Yu Zuomin's villa is desolate, the door number is picked, and the ruins are broken
In the early spring of 2022, reporters from Japan's NHK TV station came to Tianjin, China. They did not go to visit the high-rise buildings next to the Haihe River, but drove directly to Dazhuang Village.
However, they were taken aback by what they saw. The village is overgrown with weeds and desolate, and it seems that no one has taken care of it for a long time. The asphalt of the pavement has worn out and the cement has cracked.
Coming by car, there are potholes everywhere and standing water. When they arrived at the center of the village, they immediately pulled out their cameras. What do they seem to be looking for? However, following the map, I came to one of the largest villas, and the bleak scenery was stunning.
This former luxury villa is now empty, and only ruins remain. Is this really Daegu? The Japanese can't believe that this Chinese village, once famous in Asia, is now so bleak.
In the summer of 1974, the village of Daqiuzhuang on the outskirts of Tianjin faced a difficult life, with barren land and annual losses. Their life is mainly based on coarse rice bran porridge, and even marrying a wife and having children has become an unattainable dream.
Daegu Village also became infamous because of this, and the nearby villages were even more reluctant to marry their daughters, and the life of nearly 100 singles was even more bleak. Over the years, weddings, funerals, and incense inheritances have lost their festive atmosphere.
However, in such a predicament, Yu Zuomin stood up, he shouted to the villagers: "I am not complaining, I am not complaining, I will bear all the responsibilities, let me work for another three years, promise to let the singles in the village marry daughters-in-law, promise to make Daegu Village change, I don't know if I am automatic."
If you can't believe me, I'll ** now. His bold words ignited hope in the hearts of the villagers, who believed that if they worked together, Daegu Village would be able to get out of its predicament and achieve prosperity.
Although they picked up their hoes and went to the fields three days later, the men still looked tired and weak. Daegu Village is located in a remote area with poor transportation, little outside assistance, and no suitable crops to grow.
The best reward that this land can offer is corn grown twice a year. Over the years, many Daegu Zhuang people have gone out to earn a living, most of them rely on relatives and friends, and only a few are willing to return after a certain amount of success.
Time flies, and another three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Yu Zuomin, the village party secretary, was worried, and he was worried that his reputation would be damaged. At this time, a worker from the urban area of Tianjin returned to Daegu Village, and his appearance really changed the face of the place.
This person is Liu Wanming.
Liu Wanming has accumulated experience in the position of boiler worker and has a good understanding of the situation in steel plants. After meeting with Woo Zuomin, he made a suggestion: "If Daegu wants to prosper, it must carry out large-scale commercial activities. ”
Then, he pointed to the bottom of the pot in the dark house, suggesting that the real core technical talent is in the city, and this person is Liu Wanquan. Yu Zuomin is very smart, he knows that his team is difficult to succeed, and only with the help of external forces can it succeed.
Although he didn't have much knowledge and experience, he had to take a risk in order to keep his position as village party secretary. "Using a dead horse as a live horse doctor may be rewarding. ”
Yu Zuomin thought to himself. As for the success of the "Great Steel", he also has his own coping strategy. If successful, he will take most of the credit to himself.
If he fails, he will pass the blame on others and have nothing to do with himself. This "other" is a capable person in the village - Liu Wanquan. Liu Wanquan was the first villager to pass the examination in Daegu Village, and he once went to a secondary school to learn about steelmaking technology.
Later, he worked in Tianjin Iron and Steel Plant for more than 20 years.
Liu Wanquan is a person who does not forget his roots, and he still misses his brother after the city is developed. Later, through a recruitment opportunity, he brought his younger brother Liu Wanming into the city and made him a boiler worker.
However, a few years later, due to the renovation of the boiler, Liu Wanming lost his job again. Soon after, Liu Wanquan returned to Daegu Village, his hometown, in the past 20 years, there has been no change.
