Newborn 1927

Chapter 240 Inspecting the Hetao Region

Yang Jiefang returned the salute and said, "Captain Li, the weather is so cold, and you are still here clearing land. You've worked hard!"

Li Hu replied, "If it weren't for the young commander's relief efforts, we would have starved to death long ago. What's a little hardship compared to not going hungry? It's the young commander who's really working hard, coming to inspect the work in this freezing weather!"

Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "As the saying goes, one generation plants the land and another harvests it. If we work hard now and cultivate more land, our descendants won't go hungry. Tell me, have you encountered any difficulties?"

Li Hu replied, “Reclaiming wasteland and planting crops, how can there be no difficulties? We are all farmers, and we can always find a way to solve them. If we really have to talk about difficulties, it’s that there are too few tractors, so each farm has to take turns using them. Today it’s our farm’s turn to use them, and no one dares to be idle. We’re counting on them to reclaim a few more acres of land. It would be great if each of our farms could be equipped with a tractor.”

Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "The current production of tractors is limited, and the demand in various places is huge, so we can't meet your requirements for the time being. However, I have decided to build a new tractor factory in Baotou. Once more tractors are produced, we will definitely provide them to everyone."

Li Hu's face lit up with joy, and he said, "That's wonderful!"

Yang Jiefang continued, "And fertilizer, we can't completely rely on Shandong to transport it. Mayor Li, why don't you plan to build a fertilizer plant in Baotou? Hmm—there are a lot of livestock here, so we can try making organic fertilizer from cow and horse manure."

Li Boyan agreed, then asked, "Little Commander, would you like to go inside the farm?"

Li Hu looked at Yang Jiefang with anticipation. Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Then let's go take a look!" Li Hu was overjoyed and wanted to tell the people who were clearing land about the arrival of the young commander. Yang Jiefang quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't delay everyone's land clearing. Clearing a few more acres will produce several hundred more pounds of grain, and everyone will have a full meal."

Led by Li Hu, Yang Jiefang and the others entered the farm. All they could see were low mud-brick houses and thatched huts. The weather was cold, and the farmers were either working in the fields or staying indoors. Therefore, there were few people outside.

Li Hu shouted loudly, "Folks, the young commander has come to visit you!" As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people ran out of the houses. Among them were men and women, mostly the elderly, children, and women. Their clothes were old and tattered, barely enough to keep them warm. However, everyone's face was filled with joy, and they all gathered around him.

Li Hu explained, "Director Liu is leading everyone in repairing the water conservancy project. All the able-bodied men have gone out to work, leaving only the elderly and children to look after the house."

Looking at some of the school-age children, Yang Jiefang suddenly remembered something and asked, "Is there a primary school in the area?"

Li Hu shook his head and said, "No."

Li Boyan explained, "This year was too rushed, and there was no time to prepare many things. I'm already planning to establish primary schools on various farms next year and gradually implement seven years of compulsory education."

After all, they had just settled down, and being able to solve everyone's basic needs was already quite good. Yang Jiefang had only asked casually and didn't delve into it further. He trusted Li Boyan to handle the matter well.

Yang Jiefang went over to greet everyone and chatted with them warmly. Everyone knew that many people had starved to death in the Guanzhong region last year, and their survival was largely due to the young commander's relief efforts. Regardless of age or gender, everyone's respect and affection for the young commander was genuine. They were all deeply moved to be able to speak a few words with him.

After a brief chat, an old man called out, "Captain Li, quickly tell the kitchen to add a few more dishes. We absolutely must have the young commander eat here. I still have a jar of wine that hasn't been opened yet; I'll bring it out for him to try later." The farmers lacked pots, pans, and other necessities, so they ate together in the farm's canteen. As for their food, it was simply a matter of quality, as long as they were full.

Yang Jiefang quickly said, "I have other things to do, so I won't eat."

Li Hu advised, "Commander, it's just a meal, it won't take long."

Li Boyan interjected, "We've already wasted a lot of time traveling this way, stopping and starting. If we delay any longer, we might not be able to reach the next station on time. Commander, your time is precious, we can't afford to waste it!" Hearing this, no one dared to try to persuade him further.

The old man turned and went inside, quickly returning with a wine jar. He said, "Young Commander, I won't try to stop you from eating now that you don't have time. Take this wine with you and drink it when you get home!"

Yang Jiefang laughed and said, "I don't drink alcohol, so the old man should keep it for himself!"

