Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

There is a lot of labor in rural areas.

How to utilize this labor is very important.

Historically, one of the biggest problems with rural cooperatives has been the unscientific use of labor and excessive duplication. So, Wei Hongjun said, "Comrade Deng Zhihui, work with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to develop a plan. We need a three-year short-term plan, a five-year mid-term plan, and a ten-year long-term plan. We need to coordinate efforts, fully considering flood control, power generation, and irrigation. We need large-scale water conservancy facilities, but we also need small-scale facilities suitable for rural areas. We need to make good use of surplus rural labor, but we can't blindly launch projects."

"it is good."

"To accomplish these tasks, the most important thing is to properly distribute resources within the cooperative."

950 Distribution according to work

Following the Rural Work Department meeting, Tan Zhenlin convened a meeting at the Ministry of Agricultural Reclamation to formulate a plan for agricultural reclamation work, in accordance with the meeting's spirit. Deng Zhihui worked on the next steps in rural development. Lai Ruoyu and Zhao Dezun discussed with the Ministry of Commerce and the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives the next steps in opening up the free market for agricultural and sideline products.

Once they have a plan, they will submit it to Wei Hongjun for review.

After Wei Hongjun approved it, he reported it to the Chairman. Currently, Wei Hongjun doesn't have a Politburo Standing Committee member in charge of rural work. Neither Comrade Xiu Yang, who historically oversaw rural work, nor Comrade Gao Gang, currently in charge of the Secretariat, have any responsibility for rural and agricultural work at this time. The Rural Work Department isn't subordinate to the State Council; it's directly under the Politburo. Therefore, the Premier, Chen Yun, and Marshal Nie from the State Council have no control over the Rural Work Department.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun is currently the official directly responsible for rural affairs at the central level, and he is also the highest-ranking official in charge of rural affairs at the central level. Therefore, the day-to-day work on rural development issues is directly handled by Wei Hongjun. He also reports directly to the Chairman on important strategic issues concerning rural development.

After the Chairman approved the report of the Rural Work Department, Wei Hongjun would convene a national rural work conference in early 1955 to deploy national rural work for 1955.

After receiving Wei Hongjun's report, the Chairman studied it overnight and immediately called a meeting of cadres from the Rural Work Department the next day.

Including Tan Zhenlin.

Tan Zhenlin was promoted to the central government, initially serving as Minister of the Ministry of Agricultural Reclamation. At the year-end Politburo meeting, Wei Hongjun proposed that Tan Zhenlin be appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rural Work. Tan Zhenlin was in charge of the Ministry of Agricultural Reclamation, a key component of the Ministry of Rural Work. Without Tan Zhenlin in the Ministry, meetings and discussions were often difficult. Wei Hongjun's proposal was met with no opposition from the Politburo, due to Tan Zhenlin's seniority and rank.

Tan Zhenlin had just been promoted to the central government, otherwise he would have been the Vice Premier of the State Council long ago.

The Chairman convened this meeting primarily to hear the reasons, process, and specific measures for the Rural Work Department's formulation of these plans. Wei Hongjun, representing the Rural Work Department, further explained the contents of the department's report to the Chairman.

"Our Rural Work Department believes that the foundation of rural cooperative economy in China has gradually improved with the development of mutual aid groups, primary cooperatives, and advanced cooperatives. Cooperative economy is now becoming the mainstream in rural China. Therefore, the next step is to expand reproduction, increase rural accumulation, and develop the rural economy based on the cooperative economy."

"I agree with your Ministry of Rural Affairs' plan report. But how will we expand reproduction in rural areas? After all, previously, expanded reproduction was focused on the industrial sector. Expanding reproduction in rural areas will involve many new issues and new measures."

The Chairman asked Wei Hongjun.

The Chairman highly appreciated the report of the Rural Work Department.

After all, Wei Hongjun, Deng Zhihui, Tan Zhenlin, and Li Shaocheng had written a very detailed plan for future rural development that was consistent with current rural development conditions. However, the Chairman wanted to understand more clearly the Rural Work Department's proposal to expand reproduction.