As a well-known "capable man", Liu Wanquan is respected by the people in his hometown. However, when he heard that the village was going to run its own steel mill, he couldn't help but laugh. He said politely: "We workers are responsible for the work of steelmaking, and the peasant brothers should still do their own work." ”
Everyone knows the real meaning behind this sentence: a group of peasants without much education and a village collective without much capital cannot set up a steel mill.
Liu Wanquan is skeptical, but as a member of the village, he proposes a feasible path: "Although steelmaking is impossible for our village, there is some hope for the rolling mill. ”
Hearing his words, the people of the village fell into deep thought.
Liu Wanquan, the village party secretary of Daegu Village, led the villagers to establish the first steel rolling mill in the suburbs of Tianjin. Steelmaking requires coal and electricity, which are not available in the village.
However, Liu Wanquan did not give up because of this, he firmly believes that as long as he is not afraid of hardships and works with everyone, he can realize his dream. He succeeded in taking out a loan of 20,000 yuan from the town's cooperative, freed up several warehouses, and started rolling production.
Today, Daegu Village is even more lively because of this rolling mill.
Liu Wanquan's talent and connections have greatly promoted the economic development of Daegu Village. He personally came to command and persuaded the leaders of the Tianjin steel mill to let the villagers try rolling steel and purchase advanced equipment for free.
His 20,000 yuan starting capital, every one of which was used on the blade. Liu Wanming was appointed as the director of Daeguzhuang Rolling Mill, and led the villagers to be busy on the production line day and night, figuring out the use and operation of the rolling mill.
In order to motivate the villagers, eye-catching slogans were posted throughout the village to encourage them to make a living. Even in the busy farming season, the villagers will harvest wheat during the day and roll steel at night, and hundreds of households in Dazhuang Village are busy with a little bit of billet, a little bit of rolling, a little bit of splicing.
Their hard work has injected new vitality into the economic development of Daegu.
Steel plates, steel pipes and section steel have been successfully produced, but the major state-owned units dare not use them. This made the Liu Wanquan brothers feel very anxious, because they all produce village and town products, and the quality is difficult to guarantee.
And without sales, no matter how good the product is, it is meaningless. Seeing more and more rolled steel in the warehouse, the villagers also began to worry, can these products be sold?
Is it in compliance with the policy? However, in 1978, Daegu Village ushered in a good time for reform and opening up. The emergence of the household contract responsibility system has encouraged rural areas to participate in economic construction, and peasants have also gained the right to trade.
As a result, Daeguzhuang Rolling Mill quickly completed its organizational reform and became a legally recognized company. Soon after, a number of small businesses also came to visit.
Under the leadership of Yu Zuomin, the village party secretary, Daegu Village successfully established a rolling mill through the introduction of Liu Wanming's brothers and the testing of finished steel rolling. Their products are of high quality and high quality, and even attract businessmen from all over the world to come to purchase and learn from experience.
As Daegu became wealthy, the villagers began to brave the economic boom and set up electric light factories, printing factories, and textile factories. Many young people are willing to work day and night on the production line, and according to the old agricultural production brigade model, they are divided into different groups and work together to share the benefits.
Such success stories show us the power of unity and hard work, and encourage us to forge ahead in our own lives and pursue a better future.
Daegu seized the opportunity and quickly followed up on the market. When Japanese companies came to invest in China, Daegu sent representatives to greet them, who saw the potential of the electrical appliance market and took over the manufacturing tasks.
Just like the establishment of a rolling mill, the whole village worked together to devote themselves to the construction of the electrical factory. This time, they were once again blessed with luck. At that time, "upstairs and downstairs, electric light **" had spread throughout the country, and Chinese were eager to have high-tech electrical products.
Through technical cooperation with Japanese companies, Daeguzhuang Electric Appliance Factory has successfully grasped the initiative in production.
At that time, Daegu Village attracted 22 surrounding villages to join, and the population size further expanded. By 1987, the annual output value of the electrical appliance factory reached 31 million, the net income reached 6.35 million, and the taxes paid reached 1.75 million.
