Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

They spent a fortune to buy 400 trucks, and another 200 were acquired from the military. The majority of First Transport Company's trucks are now dedicated to transporting incoming materials to Hong Kong. Business is booming, so busy that the trucks don't even have time to rest.

"Are there so many goods?"

"Chairman, it's more than you might think. In addition to the First Garment Factory, we currently also have factories specializing in socks, curtains, toys, and furniture. We can manufacture anything small, and most of these are in collaboration with Hong Kong. So our First Transportation Company is very busy. They've already applied to see if they can increase the number of trucks."

I am still very proud when talking about Tao Zhu.

It's only been a few months.

Guangzhou and the surrounding countryside are bustling with activity. As long as things are going well, there's money to be made. And now, exports to Hong Kong aren't limited to Hong Kong merchants. Many Southeast Asian merchants are also getting involved.

Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu discussed whether to purchase another batch of trucks from the state and then set up a second transportation company.

The chairman nodded.

This was also the main reason why the Chairman came to Guangzhou. Honestly, processing imported materials isn't very profitable; the profit margins are extremely low. But for a country as impoverished as China, it's the best way to accumulate capital and create a large number of jobs.

The chairman stood there and watched for a long time.

The incoming trucks unload raw materials from Hong Kong, and the ones taken out are finished products.

"Where do you get so many truck drivers?"

Truck drivers these days are skilled professionals. They need to be able to not only drive but also repair vehicles. Luo Qirong replied, "We've transferred the military region's two motor vehicle regiments directly into the First Transportation Company. The Transportation Department has established a dedicated motor vehicle school, which has trained a significant number of drivers over the years. They're also planning to expand it, aiming to train at least 5000 drivers within the next three years. The military region has also decided to strengthen driver training. The military and civilians will work together to increase the number of drivers by 10000 within three years."

"10000 drivers, where do all those cars come from?"

"Chairman, we can buy them from Hong Kong. As we export more and more materials, the demand for trucks will also increase. We can't get many trucks imported from the Soviet Union, so we can only consider other aspects."

The chairman nodded.

However, the Chairman quickly snapped, "I have no objection to you importing cars from Hong Kong. However, all imports must be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Trade. The only cars you can import are trucks for urgent needs or construction projects. No one is allowed to import cars just for personal enjoyment."

"Chairman, don't worry."

Luo Qirong immediately promised.

He said, "If anyone imports a high-end car just for the sake of enjoyment, I will be the first one to not forgive him."

"Right. We're not ready to enjoy ourselves just yet." The chairman looked at the door for a long time, then entered the factory. Rows and rows of sewing machines filled the air, their "beep, beep, beep" sounds echoing endlessly. Everyone was concentrating intently on making clothes.

The chairman looked at this situation and smiled.

"How many sewing machines and workers are there in the First Garment Factory?"

"Chairman, we now have 2300 sewing machines and over 2900 employees. We have so many orders that we are planning to expand the factory. The provincial government has approved the factory to add 1000 sewing machines and hire another 1500 people."

"Where did you get so many sewing machines?"

"This factory was originally built by the British. We then united all the existing small garment factories in the city to form this first garment factory. We also purchased more than 400 sewing machines from the Guangzhou Sewing Machine Factory and more than 600 sewing machines from Shanghai and Tianjin.

The next 1000 sewing machines we plan to purchase will all be ordered from the Guangzhou Sewing Machine Factory."

The British were quite efficient. After signing a prisoner agreement with China, they quickly built a sewing machine factory and a garment factory in Guangzhou, which was perfectly suited for connecting with Hong Kong business.

“Are there so many orders?”

"Yes."

Tao Zhu reported to the Chairman.

"We currently have orders for 168 million pieces of clothing of all kinds. And the orders are still increasing, but we are already working at full capacity and cannot accept more orders. If we open the order book, we would have more than 200 million or 300 million pieces by now."

The orders are increasing.

Lin Baixin was indeed the first to try something new, and he was very successful. But he was smart, and the others were no fools either. After seeing his success, other businessmen also rushed in. They had previously only worried about domestic policies.

When everyone found out that Lin Baixin had succeeded, they felt relieved.

It’s so cheap here in mainland China.

Even with an order of 10 pieces, they could earn tens of thousands of yuan. Therefore, some powerful garment factories began to contact Guangdong. This included some foreign trade companies, which had nothing and were not traditional garment factories at all.

