Rebirth of the Rising Sun

As one of the top 100 poorest counties in China, Dahu County has a fiscal deficit every year and relies entirely on state funding to maintain its operations. How could it have spare money to hand over to the city? It can be said that Sun Shicun, as the county party secretary, is very clear about this aspect.

It was because Dahu County never brought any benefits to Yongyang City, which directly governed them, that it was naturally very difficult for them to get money from the city. Of course, Sun Shicun had thought about this result in advance. Now, listening to Feng Sizhe saying that he really didn't get any money from the city, he sighed, "Alas, we should have thought of it a long time ago."

Seeing that Sun Shicun was in trouble just as he had expected, Feng Sizhe was delighted. This was exactly the effect he wanted. He would cry poor first, and then when Secretary Sun thought that this matter was impossible, he would stand up and express his hope. Only in this way could the proposal be passed.

"Alas." He sighed again, "Secretary Sun, if you can completely improve the road conditions in the county when you are the secretary, do you think the people here will remember your kindness? As the saying goes, when you are an official, you should benefit the people. Whenever the people here see this road, they will think of you. This is a feat that will be recorded in the history of Dahu County forever. How great is this?"

After Feng Sizhe said this, Sun Shicun also felt the significance of this road repair. Of course, he also hoped that this road could be completed during his tenure. In this way, he could not only gain a lot of public support, but also include this as an achievement when he leaves Dahu County one day. This is a real political achievement. "Well, County Magistrate Feng is right. I also want to build a road for the people here, but you can see the current situation. All the problems are in one word, that is money. Without money, this thing can't be done!"

Seeing that Sun Shicun was really thinking about the road construction, Feng Sizhe knew that there was a way. "Secretary Sun is right. A county official should have such a broad mind and awareness. Although the city said that there is no money to give us this time, they did promise us one thing. I think as long as we do this well, there is still a way to build the road." Seeing that the time was right, Feng Sizhe brought up this topic at the right time.

"Hmm? What did you promise us? Tell us quickly." Sun Shicun was indeed attracted by Feng Sizhe's words. Hearing that there was still a chance, he hurriedly asked Feng Sizhe.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. Mayor Chang agreed to allow us to use the agricultural taxes collected by the county to build roads. The city can exempt Dahu County from agricultural taxes for three years to offset the various road construction expenses." Feng Sizhe answered truthfully.

"What?" Hearing that this was the promise, Sun Shicun shook his head again. What's the difference between this and not promising anything? To put it bluntly, isn't it the same as not promising anything? Because the city has never collected a penny from Dahu County, this promise is naturally the same as not saying anything. Three years of agricultural tax, given the current situation in Dahu County, I'm afraid the city will not be able to collect a penny from the county within five years.

Seeing Sun Shicun shaking his head, Feng Sizhe immediately guessed what he was thinking and knew that he didn't take this matter seriously, so he had to explain some things. "Secretary Sun, do you think that just because the city said this, it's the same as not saying it?"

"Of course. Dahu County is poor. Half of the county's finances rely on state aid and the other half on agricultural taxes. The city has never asked about us. So what does the three-year tax exemption he promised have to do with us? Hey, I think you are still young and have been fooled by the municipal party committee." Sun Shicun patted Feng Sizhe on the shoulder, as if he was being perfunctorily treated by the city.

"Haha, Secretary Sun, that's wrong." Feng Sizhe laughed and said something that Sun Shicun could not understand.

"Well, what do you mean? Tell me about it." Hearing that Feng Sizhe seemed to have something else to say, Sun Shicun raised his head and looked at Feng Sizhe, as if asking him to continue.

With a smile on his face, Feng Sizhe laughed and said, "Before, our Dahu County was poor, so the city naturally looked down on us, and that's why they didn't try to get money from our taxes. Maybe they were afraid that we would ask them for money. But now the situation in our county is different from the past. This year, our county has made major reforms in agriculture. Chengguan Town has established peanut and cotton production bases, and Huodian Township has a concentrated sweet potato production base. With these two items, I can say responsibly that by the end of this year, the agricultural situation in our county will be greatly improved. By the beginning of next year, the agricultural tax in our county will double that of this year. In this way, the economic situation in our county will be greatly improved. This is the case this year, and what about tomorrow and the year after? Three years are enough for our county's finances to solve the tense problems because of the reform of the county's agriculture. Even from the end of tomorrow, our county's finances will no longer be in deficit. In this case, if the city knows this news, won't they be jealous? Will they come to collect our agricultural taxes? Under this circumstance, we now have a three-year tax exemption agreement promised by the city, which is equivalent to making a profit, right?"