At the same time, Daegu's agriculture did not relax, and with the increase in popularity, Daegu people also went to other places to study. After learning the importance of "chemical fertilizer", tens of thousands of acres of farmland have been "fertilly irrigated".
Through the hard work of the people of Daegu, this place has changed from a wasteland with no grass to a vast and fertile field. Among them, Ma Deliang contracted 137 acres of land, and he produced 67,000 catties of grain throughout the year with the spirit of hard work, skillful work and hard work, becoming a model for the whole village.
His efforts did not stop, and in 1983, his grain production reached 98,000 catties and he was rewarded with 15,000 yuan. In 1984, Madelian became the first ordinary farmer in China to be invited by a foreign country to visit, he visited France, stayed in a four-star hotel, and was personally received by the French Minister of Agriculture, and was awarded the "French Chevalier de l'Ordre de Agriculture".
Daegu was incredibly prosperous, and by the 90s, it had surpassed the urban area of Tianjin, and even rivaled Beijing and Shanghai. In the collective building in the village, everyone is equipped with **, and each room is equipped with air conditioning, sofas, wall lamps, and even imported computers.
On the parking apron, dozens of cars are lined up, and full-time drivers are on call 24 hours a day. Walking in the village, the people are full of energy, the men are dressed in straight suits, their hair is combed and shiny, and they are holding briefcases in their hands, and the women are wearing high heels and dressing fashionably, and various fashions are constantly changing.
Everyone has a job, everyone is a manager, they use a car to get around, they use Big Brother to communicate, and they are no different from the elites in Beijing and Shanghai. It is inconceivable that this prosperous place was once a poor village to eat bran.
In February 1991, China selected the "Top 100 Township Enterprises", among which the village-level unit with the highest output value was Daeguzhuang Village, with an output value of 600.8 billion yuan.
The news attracted guests from Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, as well as journalists from all over the world. Daegu's road to prosperity was also translated into Japanese and published by the Japan Agricultural Science and Technology Publishing House, and the sales were very good.
A reporter from Japan's Kobe Shimbun Agency, Hitoshi Kazuki, commented: "Daegu Village was created by farmers with their own efforts, and the standard of living here is even comparable to that of heaven."
My monthly salary is equivalent to about 8,000 yuan, but if I want to rent a house like a 'talent building' in Japan, I have to pay 10,000 yuan a month, and I can't make ends meet.
The standard of living in Daegu is already among the highest in Asia. ”
Behind the prosperity of Daegu Village, there is a dark side of Yu Zuomin. He used hegemonic means to take the results of the development of the collective enterprise as his own. Yu Zuomin is good at sowing discord and making the villagers form different factions, and he plays a deterrent role in it, building a complex network of power relations.
Although Yu Zuomin is polite and polite on the outside, he is actually scheming, and he treats opponents on the one hand, and excludes them on the other, which makes the villagers suffer deeply. Regarding the operating conditions of the collective enterprise and the distribution of money, the villagers could not know the truth and became Yu Zuomin's plaything.
Daegu's"Emperor of the Earth"Yu Zuomin acted domineeringly, and once he was angry, the consequences would be unimaginable. According to people familiar with the matter, he raised thugs, bullied the weak, and used ruthless methods.
Under his rule, Daegu became his personal kingdom, and he abused his power, seized assets, and forced villagers to work for him. His behavior is alive and feudal"Large landowners"with"Big chaebol"Image.
However, in August 1993, Yu Zuomin fell. In the face of interests, the scrambling and competition have never stopped. Driven by interests, the older generation handed over their power to the younger ones, and gradually formed several factions.
The old people built villas, hired nannies, doctors and ** to take care of themselves. Young people, on the other hand, get together, eat, drink, and squander all day long, and even engage in illegal activities.
Over time, many families have consumed all their savings and even taken on heavy debt. When creditors come to collect debts, those factories and ** that could have been profitable are sold cheaply, which is really a pity.
