The rapid implementation of the household contract responsibility system was all thanks to a place called Xiaogang Village. In the winter of '78, eighteen households there, risking their lives, secretly signed a secret agreement to divide the land among households, officially firing the first shot of reform and opening up.
"If the land is really divided, will it be ours from now on?" Liu Yuemin cared about nothing else, only what benefits there were.
Chen Lishu was not very clear about the specific policies, but she knew one thing: after the land was divided according to labor, they would no longer earn work points. After deducting the taxes payable to the state from all the output of the land, the rest would be their own.
"Actually, after dividing the land, it's more work, more gain. It eliminates some of the situations where people muddle through and can fully utilize the existing land to produce more grain."
The seeds planted by the production team every year were all good ones. How much corn and how much sorghum. If it was really contracted to households, then whether they wanted to cultivate wheat or plant watermelons would be up to them.
After listening to her explanation, everyone had a general understanding of the household contract system and became more expectant.
In the evening, when Gu Shoufu and the others returned, they were very happy to see Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping return. Li Xiulan specially prepared four dishes. The whole family sat around the table, chatting while eating.
"This year's public grain has been paid. We'll see the accountant count it in the next day or two, and then we can distribute the grain," Gu Shoufu took a sip of wine, feeling that the coldness of the night was dispelled.
Gu Xingye: "After the grain is distributed, it will be collected again."
Hearing him mention collecting grain, Liu Yuemin subtly kicked Gu Xingmin's leg under the table.
Gu Xingmin was unwilling and shifted his body to the side, continuing to bury his head in his rice. Liu Yuemin was instantly furious and glared at him.
"Is it still five hundred per household like last year?" Gu Xingye asked.
In fact, no household was short of money now. Saying it was five hundred was also for the equal distribution of income later.
"Fourth brother, you don't need to count your second brother for collecting grain this year." Gu Xingmin was unreliable, so Liu Yuemin spoke for herself.
Gu Shoufu looked up: "Why isn't the second child doing it anymore?"
"Dad, Xingmin and I want to go it alone this year."
Liu Yuemin explained with a smile: "The grain in the surrounding villages is limited, and there are many people following suit now. The grain collected won't be much when it's distributed among everyone. We are all family. After Xingmin and I discussed it, we decided that we'd rather suffer a bit and work harder to see the situation at my mother's side."
Everyone knew what kind of person Liu Yuemin was. She said nicely that she would suffer and work harder, but in fact, she was displeased with the small amount of money distributed and wanted to go it alone.
Gu Shoufu neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply asked, "It's okay to go there, but can the second child handle it alone?"
Collecting grain was not an easy task, especially since private grain trading was not allowed yet. The second child's family didn't even have a bicycle. If he collected and sold grain by himself, he probably wouldn't be able to manage.
Liu Yuemin quickly said with a smile, "Dad, don't worry. After all, it's at my mother's place. My dad and my elder brother won't just stand by and watch."
Collecting grain was a profitable venture. She and Gu Xingmin had also saved over three thousand yuan. Collecting grain by themselves was definitely enough. Moreover, she had already arranged with her family to hire her father and elder brother to help collect grain. The profits they made would definitely be more than what they would get by working with the family.
Since Liu Yuemin had already said so, Gu Xingmin did not object, and no one forced them.
After dinner, because they had sat on the train for a whole day and then walked more than twenty li, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping were a bit tired. Ruirui was even so sleepy that his little head was nodding.
Zhang Qin saw this and said, "I'm here, sister-in-law. You should hurry and take the child back to rest."
"Thank you, sister-in-law. Dad, Mom, I'll take Ruirui back to the room now." Chen Lishu did not refuse, got up, waved to Ruirui, said goodbye to Li Xiulan and Gu Shoufu, and took him back to her room.
The next day, when Chen Lishu got up, Zhang Qin and Zhang Xiaoju were talking and making breakfast. She also helped.
"...Can't you blame them for everything if business is bad and goods can't be sold? Then what about in the future? Will you stop paying them salaries?"
Zhang Xiaoju sighed: "Who knows? We employees of the supply and marketing cooperatives are all discussing it privately. The rural supply and marketing cooperatives are not as good as those in the town. At least the superiors told them that it's a responsibility system of ' profit contract, and bonus for exceeding quota'. We are suffering. They say the cooperative is not a cooperative, and the union is not a union. It's just like the saying, 'When they need you, they hold you in their arms; when they don't, they push you off the cliff.'"
Since the reform and opening up, there had been many private businesses in the city, and the communes and villages had also opened markets. The supply and marketing cooperatives in the villages were "sandwiched" from both sides, and their business was getting worse day by day. Especially after the implementation of the dual track system of planned economy and market economy, it was no longer the sole domain of supply and marketing cooperatives and shops as before.
Originally, Zhang Xiaoju had a monthly salary of fifteen yuan from her superiors and subsidies from the work points from the production team. Now, with the change in the situation, it was likely that both would be gone.
"If it really doesn't work, I won't do it anymore," Zhang Xiaoju said with a forced smile. "Didn't they say they were going to divide the land? Otherwise, Xingye won't be able to handle it alone. It's good that I'll have time to help and take care of Panpan."
From the moment she graduated, Zhang Changhe had arranged for her to work as a saleswoman in the supply and marketing cooperative. She had been working for several years and had developed feelings for it. How could she let go so easily? But in the current situation, Zhang Xiaoju had no other choice.
Chen Lishu saw her reluctance and thought for a moment before saying, "Fourth sister-in-law, if you still want to continue working, I think it would be better to contract the supply and marketing cooperative yourself."
"Contract?" Zhang Xiaoju was confused, and Zhang Qin was also bewildered.
"It's similar to doing it yourself, but you have to be responsible for your own profits and losses. You pay rent to the higher authorities every year and then operate it yourself. After contracting, you will have more freedom in your operations than before. You can decide what you want to sell and what you don't. The money you earn after deducting the contracting fees will be your own."
"But what if I lose money?" Zhang Xiaoju's biggest concern was this. The situation of the supply and marketing cooperative was not optimistic. How could she dare to invest money to contract it herself if she knew it would be a loss?
Chen Lishu looked at Zhang Xiaoju and smiled without answering. This depended on her own ideas. Doing business always involved profits and losses, but there seemed to be few people losing money in business at this time.
With the three of them working, breakfast was quickly prepared. After the whole family finished eating, Chen Lishu left after a few instructions to Ruirui, taking the cashmere and wool fabrics she brought back to town.