Chapter 456 Market
On December 18, 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held, marking the beginning of the country's economic policy of reform and opening up to the outside world.
Song Lubai has been reading newspapers and listening to the radio a lot lately, constantly thinking about what changes the new policy will bring and what they can do about it.
After studying the policy, Wei Yang had a bold idea in mind. When he mentioned it to the Party Secretary, the Secretary hesitated.
"Aren't we taking too big a step? The document has just been issued, and no one else is paving the way for us. If we go in the wrong direction, we'll be criticized and we won't be able to continue working."
Wei Yang knew the secretary's concerns and had prepared a backup plan before coming.
"Contracting to households is too ambitious; what about contracting to groups?"
While the idea of eating from the same pot was good, the drawbacks of collective labor were significant. Contracting out work to groups did not break the egalitarian distribution system under the people's commune system, but it was not as extreme as contracting out to individual households. It could also greatly mobilize the production enthusiasm of workers and promote agricultural development.
Wei Yang shared his ideas. He had worked in two different farms and knew the farm environment inside and out, so he knew how to reform to promote development.
The Party Secretary looked at Wei Yang and said, "I'm being transferred soon."
Wei Yang remained silent. He sighed and said, "I'm getting old. Actually, I don't want to take any more risks, because neither you nor I know when the wind will change again."
Wei Yang understood that he wanted to play it safe.
"Then let's wait..."
"I haven't finished speaking yet. You were the one who brought this up, so let's have a meeting to discuss it."
Wei Yang understood his unspoken meaning, but still smiled and said, "Thank you, Secretary."
The secretary smiled.
Although Wei Yang is no longer young, compared to these old guys, he can be described as young and energetic. At the same time, he is also tactful in his actions, making it difficult for others to find fault with him. I have high hopes for him.
Song Lubai and Wei Yang sometimes discuss work matters at home. Recently, Wei Yang has been very busy, often returning home after dark, and sometimes going to the farms below for several days without returning home.
I finally got back today. After dinner, Song Lubai said, "I've read a lot of newspapers and documents, but there's hardly been any change in our Bureau of Commerce. I feel really bad about it."
Wei Yang asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Song Lubai's eyes lit up as she said, "There are risks in doing anything else, too many rules and regulations. Could we set up a market in the city, like the bazaar of the Uyghur people? We could choose one day a week for everyone to trade freely in the market. The market management office and the city's joint defense team would be there to watch over the market. There's no way anything could go wrong. What do you think?"
Set up a free market where everyone can freely buy things and earn a little money to supplement their family income. There's only one day a week like this. If you follow the rules they set, no one can find fault with it.
Make a small opening first, and if there are any setbacks, close it immediately.
After listening to Song Lubai's explanation, Wei Yang nodded and said, "Okay, write the report. It will definitely be approved in the meeting."
Who hasn't been to the Uyghur bazaar? Everyone has bought daily necessities and food there. Besides, this border crossing is only open one day a week, so nobody can really say anything about it.
The proposal was indeed passed immediately.
The market management staff started selecting a location, and after choosing a good spot, they began setting up a simple shed that could accommodate two hundred people to set up stalls.
Although the message was sent out, only a dozen or so people showed up at the market on the first Saturday.
The people who came all acted like thieves; seeing that there were hardly any people around, they were all preparing to grab their things and run away.
Song Lubai led a few young people from the market management department around. Seeing that another group of people was about to run away, the group rushed up, but the group ran even faster.
"Don't go! You came with things, why are you running away again?"
A young man wearing a red armband shouted, "Everything is legal and compliant today, so why are you all running away?"
The group of runners stopped and looked at the red armbands on the group. They thought to themselves, "You were chasing us wearing those things, we all thought you were setting a trap to catch us."
After much persuasion, they finally managed to convince the person to come back.
By midday, there were already eighteen vendors at the market, and more and more people came to buy things after hearing the news.
Egg vendors, sweet potato vendors, potato vendors, straw hat vendors, straw mat vendors, goat milk vendors…
The market doesn't sell a wide variety of goods, but they can always be traded.
Fearing that the eggs would be sold out by the time she got off work, Song Lubai tore off her red armband and went to trade with the vendor, buying fifteen eggs in one go.
The morning went smoothly, and in the afternoon a few more vendors came to sell their wares. Residents also strolled over, and from a distance, the market looked quite large.
Nothing much happened today, but by next Saturday, a lot of vendors came early in the morning.
Residents from the city, residents from nearby farms, and young men from surrounding Uyghur villages came to sell their goods.
An elderly Uyghur man had woven a rope with many black carp hanging from it. As Song Lubai was about to buy some, one of her young subordinates said, "Where did you get these fish? This is practically undermining the community..."
Song Lubai glanced at him and said with a smile, "Digging? What are you digging for? If you're going to make a big deal out of this, then go and arrest everyone inside. I remember your family ate a wild rabbit a while ago. Where did you dig it up from?"
The young man gave an awkward smile and fell silent.
Song Lubai pointed to the bustling scene in the market and said, "Look at this for yourself, isn't this what you wanted to see? Do you want to go back to the way things were?"
She then asked, "Would you like to eat fish?"
The young man, after being gently teased by her, obediently nodded and said, "I want to eat it."
Song Lubai said, "I saw that they sell rabbits over there, I'll go buy some right away. You go buy me a fish, I'll give you the money in a bit."
A crowd had gathered around the old man selling fish, and fearing he wouldn't be able to buy any, the young man quickly squeezed into the throng.
Some people noticed the red armband on his arm and cautiously made way for him.
Once the young man successfully squeezed in, he immediately asked to buy two fish.
Seeing that the old man was almost out of fish, the people who made way for him must have been filled with regret.
Someone muttered, "I thought he came in to cause trouble. He scared me to death."
"Exactly, it scared people quite a bit."
The young man suddenly felt a little ashamed, and everyone wanted to buy some food and supplies, but he almost ruined such a good thing.
The young man paid honestly, and the old man selling fish breathed a sigh of relief.
Today was a fruitful day. In addition to rabbits and chickens, Song Lubai also bought several pieces of sweet red date steamed cakes and brought home a lot of delicious treats.
That's great! They can spend a portion of their money now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
