Back to 1978

Chapter 133: Xie Hushan is scolded
After listening to Xie Hushan's entire stay in Hong Kong Island, including his visit to Jiao Peng after his return, Yang Limin took a sip of wine from his wine bowl. He was silent for half a cigarette before looking at Xie Hushan, frowning and asking questions:
"This is not the right thing to do. Do you think the county has never seen money? You want to ask the county to contract earthwork for such a small amount of money?"

"You can do the math yourself and know that earthworks can make money, so how could the county not know that?"

“Have you ever thought about why the county insisted on giving the labor to those brigades instead of Zhongping when their labor output was inefficient?”

Xie Hushan lowered his head and drank: "I am a farmer, I don't want to know, I just know that our Zhongping people can definitely do this job well."

"Bullshit, you don't say it not because you don't know, but you know you are in the wrong." Yang Limin stared at Xie Hushan:
"Because those brigades are poor, if they are not allowed to earn some money through earthwork, they will not have enough to eat. Since Zhongping is a harvest brigade, even if this work is not given to Zhongping, Zhongping will still have enough to eat. This is the simplest truth, but you don't understand it."

Xie Hushan burped:

"Old Yang, what you said is unreasonable. If the people in Zhongping were to do this work, their efficiency would be much higher than that of the people in the current brigade. Oh, just because they are poor, we have to let them do it even if they can't do it well. We in Zhongping are capable of doing it well, but you don't let us do it? Is this reasonable?"

"When the state distributed 5,000 mu of fertile land to Zhongping Brigade and only gave each of them a few mu of land per capita, why didn't you Zhongping people think about whether the state's land distribution was unreasonable and unfair?" Yang Limin said immediately:
"No one fights for the interests of their own production team like you do."

"Do I have to worry about whether other teams have enough to eat?" Xie Hushan said unsatisfiedly, "If they don't use their brains, they expect others to have mercy on them and let them go. How many good people are there?"

Seeing that Xie Hushan sounded somewhat unconvinced, Yang Limin did not get angry and laughed:
"Okay, let's not discuss the issue of good guys and bad guys. From this incident, you think too simply. Government work is not like production team labor. Do you think that if you let Deputy Director Jiao have 100,000 yuan in public and arrange a batch of high-end foreign goods behind the scenes, you can be successful in everything?"

"Yes, according to your plan, I estimate that there is a 70% chance that Deputy Director Jiao will be promoted in the short term, and the earthwork project will be snatched away by you, but have you ever thought about the long term?"

"Deputy Director Jiao will be very passive. Even if he confiscates any benefits from you, everything is based on public interest. He took the jobs that other brigades rely on for survival on your behalf. If something goes wrong, he will be labeled a liberal or capitalist, and he will be finished."

"Don't scare me. I'm not illiterate. It's all written in the newspapers. The spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is that the country's next move is obviously..." Xie Hushan refuted Yang Limin's alarmist remarks with disdain.

Yang Limin spoke faster and interrupted Xie Hushan:

"If Jiao Peng does this, it will only make the general public in our county and some old party members and cadres with conservative ideas not understand or even hate the openness proposed by the higher-ups!"

"If opening up means that you can use any means to plunder the interests of other production teams in the name of the production team, and if one day, a smarter person who knows how to play this trick than you uses the same method to plunder everything you have done for Zhongping Village, will you still want this opening up?"

Xie Hushan looked at Yang Limin and said speechlessly: "Old Yang, don't give me this talk of worrying about the country and the people. I just want to say one thing. What you can think of, can Deputy Director Jiao not think of it?"

Lao Jiao is the deputy director of the County Animal Husbandry Bureau, and is ranked third. If the pretty boy can think of it, how could the deputy director not think of it?
"I don't think Deputy Director Jiao would have thought of this, because he is a professional and technical person, and he is used to thinking about things from a more intuitive perspective. Just like treating a disease, he thinks this treatment method is very effective, so he will subconsciously think of using this method first." Yang Limin said to Xie Hushan:

"After graduation, I worked in the county party committee office, serving tea and writing documents. I followed the county leaders all day long and read through their meeting minutes. I was like a man who had read 300 Tang poems by heart. I could recite them even though I couldn't write them. I dare not say that I could think about problems as comprehensively as the leaders, but I would always subconsciously try to analyze them according to their way of thinking."