In 1997, when the Asian financial crisis broke out, the people of Daegu overestimated their vision and ability because they listened to the praise of businessmen, and as a result, they lost a lot of money in the market.
The remaining Daegu villagers, who are centrists, rely on the wealth they have accumulated and cling to their old industries. However, factories have sprung up all over the country.
When the tide of the times came again, they rested on their laurels, unwilling to change, and eventually were slapped on the reef by the tide.
As time went on, the strategic location of China's coastal areas became more and more apparent, while the remote Daegu Village gradually lost the favor of customers. They continue to use old processing technology and lack the support of scientific and technological innovation and technical talents.
In addition, Daegu Village has long been fragmented internally, unable to form a force for external resistance, and can only be eroded by external pressure. How can these small factory owners compete with the large factories managed by the coast in a unified manner?
When labor costs became the last advantage, the end of Daegu Village finally came. Although it has been upgraded to the township level, it is still difficult to form a joint force within Daegu Village.
As time went on, the number of visitors here gradually decreased, and even foreign customers became scarce.
In the past, Daegu relied on steel rolling mills, electrical factories, textile mills, and agriculture to develop, but this development model was easily replicated, and when other places began to follow suit, Daegu gradually lost its identity.
In addition, the chaotic management of Daegu Village, the lack of people's sympathy, the weak awareness of local laws, and the weak contract of cooperation eventually led to the treachery of Daegu Zhuang people and the emergence of various frauds.
In just a few months, Daeguzhuang's enterprises were blacklisted by many banks, and the originally excellent projects lost their capital chain. Today, Daegu Village has lost its momentum for development, but the villagers are still sticking to their land, hoping to lend a helping hand and restore the prosperity of the past.
Although there is a desire to change the behavior of the economic market, it is helpless that in this market, no one can easily change the status quo. Daeguzhuang, a small village and town administrative unit, does not have the conditions for expansion, let alone enjoy the same policy benefits as the special zone.
In the blink of an eye, the new century has arrived, and the land of China has begun a real economic rise. In December 2001, China officially joined the World Organization. Subsequently, the Yangtze River Delta region led by Shanghai began to take off, and the Pearl River Delta region centered on Guangzhou and Shenzhen also ushered in great development.
With the help of foreign capital, the coastal areas have risen rapidly. In contrast, the northern regions are much more lost. Despite being in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Daegu Village is still a remote rural area.
There is a lack of a large population, no human resources, and no status as a transportation hub. In the eyes of capital, this is a region with no economic value.
The Daegu Collective has tried to regain its foothold over the past decade, with some proposing to pool capital again to start a business. However, the confidence of the people of Daegu in themselves has evaporated.
Daegu hasn't changed since 2010. The center of this small village is overgrown with weeds and deserted on all sides. This is because with the urbanization process of Tianjin, the resources of the countryside have been deprived in waves.
Young people are rushing to leave, and education, health care, and employment are concentrated in the cities. Looking back, those villas that were once built with a huge amount of money are no longer cared for.
On closer inspection, the villa was empty and the walls were even more dilapidated.
Yu Zuomin's villa is dilapidated, and even the house number has been demolished. The road was once paved with asphalt, but now it has lost its luster, the cement is bare and cracked, and the pavement is potholed.
However, for the people of Daegu, they no longer have nostalgia for their hometown. They left the place without hesitation, and now few people in Tianjin's Jinghai District claim to be Daegu Zhuang people anymore.
After all, it's a disgraceful past for those who have lost their fortunes.
From prosperity to dilapidation, the story of Daegu Village is thought-provoking. In 2022, a reporter from Japan's NHK TV station Ichiki Ren revisited his hometown, and he was shocked by the scene in front of him.
Those once vibrant scenes are now only dilapidated, and such changes are incomprehensible, but they have to be accepted. The best-selling book "The Road to Prosperity in Daeguzhuang" is now more like a dream.
But this dream is so vivid and sad that it makes us reflect deeply: what is hidden behind prosperity?