Farming for Fortune -- Beijing Review

"When I first heard the term 'socialist countryside,' I laughed and thought it might just be another slogan of the current president and premier," said Yu, without mincing words. "But only after we have actually benefited-though still not very much-from the favorable policy did I realize that the government was taking us really seriously."

Yu said he was confident that life would become better and better in the future.

"If you asked me my expectation for the future 10 years ago, the answer would have been totally different," Yu said, smiling.

Li Baijian, President of Fujiabian Agricultural Technology Park, made several suggestions.

Li contended that the government should allow and encourage the rural labor force to move freely.

"Those who want to leave should be able to leave and those who prefer to stay can form large-scale development," said Li. In Western countries where the population is small, one farmer can manage a huge tract of land and use hi-tech equipment to grow plants. Li suggested Fujiabian can do the same thing.

"I am glad to see the Agricultural Development Bank of China has started to make loans to us for infrastructure," said Li.

Zhang Xuan, a teacher from Lishui High School, said the tuition fee for rural kids is still very high. Students have to pay 2,000 yuan for a term, usually about four to five months.

Zhang added in her class, some students from rural areas cannot afford the high education fee, even though a small amount of money was exempt from the incidental fees.

Beijing Review: What was the biggest change for you last year?

Yu Lasheng: I think the biggest change was that the total turnover of my little restaurant surpassed 200,000 yuan and our net income was about 100,000 yuan. My family bought new air-conditioners and we also bought a computer and installed ADSL broadband Internet access. It was unimaginable even a year earlier. By the way, my grandson was born at the end of last year. I swear that my little grandson will enjoy the best education in town and won't suffer the same fate as my two daughters (Both of them dropped out of school due to poverty).

What is the major concern or problem that you have?

My major concern is how to make more money. I am very frank. Since we opened our little restaurant in the second half of 2004, the competition has been growing fiercer each year. The paramount problem is also how to survive the cutthroat competition. Moreover, one of the major problems came from the government. I don't think the local government had kept its word. It was very supportive before we opened the restaurant. It encouraged us to do it by offering zero tax in the first three years and also paid for the license fee about 1,000 yuan to start up the restaurant. I was very grateful for the government's supportive attitude. But after watching that we were making a profit in such a short time, the local government asked us to pay tax. Although I know we should do something to pay back our community, it still hurts our feelings. I mean, the policy shouldn' t have been changed overnight, right? Anyway, I still agree that our local government has been very helpful.

What kind of policy do you expect?

Favorable policy of course (Yu laughed). As a Chinese saying goes, if we are used to rich lives, it will be very hard for us to go back into poverty. We are scared of poverty. We never want to go back. Any favorable policy is welcome. We are simple people and we want to be good. All of my fellow villagers know that our President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are very concerned about the rural areas and without their visionary undertaking in developing rural areas, we wouldn't have enjoyed such a life. I'm not flattering anyone, but it is true. It's just that the local government should follow the Central Government's policy and guidelines strictly.