Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

"Come in!" came a loud reply from inside the door.

He Yuzhu pushed open the door and entered, standing ramrod straight: "Hello, I am He Yuzhu, sent by the Organization Department of Kyoto to participate in grassroots development in Guyun Town."

Organization Minister Bai Yutong sized him up—a man in his early forties, with a composed air about him. His transfer from the capital to this impoverished mountain village seemed less like a promotion and more like something else entirely. But the rules were in place, and official business had to be handled officially.

"Comrade He, welcome! I'm Bai Yutong. It's late today, so I'll arrange for you to stay at the county committee guesthouse first. I'll personally take you to Guyun Town tomorrow morning. Please have a seat and some hot tea—it's almost time to get off work, I'll go out for a bit and come back to pick you up in a bit."

The change from communes to townships occurred in 1983.

On October 12th of that year, the State Council officially issued a notice: separating government and commune, and establishing township governments.

The most urgent task of rural reform is to sever the old umbilical cord of "political-social integration".

At the same time as the township government was officially established, the township party committee was also established; economic organizations were gradually formed according to actual production conditions and the wishes of the people.

The jurisdiction of the townships shall, in principle, follow the original commune boundaries; all localities shall promote the establishment of townships in a step-by-step and guided manner, and strive to basically complete the task of establishing townships by the end of 1984, so as to completely reverse the old problem of the blurring of lines between government and enterprise.

Back in August 1958, the People's Commune Movement was launched with great fanfare—townships were abolished and production brigades were merged, and the government and commune were combined. The commune held both political power and production control; all the original cooperatives were renamed "production brigades".

The commune was divided into brigades, each with a management committee. Each brigade consisted of a brigade leader, deputy brigade leader, clerk (often concurrently the accountant), custodian, cashier, militia company commander, public security director, and women's representative committee director. Commune cadres were state-employed, while brigade cadres were mostly from the village; some were full-time employees, while others were part-time farmers.

Below the brigade are the production teams, which have team affairs committees that elect team leaders, deputy team leaders, women's deputy team leaders, accountants (who also serve as work recorders), and storekeepers.

He Yuzhu was chosen by Ji Wei and the county party committee's organization department this time precisely for the experimental field of Guyun Town—nominally the town party secretary, but in reality, he combined party affairs, government affairs, and administration. The town mayor was not appointed separately; everything was decided by him. This job was personally handed to him by the great leader Liu when he graduated from the third branch school.

Bai Yutong turned and went to the office of Yan Xudong, the county party secretary.

"Secretary Yan, the person has arrived in Dongli County. This is the appointment letter from the Organization Department, along with Comrade Ji Wei's instructions. Please make your decision."

Yan Xudong glanced at the document and tapped his fingertips lightly on the table twice: "Since the higher-ups have appointed him, we should do our job well—don't cause trouble, and don't interfere. Let him go and make his own way in the Red Flag Commune."

Bai Yutong nodded: "Understood. Arrange a guesthouse for him tonight, and I'll personally take him there tomorrow morning."

Yan Xudong stood up and put on his coat: "By the way, don't mention 'Red Flag Commune' anymore, just call it 'Guyun Town'. Let's go, Comrade Yu Bo and I will go to the welcome dinner tonight."

He Yuzhu's assignment this time is at the same level as the deputy county head, belonging to the sixteenth level of the full-fledged department head, corresponding to a military rank between lieutenant colonel and major—but this is a brand new pilot program, and the specific powers and responsibilities depend entirely on the deployment of the superiors.

Bai Yutong led him straight to the county committee guesthouse. Two cadres were already sitting inside, tea smoke curling around them, chatting casually.

Bai Yutong introduced with a smile: "This is Comrade Wen Xiangdong, the county public security bureau chief; this is Comrade Sha Yuhui, the deputy county head; and this is Comrade He Yuzhu, who is from Kyoto. He will be the secretary of the Guyun Town Party Committee from now on."

He Yuzhu stepped forward to shake hands with each of them and exchanged a few pleasantries. In fact, half a month ago, the county received a notice from the city: Hongqi Commune was to be merged and Guyun Town was to be upgraded to the county's first reform pilot zone. However, it had not yet been decided who would take on this responsibility.

Before he could finish speaking, the door was pushed open—a cadre in his early fifties strode in, his hair neatly combed and a hearty smile on his face; behind him was a young man of similar age to He Yuzhu.

Yan Xudong laughed loudly: "This must be Comrade He Yuzhu from Kyoto, right? My name is Yan Xudong, and I am the Secretary of the Dongli County Party Committee; this is County Magistrate Yu Bo."

He Yuzhu immediately stood up and extended his hand to greet them: "Thank you so much, Secretary Yan and County Magistrate Yu, for taking the time to welcome us. I'm truly grateful!"

Yu Bo waved his hand: "We're all on the same side, let's not bother with these formalities."

Yan Xudong laughed heartily: "From now on, we'll truly be comrades-in-arms, stirring the pot together! Xiao He has traveled a long way, his stomach must be rumbling—let's go, fill our bellies first!"

After enjoying the food and drinks, everyone took their leave. The staff led He Yuzhu upstairs to rest. He washed his face with hot water, soaked his feet, and then fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, Bai Yutong knocked on the door right on time.

"Comrade He, are you awake? If we don't set off soon, we might miss lunchtime in town."

He Yuzhu opened the door, slightly apologetic: "I'm sorry, the train ride was very bumpy, and I only recovered last night. I can walk now."

Bai Yutong led him straight through the county committee compound and stopped next to a motorcycle that was neither new nor old.

