"Yo, Qingsheng, you're back!" the former small landlord Xu Guangmao replied with a smile.

However, even though Xu Guangmao looked polite, Ma Qingsheng could clearly see that Xu Guangmao was in a hurry to get out.

"Uncle Xu, I came this time because I wanted to ask about the production team," Ma Qingsheng immediately said, getting straight to the point.

The smile instantly vanished from Xu Guangmao's face. "What's wrong with our production team?"

"I heard that the production team you guys are running is doing quite well. I wanted to ask how one can join it," Ma Qingsheng said with a smile.

"Oh, that's it. Qingsheng, aren't you working in the city? Why are you asking about this?" Xu Guangmao asked.

"My wife wants to come back to farm. Uncle Xu, you know, I'm not comfortable letting her, a woman, farm three mu of land alone. I was thinking of finding a production team for her to join."

"This..." Upon hearing Ma Qingsheng's explanation, a look of great difficulty appeared on Xu Guangmao's face. "Qingsheng, it's not that I'm unwilling to help you, but our production team is especially exhausting. I'm afraid your wife wouldn't be able to hold up. Wouldn't it be better if you contacted a state-owned farm or an army farm?"

These words made Ma Qingsheng force a bitter smile. He had indeed contacted state-owned and army farms, but the scale of the changes in the countryside now felt unbelievable to him. Not only were the factories in the city undergoing institutional construction, but the farms were as well. "Input, output, process control"—all industries were starting to formulate their own systems according to this model. In agriculture, it could be summarized in one simple sentence: "Learn how to arrange farm work."

The government did not force anyone to work. Aside from food subsidies for children attending school, there were no food subsidies for other rural families. If someone couldn't farm due to physical strength or disability, the countryside arranged many positions suitable for weak labor. However, the income was only enough to keep one's stomach full.

Ma Qingsheng naturally didn't know about "welfare societies," and the People's Party never established any welfare systems. Social security meant providing labor and employment opportunities, as well as corresponding job training. Only those who voluntarily accepted these labor opportunities would receive enough food to survive for a certain period. Idlers who didn't like to work had specialized government departments for mandatory counseling. Ma Qingsheng had to realize a problem: his wife's current state was not far from being an idler.

People's habit was to compare. Compared to before, these days were good beyond one's wildest dreams. By working, one wouldn't starve, could have some surplus, and could afford a bit of clothing and household items. The well-off households of the past were only at this level.

But now, the person in front of him, Xu Guangmao, nicknamed "Xu Manchangua" (Xu Full Granary), led a production team of over sixty people. They farmed two hundred mu of land with a yield of over three hundred jin per mu. At the end of the year, each person could receive a thousand jin of grain. After paying the public grain tax, there was still seven hundred jin left. Plus mulberry cultivation and animal husbandry, such a production team could distribute an average of over sixty yuan, ten chickens, three sheep, and two pigs per person. Most frighteningly, while other households either farmed with human labor or animal power, Xu Guangmao's production team had actually bought two tractors. The People's Party's large farms had also just begun using tractors for plowing in large quantities.

Naturally, many people wanted to join such a star production team. However, from what Ma Qingsheng understood, many people couldn't last a year and were forced to give up.

"Uncle Xu, am I delaying you from your business?" Ma Qingsheng asked.

Xu Guangmao laughed heartily. "Qingsheng, it's not that I'm putting on airs. Plowing is about to start, and things in the production team are really busy. If you really have something to tell me, how about tonight?"

Watching Xu Guangmao's back as he walked away with great strides, Ma Qingsheng already understood that his wife Zhao Chunhua was likely far from meeting Xu Guangmao's requirements. Although Xu Guangmao wasn't in industry, the drive he possessed and his relaxed, natural movements were no different from the elite workers in the silk reeling factories. They were focused, clear-headed, and knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing. This was the appearance of a true laborer. Ma Qingsheng felt that even he might not be able to compare to Xu Guangmao.

But this instead made Ma Qingsheng decide to definitely talk to Xu Guangmao tonight. If his wife Zhao Chunhua could learn this attitude and improve herself to this level, Ma Qingsheng felt it would be worth paying Xu Guangmao to take her in.

