Chapter five hundred and fifty-four increased production by 1 million mu

A cotton harvester that sells for as high as one million is definitely unaffordable to ordinary farmers. Looking at the whole country, only large state-run farms can afford to buy cotton harvesters.

In terms of agricultural mechanization, large state-owned farms have always been at the forefront. As early as the era when tractors were still precious agricultural machinery, state-owned farms used high-end agricultural machinery such as combine harvesters.

At that time, the few professional agricultural machinery produced by domestic enterprises were mostly supplied to state-owned farms.

After the reform and opening up, the country implemented economic system reform, and many state farms also learned from the experience of the contract responsibility system and began to try the organizational form of contract management.

However, in the relatively large agricultural reclamation areas, state farms are still the mainstay.

One of the two largest agricultural reclamation areas in China is in the northeast. The Great Northern Wilderness that year, after large-scale reclamation in the 1950s, has become the Great Northern Warehouse.

It's just that the agricultural reclamation areas in the northeast mainly focus on growing grain, not cotton.

The second large agricultural reclamation area is in the autonomous region in the northwest, that is, the land reclaimed by the Production and Construction Corps.

Cotton is the main cash crop on the farms that produce the Construction Corps.

Li Weidong wanted to sell cotton harvesters and went to the Production and Construction Corps, which was the right way.

The Production and Construction Corps is a very special existence. It not only has to complete the border garrison task assigned by the state, but also fulfill the task of reclamation entrusted by the state. Production in peacetime, and military in wartime, so that both production and combat readiness are correct.

Although the Corps was in front, it was under the dual leadership of the central government and the autonomous region. Its organizational structure is similar to that of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

The production and construction corps belongs to the deputy ministerial level, but according to national regulations, it enjoys the separate management authority of the provincial social and economic plan. The leaders of the Production and Construction Corps will also be given high-level assignments and clear high-ranking officials.

By convention, the deputy secretary of the autonomous region is concurrently the secretary and political commissar of the Production and Construction Corps, and the vice-chairman of the autonomous region is concurrently the deputy secretary and commander of the Production and Construction Corps.

In terms of management authority, the Corps enjoys provincial-level economic management authority, among which the economic and financial management authority plans are listed separately and are directly managed by the central government;

Administrative and judicial affairs are managed by the Corps in accordance with national laws; tax affairs are in charge of the autonomous regions; population and area are included in local government statistics, but GDP is listed separately.

It is precisely because the production and construction corps' financial management authority is listed separately, so they have the ability to purchase a large number of cotton harvesters.

...

Uncle He helped Li Weidong make an appointment, and then personally took Li Weidong to see Secretary Zhang Jianshe of the Production and Construction Corps.

Zhang Jianshe seemed very enthusiastic. He poured a cup of tea for Li Weidong himself, and then asked, Chairman Li looks so young, is he thirty years old?

This year is just 30 years old. Li Weidong replied.

You're really young and promising! If it wasn't for Lao He who brought you here, I wouldn't believe that the chairman of such a famous dog group is so young!

Zhang Jianshe paused, then said, Speaking of which, on behalf of the autonomous region, I would like to express my gratitude to you. You have helped us build dormitories for dozens of primary and secondary schools here, so that more children can go to school, which is really good for our autonomous region. Big problem solved!

It is what I should do to contribute to education. Li Weidong said modestly.

Zhang Jianshe continued: Not only education, there are many fields in our autonomous region, and investment is very welcome. For example, water conservancy, petrochemical, mineral resources, if Chairman Li is interested in any aspect, I can also arrange someone to accompany you on the inspection!

In a few simple words, it comes to attracting investment.

For localities, attracting investment is indeed a major event. In places like the Northwest, the transportation is not as convenient as that of the eastern coastal provinces. It is more difficult to attract foreign investment. The focus of investment promotion can only be placed on local enterprises. .

A big entrepreneur like Li Weidong is naturally the key target for local investment promotion, so when Zhang Jianshe met Li Weidong, he led the topic to investment.

He wished that Li Weidong could come to the autonomous region to invest and build a factory.

Li Weidong naturally heard what Zhang Jianshe meant, and he couldn't help but feel a little funny, but he came to sell things to make money, but the customer came to turn against the customer.

