Chapter 241 New Road
Zhang Haijun was very anxious about setting up a cooperative.

Early the next morning, he rode his motorcycle to the Longwan Town Government compound to find the mayor Zou Qixian.

The town mayor Zou Qixian happened to be there at that time. He was sitting under the old locust tree in the yard, holding a cup of hot strong tea and playing chess with the propaganda officer Liu Weimin.

As a section-level cadre, Zhou Qixian was not considered old, about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, wearing a clean dark blue uniform, with his hair slightly combed back. He looked a bit like a leader, but he had an easy-going personality and never acted pretentiously.

When Zhang Haijun came in, he just looked up and greeted Zhang Haijun, then quickly raised a chess piece and threw it onto the slate chessboard: "Check!"

Zhang Haijun had no choice but to walk up to Zou Qixian and said to him, "Mayor Zou, I have something to discuss with you."

Zou Qixian seemed to be focused on the chess game, and he just said, "What's the matter?"

Zhang Haijun simply recounted the story of Zhang Yunqi's investment in Yunxi Village.

After listening to Zhang Haijun's words, Zou Qixian was stunned at first. He stopped holding the chess piece in mid-air, looked up and asked Zhang Haijun, "It's a good thing to have a boss come to invest, but you said Zhang Yunqi is only seventeen or eighteen years old. Is it reliable to do such a big thing?"

Zhang Haijun said quickly: "I have watched this kid grow up since he was a child. He is absolutely credible. The Longjingyuan Canning Factory under his control has assets of tens of millions, and the cars he drives are all imported foreign cars. He really came to the town to invest and help the people in our village!"

Zou Qixian finally drew his attention back from the chessboard. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Director Zhang, what does Mayor Ji think of this?"

Zhang Haijun was stunned. He didn't understand what Mayor Zou was thinking. Normally, when government officials heard that a big boss was coming to invest in the local area, they would be too excited to know what to do. But Mayor Zou was really calm.

Zhou Haijun replied: "I don't know about this, but it is a rare opportunity for our village to attract investment and lead the villagers to start businesses and get rich. Mayor Zou, my nephew Zhang Yunqi wants to meet with you to discuss the possibility of the town government taking the lead in this matter. Do you want to meet him?"

When Zou Qixian heard this, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't show it. After all, the other party is a big boss who came to invest! Let's test the waters first.

"Okay! I'll go with you to meet him."

Before he stood up and left the yard, Zou Qixian did not forget to turn around and throw the chess piece in his hand onto the chessboard, and said to the propaganda officer: "Check again!"

******
Yunxi Village is not far from Longwan Town, only eight miles away.

However, this eight-mile road was not easy to walk on. It was full of twists and turns, gullies and muddy mountain roads. Sitting on Zhang Haijun's motorcycle, Zou Qixian's trouser legs were soon splashed with mud. He just looked at the vast mountains and fields. It was a rare opportunity for him to go to the countryside, and his mind was attracted by the shabby villages dotted there.

As the local official of this area with a population of more than 20,000 people deep in the mountains and old forests, Zou Qixian knows very well what kind of scenes are hidden in these villages. When he thinks that after so many years, most of the villagers still cannot solve the basic problem of food and clothing, he, the head of the town who often stays in the courtyard of the town government playing chess, will feel unusually heavy-hearted.

In fact, when he was first transferred to Longwan Town, although it was a poor, backward and remote mountain town, Zou Qixian was already a regular section chief in his early thirties and was very ambitious. As the saying goes, a prime minister must start from the prefecture-level city, and a brave general must start from the ranks, so a low starting point is not that scary.

Zou Qixian knew very well that this was a great time for reform and opening up and for vigorously promoting the four modernizations. As long as he could show his talents in economic construction, create a characteristic industry in Longwan Town, and lead the people in the town to get rid of poverty and create income, his career path would be bright.

However, after a period of investigation, he was disappointed. Longwan Town had a weak foundation, poor infrastructure, poor transportation, no industrial facilities, and low cooperation among ordinary people, which could not attract investment. Even the only two small township enterprises developed in the 1980s went bankrupt due to factors such as management system reform, departmental monopoly, chaotic management, and inherent lack of management ability. In short, it is too difficult to change the backward appearance of Longwan Town. In addition to strictly enforcing family planning, it is unrealistic to achieve great political achievements and great undertakings to get rid of the old and bring in the new.

Later on, Zou Qixian slowly saw through the situation and decided not to bother the common people and himself. The difficult situation in Longwan Town was really not something that a small official like him could solve. If he wanted to move up, he could only accumulate experience. After ten or eight years, he might have a chance to be promoted to deputy division level and join the ranks of county leaders.

Thinking of this, Zou Qixian retracted his gaze and said to Zhang Haijun who was riding a bicycle in front of him: "Director Zhang, do you think your big boss nephew really has such great ability? He is only seventeen or eighteen years old, but he can buy a canning factory worth tens of millions?"

