Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

As Duan Chengwei was explaining, a clear voice rang out from the audience: "Comrade Zhang Shufan, I'm a Xinhua News Agency reporter. You just talked about the achievements of Xinyang's rural industrial and commercial development. Then why, after several years of developing a free market for agricultural and sideline products, is there still a shortage of agricultural and sideline products in Xinyang? Can't the city's residents eat fresh vegetables?"

1043 The verbal battle at the press conference 2

Many foreign reporters were eager to attend the first national press conference for a local government report, and Xinhua reporters had also made extensive preparations.

The Secretariat chose Xinyang as the venue for the first press conference, so everyone flocked to Xinyang and began to make preparations.

Before the press conference, Xinyang authorities communicated with reporters, stating that the report would focus on the development of rural industry and commerce. Reporters were asked to be prepared and to raise questions about this topic during the press conference. The government reserves the right to refuse to answer questions about other topics and may even contact the press if reporters violate the rules.

The Xinyang government also did a very thorough job. The data collection was meticulous. Zhang Shufan even brought in the rural affairs officials from every county under the Xinyang Public Security Bureau. Whenever reporters asked about specific matters, they would respond.

They felt they were thoroughly prepared, even recording the output and annual revenue of a small factory in a rural cooperative.

Because it was the first time, the central government and the main leaders of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government were all present. If there was a mistake, it would be a big deal.

The Xinhua reporters didn't play by the rules. They assumed they were asking about data on rural industrial and commercial development and questioned its accuracy. Zhang Shufan wasn't afraid of that at all.

In order to deal with the reporters, the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee and the Public Security Bureau decided that they would rather have the data be a little low than let the reporters find fault. Even if there are some errors, they will not be too serious.

Unexpectedly, the Xinhua reporter bypassed these questions and directly questioned the agricultural and sideline products in the city market. Did the Xinhua reporter violate the agreement? No.

The free market for agricultural and sideline products is also part of the development of rural industry and commerce, but the central government had already liberalized the free market for agricultural and sideline products before deciding to develop rural industry and commerce. While the insufficient supply of agricultural and sideline products in Xinyang City isn't directly a problem related to rural industry and commerce, it's a problem within the development of rural industry and commerce.

Zhang Shufan was caught off guard, but he wasn't a newbie. He was 40 years old. He joined the revolution after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and, during the War of Liberation, followed Chen Geng's troops south to Henan, where he became a cadre in the Central Plains Bureau. Ultimately, he didn't follow the Second Field Army to the southwest, but remained in Henan. He had been involved in the revolution for over twenty years.

So Zhang Shufan immediately said, "Comrade Xinhua News Agency reporter, the question you're asking is due to a variety of factors. The free market for agricultural and sideline products is primarily developing rapidly in the counties and townships surrounding rural areas. Cities further from rural areas, however, are experiencing a shortage of agricultural and sideline products. This is true nationwide, not just in Xinyang."

"Of course, I'm not making excuses. The problem of insufficient supply of agricultural and sideline products in cities is a common problem across the country."

"One of the reasons for this is that vegetables, among agricultural and sideline products, are very difficult to store. Vegetables in the morning and in the evening are completely different, and even in hot weather, problems can occur within a few hours. Vegetables will spoil if they are not stored properly. At present, we don't have any better solutions to solve the storage problem."

"Another issue is transportation. Our current transportation situation is mediocre, and there are no good transportation options, so transporting vegetables is very difficult. A lot of vegetables are lost during transportation."

"It will be very difficult to address the shortage of agricultural and sideline products in cities without solving the problems of storage and transportation."

"Although there are many problems, we have been working hard to solve the problem of insufficient agricultural and sideline products in the city. To solve this problem, we plan to have transportation companies add more large trucks to participate in the transportation of agricultural and sideline products and increase the supply of agricultural and sideline products in the city."