"Chairman, the expanded reproduction of rural cooperatives means continuously increasing their assets. This is primarily divided into six areas. The first is water conservancy construction, developing irrigation, mitigating or eliminating floods and droughts, and purchasing appropriate water-lifting and drainage equipment. Water conservancy facilities are the lifeblood of rural grain production. Although water conservancy construction has been ongoing nationwide since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has primarily been large-scale projects undertaken by the national and local governments. The water conservancy facilities needed by the vast rural areas have not been deployed on a large scale. Therefore, the next step in our Rural Work Department's plan is to mobilize cooperatives to develop water conservancy facilities in rural areas. Once constructed, these facilities will become the most valuable asset of rural areas."

"The second is to develop in mountainous areas. Plant trees and grow oilseed crops, fiber crops, and fruit trees. This will not only green the mountains and forests, but also protect soil and water resources, conserve water resources, and regulate the climate. At the same time, it will increase the cooperative's long-term income."

"The third is to develop animal husbandry in rural areas. Where there is water, fisheries can be developed. Small livestock such as chickens, ducks, geese, pigs and sheep must be developed. Agriculture and animal husbandry are two inseparable links that support and depend on each other."

"The fourth is agricultural product processing. The state should hand over agricultural product processing to rural cooperatives as much as possible. This will, on the one hand, increase the cooperatives' income from sideline businesses, allowing them to use oil cakes and other products as fertilizer and feed; on the other hand, the state can reduce losses from long-distance transportation of raw materials and by-products. To this end, agricultural cooperatives should gradually purchase processing equipment and equipment for sideline businesses."

"The fifth is to improve farm tools and acquire necessary and suitable agricultural machinery. This includes increasing the number of means of production needed for agricultural production, such as oxen, walking plows, rice threshers, and waterwheels. Once funds have accumulated to a certain level, we will also purchase larger items such as tractors."

"The sixth is to develop rural roads, build roads between counties, townships and villages that can be traveled by oxcarts, and improve rural transportation conditions. At the same time, we also need to increase transportation options."

To expand reproduction in rural areas, the first thing to do is accumulation.

These accumulations do not include what will be needed for future rural medical and educational development. They are more about production.

The Chairman put down his pen and said, "Your plan is very good. But have you considered where the funds needed for expanded reproduction in rural areas will come from?"

The rural development plans formulated are good.

But both require money.

How can rural areas come up with so much money?

Wei Hongjun replied, "Chairman, we have discussed the funding sources for future rural development. We believe there are four ways to accumulate funds. The first is the accumulation of funds by the cooperatives themselves. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, rural production initially resumed, and grain production has been increasing in recent years, leading to the continuous growth of the rural economy. However, in recent years, with the development of mutual aid groups and cooperatives, very little annual income has been accumulated, with all being distributed among members. This is of course also related to the low income of individual cooperatives in recent years. However, since rural cooperatives are expanding reproduction, they should save a certain percentage each year to ensure accumulation. We have calculated that, based on the current economic income and development of rural cooperatives, they can accumulate approximately 5% to 8% annually. Retaining this amount of funds for accumulation will not affect the normal development of rural cooperatives or the livelihoods of their members. Some rural cooperatives with rapid increases in grain production and those cultivating cash crops can accumulate approximately 10% to 12%. After a few years of such accumulation, some small cooperatives will be able to contribute several thousand yuan."

"Secondly, in order to accumulate funds for cooperatives, we must run the cooperatives frugally and reduce expenses in a short period of time. One is to reduce the number of full-time cadres. The proportion of full-time cadres in rural cooperatives should not exceed 1% of the members. A small cooperative with less than people does not need full-time cadres. Only large cooperatives with hundreds or thousands of people should have several full-time cadres who are responsible for organizing and recording production. Moreover, the subsidy points of these cooperative cadres should follow the average work points of the strong labor force in the cooperative. Another is that the cooperative public welfare fund is currently mainly used to solve the problem of the five-guarantee households and poor households that lack strong labor within the cooperative. We should not blindly invest in cultural education. Recently, a certain After earning some money, some cooperatives immediately invested in cultural and educational development. While this was a positive development, most of these efforts ended in failure. This was because the cooperatives had no experience in cultural and educational development and blindly copied urban school methods, which simply did not fit the current rural situation. Therefore, our Rural Work Department planned to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to integrate literacy education with cooperative cultural and educational programs. Literacy teachers could be employed as teachers in the cooperatives' early schools. This would significantly reduce educational expenses. Many rural cooperatives in Shanxi have extensive experience in this area. Using minimal funding, we can collaborate with literacy work groups to develop rural education.

