mijobooks Chapter 47 Taking Advantage of Policy
Chapter 47 Taking Advantage of Policy
After the road was repaired, the village gradually quieted down again, and fewer people went to the mountains to dig for Ophiopogon japonicus every day. The whole village returned to the scene of the busy farming season.
After finishing the work of harvesting crops in the fields, Xu's father called the whole family together:
"In the past two years, everyone has been going out to work. Now that the work in the fields is almost done, I plan to go to the city to work with a few other people from the village."
"I heard that a factory is hiring and they're even giving out rice and noodles as benefits. It's much better than me toiling in the fields for a living. My second child is sensible now, so I feel at ease going out."
Before Xu Chunsheng could even speak, Xu Yaomei started making a fuss:
"Dad, don't go to work. I don't want to be a child without a father. That guy who went on a study tour, his dad went to work, and his classmates are saying that his dad didn't want him anymore."
"Waaaaah... I want my daddy, hiccup, Daddy, don't go to work, hiccup, waaaah..."
The family was instantly heartbroken by the youngest sister's cries. Mr. Xu wiped his face and said:
"Little sister, Daddy won't abandon you. Daddy is going to earn money to buy you pretty clothes."
Xu Yaomei turned around and grabbed Xu Chunsheng's clothes tightly, refusing to let go:
"I don't want clothes, brother, I want my dad! Brother, say something! Waaah..."
In Xu Yaomei's eyes, Xu Chunsheng is now the most capable person in the family, and he can satisfy her any desires.
Xu Chunsheng held his youngest sister in his arms and gently patted her back to help her burp.
"Okay, okay, we want Dad, we don't need to go to work."
Xu Chunsheng coaxed his younger sister twice, then spoke to his family:
"Dad, don't rush to go to work. I want to build a pig farm. I was originally planning to finalize things before telling you, but I'll tell you now."
"This year, it's possible for collectives and individuals to build pig farms. I'm planning to build one."
Hearing this, the older sister asked, somewhat puzzled, "So you're not planting Ophiopogon japonicus anymore?"
The family was still basking in the joy of making a fortune from Ophiopogon japonicus and felt they should plant more this year.
"We're not planting Ophiopogon japonicus anymore. Prices are high this year, so more people will definitely plant it, and it won't fetch a good price next year."
"Grain is worthless in our area. Every year there are stale corn and rotten beans. We can't eat them all, and we can't sell them either. But it's different with pigs. There's a high demand, and the supply and marketing cooperatives and butcher shops are always out of stock. Moreover, the price is rising every year, so there's no risk of them rotting in our hands."
Moreover, Xu Chunsheng knew that the era of ration coupons was about to end, and that would be when pork would be truly in short supply.
Mr. Xu, sitting to the side, also raised other concerns:
"That makes sense, but building a pig farm, buying piglets, all those little things add up to a lot of money. Besides, if you raise a lot of pigs, you don't have enough feed to feed them all."
"The government said that the 'buy and keep half' policy has been abolished, which means that we have the final say on whether the pigs we raise are sold or eaten."
"I can get a loan to build my own pig farm, and I also get subsidies for affordable grain. Besides, the village lacks everything except pig feed. I can feed the pigs with a mixture of feed and grain, along with pig feed. There won't be any problems."
"So, will they use their own land to build that place?"
"My own land won't do; we need wasteland to build the pig farm. I'll go to the brigade to apply in a couple of days."
"The government is encouraging it now, so it should be easy to apply."
Xu Chunsheng knew that the "vegetable basket project" was a government-backed policy to help farmers find a way out, and that if he missed this opportunity, he would not have another chance.
"Is it really more profitable than working? What if the policy changes?"
Mr. Xu was still somewhat hesitant.
Xu Chunsheng laughed and said, "If you really don't believe me, you can wait and see for a year. It's not too late to go out next year. Anyway, the family isn't short of money right now."
"Second brother is right! Dad isn't going!"
Xu Yaomei.