They do the work of middlemen. They help take orders from foreign clothing companies, then ship the raw materials to Guangzhou, and then pass the orders to the garment factories in Guangzhou. In the process, they earn a profit.

The profit is not high, but it is a good thing to make money out of nothing.

So many intermediaries are doing this kind of thing. Even some owners of garment factories in Hong Kong no longer produce their own clothes, but instead follow the example of those middlemen foreign trade companies.

So within just a few months, orders came in like snowflakes.

But the orders were so overwhelming that the First Garment Factory couldn't keep up. Tao Zhu said, "Chairman, we have so many orders right now. So, in addition to expanding the First Garment Factory, we're also planning to set up a Second Garment Factory."

“How are profits and salaries?”

"Our average female worker earns 12 yuan a month. If there are too many orders and they need to work overtime, they will be paid overtime. Most female workers earned an average of around 17 yuan during these three months. The factory's profit during these three months was around 7 yuan. However, all that money went into building the factory and purchasing sewing machines, and we also took out a bank loan. Currently, the factory's monthly profit is over yuan, and can even reach yuan. We can pay off the loan quickly."

"That's good."

The chairman nodded.

After observing the First Garment Factory and some other factories in Guangzhou, the Chairman was still quite shocked.

Because they really produce everything.

They produce everything from outerwear and trousers to underwear, socks, hand towels, bed sheets, and curtains. The chairman inquired carefully and learned that these orders covered Southeast Asia, Africa, and other places.

The chairman carefully inquired about the production orders of each factory, the workers' salaries, the factory's profits, etc. It was just a small processing business, and it had only been started for three months, but the number of workers in Guangzhou exceeded 10,000.

After observing these factories in Guangzhou, the Chairman followed Luo Qirong, Tao Zhu and others to Bao'an County.

Because this is an area Guangdong is planning to focus on developing. Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu have already submitted several Bao'an County development plans to the central government. Therefore, this time the Chairman came specifically to Bao'an County to take a look.

Luo Qirong explained to the Chairman, "Currently, one issue hindering cooperation between the two sides is transportation. Our garment factory currently operates as follows: Hong Kong merchants provide the raw materials and set the clothing styles; we simply process them. However, Guangzhou and Hong Kong are quite far apart, so the raw materials must first be shipped to the Guangzhou port, and then our trucks must bring them here. After we process them, the trucks transport the goods to the port and then ship them to Hong Kong. This incurs high costs. Hong Kong merchants partner with us to reduce costs. Our profits are already low, and after deducting the transportation costs, both sides' profits are significantly reduced."

"But it's different here in Bao'an County. Bao'an County is connected to Hong Kong, so transportation is incredibly convenient."

Luo Qirong and Tao Zhu carefully introduced to the Chairman the benefits of developing Bao'an County.

nearby.

Whether by sea or land, Bao'an County and Hong Kong are very suitable for cooperation.

The Chairman toured Bao'an County with Luo Qirong, Tao Zhu, and others. Bao'an County's geographical location is excellent, or rather, its close proximity to Hong Kong. If cooperation with Hong Kong is to be strengthened, then Bao'an County is indeed the best place.

Here the Chairman also saw many modes of transportation.

There are ox carts, horse carts, and carts.

Tao Zhu introduced the group to the Chairman, saying they were small Hong Kong merchants who were collaborating with rural cooperatives in Bao'an County to produce goods. The Chairman immediately went to see how the rural cooperatives and Hong Kong small merchants were collaborating.

The Chairman is more interested in what is happening here.

Because he saw that although it was a rural area, it was like a city factory. People were coming in and out, very busy.

“Is this a cooperative factory?”

"Yes, Chairman. Some small merchants in Hong Kong have small orders, only a few hundred or a thousand pieces at a time. First Garment Factory wouldn't take such small orders. So they partnered with the rural cooperatives in Bao'an County. I personally gave them a guarantee, and they brought sewing machines to these cooperatives and taught them how to make clothes. We then established long-term partnerships with them."

Chen Tao, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province and responsible for rural affairs in Guangdong, came forward to report.

Because these tasks are handled by Chen Tao.

"Then what are they?"

"These small merchants have little capital, so they try to cut costs as much as possible. The cooperatives don't mind walking too much either. So after they complete an order, they deliver it themselves using ox carts, horse carts, or even small carts."

"How far do they have to go?"

"About 50 miles."

As long as I can make money, walking fifty miles is nothing.