Zhang Haijun didn't find it troublesome to see Zou Qixian asking about Zhang Yunqi's background again and again. Their Longwan Town is located in deep mountains and forests, and the business environment is too poor. Suddenly, such a big satellite appeared. A big boss with a net worth of tens of millions came to such a remote place to invest and build. It was normal for Zou Qixian to have doubts.

Zhang Haijun asked with a smile: "Mayor Zou, have you ever tried the canned food from Longjingyuan in the city?"

Zou Qixian was stunned for a moment, then said, "I have eaten it. Could it be your nephew's?"

Zhang Haijun nodded with a smile: "Mayor Zou, do you still remember the top scorer in the county high school entrance examination from our Yunxi Village last year? It was my nephew. He later went to study at the No. 1 Middle School in the city. At that time, his family was poor and had no money to support him. But this kid worked hard to make a name for himself. While studying, he did some odd businesses to support himself. Unexpectedly, he was a top-notch student and a good business man. In less than half a year, he opened a large trading company in the city. Later, he bought the Longjingyuan Canning Factory in the city. It just so happened that the canning factory needed a lot of peanuts and soybeans to produce canned food. These are things from the soil. Every household in our village grows them. He wanted to let the villagers benefit from this great thing."

Zou Qixian listened to Zhang Haijun's clear and concise words. Although they were a bit mysterious, they did seem to be true, and his mood gradually became better.

For many years, Longwan Town has not been able to achieve major development. Although there are various objective constraints, in the final analysis, there are still no big bosses to invest.

Zou Qixian lit a cigarette and said, "Director Zhang, from what you said, this top scholar is really ambitious. Not only has he created a new world for himself, but he also wants to benefit the people of your entire village."

Zhang Haijun's face was full of smiles. At this time, the motorcycle had arrived at the entrance of Yunxi Village.

In less than two minutes, the two got off the car in front of Zhang Haijun's house.

When he entered the door, Zou Qixian caught a glimpse of the Mercedes-Benz luxury car parked outside the yard, and his heart became even warmer.

Under the guidance of Zhang Haijun, Zou Qixian soon met the young boss Zhang Yunqi whom he had admired for a long time. His face was indeed too young, but he did not have the frivolity and arrogance of a teenager at all. He spoke in an orderly manner and was very calm and steady.

The two men exchanged a few brief pleasantries, and Zhang Yunqi went straight to the point. He told Zou Qixian the operating conditions of the Longjingyuan Cannery and the origin of the Yunxi Village Crop Planting Professional Cooperative. Zou Qixian smoked one cigarette after another and didn't interrupt, but the more he listened, the more excited he became. Obviously, he felt from Zhang Yunqi's words that this great thing was very promising.

When talking about the specific operation model, Zhang Yunqi said: "Mayor Zou, my ultimate idea is to create a company + cooperative + base + farmer model, with our Yunxi Village as the first pilot, and then promote it throughout the town. But given the current situation, it is not realistic to immediately launch the crop planting base project, because our cultivation technology is not good, there are too few professional talents, and we can only carry out extensive agricultural production. So I want to wait until the farmers in the cooperative get started, and then choose a day to prepare for the base project. Now it's simple, to do a company + cooperative + farmer model, and the farmers who join the cooperative will adopt the method of scattered seeds and unified sales. The key point here is the cooperative."

At this point, seeing that Zou Qixian was listening with great interest, Zhang Yunqi talked again about the operating basis, organizational form, basic elements, personnel composition, profit distribution model, etc. of this new type of economic cooperation organization, the shareholding planting professional cooperative.

Zou Qixian was, after all, a grassroots government official in the countryside, and he had some knowledge of rural economic reform. After listening to Zhang Yunqi, he immediately realized that this unprecedented joint-stock agricultural cooperative was a non-profit modern enterprise with the characteristics and advantages of a modern enterprise. This was just right, as the country was now vigorously calling for the establishment of a modern enterprise system. Their Longwan Town had a weak foundation and could not afford to establish a special enterprise. The joint-stock cooperative that this young and promising boss wanted to establish was a new path!

This idea made Zou Qixian extremely excited.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the shareholding cooperative was highly feasible. Not only could it solve the long-standing problem of agricultural product sales, but it could also unite all the farmers. With the guarantee of the underwriting contract, everyone no longer had to look ahead and behind. More importantly, the shareholding system implemented by the cooperative made everyone's interests closely related and could fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the farmers.

Just as he was thinking about this, Zhang Yunqi said to him again: "Mayor Zou, you already know the general framework of this professional cooperative. The reason why Uncle Haijun invited you to my house today to discuss this matter is that I hope that the town government will take the lead in organizing farmers to establish this crop professional planting cooperative, and then sign a unified underwriting agreement with the Longjingyuan Canning Factory. As the overall organizer of the cooperative, the town government can play a demonstration role in helping farmers solve scientific and technological guidance, product sales, processing value-added, jointly prevent market risks, and increase farmers' income. "

Zou Qixian's heart started beating wildly "boom! boom! boom!" after hearing Zhang Yunqi's words.

Although this top scholar is young, his level is very good.

