said it was definitely not pumpkin. We mountain people have been growing pumpkins for generations, how could it taste like this? It's even better than the pastries sold at the supply and marketing cooperative!"

This is no exaggeration.

The pumpkins Qian Jin brought were honey pumpkins, which would still be incredibly popular even in the 21st century.

This thing is easy to grow, easy to cultivate, tastes good, and has a high yield—these four advantages are amazing.

Qian Jin said, "If anyone asks you about pumpkin seeds in the future, just deny it. These are the seeds of a mutated wild pumpkin from your mountains, understand?"

"Because I got the new variety from the Agricultural Research Institute through connections, I got it through back channels. If the organization finds out that the leaders of the Agricultural Research Institute gave me the improved variety privately, he will be guilty of leaking secrets. We can't let him get into trouble."

Zhou Tiezhen is a simple, impulsive, and honest man, making him a good friend.

Hearing Qian Jin's repeated instructions, he said confidently, "Director Qian, don't worry. Only Accountant Zhou and I know about these seeds. To others, we'll just say they're wild pumpkin seeds from the mountains."

"Hehe, we Zhou family members are tough and tight-lipped. Back during the War of Resistance Against Japan, when the Japanese devils came into the mountains to encircle and suppress us, how many of our villagers did they capture and torture in an attempt to get information about the combat team members? Let me tell you, they didn't get a single thing!"

"I'm telling you this right now: I, Zhou Tiezhen, would rather die than betray a comrade who is good to us!"

Qian Jin followed Zhou Tiezhen along the newly built dirt road toward the brigade. On both sides of the road, the commune members were busy in the fields.

There were women bending over to pick eggplants, old men building trellises for tomatoes, and several teenagers carrying bamboo baskets weaving among the bean trellises.

They respected Qian Jin a lot, and when they saw him, they would greet him or at least nod in acknowledgment.

Then a woman shouted to Zhou Tiezhen, "Captain, we absolutely cannot let Director Qian leave this time. If he can't eat in the team, then you, the captain, are incompetent!"

Zhou Tiezhen roared, "Your sister-in-law knows best whether I'm capable or not. I have three sons and two daughters, and you're saying I'm not?"

The woman wasn't afraid of him; she stood at the edge of the field and shouted at him, "If you can't keep Director Qian, you're no good!"

Zhou Tiezhen then turned to Qian Jin and said, "Director Qian, you saw it today. If you don't stay, I'll have to take off my pants to prove whether I'm capable or not, so you have to stay for dinner!"

Qian Jin smiled and said, "Okay..."

"Did you hear that? Director Qian said yes! He said he'd stay for dinner, and I'd say I'm fine too!" Zhou Tiezhen was very approachable, cracking risqué jokes with the commune members.

A man who was digging in the ground stood up and asked curiously, "Hey, is our team leader suddenly more assertive today, or has Director Qian changed his ways? Why is he willing to stay for dinner?"

Zhou Tiezhen became serious and explained, "Director Qian is about to be transferred; he's being promoted to work in the city."

"He must have thought of coming to see Xiping and our poor fellow villagers before he left today."

He then added, "Yesterday, Accountant Zhou came back and asked me to go to the commune to treat you to a meal. He said if he can't treat you to a meal now, he'll never be able to again."

“I told him that what he said was disrespectful to Director Qian. Director Qian must have come to see Xiping before he left. He has a special affection for Xiping and always cares about us poor folks…”

With a sigh, Zhou Tiezhen revealed a rare expression of melancholy.

Qian Jin reached out and patted his muscular shoulder, giving it a good squeeze. He laughed and said, "Alright, alright, you were such a tough guy just now, how come you've turned into a little girl?"

"I was transferred to work in the city, not arrested and sent to jail in the city."

"Does this mean I can no longer visit you in your brigade, or that you can no longer visit me in the city?"

"Besides, your brigade's vegetables and pickles are also supplied to our mobile canteen on Taishan Road. Do you think our two families won't visit each other more often?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tiezhen immediately chuckled: "That's right, that's right, that's exactly how it is."

"So it's a good thing you got promoted to the city! Anyway, you have to have lunch here today, and we'll have a good drink together!"

Qian Jin nodded: "We have to eat this meal. But..."

He looked at the terraced fields in the distance and said, "I want to see your vegetable fields first. I need to see how well you've grown the vegetables that our Taishan Road company needs."

