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- Herausgeber: Unicorn
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
The Targeted Poverty Alleviation programme was proposed by President Xi in 2013 and aims to give poor people the resources to lift themselves out of poverty. No fewer than three million cadres have been sent to the least developed areas of the country to educate, inspire and help the most impoverished people with financial support, jobs and business opportunities. The authors of this series of books visited some of the villages that were previously very poor, to document how developments in education, agriculture, health and tourism had created positive change. The authors wrote about what they saw, what they heard, how they felt in these areas and rendered them into touching and vivid stories. An in-depth investigation in Yulin in Shaanxi, Hotan in Xinjiang, Tongren in Guizhou and Yunnan which was assisted by Shanghai, and described the huge changes that the poverty alleviation has brought to these places in a macro and general manner. The author expressed the deep respect to the national cadres for poverty alleviation and rural cadres at the grassroots level. They were not just about lifting villages and tens of millions of people out of poverty, but more about the future. They have paved the ways to hopes and dreams with sweat and toil. Therefore, their selflessness and dedication have been perpetuated in history.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Contents
Foreword
On sunday, 16 December 2018, Wu Yingpu met his wife, Fan Zhenzi. Such reunions were rare for them, this was later confirmed in Fan Zhenzi’s working diary. Fan Zhenzi’s diary said that she was busy, and so did her husband. The two had not seen each other for a long time. On this morning, the couple woke up early. Wu Yingpu was a very diligent person. He had the habit of getting up early because one tends to be clear-headed, energetic and productive in the morning. Although this day was a rest day that Wu Yingpu could relax and get up late, he still woke up early. After getting up, he had something to eat with his wife and tidied up. At about 7am, the two drove off.
According to the Xiushui County Meteorological Department records, it was cloudy and sunny, with northerly winds of 2 to 3 degrees and temperatures of 2 to 12 degrees Celsius. This should be regarded as good weather in the winter in Xiushui, but Wu Yingpu was still worried about his wife. After all,, the weather was a bit cold and he had to go into the mountains. The roads in the mountains are low and narrow, there are not only many turns but also perilous turns. His wife had been pregnant for two months. It takes more than one hour to drive from the county to the township government, and it takes 40 minutes to travel from the township government to the cabin village. Wu Yingpu was worried that his wife would not be able to bear it. Therefore, he decided to drive himself and accompany his wife into the mountains.
Many people in Xiushui had known the couple for a long time. Fan Zhenzi was a poverty alleviation official of the Dachun Township Government. Wu Yingpu was a poverty alleviation official delegated by Xiushui County Government to Yayang Village, Fuyuan Township, and served as the ‘first secretary.’ Dachun Township is in the northwest corner of Xiushui, while Fuyuan Township is in the southwest corner of Xiushui. Although the couple were in the same county, they were 126 kilometres apart. It takes at least three and a half hours to drive down a mountain road. Afterwards, according to Wu Yingpu’s sister, that day was originally a reunion day for the couple after their separation of over one month. However, Fan Zhenzi, who was devoted to work, was concerned about the poor households she helped, so she decided to go to the village on that rest day. Since Wu Yingpu was also off duty that day, the couple went together.
According to Yushu Cao, the deputy head of the cabin village, Wu Yingpu, and Fan Zhenzi arrived at around 9:30 that morning. They first went to the home of You Chengzi, who was the targeted recipient of Fan Zhenzi. You Chengzi is a 75-year-old empty nester. His son and daughter-in-law have been working outside the hometown. They rarely come back these years, so the old man stayed in the village alone. With the help of Fan Zhenzi, the old man raised fifty free-range chickens, which significantly increased his income. On that morning, Fan Zhenzi came to see You Chengzi and sent him 600 yuan that she gained by selling the free-range chickens last time. She took away three chickens this time, saying that she would bring them back to the county and sell them for him. According to Cao Yushu, Fan Zhenzi and Wu Yingpu came out of the home of You Chengzi at about 10:20am and came to Cao Yushu again. Fan Zhenzi also would like to go to the home of Ding Yanwang, her other targeted recipient. However, Ding Yanwang lives in the mountains, which have no concrete roads. Whenever Fan Zhenzi goes to his house, she has to walk or ride a motorcycle. Fan Zhenzi wants Cao Yushu to ride a motorcycle to take her to Ding Yanwang’s home to save time. But that day, the roads were under construction, so motorcycles were forbidden to pass through. As a result, Fan Zhenzi had to walk up. But halfway through, she received a call from Yan Shaobing, secretary of the township party committee, asking her to rush back to the county town as soon as possible. According to Shaobing on the phone, he would meet with the leader of a project introduced by Dachun Township soon and hoped that Zhenzi could follow up on the future cooperation matters. Considering the urgency of the time, Zhenzi had to change her plan. She quickly ate lunch with Yingpu in the village before heading to the county seat.
