Chapter 2033

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, they are all local folks, and they are all working on the construction site now."

Xia Song said, "Brother Su, this is truly a great method. Letting the local folks repair the embankment not only provides them with a source of income but also ensures the quality of the project."

Su Xinghui said, "Xia Song, if you read history books often, you should know that in ancient times, during years of great disaster, they often used 'work as relief,' allowing the disaster-stricken people to exchange their labor for food."

Xia Song nodded and said, "Brother Su, I understand. This is also your method of 'work as relief.' It is indeed much better than directly distributing relief."

Su Xinghui said, "Of course, in ancient times, the goal of the rulers was merely to keep the common people from starving to death or rebelling. Now, our goal cannot be so low. After the project is finished, we must also strive to create more employment opportunities for the common people and work hard to increase their income. Therefore, developing the economy is what we need to do next."

Xia Song nodded thoughtfully.

Su Xinghui took him to tour the lake embankment, and then to the new district and the economic development zone on the west side of the county seat, explaining many issues to Xia Song, giving him a rough impression of his governing methods in Chongjin County. Of course, this impression was still quite general; to fully understand Su Xinghui's governing methods, Xia Song would still need to follow Su Xinghui around more, to see more and learn more.

For Xia Song, he could also be considered very lucky. How many people have such a good opportunity to follow an excellent leading cadre like Su Xinghui right after graduation, and be able to learn things that many people might not learn in a lifetime? His growth would surely be very smooth.

One must know that five years ago, Xia Song was still a mountain boy who could not get enough to eat, had no proper clothes to wear, and had an uncertain future. It was precisely because of Su Xinghui that he changed his destiny. Now that he had such a good opportunity, he was truly lucky enough.

Soon, New Year's Day of 1998 arrived. On this New Year's Day, Su Xinghui did not return to Shangjun County; he stayed in Chongjin County. On New Year's Day, he went to several townships to express his condolences to the impoverished households in those townships.

And just as 1998 arrived, the Chongjin County government announced a piece of news that shocked the entire county: starting from 1998, in response to the policies of the Party Central Committee, Chongjin County would officially and comprehensively abolish the agricultural tax and the system of retention and pooling.

This meant that the imperial grain tax that the farmers of Chongjin County had been paying for thousands of years was officially abolished; from now on, they would never have to pay imperial grain tax again. On the day the county government issued the notice, firecrackers began to be set off everywhere in Chongjin County, and many common people were so moved that they wept bitterly.

This cannot be blamed on these common people for having a low threshold for tears; those who have not experienced this scene find it truly difficult to understand their excitement.

The common people of China have been paying imperial grain tax for thousands of years, and the concept of paying imperial grain tax has already taken deep root in people's hearts; everyone feels that paying imperial grain tax is something that should be done.

Nowadays, every farmer has to pay at least one or two hundred yuan in agricultural tax and retention and pooling fees per person each year. This amount of money does not seem like much, but for farmers with large families, each household has to pay one or two thousand yuan a year. For farmers who do not have much cash income, this is a huge burden that makes them unable to bear the weight.

To put it more vividly, this expenditure is like a great mountain pressing on the back of every farmer, pressing them so hard that they cannot straighten their backs or catch their breath. Now that this expenditure has been abolished, it is equivalent to instantly moving away this mountain on the farmers' backs. How much lighter they must feel now; how could they not be excited?

Now, Su Xinghui's prestige in Chongjin County can be said to be at its zenith. After Su Xinghui arrived in Chongjin County, how many practical things has he done for the common people?

As soon as he arrived, he started repairing the embankment, using a large number of local laborers, allowing these common people to increase their income by a significant amount. Then, he attracted investment in the economic development zone, bringing in a large number of enterprises, which would increase the number of jobs by tens of thousands.

Next, he provided free treatment for those schistosomiasis patients and also invited a team of experts, which greatly improved the condition of these schistosomiasis patients and rekindled their hope for life.

He also renovated the old city, built a new district, rebuilt roads, and built a new Changjiangdaqiao, making the lives of the common people in Chongjin County better and better.

Now, he has even abolished the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system. How could the common people of Chongjin County not appreciate his kindness?

At that moment, there were farmers who set up long-life memorial tablets for Su Xinghui in their own homes. Of course, they also knew that the Communist Party did not encourage this, so they only secretly set up long-life memorial tablets for Su Xinghui in their own homes, not daring to let others know. However, this did not prevent them from praying for Su Xinghui's blessings in their own homes.

Of course, the abolition of the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system still caused quite a few different voices in Chongjin County. Some people said that Chongjin County is a poor county, an agricultural county, and now that the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system are being abolished, is it a bit too radical?

In the past, almost 60 percent of Chongjin County's total fiscal revenue came from the agricultural tax. Now that it has been suddenly abolished, what should be done about Chongjin County's fiscal revenue this year?

Although it is said that the central government's policy is also to abolish the agricultural tax, didn't the central government provide a five-year buffer period? Then Chongjin County should have made full use of this buffer period. Why abolish the agricultural tax so quickly? Isn't this just trying to be different?

There were many voices opposing Su Xinghui, including many leaders such as Executive Deputy County Magistrate Meng Lingguo and County Party Committee Secretary Yuan Yifu, who expressed different opinions. Of course, because Su Xinghui's prestige was quite high now, their opposition was not very intense; they only tactfully put forward their opinions at the Standing Committee meeting. However, the process of Su Xinghui abolishing the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system was still quite difficult.

At the Standing Committee meeting, Meng Lingguo said, "County Magistrate Su, is it a bit too fast to abolish the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system now? Didn't the central government leave a buffer period of several years? Now the main source of the county's fiscal revenue comes from agriculture. Once the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system are abolished, how can such a big hole in fiscal revenue be filled?"

Yan Xiangyu, who supported Su Xinghui last time on the issue of the candidate for the director of the management committee, put forward an opposing opinion this time. This is also very normal. Although Yan Xiangyu is a member of the County Party Standing Committee, her main position is the Secretary of the Chengguanzhen Party Committee. Of course, she must first pay attention to the interests of Chengguanzhen.

In the current Chengguanzhen, although the proportion of fiscal revenue from agriculture is lower than in other townships, it still exceeds 40 percent. For Chengguanzhen's fiscal revenue, this is a very important source. Once abolished, Chengguanzhen's fiscal revenue this year will immediately drop by a large chunk.

Yan Xiangyu said, "County Magistrate, I also agree with abolishing the agricultural tax and the retention and pooling system, but look, can we delay it for another two years? Abolishing it all at once is too urgent, right? We must at least give the townships below us a buffer time."

Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee Liao Kun said, "That's right, County Magistrate Su. Chengguanzhen is still okay, but in many townships in the county, fiscal revenue from agriculture accounts for 70 or 80 percent of their fiscal revenue. Once this is abolished, what will they do?"

Other members of the Standing Committee also put forward their own opinions, most of which were opposing voices.

Yuan Yifu watched coldly from the sidelines for a while, and at this moment he spoke slowly, "County Magistrate, I think, regarding this matter of abolishing the agricultural tax, can we delay it for another year or two? Everyone's opposition is so strong, and there are indeed realistic difficulties."