In the early winter of 1961, Ma Yinchu, president of Peking University, received a 10,000-word letter detailing the necessity and benefits of "guaranteeing production to households".
The author of the letter, named Yang Mushui, a sericulture technician in Zhejiang, expressed to Ma Yinchu his firm support for the "package production to households" and hoped that through Ma Yinchu's influence, more people would understand the benefits of this policy.
Ma Yinchu was deeply shocked by the letter, which he considered a powerful declaration of "guaranteed production to households", although he had never heard of Yang Mushui before. Yang Mushui's only motive for sending this letter was to hope that his fellow countryman, Ma Yinchu, who was both a scholar and a scholar, would help him convey the importance and necessity of this policy.
However, Ma Yinchu's prestige at this time was already "the end of the strong crossbow". Despite this, Yang Mushui's enthusiasm and perseverance still made Ma Yinchu deeply admired, and with his support, he promoted the promotion of the "package production to households" policy across the country.
Ma Yinchu's actions exceeded Yang Mushui's expectations. He personally returned to his hometown to see Yang Mushui. In order not to let the county leaders interfere with their secret talks, Ma Yinchu resolutely refused anyone to join.
They took the time to revise the "manifesto" of "guaranteed production to households". When they parted, the eyes of the two year-old friends were full of doubts about the unknown future. Lao Ma told Yang Mushui: "Don't give up the correct opinion easily, the truth cannot be defeated." ”
And Yang Mushui told his girlfriend about it, and he was worried that he might be sentenced or even exiled because of this. As it turned out, their predictions were correct.
In that icy winter, on the land of China, two unknown villagers were silently sticking to their beliefs. Feng Zhilai, 27 years old, completed his essay "On Semi-Socialism" on April 21, 1962.
He begins by asking a question: "Where is our way out?" Package delivery to the door! His views were bold and direct, he made it clear that it was going it alone, and he ridiculed those who thought it was equating with feudalism and capitalism.
He asked, "Do you think that all those who have noses are your own fathers, when you see that your father has a nose?" ”
Feng Zhilai (2000), after completing a series of articles, decided to go to Beijing to seek wider dissemination. He managed to get the article to several newspapers and magazines, but he did not get the expected response.
He didn't give up because of this, but continued to work hard. Two months later, he wrote What to Do? to complement his Theory of Semi-Socialism. His new article strongly criticized the people's commune system.
Because he felt that his status was not high and his influence was limited, he claimed to be Feng Xuefeng's nephew when he submitted his manuscript. The strategy seemed to work, and he received a reply.
However, this reply was not written to him, but asked to check whether there was support behind him. In fact, Feng Zhilai is not the only one who wrote to "People**".
Another person, Chen Xinyu, wrote even more letters, expressing his deep identification with the system of package production to households. Chen Xinyu was a businessman who later joined the commune.
He found that the peasants were not interested in the commune system, but instead became enthusiastic about the delivery of crops to households. He wrote eight letters in one go, all of which were sent to the "People's **" He told the editor that he had originally come to correct the package to the household, but the facts and the masses convinced him, and now he firmly supports the package production to the household.
The editor sympathized with this and decided to publish Chen Xinyu's six letters in the closed column "Letters from Readers" under the title "Revisiting the Package of Production".
In March 1980, Chen Xinyu firmly believed that it was an inevitable trend for the production to be delivered to the household, and he was full of firm belief in victory and decided to stick to his own proposition. Like Feng Zhilai, he refused to socialize with his friends, was single, and decided to take all the responsibility alone.
Although many people in the countryside at the time thought that it was a good idea, these were the only three people who could explain the concept so clearly and openly express it.
It was only years later that people realized that the wisdom of these little people was extraordinary. All three of them are from Zhejiang, and they all take the way of direct advice, which coincides.
In mid-July, Chen Xinyu also received a manuscript fee from the newspaper, totaling 25 yuan and 5 jiao. He used the manuscript money to buy a lot of peaches and distribute them to his colleagues, which instantly filled his surroundings with laughter.
However, at this moment, the situation changed abruptly.
Feng Zhilai was escorted back to his hometown for reform, and he was silent every day, but he hid a bag of sleeping pills, ready to end his life at any time. However, eighteen years later, in 1979, he cried bitterly after "In the Silent Place", and his heart was full of grief and indignation.
Yang Mushui was then sentenced to eight years in prison, while Chen Xinyu was in an even more tragic situation, suffering seven raids and more than 100 criticisms. However, he did not give up and insisted on writing more than 200 letters of appeal, which lasted for 20 years.
When he finally ushered in the truth and the hope of spring, he was already a wrinkled, ginger-like old man, lonely and deprived, leaving only his face full of axe marks.
Feng Zhilai: The deeds of those brave reformers will be engraved in the history of the country, let us remember their courage and determination, and learn from them.