Li Weidong had to tell the truth: Secretary Zhang, I'm actually here to sell products this time.

Commodity circulation can also promote economic development, but it's rare to come to me to sell products. Zhang Jianshe then asked: Chairman Li, what are you going to sell me?

Cotton harvester. The domestic cotton harvester jointly developed by our Fukang Agricultural Machinery Factory and the Agricultural Machinery Research Institute has been successfully rolled off the production line a few days ago. Li Weidong quickly introduced.

I have seen reports of this on the news. Zhang Jianshe nodded silently.

Li Weidong continued: The efficiency of a cotton harvester is much higher than that of manual cotton picking. A cotton harvester can operate ten acres of land in one hour. If it works ten hours a day, it is one hundred acres of land. The workload of one hundred people.

Moreover, the cotton harvester is a machine. As long as it is oiled, it can work all the time without any rest. If a cotton harvester is equipped with two drivers, the work efficiency can be doubled.

Agricultural mechanization is indeed the trend of future development. In the farms of our Production and Construction Corps, the use of agricultural machinery is also relatively common.

Zhang Jianshe paused, and then continued: If the price is right, we won't explain trying to use machines to pick cotton.

Because a lot of imported parts are used, the price of cotton harvesters is still a bit high at present. Normally, the price of each cotton harvester is 1.1 million. If you buy large quantities, the price can be reduced to 1 million. Li Weidong said replied.

Hearing the price of 1 million, Zhang Jianshe didn't seem very surprised, he just nodded indifferently, and then said; A few merchants from the United States have come to me before, and they are selling cotton harvesters. .

The doubts on the face of Uncle He on the opposite side flashed past, as if he was asking, why I don't know.

Zhang Jianshe turned his head to look at Uncle He, and then explained, That was about three years ago, when you were still in the Ministry of Machinery Industry, so you didn't know about it.

At that time, American merchants had already introduced to me the advantages of cotton harvesters, the use of cotton harvesters in the United States, and a video tape explaining cotton harvesting in detail.

The videotape is in English, it was filmed in great detail, and it is still in the archives. When I watched this video tape, I was really shocked. I didn't expect American agriculture to develop to such an advanced level.

To be honest, after watching the video, I was a little tempted, and wanted to buy a batch of cotton harvesters so that our production and construction corps could also use advanced agricultural machinery.

As a result, when I heard the quotation, I was immediately stunned. The cheapest cotton harvester is also quoted at nearly 300,000 US dollars, and some high-end models are sold for 500,000 to 600,000 US dollars. It's so expensive, how can we afford it!

At the time, I thought it was those American merchants who deliberately bid me a high price! Later, I asked someone to inquire about the price in the United States, and then I realized that the cotton harvester is so expensive!

Compared with the cotton harvesters in the United States, your quotation of one million per unit is indeed a lot cheaper, but with the economic level of our country, such a price is still too high!

Zhang Jianshe said with a serious tone, and then said: The successful development of the cotton harvester has filled the gap in this area in China, and we should also support the domestic agricultural machinery research cause.

Well, the Production and Construction Corps can purchase two cotton harvesters to see how it works. If the effect is good, we will discuss the follow-up purchase.

When Zhang Jianshe spoke in such a serious tone, he was obviously not discussing with Li Weidong, but made the final decision.

The mere purchase of two units is not the result Li Weidong wanted.

Li Weidong pondered that it was also because of his own door-to-door sales that Zhang Jianshe decided to purchase two cotton harvesters. If it was someone else, he might not buy one.

After all, Li Weidong paid a lot of money to build dormitories for the primary and secondary schools in the autonomous region. For this reason, Zhang Jianshe could not directly reject Li Weidong, so he decided to buy two cotton harvesters, which is a way of giving Li Weidong a face.

The so-called test effect and the like are just a courtesy.

Then many thanks to Secretary Zhang. Li Weidong had to say thank you first, then changed his voice and asked:

Secretary Zhang, it has been two or three years since the country has carried out poverty alleviation cooperation between the east and the west. Our cooperation object in Handong Province happens to be you here, so I would like to ask, what is the most lacking in the autonomous region now?

What are you missing? That's a lot! Zhang Jianshe smiled and counted with his fingers: Here we are, except for natural and mineral resources, basically everything is lacking. Lack of funds, lack of technology, lack of talents, lack of infrastructure construction , lack of corporate investment...

