pjbooks Chapter 10 Contracting
Chapter 10 Contracting
Shan Yaowen specially selected three catties of fatty meat, and carried it to the Party Secretary's house.
The old Party Secretary's surname was Li, and his name was Li Baoguo. In his previous life, after Shan Yaowen became a lonely man, this Secretary Li cared about him quite a bit and would send him some warmth every now and then.
Although Secretary Li is only 49 years old this year, he has a long history of experience.
He had served in the army back then, although he was just a little kid at the time. But in his words, he had supported the army's logistics and contributed to the cause of liberation.
He can talk to many people in the military.
bang bang bang...
Shan Yaowen knocked on the door of the Party Secretary's courtyard.
Who is it?
The response came from Huang Qiuyu, the Party Secretary's wife.
"Aunt Huang, I am Yaowen, the second son of Shan Dashan's family."
"Oh? A kid from the mountains, here to see your uncle?"
As they spoke, the courtyard gate opened, revealing a middle-aged woman dressed in ordinary clothes. Upon seeing Shan Yaowen, she asked with concern, "Awen, is your father alright?"
Two days ago, Shan Dashan was attacked by a wild boar and is now bedridden. The news has spread throughout the village, and she has obviously heard about it as well.
"It's nothing, thank you for your concern, Auntie."
"Did you come here for something?" After exchanging pleasantries, Huang Qiuyu asked about Shan Yaowen's visit.
Shan Yaowen held up the meat in his hand to show it, "I caught two roe deer yesterday, so I brought some to Uncle."
"Roe deer meat?" Huang Qiuyu's eyes lit up, clearly attracted by the meat in front of her.
However, she didn't reach out to take it. Instead, she declined, saying, "You silly child, your father is still bedridden. Why would you give it to me if you don't give him some tonic?"
Shan Yaowen looked at Aunt Huang, whose eyes never left the meat in her hand. He found it a little funny. People are like this nowadays. They clearly want it, but they say they don't want it and have to refuse a few times.
"I've kept everything my family ate, and the neighbors around here have also given me some. Please don't refuse, I went to great lengths to bring it here." Shan Yaowen handed it to Aunt Huang without saying a word.
Huang Qiuyu instinctively tried to push the meat back, but her hand holding the meat seemed to freeze. Despite her husband being the village secretary, their family's standard of living was similar to that of an ordinary family, and they could only eat meat a few times a year.
In the past, when we were raising livestock on ranches, we could occasionally eat a few meals from the communal pot, but that stopped after bread production was distributed to individual households.
"Oh, come in and sit down. Auntie will pour you some tea."
Li Baoguo was gathering firewood for the winter in the backyard when he heard the commotion in the front yard. However, he didn't come out immediately. He listened for a while to find out who it was and what they were doing there. Only after Shan Yaowen entered the house did he pretend to have just returned.
"It's Yaowen, it's been a long time since you've been here." After taking off his big hat and placing it on the kang (a heated brick bed), Li Baoguo greeted Shan Yaowen with a smile.
Huang Qiuyu, who had put down the meat, also came over with a thermos and warmly poured a bowl of milk tea for him.
"Is your dad alright?" After sitting down, Li Baoguo asked about Shan Dashan's condition.
"Thanks to Uncle, I'm much better, but I still can't move and can only lie in bed."
Li Baoguo smiled and said, "I don't have that kind of luck; it's all your own ability."
While discussing Shan Dashan's illness, the two chatted about everyday matters for a while before Shan Yaowen revealed his purpose: "Uncle, I heard that it's possible to contract ranches for livestock breeding around here, is that right?"
Upon hearing this, Li Baoguo immediately understood.
The second son of the Shan family came because of this matter.
"Yes, it's possible. In fact, it could have been done since last year." Li Baoguo immediately explained the detailed policies to Shan Yaowen.
Last year, in 84, the government began to promote the large-scale valuation of livestock and the collection of household ownership. The first stage of the reform was to change the collective ownership of livestock, namely "livestock valuation and collection of household ownership, private ownership and private raising".
After livestock were taken over by individuals, pastures remained publicly owned and shared, leading to the problem of "owning livestock eating public grass" in many places, resulting in competition for grazing and overgrazing.
Subsequently, the higher authorities quickly promoted the grassland contracting work, and it was only after the selected grassland contracting pilot projects were completed that it began to be fully implemented this year.
In various places, collectively owned grasslands have begun to be contracted out to herders on a household or joint household basis, clarifying each herder's right to use, manage, and construct specific grasslands.