"Third, China's rural population is large but land is scarce, resulting in a surplus of labor. This excess labor is a crucial source of capital. If, based on a national labor force of 200 million, each person works ten days per year, that's two billion working days. If each person works twenty days, that's four billion working days. This is a tremendous force. This is the best source of funds for the construction of water conservancy facilities and transportation. In our current situation, when we lack sufficient capital investment, mobilizing members of rural cooperatives to participate in work-point labor is the most appropriate approach."

Expand reproduction, what can we use to expand reproduction?

Rural areas simply don't have the capital to expand reproduction. The only capital is people, and China's large population provides that capital. This is why it's said that in the early days of the People's Republic of China, one generation suffered the hardships of three generations.

It is for the purpose of expanding reproduction and accumulation.

"Whether it's capital accumulation or labor, the most important thing is how to allocate funds and labor. This includes how to ensure that the funds accumulated by the cooperative are not diverted for other purposes and how to ensure that corruption does not occur."

The Chairman interrupted Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun said, "Regarding the issue of capital accumulation in rural cooperatives, I believe we need to address it from two perspectives. First, we need to encourage rural cooperatives to deposit their accumulated savings in banks. This will greatly benefit the government's understanding of the rural economy and the Ministry of Finance and the central bank's ability to withdraw money. However, this requires national policy support for cooperative accumulation and ensuring the security of cooperative assets, especially those of wealthy cooperatives. The ownership of these cooperatives' accumulated assets must be determined through policy."

"Personal assets, collective assets, public assets, and state assets should all be clearly separated. If they are mixed together, no work can be done."

The chairman nodded.

The Chairman supports this point.

Chairman Mao has been practicing this approach numerous times since he established the rural base in Jinggangshan. Even as early as the Central Soviet Area, he wrote numerous articles on the subject. However, many of his rural policies were criticized by the Provisional Central Committee as a "rich peasant line."

"Second, we must continue to strengthen the 'village affairs disclosure' system. We must ensure that all cooperative members are aware of the cooperative's financial situation. Only when everyone understands the cooperative's financial situation can they understand the capital accumulation and effectively oversee it. This should be carried out in conjunction with rural education and literacy efforts."

“This work requires perseverance.”

Democracy within the cooperative is something the chairman is very concerned about, and "openness of village affairs" is the foundation of this democracy.

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun continued, "Regarding the distribution issue. Based on years of experience, the current distribution plan for rural cooperatives is primarily based on a 3:7 ratio, with some also offering a 2:8 ratio and a 4:6 ratio. Three is basic grain, ensuring the most basic food distribution. Seven is labor grain, distributed based on labor. The current overall distribution method for rural cooperatives in my country is based on the principle of more work, more pay, and distribution according to work."

"Before we enter a communist society, more work, more pay, and distribution according to work should be the principle of distribution in the current socialist economy. I think you should establish a benchmark and avoid arbitrary violations or adjustments. The 1953:1957 ratio is a boundary: represents socialism, and represents distribution according to work. If distribution according to work is too much, serious polarization will occur. But if distribution according to work is too little, it will affect members' enthusiasm for work. Therefore, you must adhere to this : ratio distribution model, ensuring both a minimum distribution and the role of labor." (Content from two conversations with Chairman Mao in and )

"Yes. Currently, most regions are adopting a 3:7 distribution model. Based on past experience, people are generally more welcoming of this distribution model."

Wei Hongjun has always been concerned about how the cooperative distributes its profits. Since Luo Weilin first established the cooperative in Huailai, various distribution methods have been experimented with. Ultimately, the current distribution model for Panax notoginseng has emerged. To put it bluntly, maintaining farmers' enthusiasm for work is more important at this stage.

Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a certain distribution ratio according to work. "In addition to distribution, management is also of paramount importance."

"Yes. This is the fourth issue I want to talk about in the expanded reproduction of rural cooperatives, which is to improve production management and increase the labor efficiency of rural cooperatives."

951 Iron and Steel Contradiction

"After years of development of rural cooperatives, we've gained some experience in cooperative management. This not only reduces management costs, but also improves production efficiency and accelerates the accumulation of rural cooperatives. Generally speaking, there are two key things to consider when managing rural cooperatives: motivating members to work more actively, and allocating labor more scientifically to avoid wasted labor."

“Management is a science.”

The chairman was very impressed with Wei Hongjun's summary, which simply summarized the most important aspects of the cooperative.

"To motivate members, one thing is to maintain the principle of more work, more pay, and distribution according to work. We need to make our members feel that as long as they work, their lives can be improved. Another thing is to have clear rewards and punishments, rewarding good work and punishing bad work. Only with clear rewards and punishments can we actively mobilize the enthusiasm of members."

"Rewards and punishments are good things, but they must be done in moderation. The commendation campaign you promoted in Jin-Cha-Ji achieved remarkable results, producing a large number of talented individuals in our troops and base areas. Regarding the issue of rural cooperatives, what are your specific measures?"

Wei Hongjun made two great contributions to the base area and the army.

One was the "Grievance Movement," and the other was the "Merit Commendation Movement." These were the capital that helped Wei Hongjun gain a foothold in the military. While not a complete reward and punishment system, the "Merit Commendation Movement" at the time was the beginning of something similar. It made a significant contribution to boosting the morale of the military and civilians in the base areas. Various small inventions and tactics continued to emerge.

So the Chairman also wanted to hear how Wei Hongjun implemented the reward and punishment system in rural work.

Wei Hongjun explained, "We've experimented with various models in some cooperatives. Ultimately, we settled on a system where cooperatives implement two indicators: commissions for overproduction and point deductions for underproduction. Currently, our rural cooperatives implement a system where large-scale tasks are handled collectively, while smaller tasks are assigned to specific areas. These areas are assigned to the various groups within the cooperative. Previously, the cooperatives also assigned planned targets to each group, but these targets were often too high, making them difficult to achieve no matter what they did. This in turn severely dampened the production enthusiasm of the groups. After summarizing these experiences, we began implementing a system where the cooperatives implement two separate indicators: a planned target and a specific area target."

"The planned target is slightly higher than the actual output, while the area-specific target is slightly lower than the actual output. The purpose is to ensure that the group in charge of the area has something to exceed and can earn commissions based on their achievements. The more they exceed their production, the more commissions and rewards they will receive. Therefore, many groups in the cooperative are very motivated to produce, hoping to get commissions for exceeding their production and rewards from the cooperative after exceeding their production. Since its implementation, grain production has been increasing. As long as the members are motivated and exceed their production, it benefits the members, the cooperative, and the country. Of course, the area-specific target cannot be much lower than the actual output. After the area-specific target is set, if there is a reduction in production without special reasons, appropriate penalties will be imposed. Even if the reduction in production is due to a suspected reason, penalties will be imposed in terms of distribution."

"What we need to do is to ensure that cooperative members always see progress and see their lives gradually improving, so as to maintain their enthusiasm for production. As long as the members' enthusiasm for production remains high, our country's grain production will continue to increase as we build water conservancy projects, improve fertile land, promote high-quality seeds, develop organic fertilizers, and increase the production of chemical fertilizers."

This is not something Wei Hongjun came up with on the spur of the moment.

These were formulated after detailed investigations by Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui. Furthermore, most of these measures were rural policies previously implemented by the Central Committee after the Eighth National Congress. The Chairman listened quietly to Wei Hongjun's report.

Finally nodded and said, "Okay."

The Chairman generally supported Wei Hongjun's report.

Compared to some other central leaders, Wei Hongjun has always supported the development of the rural cooperative economy. Many of Wei Hongjun's current rural policy adjustments are adjustments within the rural cooperative economy.

