Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

All the units where problems occurred were sorted out.

The Chairman has often criticized conclusions without evidence or process. Conclusions without process, evidence, or data are untenable. Therefore, Wei Hongjun always presents reams of data in his work reports. Ever since the Anti-Japanese War, Wei Hongjun has always prioritized investigative reports. He doesn't want reports that are rhetorically exaggerated like poetry; he wants rigorous reports based on statistical data.

Therefore, Wei Yihongjun's reports to the Chairman followed this pattern. Whenever a problem arose, he would write down the location and time, and also document the various issues in a statistical manner. This made the situation clear at a glance. Finally, he would summarize the issues, identify their root causes, and propose solutions.

The chairman's face turned much uglier after seeing this.

The Chairman remained silent, carefully examining the reports submitted by Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui. After a moment, he asked, "Is the increase in grain production also false?"

"Chairman, right now, rural areas are full of people trying to come up with new ideas to increase grain production. We should acknowledge the enthusiasm of the grassroots, and many of the methods they've found are indeed effective. For example, improving water conservancy projects, deep plowing, accumulating fertilizer, and planting plants closely together have all been shown to increase grain production."

"But these effects have limits, not infinity. Yet some reports exaggerate the effectiveness of these methods in increasing grain production. Some grassroots government officials, who have never worked in rural areas or personally farmed, heard that deep plowing could increase grain yields. They assumed that deeper plowing would result in higher yields, so they organized farmers to dig deeper. The result was a waste of labor with little effect; the increase in grain output was completely disproportionate. It also led to dissatisfaction among farmers and intensified conflicts between officials and the masses. Yet, they refused to accept their inaccuracies and insisted in their reports that deep plowing had resulted in a significant increase in grain yields. This also includes the issue of dense planting, which is also a scientific question. The question of how many seedlings should be used per acre of land, and how far apart should they be, is crucial for achieving the highest yield. However, some grassroots officials simply believe that denser planting is better, believing it will yield higher grain. The result is that the grain doesn't grow at all, and the harvest isn't significant. Yet, they also report to their superiors, claiming that dense planting can yield a significant increase. Such false reporting is not uncommon."

"So many reports from grassroots units claiming grain production has doubled or tripled after water conservancy projects, deep plowing, and dense planting are false. Our Rural Affairs Department has investigated these reports, and even confronted our dispatched cadres, they still engage in fraudulent reporting. They transfer grain from other areas and then claim high yields. Given my country's current agricultural productivity, an annual yield increase of tens or even hundreds of kilograms per mu is commendable. Absent extraordinary circumstances, such as the large-scale use of chemical fertilizers or the promotion of improved varieties, any sudden increase of 100 or 200 kilograms per mu is false."

"And there's another problem here. Some newspapers are blindly accepting these inflated production figures. I've checked some local Party newspapers recently, and quite a few have published these inflated figures, praising them highly. If local Party newspapers spread this kind of propaganda, it could easily lead other areas to follow suit and falsify their production figures. This practice must be eradicated, or the consequences will be disastrous."

The chairman nodded.

I didn't expect so many serious problems to arise in rural areas.

After a while, he said, "This is because our cadres are divorced from the masses. We came from the countryside, and most of our cadres have actually done rural work and have a certain understanding of rural issues. There shouldn't be so many problems that are divorced from reality. But now that they have appeared, it must be because they are divorced from the masses and don't understand the actual situation. Bureaucracy is killing people."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the Chairman doesn't get carried away with agricultural issues, then the subsequent rural issues will be much easier to deal with. The Great Leap Forward was the result of a frenzy from the central government to the local governments. Whether the Chairman got carried away or not is also a question.

But the chairman is not the only one who is hot-headed.

Take, for example, Tan Zhenlin, who was in charge of rural affairs at the time. When the Chairman asked him about grain production, Tan Zhenlin gave him a very positive answer. Of course, at the beginning, everyone had suggested yields of over 1,000 kilograms per mu. As the cadre in charge of rural affairs at the time, Tan Zhenlin gave the Chairman a wrong conclusion, confidently stating that yields could reach 800 or 1,000 kilograms per mu.

