“I received a call from home not long ago saying that the winter wheat in the village is basically ruined. Last winter was too cold. The commune has issued a document telling everyone to work hard on spring planting to ensure the harvest of other grains. From now on, wheat will only be planted once a year.”
Gao Yinghua sighed: “This year is going to be another tough year!”
“Judging by the time, spring planting should have already started, right? Without winter wheat, will there be enough grain to distribute at the end of the year?” Li Mengxue asked.
Although she didn’t have the same close relationship with the villagers as Yi Qingqing, she still had some affection for them, especially the aunties in her group who often helped her with chores. Although they received work points, at least they didn’t gossip. She didn’t want those she knew to suffer from famine.
“We might have to tighten our belts.” Gao Yinghua said.
“However, it’s not just Xiangshui Village that’s in this situation this year. Seven or eight out of ten winter wheat crops in the whole of Northeast China have been damaged by the frost. The amount of grain we have to pay this year may be a little less. It will definitely be more difficult than in previous years, but it won’t be to the point that people will starve to death.”
Yi Qingqing frowned, unsure whether it was because spring planting hadn’t been long and the effects of the harvest talisman hadn’t yet appeared, or because the talisman ash sprinkled in the septic tank hadn’t worked as intended. She could only continue to monitor the situation.
They ate and chatted, and time passed quickly.
After finishing their meal and cleaning up the dishes, everyone prepared to leave, leaving some private time for Li Mengxue and Gao Yinghua.
Gao Yinghua has fewer holidays than students at Beijing University. He basically doesn’t have a fixed holiday schedule. He has to ask the bureau for leave in advance for anything. He’s relatively free right now because he just arrived and is still handing over his work and settling into his accommodation.
Starting tomorrow, he’ll officially be back at work, and he won’t be able to visit Li Mengxue at school as frequently anymore.
That’s why they’ve been making the most of every opportunity to be together lately, and Li Mengxue has been trying her best to accommodate Gao Yinghua’s schedule.
When Yi Qingqing and the others left the public security compound, it was already close to 2 PM. Since it wasn’t a good time to go anywhere else, they decided to go back to school.
In the afternoon, Yi Qingqing spent the rest of the time with Yun Guyuan in the school library.
After lights out at night, Yi Qingqing checked her sign-in record from the day at the public security compound.
The reason she values this skill so much is that in the second half of 1978, which is the second half of this year, the policy of sending unemployed urban youth to the countryside to support the construction of new rural areas will be completely abolished. Urban youth who cannot find work no longer have to leave their hometowns to work in the countryside.
This seems like a good thing, but it has also caused some security problems.
What can unemployed youths who can’t find jobs do?
Moreover, it will be several more years before the restrictions on self-employment are lifted!
There are only so many state-owned factories and shops, which simply cannot support so many people, so the number of unemployed people naturally increases.
Without jobs or income, yet still needing to survive, many turn to the dark side. Making a living in the black market is considered relatively mild. But theft, robbery, and hooliganism naturally lead to a sharp increase in social instability and a deterioration in public security, which necessitates the subsequent strict governance.
This process will take several years, and behind every major case lies a bloody lesson. Yi Qingqing doesn’t want to become an unfortunate victim.
*****
Translator’s Encyclopedia
Private Enterprises in China
Private enterprises were gradually allowed in China following the economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1978/1979.
Initially, these were small, limited, and experimental, with formal legal recognition and wider ownership structures gaining traction around 1988 and, more definitively, with the 1994 Company Law.
Key milestones in the resurgence of private enterprise in China:
- 1978-1979: Reforms began, allowing small, private, or family-owned businesses to re-emerge, though initially with strict limitations (e.g., a maximum of 5 employees).
- 1988: The Chinese government formally published “Tentative Stipulations on Private Enterprises”, providing legal recognition for private firms.
- 1994: The passage of the Company Law granted a more robust, formal legal basis for private companies, encouraging many to transition from “collective” to private ownership.
- 1999: A constitutional amendment recognized the private sector as an “important component” of the socialist market economy, rather than just a minor, supplementary part.
- 2004: The constitution was further amended to protect private property rights and officially encourage the growth of the private sector.
By 1997, private enterprises had grown significantly, accounting for 77% of all industrial firms and 36% of total industrial output.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152