Chapter 554 Increase production by 1 million mu

A cotton harvester with a price of one million yuan is definitely beyond the reach of ordinary farmers. Looking at the whole country, only large state-owned farms can afford to buy a cotton harvester.

In terms of agricultural mechanization, large state-owned farms have always been at the forefront. As early as 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 reforms, and many state-owned farms also learned from the experience of the contract responsibility system and began to try the organizational form of contract management.

However, in relatively large land reclamation areas, state-owned farms are still the mainstay.

One of the two largest land reclamation areas in the country is in the northeast. After large-scale reclamation in the 1950s, the Great Northern Wilderness has become the Great Northern Cang.

It's just that the agricultural reclamation areas in the Northeast mainly grow grain, not cotton.

The second largest land reclamation area is in the Northwest Autonomous Region, which is the land reclaimed by the Production and Construction Corps.

On the farms producing the Construction Corps, cotton is the main cash crop.

Li Weidong wanted to sell cotton harvesters, so he 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 task of guarding the border assigned by the state, but also completes the duty of reclamation entrusted by the state. In peacetime, it is engaged in production, and in wartime, it is transferred to the military. Production and combat preparations are balanced.

Although the Corps is in the front, it is 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 provincial social and economic plans. The leaders of the Production and Construction Corps will also be given high assignments, and senior officials will be identified.

According to the usual practice, the deputy secretary of the autonomous region is also the secretary and political commissar of the Production and Construction Corps, and the vice chairman of the autonomous region is also 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 economic, financial and other 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; taxation affairs are managed by autonomous regions; population and area are included in local government statistics, but gdp is listed separately.

It is precisely because the financial management authority of the Production and Construction Corps is a separate plan, so they have the ability to purchase a large number of cotton harvesters.

Uncle He made an appointment for Li Weidong, and then took Li Weidong himself to meet 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 happens to be 30 years old. Li Weidong replied.

You are so young and promising! If Lao He hadn't brought you here personally, I wouldn't have believed that the chairman of such a famous Puppy Group is so young!

Zhang Jianshe paused, and then continued; Speaking of which, on behalf of the autonomous region, I would like to express my gratitude to you. You helped build dormitories for dozens of primary and secondary schools here, so that more children can go to school. It is really for our autonomous region. Solved a big problem!

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

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

In a few simple words, it involves attracting investment.

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

A big entrepreneur like Li Weidong is naturally the key target for local investment.

So when Zhang Jianshe met Li Weidong, he brought the topic to investment. He wished that Li Weidong could invest and build a factory from the autonomous region.

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

Li Weidong had no choice but to tell the truth: Secretary Zhang, I'm actually here to sell products this time.

Commodity circulation can also promote economic development, but it is 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 successfully rolled off the production line. Li Weidong quickly introduced it.

I've seen reports on this in the news. Zhang Jianshe nodded silently.

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

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

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

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

Because a lot of imported parts are used, the current price of cotton harvester is still a bit high. Normally, the price of each cotton harvester is 1.1 million. If you buy in 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 also came to me before, and they were selling cotton harvesters. .”

Doubt flashed across Uncle He's face, as if he was asking why I didn't know.

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

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

This video tape is in English, and it was shot in great detail, and it is still in the archives. I watched this video at the time, and I was really shocked. I didn't expect that American agriculture had developed 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 dumbfounded. The price of the cheapest cotton harvester is close to 300,000 U.S. dollars, and the higher-end models cost 500,000 to 600,000 U.S. dollars. It's so expensive, how can we afford it!

At that time, I thought it was those American merchants who deliberately quoted high prices to cheat me! Later, I asked someone to inquire about the price in the United States, and only then did I know that the cotton harvester is really so expensive!

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

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

How about this, the Production and Construction Corps can purchase two cotton harvesters, first try to see how the effect is, if the effect is good, we will talk about subsequent purchases.

Zhang Jianshe spoke in such a serious tone, obviously not discussing with Li Weidong, but making a final decision.

The purchase of only two units is not what Li Weidong wants.

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

After all, Li Weidong spent a lot of money to build dormitories for the primary and secondary schools in the autonomous region. For this reason, Zhang Jianshe couldn't directly refuse Li Weidong, so he decided to buy two cotton harvesters, which can be regarded as a face for Li Weidong.

The so-called trying out the effect is nothing more than a polite way of saying it.

Then thank you very much, Secretary Zhang. Li Weidong had no choice but to thank him first, and then changed his voice and asked:

Secretary Zhang, the country has been carrying out poverty alleviation cooperation between the east and the west for two or three years. The partner of our cooperation in Handong Province happens to be your place, so I would like to ask, what is the most lacking in the autonomous region now?

What's missing? That's a lot! Zhang Jianshe smiled and counted on his fingers: We are short of everything except natural and mineral resources. Lack of funds, technology, talents, and infrastructure , 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, talents are the foundation of economic development. If you want to boost the economy, you must first have people. Only with people can you start economic construction. Zhang Jianshe nodded.