However, Ma Qingsheng was unwilling to go home. Going home meant endless, fruitless arguments. Zhao Chunhua couldn't be persuaded at all now; she always felt she had something to rely on. Ma Qingsheng was her reliance. Ma Qingsheng didn't think he shouldn't fulfill his duties as a husband, and even paying to support Zhao Chunhua was appropriate. But the core of the *Internationale*, which the People's Party was so keen on, was: "There has never been any savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors! To create human happiness, we must rely entirely on ourselves!"

Ma Qingsheng could create his own happiness, but he couldn't create the happiness Zhao Chunhua hoped for. In the People's Party, there were no "masters," and exploitation was not spoken of. Everyone was a laborer with hands and feet. Why could some people live such prosperous lives while others lived lives that were almost unsustainable? They couldn't survive the poor days of the past, and they couldn't survive the good days of the present either?

Walking around aimlessly in the village would be too conspicuous, so Ma Qingsheng simply left the residential area and walked toward the vast fields. The fields were filled with people everywhere, some plowing with livestock, others working with hoes. Some areas were wheat fields; after a winter, the emerald-green wheat seedlings were beginning to grow vigorously under the spring sun. The rice paddies for transplanting were also being prepared. There were tender buds on the branches, and small birds began to fly in the sky. In the ponds, ducks that had survived the winter began to swim and forage. Some fluffy little things were clearly hatched this year; the stronger among them were struggling and tumbling as they tried to learn to swim, while the visibly timid ones stood by the water, trying to find something with their flat little beaks.

Everyone was working, which made Ma Qingsheng, strolling through the fields, stand out.

"Qingsheng?" someone called. Ma Qingsheng turned his head and saw Wu Youwen, the director of the State-Owned Fourth Farm, coming up behind him.

The two were old comrades-in-arms, but since Wu Youwen had become a political commissar, he had retired later than Ma Qingsheng.

"Old Wu, where are you going?"

"Coming here for a field investigation," Wu Youwen replied. Being old comrades, after exchanging updates on their recent lives, Wu Youwen explained the characteristics of rural work lately when Ma Qingsheng asked.

The Party Central Committee's layout for agricultural work was simple: promote technologization in every stage. Previously, farmers organized production themselves, and the agricultural departments didn't intend to forcibly order the masses to change these old habits. However, the agricultural technology promotion departments studied each stage and its applicable scope. Most importantly, agricultural departments everywhere had to propose the time used for each stage and the labor required. It wasn't about encouraging the masses to adopt new technologies in a swarm, but rather teaching everyone "production processes" one by one and letting the masses choose for themselves.

This required not only demonstrations but also a large amount of research. What was demonstrated was not just technology, but also various labor usages and response measures for various general situations. Xiao Qiang, the director of the Anhui Provincial Agricultural Department, was an old political commissar of the 105th Division. He gave a report at a meeting titled "Successology and the Theory of Practice." The general idea was that since the masses could not currently understand the necessary stages of success or why some areas could achieve high yields while others couldn't, it was unrealistic to expect farmers to fully understand agricultural technology through theoretical education given the current situation. Furthermore, frankly speaking, what the masses pursued was not agricultural technology at all, but rather how to get good results. In this case, it might as well temporarily adopt a "metaphysical model" and provide more specific execution models for the masses to choose from according to their own circumstances.

"As long as there are enough models, there will always be a way that fits the masses," Xiao Qiang said in the report. "The key is not to exaggerate facts and to realistically explain the input and output of each model. Output doesn't even have to be discussed; input must be clearly explained. For the general masses, the greatest characteristic is a tendency to amplify the probability of success. For example, the improved seeds we provide can yield four hundred jin in our fields, but how much can they yield in the masses' fields? We must investigate this before we can say. Moreover, we must thoroughly study the different results caused by various details."

This speech was a bit too theoretical. Ma Qingsheng asked, "According to this speech, it's equivalent to telling the masses that it's possible for them to work hard for a year and harvest nothing. Isn't that too discouraging to their enthusiasm?"

Wu Youwen nodded. "That really is the key point. The core point of this speech is to teach the masses how to avoid low yields, rather than how to achieve high yields. Teach the masses what they must put in, rather than what they will definitely get out."