Yingpu’s sister said in tears afterwards that no one knew what happened to them on the way back. It could be because the road was too difficult to walk on and the turn was very sharp. When driving to the Yijiawan road section of Xikou Town, the car suddenly rushed down the mountain and plunged into the river, killing both Yingpu and his wife Zhenzi, along with Zhenzi’s only two-month-old unborn child. When the car was salvaged, people opened the trunk and found the three free-ranged chickens that Zhenzi would bring back to the city to sell for You Chengzi. After restoring Zhenzi’s mobile phone, it is seen that at 9:12am on that day, Zhenzi sent out the last message in her moment to help poor households to sell free-range chickens: ‘Pure free-range chickens raised by the low-income families, 35 yuan per catty, about 4.5 catties each one. The chickens are delicious, and we can deliver them to your door. Please get in touch with me if necessary.’ This is the last message that this young couple left to the world.
Chapter 1
The blooming season of azalea
Yudu, previously called Yudou, was established as a county in 201 bc in the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu in the Western Han Dynasty. At that time, it was a vast area, and its jurisdiction included today’s Ruijin, Huichang, Shicheng, Ningdu, Anyuan and Xunwu. It was known as the ‘mother of six counties.’ It was the centre of politics, economy, culture and transportation in southern Jiangxi in ancient times. Due to its unique geographical location, it was called the ‘Essential road among Fujian, Guangdong, and Hunan,’ It has always been a battleground for military strategists. It has more than 2,200 years and is one of the first three established counties in southern Jiangxi.
During the period of the ‘Soviet Area,’ it was divided into Yudu, Shengli, Dengxian, Ruixi, Xingsheng and Yuxi counties successively. It was the seat of the Southern Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the provincial Soviet Government at that time. It is not hard to imagine the prosperous situation of that year.
Today’s Yudu County belongs to Ganzhou City. It is located in the east of Ganzhou, 65 kilometres away from the central city and about 422 kilometres away from Nanchang City. It is adjacent to Ruijin to the east, Anyuan to the south, Gan County to the west, and Xingguo and Ningdu to the north. If you look for it on the territory of China, you can see its geographic location, 115°11’-115°49’ east longitude and 25°35’8’-26°20’53’ north latitude, with a total area of 2,893 square kilometres.
In October 1934, something happened here. This incident later became a tragic and dramatic event that drew worldwide attention. It rewrote Chinese history and affected the destiny of the Chinese nation. But at that time, many people had not realised this or had no time to think about it. They were hard-working and preparing to embark on a journey full of hardships and even their lives. This famous tragic and vigorous journey in history was later called the ‘Twenty-Five Thousand Miles Long March.’
It was autumn, and the flowering phase of the azalea had passed. However, in October in southern Jiangxi, it has not yet reached the season that ‘the mountains are blanked with red leaves layer by layer.’ The mountains in the distance were surrounded by clouds and mist, while the river in Yudu had some coolness. At this moment, a tall, middle-aged man with a cigarette in his hand stood at the ferry outside the east gate, quietly watching the Red Army team wading across the river from the simple pontoon. He looked solemn. Perhaps he was thinking about the future of the Chinese revolution and the destiny of the nation.
Eighty-five years later, in a season when the mountains are full of azaleas, it is still on this ferry, and another person will come.
I
It was Monday 20 May 2019.
Early this morning, the whole family of Sun Guanfa in Tantou Village got busy. They cleaned up the house and yard, and everyone was excited. It was a memorable day. The whole family, together with the other villagers, would welcome an important guest.
Sun Guanfa was more than 70 years old. His son was Sun Guohua, who has been working in Guangdong. He came back to visit relatives these days. Guohua’s wife, Guo Jinfeng, did not go out to work with her husband. She worked in a garment factory in the village. She did not go with her husband because she had to take care of the elderly and children. On that morning, Jinfeng was busy preparing breakfast for the family and cleaning up the house. Guanfa’s grandson and granddaughter were the happiest. The grandson’s name was Sun Tao, which meant the sea waves, sounds very imposing. He was 11 years old, looking solid and good-natured. He was in the fifth grade at Tantou Village Primary School. The granddaughter’s name was Sun Yan, 9 years old. She studied in the same school as her brother but was in the second grade. Both children were well-behaved, clever, and did well in learning. They were often commended at school. The walls in the living room were covered with various awards. The two children also knew what day it was. They seemed to be more excited than the adults. They jumped around, screaming and laughing, running around inside and outside the house.
Looking at the busy family, Sun Guanfa had all sorts of feelings welling up in his mind. Sun Guanfa was a descendant of a martyr, and he was also a soldier. He still remembered clearly that he had been enlisted in the army in December 1969. According to the army, he should be a soldier in 1970. As soon as the recruits had finished their training after joining the army for two months, they followed the troops to carry out missions abroad for about half a year. When returned to China, Guanfa, who was initially a recruit, had become a mature fighter with a dark complexion and rich experience, and he soon became a squad leader. He was discharged from the army in 1975 and served as a village cadre right after he returned to the village. Since then, he has been farming at home. He later married and had children, and the family lived a peaceful life. However, in 2007, something unexpected happened. Guanfa’s wife was concerned that a mole on her body was getting bigger and constantly bleeding, Guanfa realised that there might be a problem with her wife’s health. They went to the affiliated hospital of Ganzhou Medical College for body examination. Sure enough, it was diagnosed as a malignant melanin tumour. It was undoubtedly a disaster for a family. Although she had surgery and was actively treated, she passed away in 2013. The treatment brought a considerable debt of more than 200,000 yuan for the family. As a result, Guanfa became a poor household in Tantou Village.
