In the 1960s and 1970s, Dazhai Village, located in Xiyang, Jinzhong, Shanxi, was famous all over the country. Originally, the natural environment here was very harsh and the people's lives were very difficult. However, under the leadership of Chen Yonggui and others, the villagers opened up layers of terraces on the hillside without waiting or relying on self-reliance, which changed the situation of relying on the weather to make a living in the past. After their deeds were promoted, they were recognized and praised by Chairman Mao, and in 1964, they issued the call for "Agriculture Learning from Dazhai" .
Dazhai
From then on, Dazhai has become a banner of agriculture in the country. In the days that followed, Premier Zhou Enlai accompanied the foreign heads of state three times to visit and inspect the place.
During a visit, the staff following Zhou Enlai keenly discovered that The Prime Minister's behavior seemed to be a bit strange in the past few days, so he couldn't help asking about the situation.
After repeated questioning, Zhou Enlai made a request to the staff and said in an uneasy tone: "It's special..."
So, what's going on?
Dazhai became famous in one fell swoop
Before becoming famous all over the country, Dazhai was just an unknown small mountain village in Shanxi. It is located in the southeast of the county town of Xiyang and belongs to the Taihang Mountains. Under the influence of nature's magical skills, a landform with seven grooves, eight beams and one slope was formed there.
Due to the harsh natural environment, Dazhai Village has always been regarded as poor mountains and bad waters in the past. Not only is the arable land there very poor, but the production conditions are also very simple, resulting in very low grain output.
As a mountain village, low grain output means that farmers' lives will not be good. Dazhai people use the "three poor and five more" to describe the past scenes: the three poor means that people are poor, the land is poor, and the village is poor; the five more means that people who work long-term workers and short-term workers are more debts, more begging for food, more begging for children and daughters, and more seeking death.
It was in such a difficult living environment that generations of Dazhai people reproduced and thrived, and the spark of life continued on this land until the founding of New China in 1949.
It was from this time that a person who changed the fate of the village appeared in Dazhai Village - Chen Yonggui . Like many people here, he was born in poverty. After his mother and sister were sold, his father hanged himself at the end of his life.
Chen Yonggui
In such a difficult environment, Chen Yonggui did not bow to fate. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1948 and was determined to open a new chapter in his life under the leadership of the Party.
In the early days of the founding of New China, Chen Yonggui actively participated in the management of Dazhai Village. In 1953, the village set up a cooperative, and at this time he served as the village party branch secretary.
Faced with the craze for socialist construction , under the leadership of Chen Yonggui and other village leaders, the villagers of Dazhai embarked on the road of collectivization and began to declare war on the poor mountains and rivers here. They have formulated a ten-year land construction plan, and work hard day and night with their own hands.
In this way, farmland appeared in the ditch and terraced fields were built on the hillside. After ten years of hard work, Dazhai has built a sponge field with a yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu. not only successfully solved the problem of villagers' food and clothing, but also was able to hand over more than 200,000 kilograms of surplus grain to the country every year.
However, while Dazhai people were excited, in 1963, a serious flood disaster hit the mountain village. Faced with the disaster relief supplies sent by the superiors after the disaster, Dazhai did not accept them, but returned them to the country.
It turns out that the village party branch believes that there are so many disaster areas now. If they rely on state relief, the country will be overwhelmed. Therefore, they put forward a slogan of "three not three not three not many" : "Don't do state money, grain, and materials, the country's food must be sold, the public's dividends must be paid, and the members' food must be paid."
Not only that, under the leadership of Chen Yonggui and others, the villagers set off a wave of self-reliance, hard work, and reconstruction of their homes. With everyone's efforts, Dazhai's farmland has been renovated, highways have been built, greening has been increased, and water conservancy has developed, presenting a vibrant and prosperous scene.
Dazhai Promotional Materials
In this way, the spirit of Dazhai people fighting the sky and the earth began to become famous. In 1964, Chairman Mao issued a call to the whole country to " Agriculture Learning from Dazhai ". At the Third National People's Congress held at the end of the same year, Premier Zhou Enlai proposed: "Dazhai adheres to the principle of political leadership and ideological leadership, the spirit of self-reliance and hard work, and the communist style of loving the country and the collective are all worthy of great encouragement."
Zhou Enlai visited Dazhai. After the staff found something strange, Dazhai became famous, on May 21, 1965, Zhou Enlai accompanied foreign guests to visit here. The reason I chose this place was to let foreign countries - especially those countries that often seek economic assistance from China - understand Dazhai, and let Dazhai's spirit of self-reliance and hard work go to the world.