"Ha! Brilliant!" Ma Qingsheng praised repeatedly. This attitude grasped the fundamental point. If failure can be avoided, the rest is just a matter of how much success. If low yields are avoided, the rest is just the degree of high yield.

"This isn't just a matter of how the masses organize production. The work of researching agricultural technology and studying specific situations must be undertaken by the agricultural departments. Each farm has its own tasks. It's not just about us researching how to increase yields; we also have to research how to solve problems. Research where the operable key points are. It's really busy work."

"Then you'll have to be busy for several years, my friend," Ma Qingsheng sighed.

Wu Youwen smiled. "It's not just a few years. Director Xiao's words were that everyone should first plan to keep their heads down and work for ten years. The *Agricultural Handbook* is being prepared with ten or twenty million words. When I used to farm, I really didn't know there were so many tricks to it."

The old comrades sighed for a while. Wu Youwen asked, "How's the situation at the factory now?"

Ma Qingsheng sighed. "Same as you, desperately researching how to formulate systems. But now that you've said that, my thinking has opened up too. Not seeking the best, but trying to avoid mistakes as much as possible. Trying to keep everything within a controllable range. That's the attitude for getting things done."

"That's all we can do. If nothing goes wrong, everything's fine. If something does happen, solve the problem and try to make sure it doesn't happen next time." Wu Youwen seemed to have settled on his approach. The two had nothing more to say, and Wu Youwen took his leave to continue his field investigation. Clearly, having received Ma Qingsheng's support, Wu Youwen's confidence in his work had increased quite a bit.

Ma Qingsheng continued to stroll slowly in the fields. Farm director Wu Youwen and Agricultural Department director Xiao Qiang, after all, came from political work backgrounds, and their insight was indeed different. Ma Qingsheng could do his work well himself, but he hadn't fundamentally understood why he could succeed or why he could complete his tasks. The core idea was how to ensure he put in enough labor and to guarantee the labor process, rather than heading straight for the results.

In contrast, his wife Zhao Chunhua clearly didn't want to put in enough labor as long as she could get the results. So she relied on this and that; as long as she could avoid labor, she wanted to use whatever she could. In final analysis, it was one sentence: "Zhao Chunhua doesn't want to be a laborer."

Comparing this line of thought with Zhao Chunhua's past actions, this conclusion was extremely clear. All problems were explained. Zhao Chunhua didn't understand that her work was just one link and that she had to complete all the work for that link. Even a small link was part of the entire chain. Only someone who could handle the work for that link was a qualified laborer. Zhao Chunhua clearly couldn't do it now.

Understanding the ins and outs of the matter should have made one feel much more relaxed, but Ma Qingsheng felt dispirited instead. Judging from this angle, if Zhao Chunhua couldn't realize this, she could never be a qualified laborer. At least in the city's factories, there probably wouldn't be a place for her.

Speaking of working, many people weren't necessarily more capable than Zhao Chunhua, nor necessarily more passionate about labor. But they had one advantage: they could complete the work. They didn't think they had any special privileges, and by working honestly, they could still survive. Not being outstanding just meant not getting the most money, but it didn't mean not getting any money. As Wu Youwen had said, "If failure can be avoided, the rest is just a matter of how much success. If low yields are avoided, the rest is just the degree of high yield."

The problem was that in Zhao Chunhua's current state, she couldn't complete the work. Aside from constantly manufacturing failure, she couldn't accomplish anything else.

Realizing he had actually married such a wife, Ma Qingsheng felt he really couldn't be happy. It seemed that letting Zhao Chunhua go back home to farm and rely on herself might be okay, but finding her a job in a factory was truly an impossible task.

He wandered for a long time until the sky began to gradually darken. Recalling his agreement with Xu Guangmao, Ma Qingsheng began to head back toward the residential area. The unified residential areas in the countryside of Fengtai County had become quite large after several years of construction. Not only were there unified residential areas, but there were also temporary residential areas in the fields. People used to set up shacks in the fields during busy farming seasons. Now, the temporary residential areas provided places to stay, rest, and cook. As the cooperative method spread, many things became much easier. Some farmers chose to go home, while others chose to stay in the temporary residential points made of brick and tile. Xu Guangmao was part of those who went home.

