Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

There was a guy from their village who graduated from a technical secondary school and apparently went to work in a factory as a cadre. After returning home, he was so stylish despite being so young, and there was no comparison between him and the man before him.

Xiahou Wen looked at their long procession, using ox-drawn carts and horse-drawn carriages to carry a lot of stuff. He had just felt around and realized it wasn't food. If it wasn't food, why was there so much cargo at this time?

So I asked directly: "Brother, what is this, where are you going?"

"sack."

The old farmer who had just said the dry tobacco was good looked about sixty, but probably younger. He was having a great time chatting with Xia Houwen, so he didn't hide anything: "Our township and production cooperative opened a factory. It was originally a grain processing plant, milling rice and rolling noodles. Later, they started making and recycling sacks. What's that called?"

"Uncle, it's recycled cloth processing."

"Yes, recycled cloth processing."

Xia Houwen was stunned, looking at the long line, he didn't expect the goods were all sacks. If they were all sacks, how much would it be?

Moreover, when Xia Houwen heard that the factory was jointly owned by the township government and the rural cooperative, he worried that the township government might have swallowed up the rural cooperative factory.

So I asked, "So does this factory belong to the township government or the rural cooperative?"

“It belongs to our cooperative, but the township government also has shares.”

“You produce so many sacks?”

"That's still a small number. Really large quantities of sacks, and over long distances, are all transported by truck. Ours is not far, only about 40 miles. A round trip of one day is enough, so we transport it this way."

Xia Houwen became interested as soon as he heard it.

So he asked, "Can you make money producing sacks? You're a grain processing factory, so why are you making sacks now?"

"This is a long story. Originally, our county wanted to open a phosphate fertilizer plant in our township. However, the plant was already built in our township, and the county hadn't made any move. Later, when I asked around, I learned that the county had gone to a meeting with the prefectural committee and learned that phosphate fertilizer was most suitable for land reclamation in our area. So the county wanted to open a phosphate fertilizer plant, but the prefectural committee couldn't do anything about it, so the plant couldn't be opened at all."

“Phosphate fertilizer improves the land?”

Xia Houwen also worked in rural areas for many years, but he had never heard of using phosphate fertilizer to improve land.

A young man in his thirties, who had just called the old man "Second Uncle," said, "Comrade Xia, you don't know. When liberation was just beginning, the yields of much of our farmland were very low. Most of the farmland only produced about 100 kilograms per mu."

"Can't the land here be planted twice?"

Xia Houwen is from Jiangxi Province. In his hometown, they can grow two crops a year.

"It's not that easy."

The old man exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Take our village for example. A lot of arable land can only be used to grow one crop, and a lot of it is just muddy fields with perennial waterlogging, which yields nothing at all. If they weren't starving, who would be willing to farm in such muddy fields?"

"and after?"

"Isn't this liberation? The government called on us to improve the fields, to turn single-crop arable land into double-crop land, and to turn those muddy fields into fertile farmland. At that time, the government organized a meeting for us old farmers. That was my first time riding in a car."

The old man recalled that day with a look of pride: "It must have been the spring of 49. We were received by senior officials from the Prefectural Party Committee, as well as the county party secretaries and county heads. The senior officials were young, in their thirties, and very knowledgeable. They asked us to explain the situation of our cultivated land in detail and asked us how to increase grain production."

"Later, the Prefectural Committee organized an annual meeting of skilled farmers from all over the region to discuss how to improve the land. I attended every year, and the senior Prefectural Committee officials now call me 'Uncle' when they see me."

"To improve farmland, the county organized various production cooperatives to establish fertilizer production cooperatives and resume production at lime and coal ash kilns, as lime and coal ash are very effective for improving our land. They also encouraged everyone to collect dog feces to make grass fertilizer, dig pond mud, and collect manure from stables."

"Our cooperative alone excavated over 11000 dan of pond mud in just one year, transforming over 170 mu of land. All of this land can now be used for a second crop, increasing yields by over kilograms per mu. Our neighboring cooperative planted hundreds of thousands of pine and poplar trees in just one year, and hundreds of mu of sandy land along the river are now capable of growing crops."

"That's not all. We've dug a lot of ditches, so we no longer have to worry about the thousands of acres of land in our county that were previously severely affected by floods and droughts. Grain production has also increased significantly."

"The most successful effort has been to transform the perennially waterlogged muddy fields. To address the problem, the government required us to build drainage ditches to remove the accumulated water. Some cooperatives disagreed, saying building drainage ditches would 'harm the dragon veins.' But our cooperative didn't believe that. If we can't get enough food, who cares if we have dragon veins? We built drainage ditches and transformed 300 mu of muddy fields. Now, these fields produce over 10 kilograms of grain annually."

"Later, everyone started repairing drainage ditches and reclaiming those muddy fields. In our county alone, I estimate that tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of muddy fields have been reclaimed. I don't know the exact amount."

The old man talked endlessly. For him, these were achievements worth being proud of.

The staff member following Xia Houwen quickly recorded what the old man said.

