Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Again.

Once these factories are built, the prices of machinery and equipment are actually the cheapest.

A complete set of equipment for a 16-ton urea fertilizer plant costs less than $700 million. However, building such a plant requires design, subsequent steel, cement, glass, and a large workforce, requiring significant investment over several years.

Moreover, foreign exchange is too precious in this era.

Seven or eight million US dollars, which is equivalent to 2000 million RMB in RMB.

However, because foreign exchange is so valuable, the actual price of $7 or 8 million is actually double. To secure this foreign exchange, China exports many agricultural and sideline products at low prices. Therefore, the actual investment is far greater than imagined.

If it was a few months ago, the finances could still support it, but not now.

The central government has just launched the atomic bomb project, and the central government is running out of money.

"Comrade Mao Zemin, the Ministry of Finance must find a solution no matter what. This opportunity is fleeting. This cooperation must be completed successfully. This will not only greatly promote my country's agriculture and textile industries at this stage, but will also have an impact on our future cooperation with Western countries."

Wei Hongjun spoke.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Once this deal is done, it will completely break the US trade embargo on China. As long as Britain and France start doing this kind of trade with China, other countries will definitely be anxious.

Just like in history, China imported polyester and vinylon equipment from Japan in 1963.

China had actually been in contact with Japan about this for a long time, telling the Japanese government it wanted to purchase these machines and equipment. However, Japan, fearing US interference, refused to agree. Consequently, in 1962, China and Britain concluded several deals for complete sets of equipment, which infuriated Japan. China had clearly approached Japan first, but it was Britain that concluded the deals. So Japan asked the US, "Why can Britain do business while Japan can't?" Later, Japan directly told the US, "Since Britain has done so, we can't afford to lose out; we must also do business with China."

So we made this deal with China and sold them complete sets of polyester and vinylon machinery and equipment.

These allies of the United States each have their own interests.

Mao Zemin thought for a long time. No one bothered him, because such a large project would be difficult to complete without the cooperation of the Ministry of Finance. After a while, Mao Zemin said, "It's not that there is no way."

Seeing Mao Zemin say that there was a way, everyone looked at Mao Zemin.

Mao Zemin said, "There are only two ways to squeeze out money. One is to increase revenue, and the other is to reduce expenditure. So our approach will consider these two aspects. As for increasing revenue, it's really difficult in the short term. Because at this stage, any sudden increase in fiscal revenue is inappropriate. For example, if rural finances need to increase revenue, the most direct way is to increase commercial grain. However, if commercial grain is increased, it will directly dampen the enthusiasm of cooperatives for production and affect the development of the rural economy. The same is true in cities. The fastest way to increase fiscal revenue is to increase taxes or take profits from factories. But this is like draining the pond to catch fish, which is very detrimental to our country's economic development."

"So, at this stage, there's only one way to quickly raise money: issuing government bonds. Statistics from the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of China, and the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives show that Chinese citizens still have a considerable amount of money. This money isn't flowing into the market, and we haven't been able to withdraw it, suggesting that it's largely being stored. We can issue short-term government bonds with a term of around five years to recover some of this money."

China's finance is not complicated now.

Financial products are even more limited.

Therefore, it is relatively easy for the government to compile statistics on the flow of money. The Ministry of Finance, the Bank of China, and the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives can compile statistics to roughly analyze how much money is in private hands.

Chinese people like to save.

Because the Chinese people know they have food, they don't worry. By examining the state-issued currency in recent years, and by investigating the funds withdrawn by the Ministry of Finance, banks, supply and marketing cooperatives, state-owned commercial companies, and the financial status of major companies, we can roughly determine how much money is still in the hands of ordinary people.

What Mao Zemin meant was to use the method of issuing government bonds to raise hundreds of millions or even billions of funds from the public.

Chen Yun agreed more with Mao Zemin's words.

The financial situation has just begun to improve. However, due to the atomic bomb program, the central government's finances are in dire straits. However, if we let this favorable situation slip by, it would be a crime.

Where does the money come from.

Issuing government bonds and collecting funds from the public is a very good idea.

"anything else?"

“The central government needs to delegate power.”

Everyone didn't understand. Mao Zemin said: "In the past two years, the central and local fiscal revenues have grown very fast. But the local fiscal revenues have grown faster than the central fiscal revenues. In 1952, local fiscal revenues accounted for 24.16% of the total revenue, but this year it should be around 30.7%, or about 130 billion yuan. The reason for this is that the local economy has recovered in recent years.

After the socialist transformation of industry and commerce, many newly transformed companies became enterprises managed by local governments.

