<h1 class="ql-align-center" > a pack of kumquats</h1>
National cultural relics protection unit: Guanzhuang Farmers Investigation Association former site ——— Shame Mountain Ancestral Hall
During the reform and training of the Red Fourth Army in Xinquan, Mao Zedong often took time to go deep into the company and rural areas to carry out investigations and studies, and worked day and night to draft the resolution of the Ninth Party Congress of the Red Fourth Army. Mao Zedong was very skillful in conducting investigations, and the story of "a pack of kumquat cakes" that occurred when guanzhuang held a peasant investigation meeting is still widely circulated among the masses.
It was a day in mid-December 1929, when the north wind was howling and silver frost was everywhere. As soon as Mao Zedong ate breakfast, he invited three comrades to walk together to Guanzhuang Village, five miles away from Xinquan, to hold a peasant investigation meeting.
On that day, Mao Zedong was wearing a gray military uniform, a large bucket hat, a pair of cloth shoes on his feet, and leggings wrapped around his lower legs, dressed like the other three comrades, without any specialness. When he came to Guanzhuang to "Report to the Ancestral Hall of the First Gong(Ashamed Mountain Shrine)", more than a dozen peasants who had already attended the meeting still thought that he was an ordinary Red Army soldier, so they uninhibitedly started a family routine with him. In a moment, Lao Yang, chairman of the Farmers' Association, walked in and shouted happily: "Commissioner Mao, you came early!" As soon as everyone heard it, they suddenly realized that the amiable and approachable person in front of them was Mao Zedong, the party representative of the Red Fourth Army. At this time, everyone wanted to show respect for Mao Zedong, some handed him a fire cage, and some sent him roasted sweet potatoes. A sister-in-law surnamed Rao immediately turned back to the house and brought a packet of kumquat cakes that she was going to leave her mother's house to offer to Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong asked everyone to talk about their understanding of the revolution and their opinions on the Red Fourth Army, but everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and they were a little uncomfortable. When Mao Zedong saw this, he picked up a piece of kumquat cake and said: "This sweet and fragrant kumquat cake is like the territory of our country, and now imperialism wants to divide it. The peasant representatives who attended the meeting said in unison: "Yes! Mao Zedong waved a strong hand and said, "Yes, we want to protect it." Because this kumquat is planted by our farmers, the kumquat cake is the common fruit of our workers and farmers. However, the Kuomintang reactionaries wanted to give this kumquat cake to foreign dog robbers for partition, and we could not agree. We in the Communist Party are going to mobilize the broad masses of workers and peasants, and unite to overthrow the reactionaries who are traitors seeking glory and to drive out the dog bandits who want to eat this kumquat cake! Everyone listened to Mao Zedong's simple revolutionary reasoning, and all expressed their support for the Communist Party's proposition that they should love their own Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and Mao Zedong nodded and smiled.
Then Mao Zedong asked enlighteningly: "How do you love the Red Army?" Mao Zedong said cordially: "The military and the people are originally family members, and when you see that the Red Army has done something wrong, such as not observing discipline, infringing on the interests of the masses, and wasting crops, you must boldly put forward opinions and seriously criticize them, so that we can correct our shortcomings and maintain the good work style of the troops." In doing so, we are truly loving the Red Army! Then, Mao Zedong said: "I have come to ask you for your opinions today, and everyone boldly mentions them. When the peasant deputies present saw mao zedong so frankly, they talked without restraint. This said that the Red Army contingent was really good and led the peasants to fight down local tyrants and divide up the land; the one who praised the Red Army was really strict in discipline, taking political lessons and exercises every day, and also taking time to help the masses carry water and sweep the floor. Sister-in-law Rao finally said: "Let me make a suggestion: The comrades of the Red Army get up early every day and go dark, and they have no free time for a moment, they are too tired, if they are tired and bad, how can they fight the enemy?" Mao Zedong listened, swept the kumquat cake in his hand, and said humorously: "Sister-in-law, accept your opinion, we must love the soldiers, tell them to pay attention to the combination of work and leisure, but also practice the ability to kill the enemy, and eliminate the enemy as soon as possible, so as to protect this kumquat cake from warlords and lackeys and imperialism!" Mao Zedong's words made everyone happy.
In the evening, when Mao Zedong and others left Guanzhuang Village, more than a dozen peasant representatives kept sending him to the village entrance. Afterwards, the peasants attending the meeting praised Mao Zedong for his real ability, and a piece of kumquat cake not only propagated the revolutionary principles, but also elicited many words from the hearts of the masses. (The Xinquan Rectification Training Memorial Hall is based on "The Story of Mao Committee Member Zhu Junchang in Western Fujian———Kumquat Zan")
(From Red Culture Weekly)