Xia Houwen was very happy. Zhejiang, without state support, had leveraged the power of the people to develop water conservancy projects and fertile farmland, and it seemed to have achieved very good results.

A quarter of Zhejiang's arable land is suitable for only one crop. The perennially waterlogged muddy fields the old man mentioned are especially prevalent in Zhejiang.

In the past, Zhejiang had many landlords and even more self-cultivating farmers, and the rural areas were a typical small-scale peasant economy. Therefore, these problems could not be solved at all.

After liberation, the development of cooperatives gave us the power to transform these areas. The yield difference between planting one crop and two is naturally enormous. Furthermore, these muddy fields were transformed into fertile farmland, and grain production soared dramatically.

"Brother, what is phosphate fertilizer?"

"Yes, yes, phosphate fertilizer. I heard that some places seem to be using phosphate fertilizer recently, saying it's very suitable for our farmland. It seems that using phosphate fertilizer can improve the quality of our farmland and greatly increase grain production. That's why our county government was so anxious to build a phosphate fertilizer plant, but it ultimately failed."

The old man then returned to the original question, saying, "The factory was almost built, but the county government said it couldn't be continued. It was a waste, so the township government approached several of our cooperatives and asked if we wanted to move the grain processing plants to the township. Leaving the plant there was a waste, too. Later, after much discussion, we all agreed it was a good idea, so we merged the grain processing plants of several cooperatives to create a larger one."

"How is it, making money?"

"Of course. Comrade Xia, you have no idea. In our first year, we made over 30,000 yuan. In the second year, we became the largest grain processing plant in the entire county, earning 100,000 yuan a year."

When talking about their grain processing plant, the men around them all felt proud because this grain processing plant was their own factory.

Xia Houwen nodded.

Xia Houwen had originally thought that only cooperative factories in provinces like Guangdong and Heilongjiang were capable of such success. He hadn't expected such a powerful cooperative factory to exist in the humble province of Zhejiang. Earning 100,000 yuan a year was no small sum.

"Then the county came up with a project to make sacks. Jute is plentiful in our area. So our factory partnered with the county, with investment from the county and a loan from a credit union, to start producing sacks."

"selling well?"

"They're selling incredibly well. Sacks are in demand everywhere these days, in cities and in rural areas alike. Our factory's sacks are now sold to major cities like Shanghai and Nanjing. Half of the cooperatives in our county have side businesses related to sacks. Some grow jute, others spin linen, weave linen cloth, and make sacks. From these side businesses alone, the cooperatives can earn several thousand yuan a year."

"Even many counties around us sell their jute to us."

Xia Houwen suddenly realized that this had become an industry in his county. Most people in the county were involved in this industry chain.

Not only do they do a good job in rural agriculture, they also do an excellent job in industry and commerce.

Xiahou Wen followed the team delivering the sacks on foot, wanting to learn more.

"Brother, your life is much better now."

"Ah."

The old man nodded and said, "Before liberation, it was so chaotic. Not only us, but even the landlords in our area couldn't sleep well every day. Not having enough to eat was one thing, but during the war, those damned Chiang Kai-shek soldiers were no different from bandits. They stole food, robbed young wives, and did all kinds of bad things. Back then, we just lived one day at a time. Anyway, everyone was used to that kind of life."

"But things have changed since liberation. We no longer live that way. It's like the slogan says, 'In the old society we were cattle and horses, in the new society we have to be human beings.' Now there's more food, and we can occasionally buy meat and have a drink. But that life is no better than that of a landlord before liberation."

"But the most important thing is that our life is stable now, and things are getting better day by day. I'm starting to have hope. My ancestors used to be peasants, but now my grandson is in middle school. I can even understand what a normal newspaper says. If my grandson becomes a university student or a government official, wouldn't that bring honor to our family? Don't you think this is something to look forward to?"

"And when I went to the Prefectural Party Committee, our senior officials all said that in the future everyone would live in buildings, have electricity, running water, and telephones. That's communism. If we could live like that in the future, even a god wouldn't do it."

Xia Houwen laughed heartily, then said, "Brother, do you think we in China can live this kind of life?"

"of course."

Speaking of this, the old man said seriously: "I have lived for most of my life, and these years since liberation are days I could never have dreamed of. Ten years ago, senior cadres from the Prefectural Committee said that they would improve the land and ensure that everyone had enough to eat, but I didn't believe it. Because since I was born, I have never seen anyone who could make us full. But two or three years later, we really can eat our fill."

"We were high-ranking officials in the prefectural committee, highly educated and a great scholar. But when we were digging canals and composting, we worked alongside him and carried manure together. We didn't mind our dirtiness and we ate lunch together. Before liberation, I've never seen an official who didn't bully us and worked with us."

"So I believed what the Communist Party said, what the Chairman said, and what senior officials said. He said that when the Communist Party was in Yan'an, the Chairman grew his own vegetables."

"Correct."

Xia Houwen suddenly became very interested in the senior cadres the old man mentioned. Their prefectural committee was doing a very solid job.

Being able to gain such trust from local people is our greatest achievement.

“Is there any problem that cannot be solved?”