"The current situation is that local governments are relatively well-off, but the central government's investment ratio is far higher than that of local governments. Furthermore, the central government is also responsible for the massive military expenditures. This has led to the current tight financial situation of the central government."

"This time, we're introducing complete sets of machinery and equipment and building factories. We can completely delegate some of the costs to local governments. Let local governments provide the funds, and let these factories become managed by local governments. Some wealthy provinces can definitely raise the necessary funds to build factories. With this distribution, the pressure on the central government's finances will be greatly reduced."

The current situation is that important infrastructure and factories in important pillar industries are all invested by the central government.

There was also the massive military expenditure, and the deployment of the atomic bomb, which all relied on the central government's budget. The central government's budget was higher than that of local governments, more than double that of local governments.

But the central government also has a lot to do.

Now that the central government cannot come up with so much money, let some wealthy provinces invest in construction.

Wei Hongjun couldn't help but nodded.

Why bother with industrial investment when the central government can take care of it all?

Given China's current transportation situation, the fertilizer produced by this fertilizer plant will basically be consumed locally in any province where it is located. This is a very good thing for promoting local agricultural development.

It can be handed over to the local authorities.

For example, Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and other provinces in Northeast China are all capable of building a fertilizer plant because these provinces, along with Shanghai, currently have the highest fiscal revenue in China.

They can all raise funds to set up factories.

As a result, the pressure on the central government’s finances will be greatly reduced.

Mao Zemin continued: "Of course, even if that's the case, it won't be easy for the central government to come up with the remaining money. So what I'm saying is that we need to continue to save money and cut some spending."

Mao Zedong did not say which expenditures would be cut, but everyone knew.

Mao Zemin was referring to military spending. Even though military spending in the first half of the year was only a little over 2 billion, if you add up the second half, this year's military spending will still be over 5 billion. In fact, the current situation is that military spending is either increasing or decreasing.

"What if the office expenses of the various ministries and commissions of the State Council don't increase next year?" Just as everyone was pondering this, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. It turned out that the Prime Minister of India, who had been attending the Geneva Conference and then visiting Southeast Asian countries, had returned.

The Prime Minister's prestige is still very high. Seeing him come back, everyone stood up. The Prime Minister waved his hand, sat next to Chen Yun and said: "Sit down,

Everyone, please sit down. I just heard some of this. Comrade Mao Zemin, what if the office expenses of the ministries and commissions of the State Council did not increase in 1955? Except for special circumstances,

In addition, if the growth of all office expenses of ministries and commissions is stopped, how much money can the Ministry of Finance save next year?

"About 1.7 million yuan."

It is only September 1954.

However, the Ministry of Finance has already begun compiling its budget for next year's revenue and expenditure, including the administrative expenses of various ministries and commissions under the State Council, as well as some directly affiliated departments.

According to next year's budget expenditure, the administrative expenses of the ministries and administrative departments of the State Council will increase by about 1.7 million yuan.

"Look, isn't this just money? Comrades, we must remember this: we are a poor agricultural country, and our people haven't yet fully solved the problem of food and clothing. I think our current working environment is very good, and there's no need to add unnecessary things. This office wants this, and that office wants that. How can we continue like this?"

Who can object once the Prime Minister speaks?

In fact, what the Prime Minister said is right.

Administrative expenses at the State Council have been increasing since the Liberation Movement. While this is due to the increase in staff within the various ministries, it's more likely due to the gradual additions made by the ministries.

The State Council currently has 9 offices, dozens of ministries and commissions, and hundreds of various department-level units under them.

The cadres are all at a high level.

Therefore, the administrative expenses of the State Council were also rising steadily. Now, with a single word from the Premier, the administrative expenses of the State Council stopped increasing in 1955. With the increase in fiscal revenue, the stagnant administrative expenses meant a huge savings.

The Prime Minister continued: "And I've heard that many government departments, both central and local, are building new office buildings. I think this should all stop. Our country is currently in the industrialization phase, and every penny should be spent where it's needed, rather than rushing into enjoying life so quickly."

So what if our office building is a little old? Does that mean we can't work there? All the ministries and other government departments that had plans in 1955 for this purpose have cancelled them."

"I've already reviewed the documents before I arrived. This is the first time we've imported complete sets of machinery and equipment from a Western country. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. I just met with the Chairman, and he clearly stated that we must make every effort to promote this cooperation. I think we must attach great importance to this cooperation. I propose that Comrade Wei Hongjun, Comrade Deng Xixian, Comrade Li Fuchun, Comrade Deng Zhihui, and Comrade Mao Zemin form a joint group, with Comrade Wei Hongjun as the leader, to fully promote this matter."

