Chapter 133
In order to boost their morale, a total of five people from the Jiulihe Brigade came.
In addition to the branch secretary and the team leader, there was also a team accountant and two production team leaders.
The leaders were not at home, so it was Director Xie from the office who came out to receive the team cadres.
"Secretary Ma, we've been working together happily for the past few years. Why is the team suddenly taking back the land?" Director Xie asked. "Has our team encountered any difficulties?"
Secretary Ma rubbed his rough fingers and said, "There have always been difficulties. Our Hongqi Commune has always had a large population and limited land. The factory took up a large tract of land, and in the past two years, the city's work units have also occupied a large area of arable land. The members of the commune are running out of food. We heard that the provincial leaders have issued a statement that if the production team asks for the arable land back, the city's work units must return it to us."
Director Xie and Hao Chunmei exchanged glances, and both frowned subconsciously.
After the Spring Festival this year, the Provincial People's Committee did issue such a notice.
If an institution occupies rural arable land for production, it must return the land unconditionally as long as the commune or production team requests it to be reclaimed.
In recent years, food rations have been tight, and most units in the city have been reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land in the suburbs to improve the lives of cadres and employees.
The Industrial Department started to reclaim wasteland in Jiulihe Brigade in 1960, and it has been three years now.
The food ration situation in the past two years was much more tense than this year. During the most difficult times, the Jiulihe Brigade gave the land to the Industry Department for reclamation. Not only did they send people to guide them in farming, they also sold a lot of seedlings and rapeseed to them.
Now that the situation has clearly improved, Secretary Ma says that the members' rations are not enough and he wants to take back the farmland.
This doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it, does it?
Hao Chunmei asked carefully, "Secretary Ma, do your commune's secretary and president also mean the same thing?"
If the commune knew about such a big thing as asking for arable land, they would definitely send someone to discuss it.
A production team leader with a big beard said in a gruff voice, "The cadres in the commune are still hoping for promotion. Who would dare to come to the provincial government and ask for land?"
The Provincial Department of Industry is a big government agency, and an ordinary clerk may be on the same level as a commune secretary.
The commune cadres still want to make progress, so how can they have the courage to come to the provincial government to ask for an explanation!
Ye Manzhi picked up the thermos and filled several people's teacups with water. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Why wouldn't you be afraid to come? When the comrades from the office went to Jiulihe to work, they received a lot of care from the members. Now that the fellows from Jiulihe have come to the province, we must also treat everyone with good tea and food! Captain Lu, why don't you let Sister Yanni come to the province? She's better at talking than you!"
"She hasn't even been to the county town, so how dare we let her come to the provincial capital." The bearded captain's voice became noticeably weaker.
"It's because I've never been here before that I should bring my sister-in-law out to see the world." Ye Manzhi asked casually, "Secretary Ma, Captain Lu, how did so many of you get here? Did you drive an ox cart or a mule cart?"
"Mule cart," said Secretary Ma. "The old ox still has to work in the fields. We came here in a mule cart."
"One ox is worth several strong men, so it really needs to stay in the team." Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "Before, the five of us in our department could plow one acre of land, but we couldn't work as fast as an old ox."
"Haha, you city kids are no match for farm work," Party Secretary Ma said with a grin. "Only Director Luo has some farming skills."
The two sides chatted back and forth, talking about family matters, which made the five people in the production team obviously relaxed.
If they weren't sitting in the conference room, the content of this conversation would be no different from squatting in the fields.
Ye Manzhi received a hint from Director Xie's eyes and continued, "Secretary Ma, I heard that our director had dinner at your house when he went to Jiulihe for labor. You two have become quite close over the years. If you have any difficulties, why can't you discuss it with the director? Why do you have to take the land back?"
"Well, there are practical difficulties. The members don't have enough food."
Ye Manzhi interrupted with a smile: "You have to at least give us a reasonable reason so that we can pass on the message to the leadership! The past two years were so difficult, and we all got through it together. This year's life is obviously much better than before. Why are the members' rations not enough to eat?"
Director Xie continued, "Secretary Ma, if you have any practical difficulties, just tell us directly. We are old friends, and I will do my best to help the team find a solution."
After the words were spoken, the conference room fell silent, and no one from the Jiulihe Brigade responded.
The team leader and the accountant both glanced at the old branch secretary, as if they didn't know whether they should speak.
The bearded Captain Lu also looked at the Party Secretary and said in a muffled voice, "Party Secretary, since it's already like this, why not tell the leaders the truth? Even if it's embarrassing!"