Tantou Village was an exceptional village located in the west of Zishan Town, Yudu County, with the Mianjiang River in the north. In 2016, the village governed 18 village groups with 754 households. The total population reached 2,899 people. The cultivated area was 1,632 mu, and the forest area was 188.8 mu.
This was an ancient village with a long history. It has been more than 700 years since the village was established in the early Ming Dynasty. The folk customs in the village were honest and straightforward, and the villagers were warm-hearted. For many years, it has maintained the tradition of cultivating virtuous people. In the second year of Yongding in the Southern Dynasty, which was in 558 AD, the county seat of Yudu County moved to Dachang Village. Dachang Village is now within the territory of Tantou Village. The Chenghuang Temple that was built in the county seat is still there. Although it has gone through more than 1,450 years of alterations with many repairs, it is still well preserved. During the period of Soviet Areas, the poor peasants in the village actively participated in the revolution. The first CCP member developed in Yudu County that year was a native of Tantou Village, Zhang Hao, a native of Songshuxia Natural Village. Zhang Hao later joined the local armed forces and died heroically in a battle in Xinfeng around 1927. Later, there was a time when President Mao Zedong passed by Tantou Village. He praised the consumer cooperatives there for doing well. Nearly one million people in the southern Jiangxi region participated in the army, accounting for almost one-third of the local population. According to the historical records, there were more than 100,000 martyrs whose names were memorized. And Guanfa Sun’s father was one of these heroes.
Due to many reasons, such as war trauma and natural geographical environment, Tantou Village was once in a plight of poverty and backwardness. Most villagers lived in dilapidated adobe houses with low voltage, poor road conditions, and poor infrastructure. Especially before the river dam was built, the local people had a self-deprecating pet phrase, ‘Carry the load on three sunny days, and water enters the stove on three rainy days.’ Therefore, during the ‘13th Five-Year Plan’ period, this village was rated poor. By 2017, there were 95 impoverished households with 398 registered people, accounting for almost 13.7% of the village’s population. Among them, there were: 43 ordinary poor households with 217 people, 51 low-income households with 179 people, 2 households with 2 people living under the poverty alleviation subsistence allowances.
The main types of poverty in the village were that: 7 people were due to illness, 16 people were due to disability, 35 people were due to education, 167 people were due to lack of technology, 13 people were due to lack of funds, 93 were due to lack of work capacity, 12 were due to lack of self-development, 55 were due to other reasons.
In recent years, Tantou Village has taken poverty alleviation through developing industry as the core, and the poverty alleviation through employment, education and training, and financial as the starting point, to implement a ‘blood-forming’ poverty alleviation mechanism based on poverty alleviation by improving health care and poverty alleviation by securing basic needs through social security. The quality of life has generally improved, the village’s economy has also developed rapidly, the scale of modern agriculture has begun to take shape, and the village’s appearance has also been significantly improved. Now Tantou Village is entirely different. It looks orderly and peaceful. It is like a new village with beautiful scenery, harmony, Tantou is now a nice place to live,
Sun Guanfa’s family has finally gotten rid of poverty in recent years. Guanfa was a soldier when he was young. He was in good health and was a diligent man. With such a good poverty alleviation policy, by 2017, his family finally paid off the 200,000 famines owed to treat his wife’s illness. They were finally removed from the poor households list. Now, his son works in Guangdong, earning more than 4,000 yuan a month, and his daughter-in-law works in the garment factory in the village, earning more than 2,000 per month. With income from the photovoltaic power generation and land transfer, the whole family can earn more than 70,000 yuan a year, leading the family to achieve a well-off life and live a stable and happy life.
That’s how people are. When life is better, and the living conditions are better, they will naturally become more confident and prouder. Now, the three-story building in Guanfa’s house has been neatly cleaned and brightly painted. It has been whitewashed from upstairs to downstairs, and all kinds of household appliances are well equipped, including the kitchen and bathroom. This is what they did not dare to think in the past few years.
Guanfa thought, on such a good day, we must talk about it.
II
On 20 May, people in Tantou Village, Zishan Town, were in a good mood. At the same time, another one who is ten kilometres away in the northwest of Tantou Village also could not restrain his excitement.
His name was Xie Xiaodong, and he was the chairman of the village committee of Tanshi Village, Xianxia Township.
This morning, Director Xie Xiaodong, as usual, firstly arranged the work of the village and then went to inspect the homes of several key industrial farmers in the village. But that day, his mood was different. Although he was not required to do a report, he still wanted to look through the poverty alleviation work in the village, especially the accomplishments since the fight against poverty.
He first came to the home of Xie Jiujing, a former poor household.
Xie Jiujing’s pig farm had a simple and practical name called ‘Shunxin Pig Farm’. If you thought about it carefully, everything could be boiled down to the word ‘shunxin’, (Shunxin means satisfied in Chinese). As long as you followed your heart, things would go smoothly. Therefore, shunxin was the best state. This ‘Shunxin Pig Farm’ was built in 2016. Although the work was exhausting, Jiujing was satisfied.