"Comrade Xia, are you a cadre from the province?"

"It is."

The old man immediately said, "Our county grows a lot of cotton, so there's a lot of cotton stalks every year. Some of our cooperatives want to set up a factory to process cotton stalks, primarily for use as feed and fertilizer. But we reported this to the credit union, and they said the funds for supporting rural industry and commerce have been used up. We need to wait until the credit union recovers the funds before we can support this project."

“Several cooperatives in our county wanted to build factories, but they couldn’t get loans for this reason.”

Xiahou Wen nodded.

A few years ago, when Wei Hongjun was in charge of rural industry and commerce, he was short of money, so he integrated credit cooperatives and made them a source of funds for the development of rural industry and commerce.

But it was obvious that no one had expected that the speed of industrial and commercial development in rural areas would exceed the central government's expectations. There simply were no opportunities in the countryside.

With this opportunity, the countryside exploded with vitality. Industries that the central government hadn't even considered emerged. For example, sacks, a simple commodity, became a pillar industry for an entire county.

As a result, rural industry and commerce have grown at an alarming pace, leading to a surge in demand for capital. Clearly, credit union deposits have surged in recent years, but this hasn't been enough to meet the funding needs of rural industry and commerce. For rural industry and commerce to continue to develop, they need more capital investment.

Xia Houwen took this matter to heart and said, "Brother, can I go to your village to take a look?"

"welcome."

1057 Full-scale outbreak

At the end of October 1958, in addition to handling the daily work of the Secretariat, Wei Hongjun also paid close attention to the current local inspections. He kept in touch with the four central working groups and listened to their work reports.

The work group's report contained both positive and negative news. The good news was that the local economy was developing very well, and it should be said that the national economy was booming. Not only was the urban economy improving, but the living standards of the people in counties, towns, and rural areas were also improving rapidly.

After liberation, large-scale water conservancy projects and fertile farmland development in rural areas achieved great success. The management of major rivers such as the Yangtze, Yellow, and Huaihe Rivers also yielded significant results.

When Wei Hongjun was in charge of the Rural Work Department, he mainly focused on the free market for agricultural and sideline products and the development of rural industry and commerce. Although there were many problems, the overall development was very good.

Just look at the deposit situation of credit cooperatives. In the past five years, the amount of deposits in credit cooperatives has increased fourfold. Most of these deposits come from rural cooperatives.

What is worrying is that with economic development, various problems are also increasing. Bribery and embezzlement of public funds are on the rise, and various economic cases are occurring frequently.

In particular, economic disputes are on the rise. With economic development, financial transactions between businesses have increased. Consequently, disputes between businesses over goods and finances are on the rise, and unresolved disputes are piling up at all levels of government.

Even in business-to-business transactions, between local governments and state-owned enterprises, and between state-owned enterprises, many problems have arisen, and many lawsuits have reached central government ministries. Moreover, with the booming economy, some people have begun to take advantage of loopholes and commit economic fraud.

This requires further improvement in the state's "Economic Law," "Company Law," and "Contract Law." Many problems arise because the central government lacks clear regulations on these issues, as the central government has no experience with these issues.

Legislation and policy always lag behind reality. Furthermore, the judicial system needs to quickly train a group of staff who understand economic issues, or in other words, understand economic law.

It's not just the judicial system; local governments are also in urgent need of talent in this area. Because the judicial system is still not fully developed, many disputes between businesses require government mediation, especially since many of the companies involved in the disputes are state-owned enterprises.

There are many invisible factors that nonetheless influence the economic structure. As the economy develops, everyone begins to demand a larger market. This demand creates a significant conflict with the widespread economic protectionism currently seen across the country.

The small free market for agricultural and sideline products is now restricted in many places. Some are based on counties, while others are based on cities. Rural cooperatives in other places are not allowed to open supply and marketing cooperatives.

This kind of local protectionism seriously affects economic development and the interests of the people.

The development of county and township economies has also led to a surge in demand for transportation, water, and electricity in these areas. Transportation isn't just about building roads; it's about the need for more transportation.

After many rural enterprises in counties and towns have developed, their products need a larger market and need to go beyond the county and town. However, the backward transportation and lack of transportation tools seriously restrict the development of these enterprises.

At the same time, with the economic development of counties and townships, the demand for light industrial products has increased exponentially.

Because the majority of the nation's population lives in agriculture, and a high proportion of the urban population resides in counties and rural areas, the development of these economies has rapidly boosted the local market. For example, bicycles were once standard equipment for urban officials and workers, making them a rare sight in these areas. But now, bicycles are increasingly in demand in many counties and rural areas. This has led to a further shortage of bicycles in the national market, and the supply of goods is becoming increasingly tight.

Under these circumstances, the light industry sector gained momentum for further development. Light industrial factories were the most profitable, and as long as market demand was high, profits would soar. However, the rapid development of light industry further increased the pressure on heavy industry.

Because the raw materials for New China's light industry are all provided by heavy industry. However, the development of heavy industry has too many financial and technical difficulties to overcome, and it cannot develop as rapidly as light industry.