But the chairman was the first to calm down, because the exaggerated style was too ridiculous.

Initially, yields were over 1,000 catties per mu, and the Chairman was still able to trust the cadres' reports. Later, when they dropped to 2,000 catties, he wasn't unacceptable, but he was already skeptical. However, the exaggerations grew, even reaching 10,000 catties and even tens of thousands of catties, and the People's Daily even followed suit.

The Chairman, a farmer by birth, was already skeptical of the 2,000-jin figure. But who, with even a passing knowledge of rural affairs, could believe such outrageous figures as 10,000 or even tens of thousands of jin? Especially not the Chairman.

Therefore, it took only a few months for the Chairman to change from support to calmness, but the subsequent "correction of leftism" took several years.

Now, as the Chairman read Wei Hongjun's report, he became even more concerned about the situation in the countryside. Wei Hongjun not only reported on achievements but also on problems that had occurred in the countryside. This immediately extinguished any signs of the Chairman being slightly "overly aggressive" on rural issues.

On rural issues, Wei Hongjun was not afraid of any central leadership. Having been in charge of rural affairs nationwide for so many years, he was not someone who could just meddle.

Wei Hongjun had always worried about the Chairman getting carried away. As long as the Chairman remained calm, no other central government official, no matter how high, would be able to interfere with rural work. Wei Hongjun was confident of this. Therefore, over the years, when Wei Hongjun reported to the Chairman on rural issues, he always presented a comprehensive overview of rural work. He never concealed achievements or problems, and always used hard evidence like data to demonstrate the truth. This ensured that the Chairman had the most comprehensive understanding of rural affairs.

"Nowadays, many departments only care about speed, not quality."

Upon hearing the Chairman's words, Deng Zhihui immediately said, "This situation isn't limited to rural areas; it also affects many other industries. The rural economy has improved over the past two years, and rural consumption of industrial products has increased. As a result, many factories focus only on quantity supply, not quality. As a result, many products entering rural areas are defective, including many agricultural tools produced for rural areas. Therefore, when this trend emerges, it must be dealt with severely. Otherwise, this trend will spread."

"That's right." The chairman nodded.

I fully support what Deng Zhihui said.

"Quantity without quality is waste. We should build a high-quality socialist new China with both quantity and quality."

Seeing the Chairman's comments on quality and quantity, Wei Hongjun immediately said, "Chairman, I believe the central government should have a dedicated quality management bureau, or perhaps a quality supervision bureau. It should have unified quality standards for all products produced nationwide, and provide unified supervision and management. The First Five-Year Plan is progressing very smoothly, and my country's industry and agriculture are developing very well, with an increasing number of products being produced. At this time, it is even more important for the state to supervise the quality of these products, so that defective products cannot be passed off as qualified products and enter the market. Currently, my country has the Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Metrology, and various ministries and commissions have their own standards departments and supervision departments. However, they are all relatively scattered, with dispersed resources and each acting independently, failing to form a synergistic force."

After the founding of New China, the situation in various departments became more complicated.

Each of the ministries and commissions under the State Council is trying its best to integrate all functions into its own departments. However, this is not a good approach, and it is not conducive to the division of labor, professional responsibility, and overall planning.

Just like the current problem of quality supervision.

Numerous central government departments have this function. The Bureau of Standards sets various standards. The Bureau of Metrology establishes national measurement units. Various industrial departments, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade also have departments responsible for quality oversight.

But where in China are there so many talented people in this area?

As a result, some ministries and commissions are practically useless, unable to perform their duties. Furthermore, because there are so many similar agencies and departments, they all appear to be responsible, but in reality, no one is.

Rather, these units should be merged into a dedicated quality supervision department. This would create clear lines of authority and responsibility, eliminating the need for back-and-forth. Historically, it wasn't until the 1980s that the central government established a quality supervision department with clearly defined responsibilities.

The chairman thought for a moment and nodded slowly.

He said: "Well, there should be such a department. Comrade Hongjun, Comrade Zhihui, since you have raised this issue. Please prepare a report and submit it. The Standing Committee will discuss this issue."

"Yes."