This sentence, "build an organization, develop an industry, and enrich the people", fully demonstrated his extraordinary political awareness and ideological realm. Even more tempting was that he took the initiative to propose that the Longwan Town Government take the lead in organizing the establishment of the cooperative. Zou Qixian had no reason to refuse such a great political achievement.

Of course, Zhang Yunqi promised so many good things, and Zou Qixian couldn't just do the boring work of picking peaches. He said: "Boss Zhang, as a famous entrepreneur in the city, you can return to your hometown to invest and start a business to support the construction of your hometown. This kind of pure love for your hometown is really admirable. Here, I would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of the more than 20,000 people in the town! I think the big idea of ​​the Yunxi Village Crop Planting Professional Cooperative you proposed is very suitable for the situation of Yunxi Village and even the entire Longwan Town. It can drive the development of the planting industry and promote farmers' production and income. Therefore, the town government will definitely support you with all its strength. You can do it boldly. If there are any problems, the town government will try its best to cooperate and solve them."

Zhang Yunqi and Zou Qixian had been talking for a long time, waiting for this sentence. He smiled and said, "There is no big problem, but there is a small matter that may need to be coordinated and resolved by the town government, which is the issue of farmers' capital investment. The specific share ratio of the crop professional planting cooperative is that Longjingyuan invested 60 yuan, accounting for 40% of the shares, and the farmers who joined the cooperative invested yuan, accounting for % of the shares. The village committee has done a preliminary statistics. According to the number of farmers who are willing to join the cooperative, almost every household will have to pay more than yuan. Most farmers in the village certainly cannot afford such a sum of money, so I wonder if the town can provide partial loan support through the credit union to farmers who want to join the cooperative but lack some funds?"

When Zou Qixian heard this, he immediately started thinking about it. With the Longwan Town Government taking the lead, there would be no problem in operating this by providing loans to farmers through credit unions to raise capital for the cooperative. If done well, they might be able to apply for financial support and preferential financial credit. From another perspective, through credit loans, the town government he represents can play a truly leading role in this project.

However, there was one thing that Zou Qixian could not understand. He said tactfully in a joking tone: "Boss Zhang, the 120,000 yuan investment capital is definitely an astronomical figure for the farmers in the village, but for you, it is just a drizzle. You can completely pay out of your own pocket to support these elders and villagers."

Zhang Yunqi laughed when he heard this.

He was not surprised by this question. Aren't most of the villagers in Yunxi Village also eagerly looking forward to him paying the money?

But this is not possible.

why?
First, he operated the Yunxi Village Cooperative project as the boss of Longjingyuan and represented the entire Longjingyuan. If he spent this money, it would not be in line with the interests of other shareholders and factory employees.

Second, if he paid the money personally, even if he lent it to the farmers, the money would be fine. But in this case, 60% of the funds for the establishment of the cooperative actually belonged to Longjingyuan, and 40% to him personally. The farmers did not pay. The farmers even thought that if they lost the money, they would not return it to Zhang Yunqi, because in the eyes of the farmers, Zhang Yunqi was a big boss and a villager, so he could afford the loss! How could he tear his face with the elders in his hometown to ask for this little money?
In this way, the farmers have zero investment and are not absolutely related to the interests. If the cooperative collapses, they will not be greatly affected. Then how can he ensure that the various policies and systems of the cooperative can be truly implemented and maximize labor productivity? What is the meaning of the shareholding cooperative crop planting professional cooperative that he wants to promote?
He might as well just open a planting company himself!
The third and most important point is that if he paid the money personally, how could it be the turn of Zou Qixian, the mayor of Longwan Town, to get involved?
Government-enterprise cooperation, Chinese characteristics.

As a new product, the farmer's professional cooperative, along with the household contract responsibility system, township enterprises, villager autonomy, migrant workers' migration to cities, and the reform of the collective forest rights system, was collectively referred to by later economists as the six major creations of China's rural reform over the past 1994 years for hundreds of millions of farmers. In particular, the professional cooperative he wanted to establish was a joint-stock cooperative, and the model was extremely advanced. In , there was no other example in China.

Zhang Yunqi realized that if he wanted to do this, he had to plan ahead and build a line from top to bottom in terms of public opinion guidance and policy support to help him shelter from the wind and rain and build momentum for publicity.

There is no doubt that Longwan Town Mayor Zou Qixian is the foundation of this line. Through the town government coordinating with the credit union to provide credit loans to farmers in the village, he not only solved the farmers' equity problem, but also deeply bound the Longwan Town government and Zou Qixian to this project. Killing two birds with one stone, why be so stupid as to pay for the farmers' equity?

Of course, this kind of thing cannot be said to Zou Qixian.

Zhang Yunqi took a sip of strong tea from an enamel cup and said to Zou Qixian, "Mayor Zou, from an emotional point of view, I can pay this money, and there is no problem. Money is not the key. The key is whether the design logic and operation mechanism of the shareholding cooperative model I want to build are reasonable and pioneering. I think that if I pay this money on behalf of the people of my hometown, then its logic is unreasonable."

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(End of this chapter)