The old man, however, didn't believe him, thinking he was making excuses to refuse. He said, "Young Commander, with your great abilities, how could you not know how to drink? This is wine that I made with a bunch of wild boys using sea buckthorn berries we picked. It tastes quite good. Although it's not worth much, it's a small token of my and my fellow villagers' goodwill. Please, Young Commander, accept it!" Grain was precious and couldn't be used to make wine; if someone wanted a sip, they had to pick wild berries to make it. In the Gobi Desert, wild berries were scarce, but sea buckthorn berries were plentiful.

Yang Jiefang was about to refuse when Li Boyan spoke up, "As the saying goes, one should not refuse a gift from an elder! Young Commander, please accept this kind gesture from the old man!"

The old man praised repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's exactly right. It's all thanks to you scholars that we have knowledge and know how to speak."

Yang Jiefang was somewhat helpless. If this continued, it would really delay their journey, so he asked his guard to accept the money for him. Afterward, he led the group away from the farm. Without further delay, they galloped at full speed. When the men and horses were hungry and tired, they ate the dry rations they carried, rested briefly, and continued their journey. In the afternoon, they entered the Houtao Plain and saw a body of water in the distance—that was Wuliangsuhai Lake.

Yang Jiefang and his companions had no time to appreciate the beauty of Wuliangsuhai Lake, continuing westward along the main road. What was once a place where the wind blew the grass low, revealing cattle and sheep, was now largely barren. The remaining ashes testified to the area's past fires. Nearby, they could see people driving tractors to till the land, followed by a group of people picking up grass roots. Surprisingly, all these people were women, even the tractor driver was a woman.

Li Boyan explained, “Most of the men went to dig canals and build water conservancy projects. The land reclamation work couldn’t stop, so it had to be done by the women. Fortunately, there were tractors, and these women could do it well. The young commander once said that women hold up half the sky, and that’s true! These women are proud to hold up half the sky.”

Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "You should tell the China Women's News about what happened here and ask them to send a reporter to report on these women's deeds. Let the people of the whole country see the spirit of contemporary women."

Li Boyan agreed, "That's how it should be. Commander, why don't you go over and say hello?"

Yang Jiefang agreed and spurred his horse forward. When he reached the group of women, he stopped his horse and called out loudly, "Hello, ladies! I am Yang Jiefang..."

The women stopped what they were doing, looking at each other with puzzled expressions. Li Boyan followed them over and said loudly, "He's the young commander, he's come to see you." Upon hearing the name of the young commander, the women cheered and rushed over.

Yang Jiefang's bodyguards immediately dismounted and blocked his way, preventing the women from approaching. Although stopped, the women shouted, "Wow—Little Commander, I've seen the Little Commander—!" and "So beautiful!" Their limited Mandarin was mixed with a large amount of Shaanxi dialect. Yang Jiefang couldn't understand much, but he could feel their joy and enthusiasm.

Yang Jiefang said loudly, "Sisters, you've worked so hard! I've come to see you all and see how you're doing. If you have any difficulties, just tell me, and I'll definitely help you solve them!"

The woman driving the tractor replied, "We're not starving or freezing now, and there's hope for the future, so what difficulties could we possibly have? If there are any, they're just trivial matters, like gossip from one neighbor to another, not worth the young commander's concern."

Yang Jiefang's gaze swept across the women's faces, and she could see that these women were filled with longing for a better life. The Chinese people have never been afraid of difficulties, but rather of losing hope; once hope is there, even the greatest difficulties can be overcome. Yang Jiefang, of course, knew that they would inevitably encounter various problems while clearing the land and cultivating the fields, but they didn't speak of them, and it wasn't appropriate for her to inquire further.

After chatting for a while, Yang Jiefang waved goodbye to the women. As darkness fell, they finally arrived in Wuyuan County. Led by Li Boyan, they went straight to the county government. County government officials, having heard the news, hurriedly came out to greet them. From the crowd, a very young, tall, and thin man stepped forward and called out, "Mayor Li, what brings you here so suddenly? Is something wrong?" Although he spoke to Li Boyan, his eyes were fixed on Yang Jiefang, as if he sensed that Yang Jiefang was the main character.

Li Boyan pointed to Yang Jiefang and said, "I'm accompanying the young commander on this inspection..."

The young man hurriedly called out, "Little Commander—" and couldn't help but look Yang Jiefang up and down again. Yang Jiefang was also looking him up and down. Judging from his age, he was about the same as himself, but he had an unusual maturity and competence about him.

Li Boyan introduced from the side: "This is Yu Zhongyuanli, the county magistrate of Wuyuan County..."