Seeing Xie Hushan picking up food and drinking, but not responding, Yang Limin knew that this guy was still unconvinced, so he continued:

"The labor output efficiency of earthwork is not high now. After the people in Zhongping were replaced, the output increased. This can be attributed to Deputy Director Jiao. He was praised this year. Next spring, there will be a shortage of food. Those teams that have lost their earthwork work will have no food at home. If the county asks Deputy Director Jiao to solve this problem, have you thought about it? Has Deputy Director Jiao thought about it?"

"Let me imagine people's hearts to be darker. For example, if there happens to be a leader in the county who comes from those brigades and is dissatisfied with what Deputy Director Jiao did, and secretly fan the flames next year and let the people from those brigades go to the county party committee compound to make a scene, what will happen? Have you thought about it? Has Deputy Director Jiao thought about it?"

"The 100,000 yuan you brought back from the Hong Kong Island Project only temporarily promoted Deputy Director Jiao. What happens next? In order to appease the people, the local authorities will continue to give it to those brigades. If Deputy Director Jiao is lucky, it will be noted in his file, and he will stay at the level you forced him to be until retirement. But what if he is unlucky? He will be criticized by the whole county and dismissed from his post. Has he, a technical cadre in the veterinary profession, considered this? Have you considered this?"

"These questions are because you claim to be able to read newspapers. Can you really explain them clearly by saying that the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee has been held?"

"Do you think that you are asking Deputy Director Jiao to help you steal manure? Can everyone treat it as a joke and let it go just by calling you a troublemaker?"

Seeing Xie Hushan remained silent, Yang Limin snorted:
"I know you have something to say to me. You might say that at worst the Hong Kong businessman will show up again next year to support Jiao Peng. Given this relationship, the county won't make things difficult for Jiao Peng."

"Then let me tell you what I would do if I were the one who was dissatisfied with Jiao Peng."

"Even if Jiao Peng is really capable and can let your big brother Cao Tianbao get another 100,000 next year, do you, Cao Tianbao, dare to take it out?"

"Once the door is opened to take advantage and taste the sweetness, I can make all the other production brigades in the county follow suit the next day. By then, will you, Jiao Peng, and the Hong Kong businessmen behind you still be able to pay? If you can, I will empty you out in one go!"

"If we can't afford it, how can we win over the people?"

“Who should be pushed out to take responsibility and calm the public grievances?”

"This is politics, do you think this is a joke? Childish!"

Xie Hushan's breathing was a little heavy. He thought it was not unfair for Yang Liming to scold him. This guy did have a very high and comprehensive perspective on the problem.

Seeing that Xie Hushan was speechless, Yang Limin picked up the wine bowl and drank it all, wiped his mouth with his hand, glared at Xie Hushan and cursed:
"I think you've gotten carried away. You've come back from a trip to Hong Kong and you've dared to call me your uncle! You have to call me your uncle!"

"You gave my wife cosmetics, gave me bottles of wine and cigars, and threatened me to take them back. If you keep doing this, you will be sentenced to three years at most. You will be shot at the county's public trial!"

"That's too much, Old Yang. You call me uncle, but at least I have a friendship with Sister Ma as a basis. You can't just be my uncle out of thin air." Xie Hushan sighed and quietly expressed his dissatisfaction with Yang Liming's rebellion against Tiangang.

Yang Limin saw Xie Hushan give in, and looked at him sideways, smiling and saying:
"Let me ask you, who is Kou Donghan, deputy director of the Agricultural Machinery Station of Taipingzhuang Commune, to you?"

"My uncle." Xie Hushan said puzzledly when he heard Yang Liming talking about his uncle.

Yang Limin straightened his chest, raised his chin proudly, and looked at people with his chin:
"Not long ago, he and other cadres from the commune's agricultural machinery station came to our Zhongping Agricultural Machinery Station for inspection. Stationmaster Wei invited me to join him for dinner. We drank as equals. He is your uncle, so who am I?"

"Who cares? You're trying to scare me again?" Xie Hushan saw that this pretty boy was actually taking advantage of him and taking advantage of the opportunity to show off in front of him. He was so angry that he was ready to flip the table. He slapped the table with his hand:
"Mr. Yang, did I invite you to dinner so that you can scare me like a third grandson?"