The most important thing is the lack of people, right? Li Weidong asked with a smile.

Yes, there is a shortage of people! In the final analysis, talent is the foundation of economic development. If you want to start the economy, you must first have people. Only with people can you do economic construction. Zhang Jianshe nodded.

Did that Secretary Zhang feel that the lack of population limits the economic development of the autonomous region to a certain extent? Li Weidong asked.

Zhang Jianshe replied: It can't be said that it restricts economic development. If the population is too large, it will consume more resources and have a relatively large burden on employment, so the country will formulate a family planning policy.

But on the other hand, if there are more people, the demand for life will increase, and the opportunities in all aspects will also increase, which in turn will drive the development of many industries and promote employment.

Therefore, population is also a double-edged sword, with advantages and disadvantages. But for our autonomous region, aspiring young people from the eastern region are generally welcome to come to us for employment.

At that time, the Northwest Autonomous Region had a population of about 17.5 million. This population was relatively small among the provinces in China. If one considers the huge area of ​​1.66 million square kilometers in the autonomous region, there are only ten people per square kilometer on average.

Li Weidong continued: Actually, many people come to the autonomous region to seek opportunities, but most of them do not plan to live here for a long time. Many people stay for two or three years before going back to the east.

There are also some seasonal laborers, such as the annual cotton harvest season. Wouldn't laborers from all over the country gather here? Can 300,000 people come to pick cotton every year?

It's more than 300,000. When it's low, it's more than 400,000, and when it's high, it can exceed 500,000! Zhang Jianshe replied.

Is 500,000 people enough? Li Weidong asked immediately.

As far as our cotton planting area is concerned, it is barely enough. During the cotton picking season, many farms have to work for more than 12 hours so that the cotton picking can be completed in time. Zhang Jianshe said.

Then why don't you bring in some people to pick cotton? Li Weidong continued, I heard that the pay for picking cotton is pretty good. One month's work is equal to three or four months' income. There must be a lot of people willing to come here.

Zhang Jianshe replied: We also want to find more people to pick cotton, but due to the limitation of transportation capacity, so many people can't come.

When the cotton harvest season arrives every year, even if there are a few more special trains, there can only be tens of thousands more people when they are fully seated. For us, it is just a drop in the bucket.

The cotton-picking labor force is naturally reluctant to spend money on a plane, and they will choose the cheapest train.

A train can take about 1,200 passengers. If the soft sleeper is replaced by a hard seat, and some station tickets are sold, it will be about 2,000 passengers.

In this way, even if five special trains are added a day, only 10,000 people can be transported.

The cost of time spent on critical deliveries is very high.

The land area of ​​the Northwest Autonomous Region is really too large. At the speed of the train at that time, even if it entered the territory of the autonomous region, it would take several hours for the train to reach Uzbekistan.

If you go to other remote places in the autonomous region, it is normal to spend a few days and nights on the road.

It may take seven or eight days for a special train to go to the autonomous region, but how many seven or eight days are there in the entire cotton picking season?

So under normal circumstances, the special train runs at most two round trips. After the two runs back and forth, almost one third of the cotton picking season has passed, and no cotton picking army continues to enter Xinjiang.

Due to the limitation of transportation capacity, the number of laborers who go to the autonomous region to pick cotton every year is about 500,000 people at the peak.

Of course Li Weidong knew about the limited transportation capacity. He immediately followed Zhang Jianshe's words and continued: Secretary Zhang, the cotton harvester we produce can perfectly solve the problem of insufficient manpower during the cotton picking season.

Why did it get involved with the cotton harvester again! Zhang Jianshe was slightly taken aback.

Without waiting for Zhang Jianshe to speak again, Li Weidong continued: A cotton harvester can replace 100 laborers with only one driver. Two drivers can work two shifts and can handle 200 people.

With a cotton harvester, there is no need to worry about no one picking cotton, and at the same time, the cotton planting area can be expanded. Therefore, if the Production and Construction Corps wants to expand the cotton planting area, it should purchase cotton harvesters in large quantities!

Zhang Jianshe said: In fact, in recent years, the cotton planting area in the autonomous region has been rising steadily. For now, manual picking can still meet our demand for increased cotton production.