"Let me make this clear from the start: if there's a problem with your vegetables, our company won't accept them."

“Alright, I must take a look,” Zhou Tiezhen readily agreed. “You take me there, and I’ll show you around and let you see the new look of Xiping!”

Instead of going directly to the brigade headquarters, the two turned onto the path leading to the terraced fields.

The road was newly built and much wider than the narrow path Qian Jin remembered; it was wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Water channels were dug on both sides of the road, and the stones were neatly stacked.

"This road is well-maintained," Qian Jin exclaimed.

Zhou Tiezhen chuckled: "There are two people in charge of growing vegetables: fertilizer and water. Vegetables absorb a lot of water."

“When you delivered the seeds, I organized all the laborers in our brigade to work together for a whole month.”

"That narrow path used to be so narrow that even a wheelbarrow couldn't get up there, and we had to carry the harvest entirely on our shoulders. Now it's much better; even tractors can drive up it..."

He looked at Yamada Koji and scratched his head again: "You're just bragging. The tractor still can't get up here, but the wheelbarrow can be pushed up, hahaha."

Qian Jin laughed along.

This brigade leader was the most notorious scorpion in the entire commune.

One of a kind.

Upon reaching the first terraced field, Qian Jin squatted down and carefully examined the soil.

He grabbed a handful of soil, rubbed it in his hands, and found the soil to be soft, fertile, and perfect for growing vegetables.

“We added pond mud and farmyard manure.” Zhou Tiezhen also squatted down and pulled up weeds in the field while we were talking. “Last year, we found a good place in the mountains and dug three large ponds, which can store water and raise fish. The pond mud is dug up to fertilize the fields.”

"In addition, the pigsties and cattle pens of each production team have been renovated, so not a bit of manure has been wasted." Qian Jin nodded, his gaze falling on the neat tomato plants on the ridges of the field.

Each plant is over a meter tall, supported by bamboo poles, and covered with red or green fruits, some of which are already ripe, like little red lanterns.

"These tomatoes are a really good variety." Seeing Qian Jin's gaze fall on the large field of tomatoes, Zhou Tiezhen picked a bright red fruit, washed it briefly in the ditch, and handed it to Qian Jin.

The woman who was watering the plants asked curiously, "Director Qian, you're educated, you must know what kind of plant this is."

"These tomatoes are really good. They are big and plentiful, and they are not afraid of the strong winds in my mountains. Even when the wind blows fiercely, it can't blow down their stems."

People nearby asked, "Yes, Director Qian, what kind of breed is this?"

"This is a new variety from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, called 'Early Red'," Qian Jinzhang began, spouting nonsense. "It has a short growing season, high yield, and is especially sweet."

"This is a variety that the city technician introduced to me after returning from a meeting in the province. Our city's children's palace had already tried planting it in the fields for a year last year, and the results were excellent. So this year, when I saw that our brigade needed it, I used my connections to get a batch of seedlings for us."

Zhou Tiezhen nodded involuntarily: "It is indeed a good variety. Director Qian, take a look at our persimmon orchard. Today, I'll make you some persimmons stir-fried with mountain eggs."

Qian Jin looked around and saw that the terraced fields were full of tomatoes, red and green, glistening in the sunlight.

Several women were picking fruit in the field. They wore straw hats and aprons, and quickly and gently picked the ripe fruit and put it into the bamboo baskets beside them.

Qian Jin asked, "Have you ever counted how many tomatoes can be produced per acre?"

"Third Aunt!" Zhou Tiezhen called out towards the field, "How much have you picked?"

A woman in her fifties straightened up and wiped her sweat: "Almost twenty baskets have been picked. We can finish this patch today."

She saw Qian Jin, squinted to make out his features for a moment, and then suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Oh my, isn't this Director Qian? Director Qian, you're such a good official!"

Qian Jin waved his hand and walked up the dirt road outside the terraced fields.

He told Zhou Tiezhen, "What I need to know is not how many baskets were picked, but that you need to do a count, count how many tomatoes can be planted per acre—not just tomatoes, but all vegetables. Also, you must remember, you must farm scientifically from now on!"

Zhou Tiezhen was taken aback: "How can science be used for farming? Like they say in the newspapers, bringing in machines?"

"But our brigade hasn't even solved the problem of having enough to eat yet. Even if we had money, we couldn't buy machines, and even if we wanted to buy machines, we wouldn't know where to buy them..."