Secretary Ma frowned, thought for a moment, took a sip of tea, and finally spoke: "The county has canceled our Jiulihe Brigade's quota for returning grain, and the members' rations are indeed insufficient. This is the truth."
Hongqi Commune is a commune located in the suburbs of Binjiang. Because it is close to the city, it is convenient for cadres and employees to go to the countryside to work. Many government agencies and factories have set up their production bases in Hongqi Commune.
It was precisely because the arable land was occupied by these government agencies that the county took care of the Hongqi Commune and gave them a quota for returning grain.
The Jiulihe Brigade relied on the returned grain to survive the most difficult days.
But after the situation improved this year, the grain resale quotas of many communes and production teams were cancelled, including their Jiulihe Brigade.
Jiulihe Brigade had little arable land to begin with. After the return of grain, if the arable land that had been borrowed was not taken back, the members would not be able to fill their stomachs.
It was the first time that Director Xie and the other two heard about the Jiulihe Brigade eating the returned grain, and that they had been eating it for more than a year.
The fact that they were able to eat the returned grain for such a long time must be related to the occupation of arable land by the Department of Industry.
Director Xie frowned and asked, "Secretary Ma, although the Industry Department has occupied the commune's arable land, when we went to reclaim it in 1960, that piece of land was still wasteland. Before 1960, you didn't sell back the grain, nor did you develop this wasteland. Did the members have enough to eat?"
Secretary Lao Ma said: "The number of members now is half as many as before!"
Hongqi Commune was very close to the provincial capital, and many people went there to work as temporary workers.
Who would go back to the countryside to farm when they can earn a salary in the city?
So nearly half of the members in their production team worked in the city.
But in the past two years, the city has been reducing its population, and not only temporary workers, but even regular workers have returned to their hometowns.
The Jiulihe Brigade suddenly had two or three hundred more people.
The arable land remains the same, but there are too many people and too little food. How can there be enough food?
*
When Xia Zhuyun returned to the unit, the representatives of the Jiulihe Brigade had already been arranged to eat in the cafeteria.
Hearing that Deputy Director Li had already returned from his investigation, she did not ask too many questions about the production base.
Xia Zhuyun's daily work is arranged very tightly, and Ye Manzhi has to accompany her to at least three meetings every day.
In the first few days after becoming a secretary, she went home and sighed several times, saying that being a leader is really not easy!
Not only does your intelligence have to keep up, but your physical strength as well.
Wu Zhengrong asked, "How about you get up early every day and exercise with us?"
Apart from couple exercises and the dance team at work, Ye Lai Ya rarely does physical exercise.
When I was in college, I could still exercise in physical education class. Now that I have graduated from college and joined a government agency, Secretary Xiao Ye has almost no chance to exercise.
Ye Manzhi hesitated and said, "Morning sleep time is so precious. I actually do radio gymnastics at work every day."
The army's drill time is 6:30, and if she wants to exercise with Wu Zhengrong, she has to get up at 6 o'clock.
That would have really killed her.
She always sleeps until 7:30 all year round!
Ye Manzhi pushed her daughter out: "Take Youyan with you to exercise, she wakes up early!"
Comrade Wu Yuzhuo goes to bed early and gets up early, and he would run to her bed every morning to disturb her sweet dreams.
It would be great if Dr. Wu could take this energetic troublemaker away with him!
She was just saying it casually, she didn't really want a little kid who was over three years old to do morning exercises.
However, the next morning, Wu Zhengrong actually took his daughter out.
Ye Manzhi sat up from the bed with a start and ran to the windowsill to observe the movements of the father and son.
Then, she saw her daughter riding a tricycle, following Wu Zhengrong and Zhou next door.
There were also two aluminum lunch boxes in the tricycle's basket.
The tiny one fell behind the adult, like a fast-moving beetle...
Ye Manzhi glanced at the clock. It was half past six.
She was worried about her child and couldn't get a good nap.
After getting up and washing up, I waited at home.
An hour later, the clattering sound of a tricycle was finally heard. Comrade Wu Yuzhuo said goodbye to his father at the gate of the courtyard, then rode his tricycle and rushed into the courtyard in a very cool manner.
After parking the car next to Kuihua's doghouse, she jumped out of the car seat and went into the house carrying two lunch boxes.
"Mom, it's time for breakfast!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Oh my God, her daughter can actually make breakfast for her!
She ate breakfast with a touched heart, and when she was about to go out for work, she suddenly remembered that something seemed wrong.
"Youyan, where's your dad?"
Usually, Wu Zhengrong is the one who takes the children to kindergarten, so why is he nowhere to be seen today?