"At the same time, we are calling on all units in the city to use their spare space, and for the city residents to use their spare space at home to grow vegetables. This will help us achieve self-sufficiency when the supply of agricultural and sideline products is insufficient."

Wei Hongjun smiled above.

Zhang Shufan was quite talkative, but he mostly avoided the main point and gave no substantive answer to the question of why Xinyang's agricultural and sideline products were in short supply.

Wei Hongjun had an impression of Zhang Shufan, or rather, had heard of him. Because during the famous "Xinyang Incident" in history, Zhang Shufan was the deputy secretary of the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee, the commissioner of the Xinyang Public Security Bureau, and the mayor of Xinyang City.

Xinyang was one of the birthplaces of the people's communes during the Great Leap Forward and the source of the exaggerated grain production trends in Henan Province. The "Xinyang Incident" dealt with numerous officials, including the prefectural party secretary Lu Xianwen, who was expelled from the party and imprisoned. However, Zhang Shufan remained in Xinyang.

Zhang Shufan was the first Xinyang official to investigate the exaggerated grain production figures in Xinyang and claim they were fake. Unfortunately, upon receiving the report, Xinyang Prefectural Party Secretary Lu Xianwen criticized Zhang Shufan, telling him to encourage rather than discourage the public's enthusiasm. Furthermore, the Henan Daily had already extensively reported on the exaggerated figures, doubling the amount. Soon, the People's Daily followed suit, exaggerating the numbers. Zhang Shufan's report was quite unusual. Everyone was cheering the record-breaking grain production figures, yet he was saying they were fake? He was suggesting that all of us officials were wrong. His report was rejected by the provincial government.

During the "Xinyang Incident," Zhang Shufan stated at a provincial meeting that Xinyang's grain production had decreased in 1959 and that the province's grain purchase quota had been unsuccessful. Wu Zhipu, enraged at the meeting, accused Zhang Shufan of misrepresenting Xinyang's bumper harvest as a decrease in production. He harshly criticized Zhang Shufan at the provincial meeting, calling him a representative of "rightist opportunism." After Zhang Shufan returned from the province, Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee Secretary Lu Xianwen also held a meeting to criticize Zhang Shufan, but the meeting was largely deserted, with no one following Lu Xianwen's lead in criticizing Zhang Shufan. Many Prefectural Party and government officials in Xinyang supported Zhang Shufan's view, stating that even if he argued to the letter, Xinyang's production had decreased.

Seeing that he couldn't rebuke Zhang Shufan, Lu Xianwen severely criticized the county leaders who supported his views and dismissed several of them. Throughout the "Xinyang Incident," Lu Xianwen dismissed hundreds of officials and criticized thousands of them for grain production issues.

Later, when Xinyang was short of food, it was Zhang Shufan who, despite pressure, opened the granaries to release grain. So, before and after the "Xinyang Incident," or more generally, the people's communes, Zhang Shufan wasn't entirely without fault when it came to the issue of exaggeration. But he was the first to realize the situation and vehemently opposed it. Unfortunately, in the frenzied atmosphere of the time, his voice was largely ineffective. Anyone in Henan who dared to point out data errors was labeled a "rightist."

When the whole of Henan was immersed in a fanatical atmosphere, Zhang Shufan was able to keep a cool head and was generally a qualified Communist Party cadre.

But his answer to this question was evasive. Wei Hongjun heard it, and the Xinhua reporter, who was well prepared, was waiting for Zhang Shufan to say this.

He immediately hit back, "I don't agree with the reasons Comrade Zhang Shufan has given. Agricultural and sideline products, especially vegetables, do face many problems, including transportation and storage. Therefore, the most active free markets for agricultural and sideline products are those close to rural areas, and this is correct. Many cities across the country are experiencing varying degrees of agricultural and sideline product shortages."