After the Prime Minister came back, he set the tone in no time.

The Prime Minister looked at Wei Hongjun and said, "Comrade Hongjun, if you have any questions about this import, you can come to me no matter how late it is. We must make this cooperation happen."

"Yes."

Adjustment of 945 State Farms

After the State Council made the decision, the Premier took Chen Yun, Wei Hongjun and Deng Xixian to report to the Chairman.

While reading the report, the chairman asked about the specific situation.

Including whether there is sufficient funding to complete these projects.

After receiving a positive response, the Chairman stated that only by solving the people's food, clothing, and housing problems could we gain their support. Therefore, he agreed with the State Council's report and demanded that this cooperation be successfully concluded. The Chairman's intention was to use this cooperation to further strengthen relations with the UK and other European countries, laying the foundation for establishing diplomatic relations with European countries in the future.

What the Chairman is thinking about most now is how to break the US blockade.

Simply interacting with socialist countries and many newly born countries after World War II will not be enough to break the US blockade. The most important countries to break the US blockade are European countries.

They are the real power in the American camp.

At the same time, the Chairman asked the Premier to meet with the Soviet Ambassador and tell him about this matter.

While doing business with Britain isn't uncommon, it is, after all, cooperation with a major Western nation. China and the Soviet Union are currently in a honeymoon period, so there shouldn't be any secrets in these matters. China is openly seeking to purchase machinery and equipment from Britain. The Chairman also suggested that if the Soviet Union wants to do business with Britain and improve relations, now is a good opportunity.

After the outbreak of the Korean War, the United States imposed an embargo not only on China, but also on all socialist countries. Historically, when Britain publicly announced the relaxation of trade restrictions on China after 1957, it was actually relaxing trade restrictions on the entire socialist camp.

Britain is the most cunning.

After the trade restrictions on China were relaxed, Europe not only traded complete sets of machinery and equipment with China, but also sold a large number of goods to the Soviet Union, which stimulated trade between the entire Europe and the Soviet Union at that time.

After leaving the Chairman's side, the Premier went to meet with the Soviet Ambassador to China.

Chen Yun went back to continue handling the daily work of the State Council, while Wei Hongjun held a meeting with the joint group.

The joint working group's task was to quickly develop a plan to identify the necessary machinery and equipment to import. This included not only direct fertilizer and fiber machinery, but also a wide range of factory equipment related to fertilizer and fiber production. This time, the central government had made a decisive move, planning to spend $2.7 million over five years to fill critical domestic demand.

However, the specific machinery and equipment to be imported needs to be jointly resolved by Wei Hongjun and his joint team and the technical personnel below.

Then contact British businessmen.

After a busy day, Wei Hongjun convened an urgent meeting of the Rural Work Department that evening. Deng Zhihui, Li Shaocheng, Lai Ruoyu, Zhao Dezun, as well as Minister of Agricultural Reclamation Tan Zhenlin, and Vice Ministers Chen Manyuan, Zhao Fan, and Jiang Qixian all attended the meeting.

"This time I traveled around Northeast China and Hebei Province. After returning, I checked the Ministry of Agriculture's data and discovered a serious problem. One-third of our state-owned farms haven't even fulfilled their commercial grain production targets. Their grain production is limited, but their expenses are enormous. Many state-owned farms are even spending more than they earn, meaning they're losing money and need to be reimbursed by state funds. Comrade Shaocheng, can you tell me what's causing these problems?"

The reason why Wei Hongjun convened a meeting of the Rural Work Department overnight was because of the issue of state-owned farms.

There are now many state-owned farms of all sizes across the country.

Those state farms have been incorporated into the Ministry of Agriculture, but many state farms are still under the management of the State Farm Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture. The largest number of state farms are in the old liberated areas of Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Suiyuan, Henan, and Shandong.

There are more than 2000 large and small businesses, with nearly million mu of arable land.

Originally, these state-owned farms should have been incorporated into the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation. However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation now has a heavy workload, after all, with the Great Northern Wilderness, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the Suiyuan Farm, the South China Reclamation Bureau, and the Yunnan Reclamation Bureau—all of which are a huge undertaking.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation is short of staff to handle the situation.

So state farms are still under the State Farm Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture.

However, during this inspection, Wei Hongjun discovered numerous problems with state-owned farms. Some state-owned farms were now meeting their targets for public and commercial grain production, even contributing profits to the state, and were considered to be thriving. However, approximately one-third of state-owned farms still failed to meet their targets for commercial grain production. Among these state-owned farms, some, far from meeting their targets, were actually losing money. The state even had to subsidize these farms annually.

This is too much.