Xie Jiujing was in his 50s and once engaged in transportation. But once, he had a car accident while transporting clothing materials. The injury was so severe that the leg bone was fractured. It was even a comminuted fracture, and the steel plate inserted in the leg has not been taken out yet. As a result, Jiujing had to quit the part-time job, and the family immediately lost the primary source of income. However, the child was still young and needed the tuition fee. In addition, the injury still needed to be treated. Therefore, it was not that they could not make ends meet, but that they had only expenditures without income. The only way to survive was to borrow money. To treat this injured leg, Jiujing spent a total of tens of thousands of yuan as a whole and owed tens of thousands of yuan in debt. Finally, Jiujing became a poor household.
But Jiujing refused to stay idle, and he did not come to terms with poverty. After the leg injury had just healed, Jiujing went to discuss his plan to do something at home with the cadres. ‘Do something’ is the local dialect, which means someone wants to do business. There was an opportunity at that time: A biological company with a poverty alleviation mission cooperated with Jiangxi Agricultural University to jointly cultivate a hybrid breed of pig called ‘Black Pig.’ As a poverty alleviation project, the pig could be raised by poor households. This ‘company + farmer household’ fostering model was a way of poverty alleviation and tailor-made for poor households. The provisions of the fostering agreement were thoroughly considered from the perspective of poor households. First of all, the company provided piglets of black pigs and feed and breeding technology. If the piglet died within 15 days, the farmers could be exempted from any responsibility. If it happened after 15 days, the farmer should bear the cost, including the cost of the piglet and the feed consumed during this period. But the latter situation rarely occurred because the survival rate of pigs was usually above 98%.
So, with the help of the village cadres, Jiujing started raising pigs.
The construction of a pig farm required a certain amount of capital investment, the pig house and sewage treatment equipment according to environmental protection requirements. The initial investment was 600,000 yuan. Jiujing was eager to get started, so he borrowed a part first and was granted a loan thanks to the national support policy. With Jiujing’s tireless efforts, the ‘Shunxin Pig Farm’ smoothly proceeded.
But only when it started did Jiujing begin to realise that there were many unexpected things.
Shortly after starting this task, Jiujing began to realise that many unexpected issues arose.
The fodder consumed by pigs every day was different at different stages. Similarly to humans, that children and adults consume different amounts of food every day. The older they are, the more they eat. When they are approaching a mature age, their food intake is the largest. The entire pig farm consumed nearly 50 packs of feed a day, and each pack had more than 100 catties. Although Jiujing had recovered, his leg injury was not completely healed as the steel plate placed in the leg had not been taken out. Regardless, he had to carry the feed out of the warehouse pack by pack. The warehouse for storing fodder was an airtight tin room. In the beginning, Jiujing had no experience. The fodder was piled up in a simple warehouse, and they were bitten by rats. The company’s technician came to check and immediately said that this was not feasible. It was hazardous for rats to chew fodder. It was not a problem of eating a little bit of fodder, but they were likely to carry deadly bacteria to pigs, which was hazardous. After that, Jiujing deliberately built an airtight metal warehouse. This tin warehouse looked like a tin box with no gaps so that mice could never get in.
There was no need to worry about selling the finished pigs, because they would be purchased by this biological company. The purchasing price was generally about 19 yuan per kilogram. Apparently, the price fluctuated in response to market conditions. Under normal circumstances, raising a pig could bring about an income of 300 yuan. According to the feeding cycle of the pig farm, the pigs’ offtake rate was three times within two years. However, adult pigs might not be slaughtered all at once, and the company would schedule the number of slaughters for each farmer based on demand.
Jiujing was a diligent person. This kind of fostering model was for the sake of farmers. The mortality rates of pigs and piglets were very low. Once the pigs were found to be abnormal and that the farmers could not handle it by themselves, the company’s technicians would come over immediately as long as receiving the phone call, so the cost risk for farmers to bear was very low. Therefore, the pig farm has always maintained conservative profitability. In 2018, the size of the pig farm was only 500. By 2019, it has increased to more than 600. Jiujing was ambitious and wanted to invest another 200,000 yuan to expand the pig farm further. Thus, more people would be hired, providing employment opportunities for other poor households in the village.
Jiujing was diligent and enthusiastic. Over the past few years, running this pig farm has helped him out of poverty, therefore motivating other poor households in the village. In 2018, he was named one of the ‘Top Ten Poverty Alleviation Stars in 2017’ by the Yudu County Party Committee and the County Government.
This morning, Director Xie Xiaodong came to the ‘Shunxin Pig Farm’.
The gate of the pig farm was closed tightly, and there was the sound of pigs and the clanging of buckets. Obviously, Jiujing was busy working. Director Xie Xiaodong knocked on the door of the pig farm. After waiting for a while, a small door next to the gate opened. This was the disinfection room. Nowadays, the most important thing when raising pigs is scientific feeding and epidemic prevention. And the epidemic prevention aims to the prevention of ‘African Swine Fever’ and a variety of new viruses, which may pose a threat to pig farms. Therefore, before entering the pig farm, there must be a procedure to disinfect this room. There is a set of disinfection equipment in the disinfection room, which costs the biological company 5,000 yuan to install.