In Dazhai, Premier Zhou discovered a large stone that was concave due to long-term washing by mountains and rivers. He asked an 18-year-old girl beside him thoughtfully: "Do you think humans have great power or water have great power?"
The little girl is called Guo Fenglian. After graduating from primary school at the age of 14, she worked as a teacher in Dazhai Kindergarten for more than a year. During the devastating flood in 1963, 16-year-old Guo Fenglian rescued crops with other members during the day, moved stones and soil together at night, and devoted herself to the craze of rebuilding her home.
At the time, Guo Fenglian, who was good at singing and dancing, often organized other girls to sing revolutionary songs and perform literary and artistic programs. Their youthful figures are quite eye-catching in the fields, encouraging the morale and fighting spirit of the members.
In this way, Guo Fenglian became a local celebrity and received the title of "Iron Girl" . After becoming famous nationwide in Dazhai, she also became a representative figure of women workers.
At this time, facing the question of Premier Zhou, Guo Fenglian answered directly: "Man has great power, man is a conquering nature." When Zhou Enlai heard this, he deliberately tested the "iron girl": "I think it is water's power. Who can make a stone like this?"
However, Guo Fenglian was not willing to be outdone: "The water has been going to make a stone like this for thousands of years. My Dazhai people cured the wolf's nest palm three times, but it is still a human's power."
Guo Fenglian
Zhou Enlai admired Guo Fenglian's insights very much. He said happily: "That's right. Young people should understand this principle. I suggest changing the 'education ditch' to 'education ditch', and writing the words "work hard, self-reliance, and hard work, so that the young generation can understand how the new land comes from, work forever, and never forget their roots."
Soon, Premier Zhou and foreign guests visited Guo Fenglian's home again. There, Zhou Enlai saw an semi-automatic rifle hanging on the wall, and asked her, "This is what my superiors reward you, right?"
Guo Fenglian replied proudly: "This is what I awarded to attend the provincial militia competition." Premier Zhou then encouraged the iron girl to practice martial arts well, learn from sharpshooters, and strive to shoot targets in Beijing in the future and achieve good results.
Two years later, on April 9, 1967, Zhou Enlai came to Dazhai for the second time. This time, the foreign guests around him were Vietnamese Prime Minister Fan Wentong.
At that time, due to the fierce battle between Vietnam War , North Vietnam repeatedly sought assistance from China. In order to let the other party understand the real situation in China, Premier Zhou brought Fan Wentong to Dazhai, hoping that Vietnamese guests can experience the lives of Chinese farmers in an immersive way.
There, Zhou Enlai arranged several special banquets for Fan Wen and his party. What they drink is sorghum liquor cooked by a local winery.
This farm wine with the aroma of earth was solemnly handed to Vietnamese guests by Premier Zhou. He told the other party: "Don't underestimate this kind of wine. There are hundreds of millions of people in China. They can only drink it during the New Year and the Festival. ."
On April 23, 1973, Zhou Enlai and his wife Deng Yingchao accompanied Mexican President Echevilia and his wife to visit Dazhai. This is also the last time Premier Zhou set foot on the land of Dazhai.
Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao
. During the visit to Dazhai, Zhou Enlai ate very little for several consecutive days. Not only that, also eats quite slowly . All of this was seen by the staff accompanying him. What's wrong with Prime Minister? The staff were secretly upset.
Finally, the anxious staff couldn't help but ask Zhou Enlai: "Prime Minister, are you feeling uncomfortable?"
But it was beyond his own expectations, but Premier Zhou shook his head: "No, I'm in good health..."
Since that's the case, why is the Prime Minister eating so little and so slow? The staff were worried and decided to continue asking. Finally, Zhou Enlai said in a negotiated tone:
"This event, we have to eat together. Look, can we find a way to soften the rice in my bowl? "
The staff then realized that it was because of this reason that the Prime Minister ate less and slower, and they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. However, Premier Zhou felt a little uneasy: "It's special." Then, he sighed softly: "My teeth are all loose..."
Because 's teeth are loose , it is a normal requirement to make the meal softer, but for Premier Zhou, he is considered to be "making special". This makes people sigh at Zhou Enlai's selfless noble character.
"Three Oppositions" in diet
In fact, Zhou Enlai has "Three Oppositions" in diet issues. First of all, opposes public and private . There are many open spaces in the courtyard of the West Flower Hall of the Zhongnanhai residence. A flower worker named Zhou planted some common vegetables in the open space.