"Tell me quickly, how can I not cheat Jiao Peng and let the money go to waste? If you don't have any ideas, just tell me so I can go find Han Laogou and ask him to be ready to lead everyone to the county to get the money back!"

When Yang Limin saw that Xie Hushan still dared to challenge him at this time, he slammed the table and glared:
"Go! If you have the guts, ask Secretary Han to lead the group! After you tricked Jiao Peng, you want to trick Secretary Han, do you dare? If you don't want to call me uncle, you can figure out a way yourself!"

He could tell at a glance that Xie Hushan was holding on. He was already nervous because of what he said, but he was just being stubborn. "Look at you, you are too excited. I am a farmer, it is normal for me to be rude. You can't be as bad as me. You still have to pay attention to the impact..." Xie Hushan picked up the bottle, poured the last bit of wine into Yang Limin's bowl, and then obediently took out a cigarette and handed it to Yang Limin:
"Well, uncle, what do you think we should do about this?"

There's nothing I can do. What that bastard Old Yang said makes sense. He has a very comprehensive view of things, especially when it comes to studying officialdom.

No wonder his wife steals wine for him and his mother-in-law washes his clothes.

Yang Limin held a cigarette in his mouth, and after Xie Hushan respectfully lit it for him, he laughed. Xie Hushan sat back in his seat, gnashing his teeth, with a fake smile on his face:

"Just tell me what to do about this. Think it over. If you can handle this well, you'll be my uncle. If you can't, I'll let you know how I dealt with the remnants of the Huidao Sect in Hong Kong Island. I'll kill you."

"You, in fact, are not conscious enough. You seem to be selfless, but in fact you have a petty and selfish heart. The people in our brigade may be able to deceive you, but the county leaders will see at a glance what color pants you wear under your public-spirited butt." Yang Limin said to Xie Hushan:

"If people can see through it and you still play this game in front of them, it's okay to say you're a petty bourgeois, right?"

When it comes to taking shortcuts, Yang Liming admits that he is not as good as Xie Hushan. This guy has a lot of ideas in his head, but he doesn't understand the situation in the county. He even tried to let Jiao Peng, a professional, to gain benefits from the county for him in this opportunistic way.

The county is now in a state of conflict about the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. Pushing Jiao Peng to be involved now may help suppress the situation in the short term. But what will happen if the brigade that has no earthwork project makes a fuss next year?
He exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Xie Hushan:
"If you want to use money to buy favors from the county, just mention it to the county openly. Deputy Director Jiao can still make arrangements, but he can't rob for you. You have to take out the plans you had for selling stewed pork, setting up a brick factory, and setting up a furniture factory, and let Deputy Director Jiao run the plan for you."

"As long as it does not affect the interests of farmers in other brigades, and can help Zhongping develop better, and I can also gain political achievements, this kind of good thing, unless the county leaders are collectively out of their minds, how could they not support you?"

"You already have white flour buns in your hand, but you insist on snatching your neighbor's mixed flour buns! This seemingly fair competition is actually a typical elementary capitalist thinking. You must join the party and learn what socialism is."

Xie Hushan smacked his lips, pondering what Yang Limin said, and agreed: "Forget about joining the party, but my consciousness needs to be improved. I understand what you mean. That actually means that I should change my tactics and start fleecing other classes in the county, right? Instead of fleecing the poor, I will fleece the leaders and state-owned enterprises... I have also planned this, as a backup plan if the local authorities really fail."

"Look, you still let Deputy Director Jiao do this, but he won't do earthwork. He will use 100,000 yuan as bait to get some benefits from those state-owned enterprises that don't care about small profits, and then ask for some policies from the county... Why did I choose it as a backup in the first place? It's because doing this makes money slower, and the person in charge is too tired. But according to what you said, this is safe, so let's be safe."

Yang Liming looked at Xie Hushan speechlessly. He asked this kid to take it seriously, but he didn't listen at all.

He said a lot of things, and when he finished summing up, he only had one sentence left to say, that the county would not allow him to bully people and fleece the poor, so he should consider finding someone else to fleece legitimately.