Director Xie Xiaodong yelled to the courtyard: ‘Jiujing, I have good news to tell you!’
With these words, he walked into the disinfection room and closed the door. There was a disinfectant pad on the ground, which was soaked in a lot of disinfectants. Director Xie Xiaodong stepped on the pad, and then he heard a rustling sound, which was the sound of the disinfection equipment spraying disinfection steam.
III
This morning, Zhong Min got up at 6am as usual. Usually, she had to prepare breakfast for her son after getting up. Her son was called Liu Zihan, and he was in the third grade of high school in Yudu Middle School. Zihan studied very hard in science class. He has made up his mind to get admitted to a first-class university. Min’s husband worked in an insurance agency and was very busy. The couple had a division of labour for family affairs. Min was responsible for taking care of Zihan’s meal. But this morning, Min told her son that she had no time to prepare breakfast and she told Zihan to have something to eat on the way to school. In fact, it was not just this morning, Min had not taken care of her son for a period of time.
Since Zhong Min accepted this task, she was excited but felt stressed that she had never had before. Min was the deputy curator of the Yudu County Museum (Central Red Army Long March Departure Memorial Hall). In terms of business ability and professional level, she was certainly good. She was especially familiar with the revolutionary history that the Central Red Army set off from Yudu and embarked on the Long March. But she knew that this time was different. She must not, and would not allow herself to make the slightest mistake in her work.
Min was born in a military family. Her father was the director of the political department of a certain regiment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. But when Min was born in a military family. Her father was the director of the political department of a particular Chinese People’s Liberation Army regiment. But when Min was 15 years old, her father died of illness. Later, she was arranged to work in a film company as a film editor. Min was a very ambitious girl. Not only did she work hard, she also had strict requirements on all aspects of herself. She loved to read books in her spare time. In addition, she was influenced by the military family atmosphere since childhood. Therefore, she was better educated than her peers. After graduating from junior high school, she started her career first. But with her diligence and hard work, she obtained the diploma degree in the adult college entrance examination through self-study and then received a bachelor’s degree. It was apparently not easy. While a student could study wholeheartedly, taking the adult college entrance examination is another matter as an adult. Because one can only use his spare time or even sacrifice his rest time to study, and one may easily be affected by trivia like work, life, and family.
Min still clearly remembered the first time she served as the guide of the Central Red Army’s Long March Departure Memorial Hall. It was on April 1, 1999, an old general who had participated in the ‘anti-encirclement and suppression’ campaign in this area that year would come to Yudu. Since the memorial hall did not have enough guides, it had to draft helps from other companies temporarily. There is a saying that opportunities always favour those who are prepared. Thus, Min stood out among many young people with her usual accumulation of knowledge and accomplishments in this area. The tour guide this time was excellent. It was not only appreciated by the veteran general but also by leaders at all levels. After that, Min was officially drafted to the memorial hall to specialize in this aspect of work.
Min could not remember how many tour guides she had made in the memorial hall over the years. From leaders at all levels and even the heads of the Central Committee to the ordinary people who came to visit, each of her tour guides was a review of the turbulent revolutionary history and a baptism of her soul. But this time was different, Min felt a great responsibility to take.
This morning, Min’s son went to school, and her husband also left to work. She did a little bit of house cleaning and then sat down at the table. She decided not to go to the workplace first but to stay at home to carefully review the materials she had prepared and read many times these days. This was Min’s work attitude and work habits over the years. There are only two differences between people. One is innate endowments, such as whether they are competent or not, and another is character. The character, in this sense, is the attitude towards work. The reason why Min could reach today’s accomplishment was primarily due to her talents. Still, an equally important reason was the habit that her father had cultivated her since she was a child, her attitude towards work.