At this point, herders in pastoral areas can start contracting out livestock and pastures. Instead of contracting out livestock and pastures separately, they can directly contract out both livestock and pastures in one go.
"If I were to take over the contract now, what procedures would I need?" Shan Yaowen rubbed his hands together after hearing this.
"The procedures are very simple. I know your family's situation. There are no problems with the contracting procedures. You are definitely qualified to contract. The most important thing is the contracting fee." Li Baoguo thought for a moment and then explained the various prices for contracting the grassland.
Li Baoguo's account was much more detailed than what Shan Dashan knew.
Previously, Shan Yaowen had heard from his father that one mu of grassland cost one yuan per year, with a minimum of ten mu and a ten-year contract.
The age and area were similar, but Li Baoguo also told him about some policy details, namely that grasslands were classified into different categories:
Inferior, desertified grasslands cost 5 cents, ordinary grasslands cost 1 cents, and high-quality grasslands cost 1 yuan. There is also a special, high-value pasture that is not currently contracted out; these are all state-owned pastures and are operated by the government.
"In that case, what's the price for the area east of our village, near the Anling Mountains?" Upon hearing this price, Shan Yaowen immediately had a plan in mind.
"The area near the woods? Around Three Lakes?"
"No, the woods are to the east, and Sandao Lake is to the west."
"Then it should be ordinary pasture. Of the pastures around our village, only the one near Sandaohu is classified as high-quality pasture; the others are all ordinary."
After Li Baoguo finished speaking, he reminded Shan Yaowen, "If you're going to contract it, it's best to choose a better pasture. Also, there's no shortage of water in the Sandao Lake area. Of course, you can decide the specifics yourself."
Shan Yaowen was overjoyed; he hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise.
He had long coveted the grasslands to the east; in his previous life, his employer's grasslands were located to the east.
He knew how to run that ranch, he knew everything about it, especially since he had personally experienced the ranch's subsequent heavy snow and drought, and knew how to deal with and prevent them.
Of course, besides being familiar with it, the most important thing is that there is a spring in the mountains that has water all year round, no matter how dry it is. In the 1990s, Sandao Lake dried up, but that spring still had water.
In addition, it makes hunting in the mountains much more convenient.
This is Shan Yaowen's favorite; he's so happy to be able to hunt.
"When can you say I'll finalize this contract? I'd like to choose the pasture on the east side."
Li Baoguo looked at Shan Yaowen in surprise, "Have you made up your mind?"
"right."
Shan Yaowen nodded.
Actually, his initial plan was to earn more money by hunting and working during this period, and to discuss the contracting matter after winter when things calmed down, or perhaps next spring.
He had sold the wild boar yesterday, and with the two roe deer he hadn't sold yet today, he had some money in hand. Moreover, he had just learned that the ranch's lease fee had been reduced by half, so he decided to lease it.
After all, it would take some time for the Party branch secretary to go through the formalities. Nowadays, the approval process for various policy documents is far less fast than it would be with computers in later generations. It would take at least ten days to half a month. So he decided to talk to the Party branch secretary first and let him know.
If you act early, you might even make a profit when the heavy snow arrives this winter.
"Have you chosen the specific location, size, and number of cattle and sheep for the ranch?" Seeing that Shan Yaowen had made a decision, the village secretary turned to ask more detailed questions.
"Do you need it now?"
"No need, but you need to decide when the town's official document comes down. I'm just reminding you, so if you haven't thought it through, hurry up and do so."
Shan Yaowen nodded: "It's the grassland to the east. As for the exact area, we'll decide when we get there."
"Can."
After the conversation, Shan Yaowen left. He needed to sell the roe deer, calculate how much money he had, and then go to check the pastures. He had to do the math based on the money he had. It seemed like he had a lot to do.
Li Baoguo then took out paper and pen to write down Shan Yaowen's basic information and prepare for the application.
Although the village can make a decision on the contracting process if there are no problems in the village meeting, it still needs to be reported to the higher-level unit, namely the town, and the contracting personnel also need to be present as witnesses when it is signed.
After agreeing on the terms, Shan Yaowen went back and, together with his older brother, delivered some roe deer meat to his older sister, grandparents, and uncle's family.
My older sister lives in the next village, and the road to her house is different from the road to the town, so it takes quite a long time to go back and forth.
As for his grandparents, they lived with his uncle, Shan Yaowen.
After delivering the goods, he mentioned to his family that he wanted to contract the grassland, but apart from his younger sister, everyone else was against it.