Seeing that Xu Chunsheng had made up his mind, Xu's father glanced at his youngest sister and then nodded, "Alright! Let's start a pig farm and do it ourselves!"
On March 5, 1992, the pig farming industry was fully liberalized, allowing all economic entities, individual slaughterers, and private professional households to legally raise, purchase, slaughter, and sell pigs.
The policy explicitly cancels the system of splitting purchases and retentions, the requirement to assign purchase quotas, and allows private pig farms to freely sell their pigs and set prices, without any further sales quotas.
In fact, the notice to "revitalize pig farming" had been issued long ago. At first, people did not believe it, and some even worried that the policy would change later. Most people adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
Just then, the price of Ophiopogon japonicus skyrocketed, and everyone was busy digging it up to make money, so the villagers turned their attention to Ophiopogon japonicus.
Xu Chunsheng had long wanted to build a factory to raise pigs, but the price of Ophiopogon japonicus was rising and he couldn't wait for this opportunity.
So after the matter of Ophiopogon japonicus was over, Xu Chunsheng began to inquire with the village about renting land to build a pig farm.
He went to the village committee to explain his idea of building a pig farm and proposed renting land from the village committee to build the farm. The village officials were very supportive of Xu Chunsheng's idea and said on the spot:
"Boss Xu, you've been a huge help to us. This 'vegetable basket project' is clearly a way to benefit the people and make them rich, but no matter how much we talk about it, the villagers still don't believe us."
"If you take the lead in building a pig farm this time, it will actually help us to do ideological work among everyone."
The village officials immediately expressed their support and told Xu Chunsheng that they would hold a village meeting and ask him to come back in a couple of days.
That day, Xu Chunsheng arrived at the brigade office early and knocked on the door:
"Secretary Li, are you busy? May I ask about the land rental I asked about a couple of days ago, is everything alright?"
Party Secretary Li looked up and saw that it was Xu Chunsheng, and immediately smiled:
"Boss Xu is here. That's good. The village has discussed it, and we can rent you the 'Pianpo' spot to build a pig farm. Firstly, the location won't affect the water supply, and secondly, it's close to the village."
"Come and see, the documents are all prepared. The annual rent is only 30 yuan. If you think it's acceptable, we will issue you a land use certificate."
"Once the factory is built and the pigs are raised, come back and I'll give you a certificate for being a professional farmer so you can buy affordable corn and mixed feed from the township supply and marketing cooperative."
Seeing that things were going so smoothly, Xu Chunsheng knew perfectly well that the brigade wanted someone to take the lead.
Xu Chunsheng smiled and reached out to shake Secretary Li's hand:
"Yes, thank you so much, Secretary Li and all the comrades."
"Of course, of course, it's for the people. You should talk to the villagers more about raising pigs. You'll definitely see results, hahaha."
The brigade cadres unanimously agreed that no one was more suitable than Xu Chunsheng to lead the way in making big money selling Ophiopogon japonicus.
For this matter, something that Xu Chunsheng should have done himself, the brigade specially found someone to accompany Xu Chunsheng to complete the procedures.
This also avoids Xu Chunsheng being unfamiliar with the process and wasting time unnecessarily.
With policy support, not only in the village but also in the town, the government has basically given the green light to the construction of factories by collectives and individuals.
The two took the village committee certificate and a site selection sketch to the township land office to apply for verification. They asked the staff to confirm on-site that there was no occupation of cultivated land and no land ownership disputes. They quickly signed the preliminary land use review opinion.
Afterwards, they went to the township animal husbandry station to report the scale of breeding, register and file the record, and then took a veterinarian to inspect the site. The veterinarian explained the basic requirements for ventilation and disease prevention in the pens, and they received a breeding technology manual.
Thanks to the support of the "Vegetable Basket Project", all materials are then submitted to the township government, which then submits them to the county animal husbandry bureau for record-keeping.
Xu Chunsheng received his personal farm establishment approval document in just three days.
Standing on the "side slope," Xu Chunsheng looked at the area roughly marked out with lime by the staff of the Land and Resources Bureau, and his heart was filled with enthusiasm.