Qian Jin said helplessly, "No, it's about crop rotation and comparative planting."

"For example, if they're both growing tomatoes, one field might use phosphate fertilizer, while another might use urea. Ultimately, you compare the yields to see which field produces the most..."

Qian Jin wanted to delve deeper, but Zhou Tiezhen's dark face was already filled with confusion.

He could only sigh helplessly: "Forget it, brother, don't worry about scientific farming. Just gather all the young men in the team with junior high school education, and I'll send them to the city to study for a while."

"These people are the vegetable planting technicians from your brigade. Let them form a technical service team. Vegetable planting is no simple task!"

Especially in this type of vegetable plantation located in the mountains, planting new seeds is easy in the first few years, but after a few years, with the introduction of fungi, viruses and pests, it is impossible to grow them well without technical knowledge.

In addition, given the complex geological environment of Xiping Mountain and the economic structure of the country in the 1980s and 1990s, there was no other way to develop the vegetable planting industry.

However, even within the vegetable farming industry, there are different models.

The simplest method is greenhouse cultivation.

This requires even more technical and financial support.

As long as you get started early enough and take advantage of the reform and opening-up policy, making money is a given.

Funding can definitely be secured, and we also have the technical expertise. Just buy the books from the online store and give them to Wei Xiongtu for training.

Zhou Tiezhen scoffed at this: "Why would we need technicians? Why would we need a technical team?"

"It's just growing vegetables. Who in all of Xiping doesn't know how to grow vegetables?"

Qian Jin frowned and said, "If that's your attitude, then do whatever you want in Xiping. I can't control it, so I won't interfere..."

"Let me finish what I have to say." Zhou Tiezhen was unusually quick-witted for once.

He continued, "Actually, nobody in Xiping knows how to grow vegetables!"

"Director Qian wants to help us form a technical team. This reflects the sympathy and support of the leaders in the new era for us poor and lower-middle peasants. This is something we must applaud!"

There were many people working in the vegetable fields around him, and he shouted his last words to those around him.

The members laughed and clapped in response.

The third aunt, who had spoken earlier, asked, "Director Qian, Captain, can my son Xiaojun join the technical team? If he's a technician, does he get the same amount of hard labor points as a livestock farmer?"

Zhou Tiezhen readily agreed: "I'll definitely let Xiaojun in."

He whispered to Qian Jin, “Third Aunt is one of the poorest households in our brigade. Her husband died a long time ago, and she raises three children on her own, receiving relief every year.”

Qian Jin nodded without saying a word upon hearing this.

Zhou Tiezhen led him deeper into the vegetable field. Seeing that he was silent, he suddenly felt uneasy: "What's wrong, Director Qian? Do you know Xiaojun from my third aunt's family? He can't be a technician?"

Qian Jin explained, "No, I wasn't thinking about Xiao Jun; I was thinking about something else."

He then asked, "Brigade Leader Zhou, how is the work enthusiasm of the members in your production teams?"

Zhou Tiezhen clicked his tongue and mumbled, "It's pretty good, much better than Shuanggou or anything like that."

"Take today for example, the attendance rate is definitely 90%, and we can maintain 90% year-round."

Qian Jin asked, "What happens after they start work? Do they put in physical effort?"

Zhou Tiezhen chuckled and said, "It's alright. Anyway, our cadres are taking the lead, and the commune members have nothing to say about it."

Qian Jin asked, "Have you ever thought about changing the production system?"

"To tell you the truth, the country is about to introduce new policies in various aspects such as the economy and people's livelihood, which will greatly improve the lives of us farmers."

“I see that our brigade is very united, which makes it suitable as a pilot area for reform work in the county.”

"Have you ever thought about carrying out a reform called the household responsibility system?"

"What does that mean? It means the land still belongs to the collective, but it's contracted out to individual households for growing grain and vegetables. Each household pays the state's share, keeps the collective's share, and the rest is theirs..."

After thinking it over for a while, Zhou Tiezhen understood the essence of the household responsibility system and was immediately shocked: "This is not the way of the collective!"

Qian Jin said, "It's about stimulating individual initiative on the basis of a large collective."

“Take your family for example. If you contract a piece of land reasonably, you should agree in advance on how much the state wants and how much the collective will keep, and the rest can be left to each household.”

"It's like the private plot has become larger. Think about how much each household cares about their private plot, how much effort they put into it, and the yield of the farmland or vegetable garden within it..."