Does that secretary feel that the lack of population limits the economic development of the autonomous region to a certain extent? Li Weidong continued to ask.

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. That's why the country formulates family planning policies.

But on the other hand, if there are more people, the needs of life will increase, and opportunities in various fields 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 as far as our autonomous region is concerned, we still welcome young people with aspirations from the eastern region to come to us for employment.

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

Li Weidong went on to say: Actually, there are many people who come from the autonomous region to look for opportunities, but most of them don't plan to live here for a long time. Many people will go back to the east after staying for two or three years.

There are also some seasonal laborers, such as the annual cotton harvest season, don'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, sometimes it's more than 400,000, and sometimes it's more than 500,000! Zhang Jianshe replied.

Is half a million people enough? Li Weidong asked immediately.

As far as our cotton planting area is concerned, it is barely enough at best. In 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 more people to pick cotton? Li Weidong continued: I heard that the pay for picking cotton is still very good, one month's work is equal to the usual three or four months' income, there must be many people willing to come.

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.

Every year when the cotton harvest season comes, even if a few more special trains are opened, if all the seats are full, only tens of thousands of people will come. For us, it is just a drop in the bucket.

Naturally, the laborers who picked cotton were reluctant to spend money on flying, and they would choose the cheapest train.

A train can carry about 1,200 passengers. If the soft sleepers are replaced with hard seats, and some standing tickets are sold, the number of passengers is about 2,000.

Calculated in this way, even if there are five special trains a day, it can only transport an additional 10,000 people.

The time cost of critical shipping 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, the train would have to run for several hours to reach Urumqi.

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 two back and forth runs, 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 labor force who goes to the autonomous region to pick cotton every year, the peak is about 500,000 people.

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 is it related to the cotton harvester again! Zhang Jianshe was slightly taken aback.

Without waiting for Zhang Jianshe to speak again, Li Weidong continued; A cotton harvester only needs one driver, which can replace 100 laborers. Two drivers working in two shifts can support 200 people.

With the cotton harvester, you don't have to worry about no one picking the cotton, and you can also expand the cotton planting area. 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 area of ​​cotton planted in the autonomous region has been steadily increasing. For now, manual picking can still meet our demand for increasing cotton production.

With the improvement of the traffic environment, especially the increase in transport capacity brought about by the increase in train speed, the number of laborers who come to pick cotton every year is also increasing. I believe that the transport capacity in the future will also get better and better.

Zhang Jianshe's implication is obviously that even without cotton harvesters, with the improvement of transportation capacity, we can expand the cotton planting area.

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

Let me give you an example. For example, in a certain farm, 200 people came 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 they lose half of the cotton?

How many acres of cotton to plant each year is a matter for cotton farmers to decide, but how many people can come to pick cotton each year, cotton farmers have no way to decide, right?

Some workers came this year, maybe they will find a better job next year, so they will not come again. Even if some people come every year, if the wages on other farms are better, they will move to other places.

If you use a cotton harvester, you won’t have this problem. If you buy the machine, when it’s cotton picking season, you can find a driver to harvest the cotton. For the Production and Construction Corps, the driver shouldn't be hard to find, right?

Moreover, the cotton harvester does not need to rest. One cotton harvester requires two drivers to work in two shifts. In one cotton picking season, it can pick up to 10,000 mu of cotton.

That is to say, if you buy a cotton harvester, you can plant 10,000 mu of cotton every year without worrying that there will be 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, there is no need to bear the risk of manual picking when picking cotton. This is equivalent to spending more money, increasing production, and reducing risks.

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

Zhang Jianshe really hadn't considered the theory mentioned by Li Weidong before. He had been paying attention to the cost of cotton picking, but ignored the risks of cotton picking.

For things like cotton, the best time to pick them is just a few days. Picking them early or late will affect the quality of the cotton.

For cotton farmers, if the cotton is planted but it is too late to pick it, it will inevitably cause great losses. Instead of no one picking cotton, it would be better to let the land go fallow and not plant anything, at least not to lose money.

If the cotton harvester is used, although the cost is increased, the risk of picking is reduced. The workload of one 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 human picking.

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 production steps are more 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 his relatives and friends to help him, and he can complete the picking in time without too much loss.

However, the Production and Construction Corps are all state-owned farms, which are tens of thousands of mu of cotton fields at every turn. If they can't hire people, it is useless 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 think that cotton harvesters should be used in the state-owned farms that produce the Construction Corps to ensure stable cotton output.

In production or economic activities, the larger the scale, the more risks must be avoided.

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

Zhang Jianshe understood this truth. 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 do 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.

In other words, if the Production and Construction Corps purchases one hundred cotton harvesters, then one million acres of cotton can be planted every year when planting!

Increase the production of one million mu of cotton fields, how many tons of cotton can be produced each year! If it is picked by hand, the increase in production by one million mu will not be achieved in the year of the monkey.

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! 13056/9825084

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