Feng Sizhe had already thought about it. Once the situation in Dahu County improved, the city would not stand idly by and would find ways to get money from the county. Mayor Chang Ning's promise today gave them a legitimate reason to refuse. After three years, the situation in Dahu County would be fundamentally alleviated. In this way, the three-year tax exemption agreement actually won a lot of rights and interests for Dahu County.

Feng Sizhe meant that Dahu County would have a large income from agricultural taxes starting from the end of this year, and Sun Shicun heard this clearly. But could Dahu County, which had been poor for so many years, really change in agriculture in a short period of time? Secretary Sun was a little skeptical.

"Hey, County Magistrate Feng, are you sure?" Sun Shicun asked doubtfully.

"I dare to take responsibility for what I say. Secretary Sun, please believe me. The farmers in Chengguan Town will benefit by the end of this year. It won't be until the end of the year. We can see the results around October. At that time, other farmers will see that they are making money and will follow suit. At that time, I plan to implement the five unifications of agriculture (i.e. unified fertilization, unified seed supply, unified land preparation and sowing, unified management, and unified sales), and implement standardized management of agriculture. This will benefit farmers, as they can get the most affordable and practical management and planting help. Since our county is responsible for the overall dispatch, we can naturally gain a lot from it, and we can subsidize the county's finances. Of course, this is secondary. The most important thing is that someone has planted the land and it has become a hot commodity. At that time, agricultural taxes can be collected in full, and the county's finances will naturally be sufficient, and the money for road construction will not be a problem."

Feng Sizhe said with confidence. He believed that as long as the land reform in Chengguan Town succeeded this year, it would naturally drive the villagers of the entire county. Coupled with the success of the sweet potato base in Huodian Township, its influence would definitely bring a big harvest to the county finances.

Sun Shicun was also somewhat moved when he heard Feng Sizhe's vision for the future. Over the years, agricultural taxes in Dahu County have never been collected in full, because many lands are planted with the cheapest crops, which do not make any money at all. Some lands are even not planted because they have not brought benefits to the people for many years. So naturally, the tax cannot be collected in full, which has become a long-standing problem in Dahu County. If everything is as Feng Sizhe said, and agricultural taxes can be paid in full, it can indeed help the county finances out of the predicament. At that time, the city will inevitably be jealous when they know this news, so the promise of not collecting agricultural taxes in the past three years will be particularly important.

"Well, I am really looking forward to the future that County Magistrate Feng talked about, but I don't know..."

Sun Shicun did not say what came next, but the meaning was very clear. He was reminding Feng Sizhe that things would really be as beautiful as he said.

Feng Sizhe is naturally confident about the future development of agriculture. He knows that Pengfei Company's agricultural projects must be very profitable, especially the Mantianxiang peanut production base, which will definitely increase the peanut price in Dahu County. In this way, agricultural issues will naturally be driven. It is precisely because of this understanding that he is naturally confident.

"It's no problem, Secretary Sun. If necessary, I'm willing to sign a military order." Feng Sizhe thought that he must give Secretary Sun enough confidence at this time. The current situation is that his conflict with County Magistrate Fang has become public, and he cannot fall out with Secretary Sun again, otherwise many things and work will be difficult to do.

Seeing Feng Sizhe's resolute and courageous expression, Sun Chengcun nodded and said, "Okay, I will discuss this matter with County Magistrate Fang and come up with a plan as soon as possible."

"Well, then I will wait for Secretary Sun's news. As you know, it is already August, and agricultural products will be harvested in October. We only have two months to build roads. I have to hurry." Feng Sizhe was very happy to see that Sun Shicun seemed to be willing to support him, but he still couldn't forget to urge Secretary Sun. After all, time is equal to money in many cases.

Next, Feng Sizhe waited for the news. Of course, he was not idle while waiting for the news. He asked He Wenbao to quickly draw up a road construction plan, that is, all the farmers who participated in the road construction this year could pay less or be exempted from paying the agricultural tax next year according to the amount of work they put in. Of course, if the farmers who worked more had already paid more than the agricultural tax they had to pay, then they could get a note from the county government and wait to withdraw it from the cash collected from the agricultural tax next year.