"But Xinyang isn't Beijing or Shanghai. It's surrounded by rural areas. Furthermore, Xinyang is a major agricultural and grain-producing region in Henan Province, and its agricultural and sideline product output is high. Xinhua reporters saw very prosperous free markets for agricultural and sideline products in the township markets around Xinyang."

"These free markets for agricultural and sideline products are only tens or hundreds of miles away from Xinyang. It's usually a two or three hour walk, and even farther away it's only half a day. How could Xinyang be experiencing a shortage of agricultural and sideline products at such a short distance?"

After arriving in Xinyang, the Xinhua News Agency reporter investigated the situation around Xinyang.

Xinyang is a traditional agricultural region in Henan Province. Annually, the amount of grain produced through government and state-purchased grain alone reaches over 20 billion jin (approximately billion jin), sometimes reaching as high as billion jin. Xinyang also boasts a very high output of agricultural and sideline products.

If Xinyang's distance from rural areas and lack of transportation facilities were the reason, then the shortage of agricultural and sideline products in the city would be understandable. However, Xinyang is surrounded by rural areas, with the nearest only a few dozen miles from the city center, or an hour or two, or even three. This distance presents no transportation challenges. Trucks aren't even necessary; rural cooperatives organizing farmers using small carts can easily supply the city with sufficient agricultural and sideline products. Farmers simply don't mind walking a few extra hours if they can earn money.

But why are the free markets for agricultural and sideline products so developed in the towns and villages around Xinyang, but so deserted in Xinyang city?

Zhang Shufan couldn't help wiping his sweat.

Dao said: "We have indeed not done a solid job in connecting the city with the free market for agricultural and sideline products. We will redeploy this issue to solve the shortage of agricultural and sideline products in the city."

"Is it just that the work was not done well? Comrade Zhang Shufan, why did our Xinhua reporters find the situation completely different?"

The Xinhua reporter was aggressive, not giving Zhang Shufan any chance to change the subject. He said, "According to our investigation, many rural cooperatives originally wanted to set up their own supply and marketing cooperatives in the city to sell agricultural and sideline products. However, the Xinyang County government used various means to prevent these supply and marketing cooperatives from opening in Xinyang City. They required these rural cooperatives to sell agricultural and sideline products only to the supply and marketing cooperatives established by the Xinyang Public Security Bureau and the Xinyang County Public Security Bureau. The sale of agricultural and sideline products in Xinyang City is the sole responsibility of the supply and marketing cooperatives established by the Public Security Bureau and the county. No other supply and marketing cooperatives are allowed to sell agricultural and sideline products."

"I'd like to ask Comrade Zhang Shufan: When the central government decided to establish a free market for agricultural and sideline products, did it specify who could and could not open supply and marketing cooperatives in cities? Or is it that the interests of the urban population are unimportant? Is the government paying no attention to the insufficient supply of agricultural and sideline products in cities?"

"Buzzing..."

The Xinhua News Agency reporter's words caused an uproar in the conference hall.

Storage and transportation issues have hindered the supply of agricultural and sideline products within the city, a result of objective environmental constraints. Even if government agencies bear some responsibility, it's not a serious one.

But according to a Xinhua News Agency reporter, this is more of a man-made disaster. It was the Xinyang municipal and county governments that established the supply and marketing cooperatives and then excluded other cooperatives from developing within the city. This is what led to the current situation.

Those are no small matters. What do you mean? The interests of so many people in the city can be sacrificed so easily?

So, when the Xinhua News Agency reporter raised this question, all the officials nearby turned their attention to Wei Hongjun. Wei Hongjun was surrounded by officials from the central government, including Duan Chengwei, Acting Minister of the Propaganda Department; Zhao Dezun, Deputy Minister of the Rural Work Department, who was directly responsible for rural industrial and commercial development; Xia Houwen, Alternate Secretary of the Secretariat and Secretary of the Central Bureau of Letters and Calls; and Ma Mingfang, Deputy Minister of the Organization Department. They also included Pan Fusheng, Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee; Wen Minsheng, Governor of Henan Province; Luo Weilin, Deputy Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee; and Zhang Wentian, Vice Governor of Henan Province, among other leaders of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government.