The chairman nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "If they all take on these orders, what will happen to the cooperative's farmland?"

910 Common Prosperity

“Chairman, if a cooperative is really busy, then we will adopt the approach of cooperation between cooperatives.”

Chen Tao introduced the current rural cooperatives in Baoan County to the Chairman.

The situation of the studio.

"It's like during the busy farming season. If the cooperative factory is too busy and they can't spare staff to farm, they can find other cooperatives and have them come over to farm and pay a certain percentage of the money. Currently, some cooperatives have so many orders that they simply can't spare staff to take charge of the farm work. So we have coordinated with other cooperatives to come over to harvest and plant in summer for a certain amount of compensation."

"Is this similar to the previous employment situation?"

"No."

Chen Tao shook his head firmly.

The Eighth National Congress had just decided to carry out socialist reforms. How could Chen Tao accept the term "employment"? Of course, there was nothing wrong with calling it "employment." One cooperative hired another to help them farm.

But Chen Tao was worried that if he compared himself like this, he would be exposed.

There is still some awareness in this regard.

So Chen Tao immediately explained: "Chairman, this is not the kind of exploitative employment from the old society, but a part of common prosperity."

“Common prosperity?”

The Chairman was very interested in this word.

Although Chen Tao was only a deputy provincial-level cadre, he was a prominent young cadre among the central leadership, and even the Chairman was familiar with his name. After all, he was the frontline leader of Wei Hongjun's "Shengxian Experience" land reform, and later a leading figure in land reform work within the Central South Bureau. In particular, Chen Tao's criticism of "peaceful land reform" after arriving in Guangdong earned the Chairman's admiration. Chen Tao's direct criticism of the most serious problems in post-liberation land reform directly influenced land reform in the newly liberated areas after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

It can be said that Chen Tao's "Shengxian experience" of land reform and his criticism of "peaceful land reform" have already made him leave a heavy mark in the history of land reform in China.

Therefore, the Chairman was very interested in what Chen Tao said about "common prosperity".

Chen Tao immediately said, "The concept of common prosperity was first proposed by Vice Premier Wei during his last visit to Guangdong. We've exchanged views. We all agree that China is too vast, and there are inherent differences between provinces, regions within each province, and even between rural areas within each province. Some cities are born with good transportation and infrastructure, and can develop with a little effort. But some places have poor innate conditions, so with no foundation, it's very difficult to develop. Take Lanzhou, for example. Even if the country invested two or three times as much as Shanghai, or even more, it would be unlikely to surpass Shanghai's economy or its people's living standards for decades. This is determined by their innate conditions."

"The same is true in rural areas. Some rural areas have large arable land areas, fertile soil, and abundant water resources, so grain yields are high. Other rural areas not only have less arable land, but also poor soil and severe water shortages, resulting in very low grain yields. Therefore, even though they are all identical rural areas, some are prosperous and some are poor. Even within the same county, there are prosperous and poor rural areas. These innate differences are objective and must be acknowledged."

"But we are a socialist country. Therefore, we cannot ignore the disparities in people's lives in different regions simply because of differences in inherent conditions between provinces, regions, and rural areas within a province. What we need to do is to ensure that those who are well-off first drive those who are not. Prosperous provinces, cities, and rural areas should drive economically underdeveloped provinces, cities, and rural areas to develop together, and achieve prosperity together. This is the shared prosperity of socialist economic development."

The Chairman listened to Chen Tao very carefully.

Because what Chen Tao said were all objective facts, not empty talk.

How to carry out socialist construction and how to develop the socialist economy, especially in an agricultural country like China with an astonishingly large number of farmers and such a poor foundation, is a major problem facing the central leadership.

Why are there such huge differences among the central leadership on the issue of line?

For a poor and backward agricultural country like China, socialist economic development is a path no one else in the world has taken. Currently, some central government officials hope that China will follow the Soviet path and copy everything from there. Of course, there are also some officials who hope that China will follow the path taken by Europe and the United States. Western countries first developed light industry, then built heavy industry on that foundation. Some officials are demanding that China first develop a capitalist economy and allow private capital to grow to a certain level. In essence, they are seeking to follow the path taken by Europe and the United States.

They all have little confidence in the socialist construction of a country like China.

The best approach is to follow the path others have taken. After all, both Europe and the United States, as well as the Soviet Union, are now powerful industrial nations. This demonstrates that their paths have been successful. Since there's been successful experience, all we need to do is copy it.