"The city has specially allocated you an official vehicle. Comrade He, can you ride it? If you're not familiar with it, we'll have the Public Security Bureau send an experienced driver to give you a ride; if you know the way well, you can follow behind me, and I'll go ahead."

"I can ride. Please lead the way, Minister Bai."

"It's my duty, no need to be polite."

—He was in charge of liaising with deputy-level cadres upon their arrival at their new posts, a job he was very skilled at.

The jeep drove out of the county government compound first, followed closely by He Yuzhu on his motorcycle. The mountain road was winding and dusty. More than three hours later, the jeep turned into a two-story courtyard with blue bricks and gray tiles, and He Yuzhu came to a steady stop at the gate.

……

As soon as Minister Bai got out of the car, several officials were already waiting in the courtyard, smiling warmly, and hurriedly led the two into the conference room.

After everyone was seated, Bai Yutong cleared his throat: "This is Comrade He Yuzhu, the newly appointed Party Secretary and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary of Guyun Town. From today onwards, Secretary He will be in charge of all the town's work. Secretary Wang, please hand over your duties briefly, and then come with us to the county today to await further arrangements from the organization."

He Yuzhu looked around and said sincerely, "I'm new here and don't know the situation very well yet. I plan to settle down first, make a few trips, and take a look around. Once I have a better understanding, I'll decide on my plans and pave the way."

The hall erupted in applause.

After the meeting, Bai Yutong accompanied Secretary Wang out, casually slipping a stack of fuel coupons into He Yuzhu's hand: "The gasoline has been allocated and stored in the warehouse. If you run out of fuel in the future, just call the logistics department—here's the number."

He Yuzhu quickly organized the town's leadership team: Secretary and accountant Chen Yan, custodian Zhang Jie, cashier An Ping, militia captain Wu Hua, security director Wang Dajun, and women's federation director Chang Xiu'e.

That afternoon, he chaired the first meeting of the town leadership, getting straight to the point with three questions: How many villages are you in charge of? Which one is the poorest? And how do I get there?

Chen Yan answered readily: "Of the twenty-one villages in the town, Wangjia Village is the most remote and the poorest. As for the roads, Wu Hua knows them better than a rabbit. I'll have him accompany you tomorrow."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Let's not wait until tomorrow, let's set off now." After saying that, he got up, and the meeting adjourned.

He strode into the storage room, took out two military water bottles, filled them with gasoline, and tied them to the back rack of the motorcycle—just in case it broke down halfway.

The motorcycle roared out of the town, with Wu Hua on the back seat giving directions. After more than an hour of bumpy travel, they finally arrived at Wangjia Village. It wasn't that the road was too long, but rather that it was in terrible condition: narrow, steep, and riddled with potholes. If they had taken a shortcut along the narrow mountain path, walking down the mountain would have been faster than riding the motorcycle.

As soon as we entered the village, a group of children swarmed around us, their eyes wide as they stared at the metal lump in astonishment—bicycles were a rare sight in the village, let alone this "iron horse" belching black smoke and roaring deafeningly. Several elderly people on the ridge of the field also quietly straightened up, squinting as they examined it, their eyes full of curiosity and curiosity.

Upon hearing the commotion, Wang Kaihua, the brigade secretary, dropped his hoe and ran towards the village entrance.

Wu Hua stepped forward to introduce him: "This is the new head of the town. From now on, with the Red Flag Commune gone, everyone will have to consult Secretary He for decisions, big or small!"

Wang Kaihua quickly extended his hand: "Secretary He, please come to my house for a drink of water and a rest!"

"No rush, I'll stay here tonight and explore the village first."

Wang Kaihua accompanied them the whole way, telling them about the local customs and traditions. When they arrived at the educated youth settlement, He Yuzhu saw several young people hanging clothes and chopping firewood in the courtyard and couldn't help but wonder: "Why haven't they returned to the city yet?"

"I couldn't get into university, and my family couldn't afford the travel and resettlement fees, so I had no choice but to stay."

"Here's what I'll say: have them all gather at the former commune office at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I have something to discuss with them."

He traversed every corner of Wangjia Village: the mountains were verdant and the streams were crystal clear, but unfortunately, it was too far from the county seat, and transportation was difficult, making it hard to establish any industry. The most feasible option at the moment was duck farming—short cycle, quick results, and money could be seen in three months; although the village's stream was narrow, as long as a dam was built to widen it, the water would be deep enough and the grass tender enough, making it a natural duck farm.

"What do people do after the harvest?"

"They're either repairing ditches or hoeing the fields. If it doesn't rain, there's no one in the fields."

"Alright, while the farming season is off, let's fix up the main road to town first—at least enough so that tractors can get in. I plan to get you guys involved in collective duck farming, let's try it for three months and see how it goes. Tomorrow morning, pick three trustworthy members to come back to town with me; I have specific arrangements."

He came with the mission of "blazing a trail and making a name for himself"—the higher-ups provided policies and eased the reins, but how to proceed and what to do were things he had to find out for himself. Ideally, within two years, Wangjia Village would shake off its poverty and the villagers would have money in their pockets and pride in their lives.

That night, Wang Kaihua knocked on the doors of several educated youths who had stayed behind. Secretary He had just finished giving instructions—to gather in town early the next morning; he also asked his two children and his elder brother's daughter to come along as well.

He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to the neighboring villages several times early in the morning. Along the way, he observed that although the villages were poor, they were still relatively stable. If they really wanted to break free from poverty, they needed to set an example first: if Wangjia Village took the lead in becoming prosperous, the other villages would naturally follow suit and learn from it.