Min has always been strict with herself. In 2016, like many colleagues, she also accepted the task of helping poor households. She was responsible for the poor households in Zhutang Village, Hefeng Town, which was 40 kilometres away from the county seat. And it took more than half an hour by car. However, in addition to helping the poor households, Min still had a lot of other work to do. Therefore, she could only visit the poor households, including all kinds of assistance liaison and coordination work during the weekends. Now, the country has formulated and issued many policies for targeted poverty alleviation. As long as they are used well, they will be beneficial for poverty alleviation. However, many poor households did not understand these policies very well due to their cultural level or other reasons. It required the cadres to explain to them in detail, and even to use these policies to help them personally. Min could not remember how much she has done for these four households in the past few years. Now, they have been lifted out of poverty with her help. She and these poor households were like relatives. Min also felt very fulfilled when she talked about the situation of these households: The first household was in Zhufeng Village. The head of the household was Hua Youjin, with six people in his family. Their poverty was caused by illness. In 2014, Youjin suffered from lung and tracheal dilatation, and his wife Liu Jiuxu had diabetes. His mother was old and could no longer work. The granddaughter needed the care of his daughter-in-law because she was very young. Only his son was working outside the hometown. Youjin’s household could not make ends meet, causing the family to fall into poverty. Poverty has been lifted now. In 2019, the whole family’s salary income was 100,000 yuan, transfer income was 2,232 yuan, production and operation income was 3,000 yuan, property income was 3,857.57 yuan, asset income and poverty alleviation dividend income was 1,100 yuan. They also enjoyed the four medical insurances and the heart-warming project, the preferential rewards and subsidies, ‘one village, one product’ subsidies, transportation subsidies, financial loans, photovoltaic power generation, loan discounts, education subsidies, etc., The second household, Hua Youhe’s family, which was in the Xiawei village group, was impoverished due to lack of technology. They have been lifted from poverty now. The third household, Hua Dongfu’s family, which was in Zhuhong Village group, has been lifted from poverty. The fourth household, Hua Shibi’s family, in Zhuhong Village group, was fully guaranteed and out of poverty. The ordinary people might not fully understand how much effort the cadres made to ‘help the poor households out of poverty’. But from Min’s view, everything was taken for granted, as it should be.
May was the best season in southern Jiangxi. It was full of life outside the window, and azaleas were in full bloom all over the mountains and plains. Min was sitting at the desk and was looking at the prepared materials. She seemed to have faintly smelled the fragrance of flowers floating from the outside. She loved her profession very much. Over the years, she has integrated her work and life with the exciting Red history of that year. Even her mobile phone’s ringing has been set to this aspect. Therefore, all the materials in front of her seemed to have melted in her blood.
Unconsciously, she has been working till noon.
She looked up at her watch, it was time for lunch so she went to the kitchen and cooked some noodles. She had just finished eating, the phone rang. The call was from Xie Yunhua, director of the Cultural, Guangxi New Tourism Bureau. Director Xie knew well and felt assured about Min’s workability and professionalism, but he still reminded her of some notes. Finally, he half-jokingly encouraged Min, saying that there should be no problem today since Min has been trained for a long time. The key was just to let herself relax.
Min hung up the phone, dressed up, and then came out of the house.
Min was far too familiar with the road leading to the memorial hall, but she was a little bit nervous in addition to being excited to walk on this road today. Suddenly, the Long March Departure Memorial Tower could be seen from afar.
IV
This morning, Guixiu Duan was also making serious preparations.
Duan Guixiu was born in 1920. According to the Hakka people’s Calculation method, she should be 100 years old this year.
Duan Guixiu’s family was in Duanwu Township, Yudu city, and her family were farmers. She was taken to the Wang family in Chexi Township as a child bride just ten days after birth. There was a custom in the local area that if someone’s child was prone to die, then once he got a son later, he would look for a baby girl with the same horoscope to be a child bride. In that case, not only could the son grow up safely, but also the child bride could bring luck to the parents to give birth to a younger brother or sister. Guixiu’s family was not in a good economic situation, so her family reluctantly agreed to the marriage. From then on, Guixiu grew up with her husband in the Wang family. The two children have been grown up together since childhood, so they established a deep relationship. Many years later, when Guixiu recalled the past, she murmured that her husband had treated her very well. Her husband took her wherever he went and always gave her good things. She called him brother Jinchang. Guixiu’s husband was called Wang Jinchang. She still clearly remembered that in the December of the lunar calendar in 1932, she and Jinchang formally became a couple. At that time, her family could not afford the wedding so the wedding ceremony was very simple. They just invited a few relatives who were close to the family to come over. Then began their marriage.
On 8 February 1933, the Central Bureau of the Soviet Area of the Communist Party of China made an emergency resolution, proposing to ‘create a one million Red Army to fight the imperialist Nationalist Party army’ and ‘mobilize all the model battalions and model Chishao team to join the Red Army.’ Consequently, there was a rapid upsurge to join the Red Army in the entire Soviet area. At that time, Guixiu and Jinchang had been married for less than two months. Jinchang was infected by this craze and wanted to sign up for the Red Army. Guixiu cried as soon as she heard it. She did not want Jinchang to leave. If we reckon further, Guixiu should be only 13 years old that year. She and her husband Jinchang were married at this age according to local customs. It could be thought that her attachment to her husband was very profound for a girl of this age and who has been newly married. But Jinchang had been agitated by the enthusiasm for being in the Red Army, so he persuaded Guixiu that he would leave for at most three to five years.
With Jinchang’s promise, Guixiu finally agreed.
Of course, it was Jinchang’s promise that made Guixiu firmly believe that he would return. The registration office in the town was under a giant camphor tree. It was a certain morning, several Red Army cadres in grey uniforms and octagonal hats were busy working. Guixiu accompanied Jinchang to the registration office. Guixiu was too young to make shoes, so she used the money from selling firewood to buy two pairs of shoes in the town for her husband. Jinchang had his wish fulfilled eventually. He received the military uniform, took off his clothes, and let Guixiu keep the clothes well. He said that he would wear them when he came back. He also told Guixiu to be thoughtful at home and take good care of her mother. Seeing Guixiu’s sadness, he held her and reassured her that he would return.