Zhou Tiezhen immediately understood the effectiveness of this policy.

This time, he didn't immediately refuse as he had in the past, but his rigid mind wasn't enough to give him the courage to immediately come up with reforms.

Qian Jin didn't expect to convince him in one go, but just patted him on the shoulder and said, "This is a big deal. You should think about it more and talk to the cadres as well."

Zhou Tiezhen hesitated and said, "What I'm most afraid of is, would the country allow our brigade to do this? This... this is going against the general direction of the country."

Qian Jin said confidently, "We'll have to keep it a secret at first, but there definitely won't be any problems!"

“Your Xiping Production Brigade has a total of five brigades, so we can start a pilot program first.”

“For example, Team Five has only 24 households, and they are all poor migrants, so they are suitable to be a pilot team.”

Zhou Tiezhen said hesitantly, "You'd better let me think about it. I'm still afraid something might happen."

Qian Jin laughed and said, "Take your time to think about it, but I can promise you one thing: nothing will happen!"

Zhou Tiezhen breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as nothing goes wrong, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"However, I still need to talk to the other cadres and hear everyone's opinions on this matter."

Qian Jin nodded: "That's right, this matter really requires everyone's wisdom and efforts; we can't do it without the support of every single household."

The two continued uphill, where the second terraced field was planted with eggplants.

The glossy purple eggplants were plump and heavy, hanging from the plant.

Several old men were weeding in the field when they saw Zhou Tiezhen come in with money, and they all greeted him warmly.

"Your eggplants are growing quite well!" Qian Jin exclaimed after picking up an eggplant at random, lifting the leaves to carefully examine the fruit.

One of the white-haired old men patted the dirt off his hands and said, "This is all thanks to Director Qian. These eggplants are growing really well. At this rate, a yield of 4,000 jin per mu is no problem."

Eggplants have already been harvested and will be sent to recycling stations, so those who are interested can estimate the vegetable yield.

Qian Jin said, "Four thousand catties is nothing..."

"Absolutely amazing! For generations, we've grown eggplants and never managed to produce more than two thousand catties. This year, we've grown four thousand catties! Just these eggplants alone can pay off a lot of the team's debts!" ​​the old man said excitedly.

Qian Jin smiled and said, "Don't worry about the debt. We have fields and vegetables to grow. If you're willing to put in the effort, you'll definitely make money."

"The other four thousand jin is not the end goal. If you put in the effort and research some planting techniques, we can try to turn the four thousand jin around and get eight thousand jin per mu, okay?"

The old men laughed heartily and shook their heads repeatedly.

They thought Qian Jin was joking, and some even said, "This is like launching a satellite."

In fact, Qian Jin knew that what he said was correct.

With the yield potential of these high-quality eggplant varieties, and with proper soil and fertilizer, a yield of 8,000 jin per mu is possible.

The terraced fields further up are planted with string beans.

Lush green vines climbed all over the bamboo trellis, forming a series of green screens.

This vegetable is the star of August. After short videos were released, rural internet celebrities in Shandong Province loved to use it as a topic of conversation. This is the famous bean curd stick.

In August, the green beans grow densely, and the green bean flowers are in full bloom. Among the long and plump mature green beans, tender green pods are formed among countless purple flowers.

Needless to say, these green beans can be produced in an endless stream.

Zhou Tiezhen picked a string bean for him.

Qian Jin broke it open.

Juice spurted out.

Very tender!

Water comes out when you squeeze it.

Qian Jin exclaimed, "If this were sent to the city market, it would definitely be in high demand."

"That's right!" Zhou Tiezhen said excitedly. "I've been wanting to ask you about it. I heard that there are units in the city that can directly purchase vegetables from the countryside? And they send their own trucks to pick them up and deliver them directly to the city's vegetable market. The price is 20% higher than what the supply and marketing cooperatives pay!"

"Director Qian, since we can complete the production tasks assigned to us by the commune, could you help us make a connection and arrange for trucks from the city to come and pick up the vegetables?"

Qian Jin said, "Don't we, the mobile canteen for the people, have a contract with you to buy vegetables like this?"

“You can’t eat it all,” Zhou Tiezhen said bluntly. “What we’re selling to you now are vegetables from the private plots of our brigade members. They’re well-grown and have high yields.”

Qian Jin nodded: "I understand. I'll ask around for you. There shouldn't be any problem."

(End of this chapter)