They all observed Wei Hongjun's expression. Of course, he was furious. It was obvious that the Xinyang municipal and county governments had set their sights on the profits of the free agricultural and sideline product market and wanted to monopolize it. So, they had established their own supply and marketing cooperatives to monopolize the Xinyang agricultural and sideline product market.

As a result, they monopolized the Xinyang agricultural and sideline products market, but they have not solved the problem of shortage of agricultural and sideline products in the city.

This completely disregards the interests of the people in the city.

If the Xinyang municipal and county governments follow suit, what about the other counties in Xinyang? They will undoubtedly try to monopolize the agricultural and sideline product markets within the county seat. Rural cooperatives will not be allowed to operate supply and marketing cooperatives in the county seat.

China's current storage technology is poor, and agricultural products are the most difficult to store. Therefore, the most suitable model for the current agricultural product market in China is still retail sales, rather than a monopoly market where a single company can purchase and sell agricultural products on a large scale. This is not only true today, but even decades from now, after storage and transportation technologies have advanced dramatically, the bulk of agricultural product sales will still rely heavily on retail sales. Given the current state of technology, large-scale purchase and sale of agricultural products will inevitably lead to significant waste during transportation and storage.

Wei Hongjun noticed everyone was watching him, so he said calmly, "The supply and marketing cooperatives at both levels of government in Xinyang are monopolizing the agricultural and sideline products market. Is it because of the profits, or is it to facilitate the large-scale allocation of connections? This is the case in Xinyang, but what about the counties under Xinyang? The central government has repeatedly emphasized streamlining administration, yet the number of staff at grassroots units has continued to swell in recent years. Is this the case? Comrade Luo Weilin, is this how you develop the free market for agricultural and sideline products in Henan and the development of rural industry and commerce?"

"Secretary Wei, I didn't do my job well. When I return, I will definitely conduct a province-wide investigation into this issue."

Luo Weilin immediately reviewed his mistakes.

Luo Weilin was one of the first students at the Rural Training Institute that Wei Hongjun opened in Sheng County in 1937. After liberation, he was transferred by Wei Hongjun to the Rural Work Department as director of the Policy Research Office. Having worked with Wei Hongjun in rural areas for 20 years, he understood his temper.

At this point, it was imperative to admit one's mistakes. In fact, after Luo Weilin arrived in Henan, his primary focus had been on water conservancy construction, the development of fertile farmland, and the promotion of improved varieties. This was all aimed at increasing Henan's grain production. Henan had made significant progress in this area in recent years, but Luo Weilin didn't dare boast about his achievements in front of Wei Hongjun.

The development of rural industry and commerce is a key task assigned by the central government. As a cadre in charge of rural affairs in Henan, Luo Weilin's responsibilities fall within this area. Yet, Xinyang has caused such a huge mess.

Pan Fusheng was also very anxious. Although Wei Hongjun's first criticism was directed at Luo Weilin, it actually made Pan Fusheng wary of any carelessness. He immediately said, "Secretary Wei, the Provincial Party Committee will immediately investigate whether Xinyang is using this method to increase staffing. If Xinyang has any problems in this area, the Provincial Party Committee will definitely not let it go."

Wei Hongjun nodded slightly.

Wei Hongjun is really dissatisfied with some cadres in Henan.

In terms of cadre level and cadre ideological construction, the current cadres in Henan Province who came from the original plain provinces are obviously much better.

Why is it that after a high-ranking official is brought down, there's often talk of eliminating the negative influence of someone? Because a high-ranking official's work style and mindset directly impact the entire cadre team. Where a major embezzler is in power, you can't expect a healthy political environment.