Because of Jinchang’s promise, Guixiu has waited for 87 years.
After Jinchang left, Guixiu was the only one left at home. She took care of her Jiapo and Jinchang’s young brother every day. ‘Jiapo’ was a Hakka dialect in Southern Jiangxi, that was, mother-in-law. A family of three depended on each other. Both Guixiu and Jinchang’s younger brother were young, and her mother-in-law was sick. Life was tough, tthe family had to beg for a living. Guixiu was very thoughtful, and she kept in mind Jinchang’s words that even the food, she would let her mother-in-law and younger brother eat first. When she was 16 years old, she began to work in the town. There was a coal factory in the town, where the manpower was needed to carry over the coal to the ship. A load of coal was nearly one hundred catties, and it was an unimaginable burden for a thin girl who was only a teenager. But she could earn 20 cents for carrying just one load of coal. Thinking of the sick mother-in-law and the young brother, Guixiu chose to stick to it.
Guixiu was also a Hakka. The most significant characteristic of Hakka women was that they could endure hardships and were a one-track mind. Guixiu always kept in mind the promise of Jinchang. When he was leaving, he told her under the giant camphor tree that he would return after at most five years. Guixiu sincerely believed him.
However, five years passed, and another five years passed, but Jinchang never came back. It was not until the founding of New China in 1953 that Guixiu finally received a letter. The cadre of the township government opened the letter and told her that it was a martyr certificate issued by the national government and that Comrade Jinchang sacrificed in a battle in Fujian. Guixiu could not believe it. How could such a piece of paper prove that Jinchang was dead? She believed that her husband would not lie to her. He would not die, nor could he die! This Hakka woman was so stubborn that she decided to wait until her husband came back.
After another period of time, relatives from her natal family also persuaded her to remarry because she was only 30 years old and still young. But Guixiu rejected categorically and said firmly that she would wait for Jinchang.
She also said that she had promised to take good care of this family, so she would not leave.
Now that Guixiu was determined to stay with the family, she was prepared well to endure even more hardships. She went to be the cook in the Depot Supply and Marketing Cooperative canteen, which was not far from home. Many employees in the Depot Supply and Marketing Cooperative would eat in the canteen every day, but Guixiu was the only one in the canteen. The large coal-burning stoves were used in the canteen at that time. It took a long time to use this type of stove for cooking because the rice had to be cooked first, then fished out, and then steamed. To serve the meal at 7 a.m., Guixiu would get up at 3 a.m. every day. She also had to go to the Chexi Middle School far away from home to fetch water before cooking in the canteen. There were three big tanks in the canteen, and she must fill these three big tanks first.
Later, Jinchang’s younger brother got married and left. Her mother-in-law passed away. Guixiu was the only one left in the old house. A few years later, she adopted the son of Jinchang’s younger brother. She finally had a son.
Not until 2019, when Guixiu was 100 years old, she finally believed that her husband would not come back. For several days, she had locked herself in the house and refused to see anyone. On 14 May, the civil affairs officials in the village took her to the Central Red Army Long March Departure Memorial Hall in Yudu County. There was a huge wall covered with straw sandals worn by the Red Army in the memorial hall. These straw sandals form the pattern of a massive map of China. Guixiu stood still in front of the wall, looking at it blankly for a while, then stretched out her hand to touch the straw sandals on the wall, silently without speaking. The chief of civil affairs standing next to her understood her thoughts. The director of civil affairs was called Guo Hubei. Guixiu once told him that she had woven straw sandals for her husband. Director Guo understood that she must think of Jinchang. Sure enough, an octagonal hat in the showcase next to it attracted Guixiu again. She walked over, looking at the five-pointed star made of red cloth on the octagonal hat, and murmured that there was also a star on the hat when he joined the army.
Guixiu remained silent on the way returning from the county. When she got home, she asked Director Guo whether she could go to the memorial again in the future. At first, Director Guo didn’t understand what she meant and said, of course, she could go. Director Guo further asked her what the matter was. Guixiu did not seem to want to say anything. Director Guo told her that he could take her there again the next day if she would like to go.
Guixiu raised her head immediately and asked: ‘Really?’
Then she said blankly: ‘But my husband is no longer there.’
Director Guo asked: ‘What?’
Guixiu answered: ‘I didn’t find his name or photo there today.’
Upon hearing this, Director Guo realised that he ignored it that day.
The next day, Director Guo was busy until the afternoon. When he came to see Guixiu, she asked: ‘Will you take me to the memorial hall?’ It was already dark outside. Director Guo wanted to reschedule the visit, but he could not bear to disappoint Guixiu, so he swallowed his words back, agreed, and said: ‘Okay, let’s go now.’
This afternoon, Director Guo retook Guixiu to the Central Red Army Long March Departure Memorial Hall in the county seat. But in the memorial hall, Jinchang’s name was still not found. Director Guo came to ask Min. Min knew everything well and said that if they could not find Jinchang’s name in the memorial hall, they might find it at the Martyrs Cemetery.