A group of officials were initially dispatched to Suiyuan from Shandong, a list jointly drafted by Li Boyan and Liu Qianchu. Although their true identities weren't publicly revealed, it was highly likely they were Party members; this couldn't be hidden from Yang Jiefang. Later, they secretly selected another group of Party members from Shaanxi. After all, the disaster victims resettled there were all from Shaanxi. This was done very discreetly, and they originally thought Yang Jiefang wouldn't know. But when Yang Jiefang saw Yu Zhongyuanli's name on the list of county magistrates, he immediately understood they were deceiving everyone.

Yang Jiefang laughed and said, "County Chief Yu is so young to become the head of a county, which shows that he is quite capable! Give me a report on the situation in Wuyuan County first."

Yu Zhongyuan replied, "My abilities are far inferior to those of the young commander! Young commander, please come in! Whatever aspect you wish to know, I will provide a detailed report."

Afterwards, the group entered the county government office together. Yang Jiefang sat down and immediately said, "County Chief Yu, tell me about the resettlement of disaster victims in Shaanxi, the land reclamation situation, and the progress of water conservancy construction, etc."

Yu Zhongyuanli said, "You've just arrived, you probably haven't eaten yet, right? Why don't you have the kitchen prepare dinner first, and we can talk about it after everyone has finished eating?"

Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "We brought some dry food. We'll just need the kitchen to boil some water for us. Let's eat and talk."

Yu Zhongyuan hesitated for a moment, but seeing Li Boyan nod slightly, he didn't say anything more and turned to instruct the county government clerk to boil water. After making the arrangements, he gave Yang Jiefang a detailed introduction to the situation in Wuyuan County.

Yu Zhongyuanli said, "Wuyuan County currently has a population of over 110,000 and 500,000 mu of cultivated land..." He then gave a detailed account of Wuyuan County's situation, as if reciting a familiar story. He also provided a detailed explanation of the resettlement of people who migrated from Shaanxi and the construction of water conservancy projects.

Yang Jiefang nodded repeatedly as he listened, thinking to himself that even if he were in that situation, he might not do any better. After Yu Zhongyuan finished his report, Yang Jiefang said, "I understand the situation. Take me to various places tomorrow." Yu Zhongyuan agreed. Yang Jiefang then said, "You go ahead and get busy! I want to talk to Mayor Li alone."

Soon, only Yang Jiefang and Li Boyan remained in the room. Yang Jiefang spoke up, "Mayor Li, Chairman Fu proposed that you serve as the Vice Chairman of Suiyuan Province. I was initially worried that the development of Baotou would be affected. But after meeting this County Chief Yu, I realized that my worries were unnecessary. He is capable, young, and promising; he shouldn't be confined to a small county like Wuyuan. Let him go to Baotou! Let him assist you in managing Baotou well."

Li Boyan was secretly delighted and said, "The young commander has a keen eye for talent! Let him serve as the deputy mayor of Baotou City for now!"

Yang Jiefang said, "I may not have keen insight, but I certainly have the ability to recognize talent. For example, you, Liu Qianchu, Xu Yuezhi, Guan Xiangying, Liu Xijiu, and others are all people I value. I give you important positions, and I only hope that you won't let me down!"

Li Boyan replied, "Don't worry! We will do our best and handle things with our hearts."

Yang Jiefang continued, "I insisted on keeping Xu Yongchang as the chairman of Henan Province, but he refused to take the position of commander of the 34th Army. Fu Zuoyi, who was in charge of the 35th Army, recommended you as the vice chairman of Suiyuan Province. This time, when he came out for inspection, he, as the provincial chairman, did not come with him. Do you know why?"

Li Boyan replied cautiously, "The junior commander still maintains a separation between military and political affairs in his personnel decisions. Chairman Xu is in charge of administration and therefore unwilling to command the military; since Commander Fu has chosen to command the military, he cannot interfere too much in political affairs?"

Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "You're right! It's clear you understand. So, I also hope you'll stay within your bounds and not meddle in things you shouldn't!"

Li Boyan immediately stood up in a panic and said, "Commander, is there something I did wrong that caused you to misunderstand? Please point it out! I will definitely correct it."

Yang Jiefang shook his head and said, "We are all sensible people, so don't play dumb in front of me! Tell me, what is the true purpose of the revolution? Is it to seize power and become a superior person, or to make the people of the world live a better life?"

Li Boyan replied, "Of course, it's to ensure that all people in the world can live a good life."

Yang Jiefang pressed further, "Do you think I can bring a better life to all the people in the world?"

Li Boyan replied, "Commander, you are dedicated to the people. Of course I believe you can bring peace and prosperity to the people of the world."

Yang Jiefang then asked, "If the people of the world could live a good life, but you were not in control of the country, would you still continue the revolution?"