Everyone's courtyards were the same. The difference in Xu Guangmao's home was a room specifically set aside as an office. Several large pieces of paper were pasted on the wall, looking very much like work progress schedules in a factory. The difference was that there were many small cloth bags below with many slips of paper inserted in them.

"Uncle Xu, what kind of arrangement is this?" Ma Qingsheng asked, looking at these after being led into the office by Xu Guangmao.

Xu Guangmao replied calmly, "This is all what I learned from the farm. Every work arrangement, the characteristics of each solar term, planting methods, and precautions. It's easier to remember if written down. Also the planned workload to be completed, and the workload everyone has actually completed. As well as why it wasn't completed, and arrangements for temporary dispatch. This is all used for the year-end distribution based on work completion. If this thing is messed up, everyone will curse me."

In factories, there were specialized statistics departments responsible for this statistical work. Ma Qingsheng hadn't expected Xu Guangmao to have learned to such an extent.

Xu Guangmao was very concerned about the key issue. "Qingsheng, you said you wanted your wife to join our production team. What's that about?"

Ma Qingsheng smiled bitterly. "Uncle Xu, first tell me how you arrange people here and what needs to be done. I'll see if my wife can handle it."

"First, if you join our production team, you have to do enough work. Second, if you choose these tasks, you have to work for the whole year. Just those two rules."

Hearing this, Ma Qingsheng felt quite emotional. "How exhausting is it?"

Xu Guangmao smiled bitterly. "It's not really a matter of how exhausting. We have a few in our production team who are in their fifties, both men and women. They can all do it. It's just that you can't quit halfway through for me. This arrangement is for a whole year. If I have to find someone on short notice, who am I supposed to find?"

If it were any other requirement, Ma Qingsheng felt Zhao Chunhua might still be able to do it. But for such simple, repetitive labor, Ma Qingsheng felt there was a ninety-nine percent chance Zhao Chunhua wouldn't last a year. This "production team" of Xu Guangmao's wasn't really a production team at all; aside from the subject of labor being the land, the entire thing was arranged like a factory. Although Ma Qingsheng didn't engage in frontline labor, the security section patrolled what needed patrolling and inspected what needed inspecting. Preventing theft, fire, and unauthorized entry. If nothing went wrong at the factory, Ma Qingsheng's contribution wouldn't show at all, but the fact that nothing went wrong was precisely Ma Qingsheng's greatest contribution.

This was exactly like the Agricultural Department's proposal: "If failure can be avoided, the rest is just a matter of how much success." The direction of effort for this new social system in the base area was toward seemingly simple work. The problem was that completing this work was truly incredibly difficult.

Seeing Ma Qingsheng remain silent, Xu Guangmao misunderstood his meaning. "Qingsheng, it's not that I don't want people here. If people come, we have a few more mu of land. We also lack people and land. You know what prices cowhide, beef, and cow bones can fetch outside now. If we had another hundred mu or so of land, our production team could specifically grow alfalfa to raise cattle."

"Uncle Xu, haven't I heard that you can apply to large farms for land to cultivate now?" Ma Qingsheng couldn't help asking.

"You don't know. The land you apply for can only be used to grow grain, nothing else. And for the extra land you apply for, you have to hand over fifty percent of the grain. For your own land, you only need to pay enough public grain tax, and in three mu of land, you can use one mu to grow whatever you want. The government's control is a bit too strict."

Faced with the masses' questioning of the government, Ma Qingsheng naturally had to defend the government. "Isn't there the state-owned granary? If not enough grain is grown and a natural disaster occurs, what will everyone eat?"

Xu Guangmao laughed. "Qingsheng, I'm just being a bit greedy. I'll definitely do whatever the government says. You know, my family's original land was about the same as now, but back then, anyone could come to my door and take a cut. Now, after paying the official tax, I'm left with much more than before. These good days were unimaginable in the past. Right, Qingsheng, about your wife, what do you think? Is it a go?"

Hearing his wife mentioned, Ma Qingsheng quickly replied, "Uncle Xu, I don't think it'll work. Just act as if I never said anything, don't take it to heart."

"Oh, in that case, think it over for yourself."

Ma Qingsheng noticed that although Xu Guangmao spoke very politely, he clearly looked relieved. It seemed this production team was truly not easy to get into.