After discussing these matters, the Chairman began to review the "1956 Articles on Rural Development in 50," adopted at the Rural Work Conference. These were essentially the national rural work arrangements for 1956, with the primary focus being on consolidation.

After reading it carefully, the Chairman fell into deep thought.

Had the Chairman read this report directly, he would have been unsatisfied. Rural development had been improving in recent years, and he had considered accelerating rural development. However, after reviewing the reports submitted by Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui, and observing the numerous problems facing rural areas, and then looking at the "1956 Articles on Rural Development in 50," his perspective shifted completely.

Because these are all measures to adjust and consolidate the rural work done in recent years.

But it’s not about going back.

Throughout the campaigns of "adventurism," "anti-adventurism," and "anti-anti-adventurism," the one thing Chairman Mao criticized most was not the cuts to construction plans during the "anti-adventurism" campaign, but rather the rollbacks of many policies during the "anti-adventurism" campaign. This was what Chairman Mao was most dissatisfied with, and it was also the one he criticized most during the "anti-anti-adventurism" campaign.

It's like the development of rural cooperatives.

Historically, rural cooperatives developed at a faster pace in 1955 and 1956, leading to some problems. Adjustments were necessary to address this situation. However, during the "anti-adventurism" campaign, not only were many indicators reduced, but more importantly, a large number of rural cooperatives were disbanded in the name of "anti-adventurism."

This is what makes the Chairman most angry.

This approach dealt a heavy blow to the rural cooperative economy in towns and villages. The "advance" and "anti-advance" policies confused rural cadres. In 1955 and 1956, rural cooperatives saw rapid growth due to calls for the development of the cooperative economy. However, in 1957, the "anti-advance" policy was launched again, declaring the previous "advance" to be wrong, and subsequently disbanding a large number of rural cooperatives.

—As a result, the rural cooperative economy suffered a huge blow.

The Great Leap Forward followed, and the rural cooperative economy was severely damaged and never recovered. The subsequent rural cooperative economy was merely a maintenance economy, rather than the booming development of the 1950s.

But the "1956 Articles on Rural Development in 50" submitted by Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui were completely different. Wei Hongjun's adjustments and consolidations were based on the existing foundation, summarizing the work of the previous years and consolidating the current rural economic foundation in preparation for the next major development.

Therefore, not only did we not go back, but we continued to move forward on the issue of rural cooperatives.

In 1956, Wei Hongjun reduced targets for promoting rural cooperatives, adjusting only the pace of development. However, he increased the intensity and number of cooperative cadre training. Wei Hongjun's statement was clear. While the targets for cooperative expansion were reduced in 1956, preparations needed to be made for 1957. Therefore, large-scale training of new cooperative cadres was necessary, while also providing rotational training for existing cooperative cadres to raise their awareness.

Because the free market for agricultural and sideline products had developed rapidly in the past two years, the next step was to develop rural industry and commerce. This was something that rural cooperatives had never encountered before. Therefore, in 1956, the curriculum for training cooperative cadres required this aspect.

This is Wei Hongjun's adjustment and consolidation.

It is not a sudden brake like "anti-adventurism" which is highly critical, but rather it is to consolidate the foundation while slowing down and prepare for the next step of development.

The chairman looked at it carefully.

Finally, he said, "I support your report as a whole. After I have carefully read it, I will send it to the Standing Committee for discussion. However, Comrade Hongjun and Comrade Zhihui, when making adjustments and consolidating the situation, remember not to dampen the enthusiasm of the people."

"Yes."

With the Chairman's words, the following work will be much easier.

Chapter 966: Cooperation with the Propaganda Department

After Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui left, Chairman Mao carefully studied the Rural Work Department's report and discussed its contents again with them two days later. Having not yet carefully read Wei Hongjun and his colleagues' reports in person, Chairman Mao relied heavily on their deliberations. After carefully studying the report over the past two days, Chairman Mao also offered some of his own thoughts. Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui made some adjustments to the report based on the Chairman's thoughts, but the overall approach remained unchanged: the rural work strategy for 1956 remained focused on adjustment and consolidation.

The Chairman also generally affirmed the ideas of the Rural Work Department.

