Chapter 1766: The Good News from Elder Yu

That night, Su Xinghui rested at Elder Yu's home. He originally wanted to stay in a hotel, but Elder Yu said that since he was home, he should sleep at home and not spend that "unjust" money, so Su Xinghui had to agree.

Elder Yu had never kept any guests to rest at his home, so this was an exception. After dinner, Elder Yu's children and grandchildren all said goodbye. Yu Ruizhi told Su Xinghui that he would come to pick him up the next morning, so he left too.

After eating and resting for a while, Elder Yu went to the backyard to tend to his vegetable garden, and Su Xinghui accompanied him.

Elder Yu was born a farmer. After the founding of the People's Republic, he held high positions and great power, but he never gave up farm work. He developed the habit of growing vegetables in his own backyard. He ate the vegetables he grew himself, and if he couldn't finish them, he would give them to his children and grandchildren to take home.

The green vegetables Su Xinghui ate today were also grown by Elder Yu himself. These might be the most precious vegetables in all of China—vegetables grown by the hands of such a founding father. How precious!

The vegetables Elder Yu grows are all fertilized with farm manure and are not sprayed with pesticides. The taste is better than vegetables bought outside, and they are healthy to eat. The process of growing vegetables is also a form of moderate labor, which might be one of the reasons for Elder Yu's longevity.

Arriving at the backyard, Su Xinghui saw a small greenhouse there, about one or two "fen" of land. Although it was not big, one or two "fen" of vegetables were indeed enough for many people to eat.

The winter in Jingcheng is cold; if it weren't for the greenhouse, the vegetables wouldn't survive at all.

Elder Yu and Su Xinghui entered the greenhouse together. There was a stove burning in the greenhouse, making it as warm as spring. Only in this way could these vegetables grow well.

The greenhouse was planted with Chinese cabbage, bok choy, eggplants, green peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Su Xinghui recognized all of them.

Elder Yu saw a green caterpillar crawling on the leaf of a bok choy. He squatted down, caught the caterpillar, and asked: "Do you recognize all the vegetables here?"

Su Xinghui said: "I should recognize them all."

Elder Yu pointed to a green pepper plant that hadn't borne fruit yet but had bloomed and asked: "What vegetable is this?"

Su Xinghui said: "Green pepper."

Elder Yu asked about several other vegetables, and Su Xinghui answered them accurately one by one.

Elder Yu was a bit surprised: "Didn't you grow up in the city? How do you recognize so many vegetables?"

Su Xinghui said: "When I was a child, I often went to my aunt's house, and my aunt also grew vegetables. When I was in Pengjiawanzhen, every household in Pengjiawan grew vegetables. I often went to the fields to watch, so I recognize them all."

Elder Yu pulled out a few weeds and said: "That's right. When you were in Pengjiawanzhen, you promoted vegetable planting and turned that place into a 'hometown of vegetables.' I forgot. You are not bad. If you couldn't even tell the difference between vegetables and grass, and pulled out the vegetable seedlings while trying to weed, that would be no good."

Su Xinghui squatted down and helped Elder Yu pull weeds and catch pests. Elder Yu came here several times a day, so there weren't many weeds or pests, and they were cleaned up very cleanly, after all, it was only one or two "fen" of land.

Su Xinghui said: "Do you come to grow vegetables every day?"

Elder Yu nodded and said: "Yes, I was born a farmer and cannot forget my roots. Plus, growing vegetables is a way to exercise the body, so I have been doing it for so many years. Growing vegetables allows me to remember at all times that I was born a farmer and to understand the hardships of farmers."

Su Xinghui nodded and said: "Farmers are indeed miserable!"

Elder Yu said: "It will be better in the future. After this year's National Party Congress, the Party Central Committee will pass a policy to reduce the burden on farmers. According to regional differences, the agricultural tax will be gradually abolished within a few years, and the farmers' 'overall planning and retention' fees will be exempted. In the future, the lives of farmers should be better."

Hearing Elder Yu's words, Su Xinghui was overjoyed. In his memory, the time when China abolished the agricultural tax in his previous life was after the new millennium. But hearing Elder Yu say this, starting from the end of this year, the state will begin to gradually exempt farmers from various taxes and burdens. This is truly a huge gospel for farmers.

China's farmers are truly too miserable. After the founding of the People's Republic, they have always been the main contributors to state fiscal revenue, but this is too mismatched with their own income. Many farmers have to use most of their income to pay taxes. How could such a heavy burden not make them unable to breathe?

The time for this year's Party Congress to conclude should be around October. Passing this policy at that time and formally implementing it should start from the beginning of next year. According to regional differences, the agricultural tax will be gradually abolished within a few years. It is estimated that economically developed provinces like Guangdong will be the first to be exempted, while other economically underdeveloped provinces that are extremely dependent on agricultural tax will definitely be exempted a few years later.

But no matter what, this is already a few years earlier than the time when the agricultural tax was abolished in his previous life. This is the butterfly effect caused by Su Xinghui's rebirth. Su Xinghui finally felt that his rebirth had a relatively significant impact on this country, and it was a positive impact. He felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Su Xinghui said: "Grandpa Yu, this must be your credit, right? This is truly great!"

Seeing Su Xinghui's true feelings, Elder Yu couldn't help but be infected. He smiled and said: "How is this my credit? This is your credit! If you hadn't told me the real situation in the rural areas below, and let the Party Central Committee send an investigation team to the grassroots to investigate, this policy would not have been possible!"

Su Xinghui said: "I just spoke some words. Anyone can say such things. But to have the influence to let the Party Central Committee send an investigation team and introduce a policy, only you can do it!"

Elder Yu said: "Don't underestimate 'speaking words.' Anyone can speak, but who dares to speak? Who is willing to speak? Only a bold guy like you dares to say such things in front of me."

Su Xinghui couldn't help but feel ashamed. That's right, when he saw Elder Yu at that time, it could be said that he was a "newborn calf not afraid of a tiger." He actually dared to say such things to Elder Yu the first time he met him. If it were another old-school politician who had the opportunity to see Elder Yu, wouldn't they rack their brains to get benefits for themselves? How could they possibly say such things that might bring political risks to themselves?

Farmers are miserable—did no one above know? But agricultural tax is one of the important sources of state fiscal revenue, and China has been collecting it for thousands of years. Who dares to propose abolishing the agricultural tax? This is a very sensitive political topic.