Because if a high-ranking official is a major embezzler, everyone will follow suit. The result is a downward trend, damaging the entire political ecosystem. Officials here, and even the people, are accustomed to using money to pave the way. No one considers whether this is right or not; they simply know that this is the way things are done here.

Once this kind of atmosphere spreads, it cannot be solved by simply arresting a few cadres, because the cadres and the people here, both big and small, have become accustomed to doing things this way.

Wu Zhipu was one such problematic cadre. He was highly capable, but after a long period of revolutionary service in Henan, he developed a deep sense of factionalism and localism. These beliefs influenced the cadres below him, and many of them followed his example. He lacked a sense of the bigger picture, focusing solely on his own personal interests and petty gains.

Wei Hongjun looked at Zhang Shufan's halting explanation and said, "You are so short-sighted that you can't see the important role that the rapid development of rural industry and commerce, and the rapid development of the rural economy, will play in China's economic development."

This issue really angered Wei Hongjun. Disregard for rural economic development was not limited to these local officials, but also included some central government officials.

Everyone attaches great importance to rural work, and rural issues are always the top priority in official documents. However, everyone focuses on the countryside only for the sake of grain production. They have already fixed the role of the countryside: the countryside is only for grain production.

Many people fail to see how much support the development of the rural economy will bring to the country. They only focus on the rural grain output this year, but do not care about how rural industry and commerce will develop.

Despite the anger, there was also a bright side. Wei Hongjun told Duan Chengwei, "This press conference is great. We're not afraid of problems; the biggest worry is covering up the problems and contradictions."

"Comrade Pan Fusheng, the Henan newspaper reporter's performance today was very poor. Don't always try to cover up problems. You should have the courage to raise them and point out shortcomings. If the reporters raise questions, our cadres can also argue with them. Reporters can question our government cadres, and our government cadres can also question reporters."

"After the press conference, I'll meet with the Xinhua News Agency team. They exposed a major issue today, and it's great. That's what journalists like them should do."

1044

Xinyang's problems are quite representative. Many places have become accustomed to government agencies taking on a vast responsibility, and therefore to government supply and marketing cooperatives. Previously, state-owned supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned commercial companies handled the purchase and sale of agricultural and sideline products. However, these cooperatives and state-owned commercial companies handle a vast array of products, making it impossible to develop new storage and transportation channels specifically for these products. Yet, agricultural and sideline products require extensive storage technology and stable transportation.

The result was severe losses during storage and transportation, which was also detrimental to the development of the rural economy. After discovering the severe losses, the state supply and marketing cooperatives and state commercial companies began suppressing the purchase prices of agricultural and sideline products to compensate for the losses, hoping to pass the losses on to the countryside.

This is not only detrimental to the supply of agricultural and sideline products nationwide, but also to the development of the rural economy. Instead, it will only exacerbate the contradictions between the state supply and marketing cooperatives and rural cooperatives, and affect the party's reputation in rural areas.

Therefore, the central government later liberalized the free market for agricultural and sideline products, stipulating that state supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned commercial companies not participate in the purchase and sale of agricultural and sideline products, particularly vegetables. This was intended to boost the vitality of the free market for agricultural and sideline products, encourage more rural cooperatives to participate in the free market, address the problem of high intermediate losses in agricultural and sideline products, and develop the rural economy.

However, after the state-owned supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned commercial companies withdrew from this sector, local governments were not concerned with promoting the prosperity of the rural cooperatives' agricultural and sideline product markets and boosting rural economic development, but rather with filling the void left by the withdrawal of the state-owned supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned commercial companies.

So they set up local supply and marketing cooperatives, and then they didn't allow rural cooperatives to set up supply and marketing cooperatives in cities, nor did they allow rural cooperatives to trade agricultural and sideline products in cities. They wanted rural cooperatives to send agricultural and sideline products to them and sell them to them, so they could profit from the difference.

Unfortunately, these operations were not carried out properly, resulting in a serious shortage of agricultural and sideline products in the city.