"I left with Uncle Zhou." Little Comrade Wu Yuzhuo ate slowly, spending most of the day finishing a single bun. "Dad said you must have really wanted to take me to kindergarten today."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
She had just eaten the breakfast brought back by her little girl, and her maternal love was overflowing. She really wanted to stay with her daughter for a while longer.
After cursing the scheming man in her heart, Ye Manzhi sent her child to kindergarten and hurried to work.
She asked Wu Zhengrong about Qin Xiang's work details in detail and heard that he arrived at the company fifteen minutes earlier than his boss every day.
So, Ye Manzhi followed suit and went to the office a quarter of an hour earlier every morning, opened the windows for ventilation, boiled some hot water to make tea, and made plans for the day's work.
There is also a pot of cactus and a pot of evergreen on the windowsill. They are the leader's entertainment projects and she doesn't need to water them or take care of them.
As soon as she made the tea today, Xia Zhujun walked quickly into the office.
"Xiao Ye, tell me about the situation in Hongqi Commune. What's going on with that piece of land that our Industry Department owns in Jiulihe Brigade?"
Xia Zhujun met Director Luo when she went upstairs just now.
The Jiulihe production base involves the food rations of cadres and employees, as well as the fixed asset investment of the department. A meeting will be held today to discuss and formulate a charter.
Ye Manzhi told her everything she had heard that day.
"Jiulihe Brigade has a large population and little land, and we don't have any grain to sell back to us. If we don't take back the land occupied by our office, the members won't have enough food. However, I heard from Wei Guoliang, Secretary Li, that Director Li doesn't seem to be recommending returning the land."
Having a production base in the countryside can indeed solve many problems.
The good food in the canteen of the Industrial Department depends on the output of the land in Jiuli River.
Part of the grain harvested from the fields is sent to the canteen to improve collective life, and the other part can be used to provide food subsidies to pregnant women, the sick, and employees with family difficulties.
"Since the higher-ups have already issued the relevant notice, it would be unreasonable for our department to occupy the production team's land and refuse to return it," Xia Zhujun folded her arms and pondered. "But after returning the arable land, we will face two problems. First, the department's cadres and staff will have nowhere to work. If they have to reclaim the land, this year's grain subsidy will be gone. Second, the fixed assets invested by the department cannot be given away for free. If the production team can't come up with the money, it will be difficult for both parties to reach an agreement."
The fixed assets invested in rural areas are the public property of the Department of Industry and cannot be given away just because a leader wants to.
This kind of thing can easily give people a chance to criticize you.
After Ye Manzhi explained the situation, he had nothing more to say.
She also found the situation difficult.
The cost of building the canals and water wheels was not a small amount. The money for the water conservancy projects alone was beyond the capacity of the production team.
Even if the Industry Department is willing to let people pay in installments, the production team may not be willing to take on such a huge debt.
The production team couldn’t afford it, and the Industrial Bureau couldn’t send it.
Isn't this a dead end?
Ye Manzhi had no ideas and could only hope that the leader could come up with a solution during the meeting.
The production base in the countryside is just a sideline business of the Department of Industry and is not really a big deal.
But everyone is paying close attention to the development of the situation.
There is no other way, food is the priority.
With this piece of land, each person can receive an additional 20-30 kilograms of food subsidy every year!
When she accompanied Xia Zhuyun to the meeting, she specifically asked other leaders' secretaries about the situation.
Wei Guoliang didn't hide it and said in front of several secretaries, "Director Li doesn't want to return the land. Jiulihe's biggest problem is that there are too many people and too little land. Our Industry Department could consider setting up a small processing plant there and let some of the Jiulihe members work as temporary workers in the plant to earn wages and alleviate the pressure on the arable land."
Ye Manzhi thought to himself that compared to wages, the members might want to earn food more.
In rural areas, having a salary alone is useless; you also need food coupons to buy food.
But how could the production team members get food coupons?
Yu Kun, Deputy Director Lin's secretary, said, "Getting cadres to work is actually quite easy. If the land is truly returned, we can contact another state-owned farm and organize cadres and employees to work there. At the end of the year, we can just have the farm distribute food rations to everyone based on their work points. It's just that handling the fixed assets is more complicated."
One is to let members work in factories, and the other is to let cadres work on farms.
Ye Manzhi thought, it would be great if the two methods could be balanced. Instead of opening a factory to earn wages for the members, it would be better to open a farm to earn food!
She had a vague idea in her mind, and she wrote and drew on the notebook while her imagination ran wild.
When Yu Kun was about to carry the thermos into the conference room to refill the tea, Ye Manzhi tore off the page of paper, took the thermos and said, "Director Yu, please sit here and rest for a while. Let me go in and refill the water this time."
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