Min asked Director Guo about the background, and then she reported immediately to the superior leaders after learning the specific situation and the idea of Guixiu. The leader decided that, under the premise of ensuring the health and safety of the elderly, they would be sure to satisfy her wish that day. It was already 6pm, and there was still a long way to the Martyrs Cemetery. Considering that the mountain road was hard to walk, and it would be very late when returning, they sought opinions of Guixiu whether to visit the other day. But Guixiu shook her head and declined. She insisted on going that day because he must find Jinchang that day!
So, this evening, they took Guixiu to the Martyrs Cemetery in the mountains.
Yudu City was a revolutionary town in the period in Soviet Areas. Among the martyrs who sacrificed for the revolutionary cause, those whose name could be traced are 16,336, and those whose name could not be traced are even more. The martyr’s Cemetery in dusk appeared to be peaceful and quiet. Only the sound of pine waves in the mountains. They accompanied Guixiu to the front of a vast granite wall and finally found the name of Wang Jinchang in the upper side of the stone wall after looking for a while. But the location of this name was too high that Director Guo had to pick up a pine branch from the ground to point to the name to Guixiu. Guixiu came over slowly, looked up, and opened her eyes wide to look at the name through the sunset. Suddenly, she leaned on the stone wall and burst into loud sobbing. She cried very hard with all her strength, but the sound was not significant and was a bit hoarse. She did not have the power to cry any louder. She eventually cried out the 87 years of thoughts, grievances, worry, expectations, and disappointment until the last desperation. No one came over to persuade her. Everyone standing next to her knew that she should cry. The 87 years of tears accumulated should be released. So, this evening, they took Guixiu to the Martyrs Cemetery in the mountains.
Guixiu cried and finally spoke. She was talking to her husband Jinchang. But no one understood what she was saying. She muttered to herself but suddenly clapped the stone wall with her hand. It seemed as if she was complaining loudly. She slowly lifted her hand and tried her best to touch the name. But the position of the name was so high that she could not touch it even if she stood on her toes. She had to take the pine branches from Director Guo to touch her husband’s name. This time, everyone caught what she muttered: ‘Why do you fail to keep your word? You said that you would come back. How bitter it is that I have been waiting for you for so many years!’
She muttered, crying in the dusk for a long time.
On the morning of 20 May, Guixiu cleaned herself up, which made her appear much younger. She knew that she would see a vital guest that day, to whom she had lots of things to discuss. She wanted to say that the statue in the memorial hall, the Red Army warrior riding a high-headed horse, looked like her husband Jinchang. She also wanted to say that she had decorated the martyrs certificate of Jinchang, hanging together with the award of the grandson. She was always proud of her husband. In addition, she wanted to say that she was utterly getting rich with the care of the Party and the government. Now she had a great-grandson, and the whole family lived in a brand new house, living the happy life…
Chapter 2
Faith does not believe in destiny
Poverty has been plaguing human beings for many years, including the Chinese nation. Today, the Chinese are determined to achieve the great revival of the Chinese nation and are also determined to solve this problem. On 8 November 2012, the Communist Party of China was officially proposed in the 18th National Congress that by 2020, China would build a well-off society.
It is an unusual goal, which is an even higher goal than the ‘well-off level’.
Obviously, although both the well-off society and the well-off level signify ‘well-off,’ they are not the same. First of all, the scope is different. In the last century, we have focused on our national conditions. The focus of ‘well-off’ is to solve the fundamental living problems, mainly in improving material civilization. While the well-off society is just the material civilization and the spiritual civilization and political civilization; Secondly, the standard is different. Suppose our domestic product doubles by 2020 in comparison to 2000. In that case, the per capita GDP will exceed $4,000, which is compliant with the upper-middle-income country level in the country income classification standard defined by the World Bank. It is sure that when detecting and quantifying the comprehensive construction process, we must not only improve the critical statistical value of the people’s living standards but also fully reflect the development process of spiritual civilization and political civilization.
It is undoubtedly a great goal and an unprecedented battle in China and even the whole world. Since it is unprecedented in Chinese and foreign history, the difficulty is apparently conceivable. And the closer it is to the goal, the more necessary it is to ‘gnaw hard bones.’ From 27 to 28 November 2015, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee deliberated and approved the ‘Decision on Winning Poverty Alleviation’. On 29 November, the ‘Decision of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Winning Poverty Alleviation’ was issued. It indicated that this battle has indeed entered the final sprint stage of tackling the toughest. This big battle was also a huge systematic project. China, the most populous country in the world, wanted to build a moderately prosperous society in an all-around way. The first thing to solve was the food problem of billions of people. And to solve the problem of food, we must first solve their poverty problem.
Poverty and poor are not yet the same concept. Poor describes the economic status of a country or region, a family, or a person. While poverty, on the other hand, is a kind of situation that people fall into because of this economic state. We must liberate the poor people thoroughly from this predicament. To ensure that rural poor people are free from worries over food and clothing and have access to compulsory education, basic medical services, and safe housing. Besides, let them all enter a well-off society. No one has ever achieved the goal before, and it is impossible to achieve the goal worldwide.
Now, in China, the Communist Party of China is determined to use the whole country’s power to achieve the goal.