In fact, this is what he meant in the end, but he couldn't say it as harshly as Xie Hushan did.

After seeing Xie Hushan figured it out, Yang Limin felt that the time had come. He slowly softened his expression and asked a guiding question:
“So at the beginning, did you consider what your alternative plan would be if the county did not give you the earthwork project?”

"I've considered it. It's pretty much what you said. If the earthwork is really not going to work, I plan to ask Deputy Director Jiao to build some relationships with several state-owned steel companies in the county, buy some of their old equipment at a low price, and help the Zhongping Production Brigade run a small cold-rolled steel mill. I'll be the director."

Yang Limin gave Xie Hushan an encouraging look, but at the same time asked another question:
"But even if you ask Deputy Director Jiao to buy you a few small steel rolling mills at a low price and open a steel mill, under the current planned economic system, the state will not allocate an important material like steel to you to run a team enterprise. How can you run a factory if you have machines but no materials?"

Xie Hushan said to Yang Limin without any hesitation:

"We need to do some ideological work for those state-owned enterprises and ask them to transfer those small and small processing orders to us."

Yang Liming felt relieved. Xie Hushan was a good guy. As long as he was not allowed to take risks or get involved in things he shouldn't, and he just wanted to make money through business, his brain would work quickly.

The reason why most communes never dared to think about opening an enterprise like a steel plant was because there was no allocation of materials. The normal idea was that a factory could only be opened with machines and materials, so unless they could actually get steel raw materials before opening, no commune dared to open a steel processing plant.

And this guy can think of not needing materials, doing processing on behalf of others, earning processing fees, and entering the industry first.

Xie Hushan looked at Yang Limin and said, "I didn't steal the jobs of the poor this time. Instead, I ate their leftovers. Doesn't that count as capitalist thinking?"

"Then I'll go talk to Deputy Director Jiao about this for you in a few days." Yang Liming nodded with satisfaction and said, holding a cigarette.

Xie Hushan raised his wine bowl: "It has to be you, Old Yang. I'll drink first to show my respect."

As he spoke, he brought the wine bowl to his mouth, ready to drink it all in one gulp.

Lao Yang is a man of honor. He explained all the pros and cons of every aspect to me in detail. I deserve this glass of wine.

Old Yang clinked his wine bowls, watched Xie Hushan drink, and said:

"Nephew, you are qualified to be a factory director. Most importantly, the commune can support you in every aspect. Look, the commune's glass factory is not doing well and is about to go bankrupt. If you ask Deputy Director Jiao to express his intention to build a steel mill to the county, can you also build the glass factory at the same time..."

"Puff~~~" The wine that Xie Hushan had just put into his mouth turned into water mist and sprayed out!

"Fuck you, you immoral four-eyed bastard! Put the wine down!" He angrily yelled at Yang Limin:

"Hurry up and ask your wife to return the cosmetics to me, and leave the wine and cigars to me too!"

What a fucking inhuman thing. That pretty boy Yang Limin kept talking to him in front of him, saying so many righteous words about capitalist thinking, plundering farmers, and how Lao Jiao was easily finished. He was so scared that he was stunned and felt guilty. In the end, Lao Yang couldn't hold it back, and the fox's tail of this bastard was finally exposed!
It was a pity that Xie Hushan always thought that Yang Limin was purely considering him and had no other thoughts.

It was obvious that he wanted to get a piece of the pie for the commune, and he also wanted him to help the commune solve the problem of the glass factory that was bothering them.

"I told you to stop and saved your life. Is a box of cigars and a bottle of wine too much?" Yang Liming said to the angry Xie Hushan with a chuckle.

Xie Hushan pointed his finger at Yang Limin:
"Okay, you're playing tricks on me. You first used the political label to scare me, then you treated me like an animal and put a bridle on me. Finally, you even want me to say thank you. You've pushed me so far that I can't do it anymore. I'll pay Lao Jiao 100,000 yuan to get me a city hukou. That's fine, right? I'll take my grandma and stay away from you!"

"Hey, you didn't say that. You really reminded me. This is indeed a problem. I have to be on guard against you suddenly getting angry and leaving the business." When Yang Liming heard Xie Hushan's joking words, he suddenly put away his smile and said seriously.

(End of this chapter)