Therefore, the adjustments are all about specific measures. Regarding specific rural work, the Chairman has been away from frontline work for many years. Therefore, he lacks the understanding of many aspects that Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui possess. However, the Chairman is most adept at considering issues from a high-level perspective.

That is, he approaches issues from a philosophical perspective, focusing on the overall guiding principles of work. No modern leader can match the Chairman in this regard. While not specifically about specific tasks, he can provide guidance. Therefore, both Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui attach great importance to the Chairman's opinions.

After all, this was a crucial report concerning the 1956 national rural work. Therefore, the Chairman attached great importance to it, holding several discussions with Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui over several days before finalizing the report. After some adjustments, the report was named "Outline of Rural Development for 1956" and submitted to the Politburo Standing Committee for discussion. With little resistance, the Politburo Standing Committee adopted the report, officially becoming the guiding program for the 1956 national rural work plan. This was the voice of Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui on rural work issues.

As long as the rural development plan formulated by the Rural Work Department has the support of the Chairman, it will hardly face any obstacles in the Politburo Standing Committee. This is because each Politburo Standing Committee member has his or her own responsibilities, but none of them is in charge of rural work.

Among all the current members of the Politburo, Wei Hongjun is the only leader who is clearly in charge of agriculture.

Among the various central government agencies, the Rural Work Department, headed by Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui, was the highest-ranking agency responsible for rural work under the Politburo. Therefore, as long as their reports on rural issues were not rejected by the Chairman, it would be difficult for other Politburo members to object.

After obtaining approval from the Political Bureau Standing Committee, Wei Hongjun immediately distributed the document to all provinces.

All provinces are required to urgently convene provincial-municipal (prefectural)-county (district)-township (township) meetings to convey the spirit of this National Rural Work Conference. All provinces and municipalities are required to formulate rural development plans for 1956 as soon as possible and, at the same time, make preparations to vigorously train cooperative cadres in 1956.

After completing the "1956 Rural Development Outline", Wei Hongjun finally felt relieved.

If we do a good job of consolidating the situation in 1956, the work in the following years will be much easier.

When the Politburo Standing Committee approved the report, Wei Hongjun and Deng Zhihui met with Li Fuchun and the heads of various ministries and commissions to discuss the current quality issues of industrial and agricultural products. Li Fuchun agreed with Wei Hongjun's idea that with the increasing variety of industrial and agricultural products, a dedicated quality supervision department was necessary to oversee these products. Therefore, after further discussion, Wei Hongjun, Deng Zhihui, Li Fuchun, Bo Shuchun, and Zeng Shan jointly submitted a report on the establishment of a Quality Supervision and Administration Bureau. However, this report was not submitted directly to the Standing Committee, but first to the Premier and Comrade Chen Yun.

After obtaining their approval, Wei Hongjun and Li Fuchun reported to the Political Bureau Standing Committee on behalf of the State Council Party Group.

Approved by the Political Bureau Standing Committee.

On July 1955, 7, the State Council officially established the Quality Management Bureau. After discussion, the State Council Party Group appointed Zhong Lin, then Director of the Bureau of Metrology, as its Director. The existing Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Metrology were merged into the Quality Management Bureau. Zhong Lin's appointment as Director of the Quality Management Bureau was a natural progression, as he had been responsible for establishing domestic measurement units and setting standards for various industries. He was a pioneer in this field.

Zhou Bin, Cheng Zhihua and others also wrote back to the Ministry of Rural Work.

After careful consideration, the National Supply and Marketing Cooperatives made a decision. Beyond the planned 900 billion jin (approximately 100 billion catties) of grain, they would set aside an annual purchase quota of 150 to 100 billion jin (approximately 150 billion catties) of grain. As long as rural cooperatives had excess grain to sell, the National Supply and Marketing Cooperatives would purchase it. However, the total amount must be between 150 and billion jin. If it exceeded billion jin, the National Supply and Marketing Cooperatives would cease purchases. The Ministry of Food decided to increase grain depots nationwide and begin increasing national grain reserves.

The price of grain under unified purchase and marketing was set by the state. However, if the state supply and marketing cooperatives purchased grain outside of the unified purchase and marketing plan, they would add 2.7 yuan per 270 kilograms to the unified purchase and marketing price. In other words, if a rural cooperative sold an additional kilograms of grain after fulfilling its public grain and unified purchase and marketing targets, it would earn yuan more than if it had only purchased and marketed grain under the unified purchase and marketing plan.