In summer, the vegetables grown were ripe, and the staff wanted to invite Premier Zhou to taste it. So, on that day, the guard Jiang Guichun brought a plate of fried beans and told the Prime Minister: "This is the beans picked by ourselves in our yard, which are very tender."
But to his surprise, Zhou Enlai not only did not show joy, but instead frowned: "Did you give it money?"
Jiang Weishi was a little confused for a moment: "Where should I give it to me? There is no place to give it to me." However, he was soon corrected by the Prime Minister:
" You are wrong. Public land, public water, everything grows into your own? Go back and calculate how many beans and cabbage you eat, how much money should be based on the market price, and hand over the money. The money is paid in two parts, half of it is the money for the government, and the money for the land and water use; half is the income from the labor of the flower workers."
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai's second objection is opposing extravagance and waste . When he was out for inspection, he often told his entourage: "Eat everything according to the standard and pay according to the standard."
Not only that, Premier Zhou also put forward detailed requirements: no delicacies are allowed, and no fruits are allowed to be placed; once it is found, it must be withdrawn.
"If you make complicated, you will be extravagant. Extravagance itself is a waste, and this situation must be eliminated," Zhou Enlai said.
, and the third objection is that opposes specialization . Whenever Zhou Enlai had a meal in the collective cafeteria, he always insisted on queuing with everyone to make meals. Sometimes Premier Zhou went to the staff canteen of Great Hall of the People . When everyone saw him coming, they asked him to buy it first.
At this time, Zhou Enlai would always smile and say, "Just follow the order in the queue just now. If you don't buy it, I won't buy it." In this way, under Premier Zhou's insistence, such specialization was rejected.
When making meals in the cafeteria, Zhou Enlai often eats radish , green vegetables and other vegetarian dishes, and then buys a few steamed buns or steamed buns. He likes to sit with ordinary employees and everyone eats and talks.
After eating a meal, Premier Zhou will pick up the steamed buns that fell on the table and eat them, and then drink all the remaining soup on the dish. After seeing this scene, the respect for him was a little more.
, and when treating guests to dinner, Zhou Enlai would never waste it. In 1954, Fang Zhichun, then the governor of Jiangxi, went to Beijing to attend a meeting convened by the State Council.After the meeting, the staff announced that Premier Zhou invited everyone to dinner at noon. When Fang Zhichun and other participants heard this, they all smiled happily. They feel that since it is the Prime Minister's treat, even if there are no delicacies, it is at least a delicious dish.
However, when everyone walked into the restaurant, they couldn't help but be surprised. It turned out that there was only a large pot of vermicelli, a stewed dish of cabbage and sliced meat, as well as steamed buns and pancakes on the table. , there is nothing else...
, just as everyone was confused, Zhou Enlai walked in. Everyone immediately looked at the Prime Minister, and the atmosphere became warmer. Zhou Enlai walked to a table, shook hands with his colleagues, waved his hand, and signaled everyone to sit down and have a meal.
Zhou Enlai
"Eat, there is no good treat for comrades!" After said that, he picked up a steamed bun and started eating it in big mouthfuls. Seeing this, others also feasted.
Not only that, sometimes Zhou Enlai and his wife invited others to dinner themselves and had to collect food coupons from the guests. On April 2, 1962, Premier Zhou and Deng Yingchao invited the main creators of the front-line drama troupe "Sentinel under the Neon Lights" to their homes.
When everyone was having dinner together, Deng Yingchao told everyone: "Today it was Comrade Enlai and I who treated me with our salary. Now the food is metered, I'm sorry, and I'll ask each person to pay three taels of food coupons. "
A year later, on June 21, 1963, Zhou Enlai accompanied the North Korean leader Cui Yongjian to visit Shenyang. This day happened to be Cui Yongjian's 63rd birthday. Premier Zhou personally instructed the reception staff to prepare birthday peaches and birthday noodles , as well as sorghum rice .
The reception staff was very confused when they heard about sorghum rice. Premier Zhou explained seriously: "Comrade Cui Yongjian and the Chinese people have fought side by side for a long time and participated in the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces in the Northeast. Now, let us eat some sorghum rice and recall the hard years we spent together. The Chinese and North Korean people have endless fighting friendship!"
When Cui Yongjian walked into the banquet hall and saw the grand scene of celebrating his birthday, couldn't help but be very moved by . Eating the sorghum rice that I haven't eaten for a long time, I feel so much emotion that comes to my heart...