As long as Wei Hongjun followed the rural cooperative economy, the Chairman would support it in principle and would not interfere with the specific work.

"Regarding other matters, please discuss them with Comrades Chen Yun, Deng Xixian, Li Fuchun, and Mao Zemin."

"Yes."

With the support of the Chairman, the following work will be much easier.

Maintaining the principle of distribution according to work in rural cooperatives, stabilizing their order, and maintaining their internal vitality will ensure that rural grain production and the rural agricultural and sideline products industry will grow steadily in the coming years.

Although it is impossible to become rich in a few years.

But there is no problem in gradually solving the problem of food and clothing. And as long as the countryside is stable, we can always support national industrialization.

When Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui were preparing to convene a national rural work conference to deploy rural work for 1955, the Premier convened a State Council meeting. The national economy had been developing very well in 1954, but precisely because of this good development, a large number of unexpected events occurred.

In particular, there was serious chaos in the steel market.

The planned economy of New China was not a completely planned economy. This was because New China simply did not have the capacity to create a completely planned economy. For example, according to the First Five-Year Plan, steel production was allocated first to the various units within the plan. The remaining steel would be put on the market.

Sold to other units.

This is mainly to supply the production of daily necessities and the needs of the people. The bulk of the steel has been allocated to major production units, but steel is also needed in daily life, including farm tools and so on.

These productions are not part of the national plan.

Because the government cannot determine the demand for these products. Even if the government has strong control, can it know how many iron pots the country needs? Can the government also set a target of how many iron pots to produce per year?

Of course not.

The production is carried out by small production units according to market changes. Supply and marketing cooperatives give these units orders based on market changes and let them produce on their behalf.

As a result, a problem arose in this area, so the Prime Minister called a meeting of the cadres involved in this matter.

总理道:“1954年全国发展形势很好。包括钢铁产量发展速度也很快，1954年我国的钢铁产量有了768万吨,是1948年新中国成立时候的近39倍。但钢铁需求也在增加，1954年钢铁市场发生了严重的紊乱，出现了很多严重后果。根据1954年的情况,如果我们不调整，1955年还会发生类似的情况。所以我们必须要解决这个问题。”

Apart from anything else, the Prime Minister really has good energy.

I travel all year round and work late every day after I come back.

Wei Hongjun was in charge of importing machinery and equipment from European countries. He carefully reviewed every report from his subordinates before submitting it to the Premier. The Premier read these reports even more carefully than Wei Hongjun did.

The Prime Minister would inquire about the number of negotiators, the number of days for the round trip, the cost of transportation, and the cost of food and lodging, and would meticulously list these details in the submitted documents. He truly cared about every penny.

This put Wei Hongjun under a lot of pressure.

Because the Prime Minister was able to discover some small problems in the report.

After the Premier finished speaking, Chen Yun continued, "In 1954, the steel market experienced four major problems. First, many copper and iron products essential to people's lives, such as heating appliances, cooking utensils, lead wire, and nails, were frequently out of stock, resulting in insufficient supply on the market and a serious impact on people's livelihoods. Second, a black market and speculation emerged for scrap steel, causing prices to soar. Some speculators profited greatly, while others encouraged theft to secure supplies. Theft of scrap steel occurred in many factories. Third, handicraft cooperatives and small local state-owned factories, unable to buy steel on the market, resorted to sourcing raw materials from the black market. Consequently, prices for steel products rose rapidly. Given the profit potential of raising prices, these factories were inclined to develop their own production and sales, profiting on the black market and refusing to accept processing orders from supply and marketing cooperatives. This made it difficult for state-owned businesses to secure the necessary supply. Fourth, a large number of individual artisans engaged in profiteering on the black market, driving up prices. As a result, some members of handicraft cooperatives withdrew from the cooperatives and engaged in speculative trading, undermining the consolidation of the cooperatives."

Chen Yun summarized the chaos in the steel market in 1954.

"Comrade Chen Yun, I believe the chaos in the steel market in 1954 was due to insufficient steel allocations and the involvement of many people in black market resale. But it was more due to our infrastructure units' indiscriminate purchases of steel, exacerbating the already tense steel market."