While dealing with these matters, Wei Hongjun held a joint meeting with the Propaganda Department.

"Comrade Xi Zhongxun, these are the articles we've collected recently. They contain some problematic Party newspapers from various regions. We've specifically labeled some of the articles with their issues. Please take a look."

Everyone in the Propaganda Department knew why Wei Hongjun wanted to see them.

Before the meeting, the Rural Affairs Department had already sent someone to discuss the content with them. After all, everyone was busy with their work, and Wei Hongjun wasn't in charge of propaganda, so it wasn't possible for Wei Hongjun to have a meeting with the Propaganda Department just because he wanted one.

So Wei Hongjun needed to communicate with the Propaganda Department in advance and tell them what happened.

What problem does the meeting want to solve? Only in this way can the Propaganda Department give you time to discuss and finally solve the problem.

Xi Zhongxun distributed the newspaper in his hand to several deputy ministers below.

The Propaganda Department cadres read the newspaper. Because the Rural Work Department had highlighted problematic sections in the newspaper, the Propaganda Department cadres quickly finished reading and understood exactly what the Rural Work Department had pointed out.

"Are you sure there's something wrong with what's written in the newspaper?" "Of course."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Li Shaocheng, who was standing nearby, explained, "Comrades from the Propaganda Department, regarding the issue of grain production, the Rural Affairs Department and the Ministry of Agriculture are extremely cautious. We take changes in yield per mu, even a change of a dozen or so pounds, very seriously. If the yield increase per mu exceeds our expectations by even a little, we will send someone to conduct an on-site investigation. If it's true, we'll investigate the reasons for the increase. But generally speaking, the increase in yield per mu is gradual. Without major variables, it's impossible for yield per mu to increase by 100 or 200 pounds all at once. The Ministry of Agriculture is monitoring any areas where there's a chance of a yield increase of 100 or 200 pounds per mu."

"So what these newspapers wrote is all false reporting?" "You could say that."

Deng Zhihui, who was standing nearby, said, "Newspapers should be a platform for seeking truth, not simply believing rumors. This is especially true of our Party newspapers, which the people trust the most because they represent the government's credibility. Many people's primary source of information now comes from these Party newspapers. But it's clear that these newspapers have problems. Instead of conducting on-the-ground investigations, they rely solely on reported data and then publicly praise the situation. This is a serious problem, and it goes beyond simply whether the reporting is truthful."

"If a county gets published in the newspapers and receives praise and support from higher-ups by falsifying its grain production figures, what will happen to other places? They'll definitely follow suit. After all, it's so easy to gain praise from higher-ups, and even potentially receive promotions, so many people will resort to this devious practice. Then everyone will rush to falsify their grain production figures. Right now, the amount they're falsifying isn't high, but if this trend spreads, the amount of falsified yield per mu could reach thousands of kilograms."

"What if the central government sets public grain quotas and unified purchase and sales quotas based on inflated grain production? False reporting is still false reporting. The actual production is limited. If the central government diverts too much grain, what will happen next? This is a very serious problem."

Xi Zhongxun and other cadres from the Propaganda Department listened quietly to Deng Zhihui's words.

Since Lu Dingyi left the Propaganda Department, many of its current leaders have come from local cadre backgrounds, having previously worked in the base areas. Needless to say, Xi Zhongxun was transferred from the Northwest Bureau. Zhang Xiushan, previously Director of the Second Office of the Secretariat and First Deputy Minister of the Propaganda Department, had previously served as Second Secretary of the Northeast Bureau and Chairman of the Northeast Administrative Committee. Duan Chengwei, Second Deputy Minister of the Propaganda Department, was Secretary of the Shengxian County Party Committee in 1937 and subsequently worked with Wei Hongjun on Party affairs in the Chahar South base area. He was later transferred to the Central Committee to work with Ren Peiguo in the Organization Department, and after returning to the Jin-Cha-Ji-Cha region, he was transferred to the Propaganda Department.

They all worked in local areas.