With the improvement of the traffic environment, especially the increase in the capacity of the trains, the labor force for cotton picking every year is also increasing. I believe that the capacity of the future will be better and better.

Zhang Jianshe's implication is obviously that even if there is no cotton harvester, with the improvement of transportation capacity, we can still expand the cotton planting area.

Li Weidong smiled slightly: Secretary Zhang, you have overlooked one thing, that is, if you manually pick cotton, the labor supply is not stable.

Let me give an example. For example, a farm has 200 people coming to pick cotton this year, but who can guarantee that 200 people will come to pick cotton next year? If only 100 people came, wouldn't half of the cotton be lost?

How many acres of cotton to plant each year is something that cotton farmers can decide, but how many people can come to pick cotton every year, is there no way for cotton farmers to decide?

Some workers came this year, maybe they find better jobs next year, and they won't come again. Even if some people come every year, if the wages on other farms are better, they will go elsewhere.

If a cotton harvester is used, there will be no such problem. The machine is bought, and when the cotton is picked, a driver will be able to harvest the cotton. For the production and construction corps, the driver should not be difficult to find, right?

Moreover, the cotton harvester does not need to rest. A cotton harvester can find up to 10,000 mu of cotton in one cotton harvesting season with two drivers and two shifts.

In other words, if you buy a cotton harvester, you can grow 10,000 mu of cotton every year without worrying about no workers to pick it. This is the stability brought by the cotton harvester.

Although the one-time investment of the cotton harvester will be relatively high, when picking cotton, there is no need to bear the risk of manual picking, which is equivalent to spending more money, increasing the output, and reducing the risk.

While Li Weidong was talking, Zhang Jianshe's brows gradually wrinkled, and he began to seriously think about Li Weidong's words.

Zhang Jianshe has never really considered the theory mentioned by Li Weidong before. He has always been concerned about the cost of cotton picking, while ignoring the risks of cotton picking.

For something like cotton, the best picking time is just a few days. Picking early or late will affect the quality of cotton.

For cotton farmers, if the cotton is planted but not picked in time, it will inevitably cause great losses. Rather than no one picking cotton, it is better to leave the land fallow and plant nothing, or at least not lose money.

If a cotton harvester is used, although the cost is increased, the risk of picking is reduced. The workload of a cotton harvester is fixed, and one more cotton harvester can steadily increase the planting area.

In this respect, cotton harvesters do have an advantage over manual harvesters.

Li Weidong went on to say: The Production and Construction Corps is different from ordinary cotton farmers. The production scale of cotton farmers is relatively small, and the process of each step of production is relatively flexible.

For example, if a cotton farmer who has planted one or two hundred acres of cotton cannot hire someone to pick it, he can ask relatives and friends to help, and the picking can be completed in time without much loss.

However, the Production and Construction Corps are all state-owned farms, and there are tens of thousands of acres of cotton fields. If you can't hire people, it will be a drop in the bucket to ask relatives and friends for help, and it is impossible to complete the picking.

This kind of large-scale agricultural production requires stable output, so I believe that cotton harvesters should be used in the state-owned farms of the Production and Construction Corps to ensure stable output of cotton.

In production or economic activities, the larger the scale is, the more it is necessary to avoid risks.

For example, buying stocks and holding one million funds is definitely different from holding ten billion funds. Retail investors often have several daily limits, and they can double their capital in a year. Buffett can make 20% a year in stocks, and he is already known as the stock god.

Zhang Jianshe understood this principle, he thought for a moment, then nodded: Large-scale agricultural production, reducing risks, and pursuing stability are indeed in line with the objective laws of agricultural development.

Li Weidong continued to add: Secretary Zhang, we can make another calculation. One cotton harvester can pick 10,000 mu of cotton. If there are 100 machines, it can pick 1 million mu of cotton.

That is to say, if the Production and Construction Corps buys 100 cotton harvesters, it will be able to grow 1 million mu of cotton every year in the future!

An increase of one million mu of cotton fields can increase the production of tons of cotton every year! If it is harvested manually, the yield will increase by one million mu, which can only be achieved in the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.

Hearing the words increase production by one million mu, Zhang Jianshe's expression finally changed.

The temptation to increase the production of one million mu of cotton is too great!