Inadequate skills, short-sightedness, and greed. This is how Wei Hongjun evaluated these cadres in Xinyang.

As rural cooperatives develop their industry and commerce, the tax revenue they generate for the government will far exceed that generated by agriculture. Rural industry and commerce have only been around for a few years, but they are already contributing a significant amount of tax revenue to the government. The tax revenue generated by rural industry and commerce already exceeds that generated by the rural grain tax. It can be said that the accumulation of funds generated by the development of industry and commerce will further promote the development of the rural economy and, by extension, the development of agriculture.

Furthermore, the development of rural industry and commerce will bring more than just direct tax revenue. It will also create a vast rural market. Rural populations are large, and once rural areas develop, the market they create will be enormous. Chinese industrial products will have a strong market outlet, and China's industrialization will not be a one-size-fits-all approach. This is crucial for the advancement of China's industrialization.

Unfortunately, the cadres in Xinyang are short-sighted and can't see this. They just want to grab all the good things for themselves, as if this is the only way to achieve socialism.

This is the case in Xinyang, but what about other places? Wei Hongjun's meeting with the Xinhua News Agency team after the press conference was a show to others, telling them that he supports journalists who dare to speak the truth.

One reason for this is to show government officials at all levels how powerful journalists are. Furthermore, this behavior of journalists has the support of the central government, so they can be more cautious. They should focus on practical work and avoid such incidents.

Another purpose is to show it to journalists nationwide, so that they can do their jobs well, like the Xinhua reporters did this time, and not only identify problems but also find the root causes.

Finally, another reason is that Xinhua News Agency has a large number of reporters and they travel to many places. Wei Hongjun wanted to know what firsthand information they had about the free market for agricultural and sideline products.

Indeed, according to Xinhua News Agency reporters, this problem exists in many places. Many cities are refusing to allow rural cooperatives to directly establish supply and marketing cooperatives in the city to engage in agricultural and sideline product business. They only agree to purchase agricultural and sideline products from rural cooperatives.

Some cities handle this issue better by offering high prices. This leads to many rural cooperatives being willing to send agricultural and sideline products to cities. However, some cities want everything and are unwilling to compromise on price. Furthermore, upon discovering that many rural cooperatives are unwilling to sell agricultural and sideline products, they issue mandatory administrative orders.

Because the supply of agricultural and sideline products in some cities is really poor, some large factories bypass local governments to set up their own supply and marketing cooperatives, and then cooperate with rural cooperatives to solve the problems of their factory workers.

In any case, there are all sorts of phenomena. To address the shortage of agricultural and sideline products in cities, various cities have resorted to various means. Some cities have quickly resolved the problem, while others, like Xinyang, have not been able to solve it so far.

Wei Hongjun asked the Xinhua News Agency reporter to give him a copy of their investigation materials. He planned to give the materials to Deng Zhihui and ask him to rectify these issues.

After treating the Xinhua News Agency reporter team to dinner, the next day Wei Hongjun and some other central leaders, as well as cadres from the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, met with cadres from the Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee and the Public Security Bureau.

"Look, this is what happens when the leaders follow suit. Xinyang is like this, and all the counties below are like this."

In less than a day, Wei Hongjun had received a survey report on every county in Xinyang. With the exception of two counties, the situation was the same in all but one. Even some townships within the counties began to emulate the county's approach, aiming to monopolize the township's agricultural and sideline product market. Consequently, the townships established their own supply and marketing cooperatives, following a similar approach.

This made Wei Hongjun even more angry. These people truly believed that the Party's leadership meant the Party controlled everything, or that the local government controlled everything. They didn't consider the needs of the people or the overall economic development, only wanting to grab whatever was good for themselves.

Their actions have severely undermined the development of the free market for agricultural and sideline products. Xinyang is a region with a high agricultural and sideline product output. If it develops well, the free market for agricultural and sideline products in Xinyang will surely be very active.