"You are an agricultural expert, Chen Yonggui!"
December 26, 1964, Chairman Mao's 71st birthday, took this opportunity to entertain himself at the Great Hall of the People at his own expense.
In addition to some old friends and cadres, the others were national model workers, including Chen Yonggui, who was then secretary of the party branch of the Dazhai Brigade.
He wore a simple black cloth jacket, wrapped in a white towel on his head, dressed as a standard old peasant, and his face was covered with vicissitudes and wrinkles.
In the face of Chairman Mao's praise, Chen Yonggui was very nervous, he shook his head repeatedly, where can he be regarded as an expert as an illiterate person who cannot read a few words?
But it was this "illiterate" who was praised many times by Chairman Mao, personally summoned by Premier Zhou, and appointed as vice premier of the State Council!
So, what kind of person is Chen Yonggui? How could he become a deputy prime minister from an ordinary old peasant?
The legend of the "Prime Minister of Cloth"
On the first day of the first lunar month in 1915, Chen Yonggui was born in a broken cave in Xiyang County, Shanxi Province, and when he was 5 years old, because his family was poor, his father, who worked as a long-term worker, saw that the family could not survive, so he had to give away his young son.
In this way, Chen Yonggui was deposited in a family in Dazhai with only his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and since then he has become a Dazhai person, starting a legend of himself and Dazhai.
At that time, the life of the grassroots people across the country was very hard, and the land of Dazhai was even more barren, and Chen Yonggui had suffered enough since he was a child, and he also deeply felt the pain of being oppressed and exploited.
In order to earn a living, like many young people, he worked as a long-term laborer for the landlords, doing manual work like cattle, and also eating crude animal food.
In such an environment, Chen Yonggui exercised a strong physique and will, and rarely had a sense of awakening, which also laid the groundwork for him to join the Communist Party later.
Chen Yonggui, who is in his 20s, is a celebrity in Dazhai, this young man works sharply, withstands "a half-donkey" alone, and his brain is still smart and flexible, and he can do any work better than others, so the landlords always like to use him.
But in the old society's system, even if Chen Yonggui was so capable, it was still a problem to survive and eat, and after finishing the work, he didn't even have a full meal, and such a day made him unbearable, and he began to resist.
He tried to reason with the landlords and fight for his rights and interests with other poor people, and gradually he became the "head" of the farmers in Dazhai and the contradictions with the local landlords became deeper and deeper.
When the Communist Party came to Dazhai, Chen Yonggui finally felt that he had found a direction, and then in order to do things for the Communist Party, he also pretended to be a representative of the Japanese, and almost lost his life after the news was discovered.
Because of this experience, he was also regarded as a traitor by the unwitting villagers, and it was not until the truth was revealed that everyone knew how brave Chen Yonggui was.
After the land reform was carried out throughout the country, the peasants began to be allocated land, and Chen Yonggui was naturally one of them; such a good life was something he never dreamed of; he felt that life had hope from now on, and he had great respect for the Communist Party and Chairman Mao in his heart.
From this time on, joining the Communist Party became his new direction, as long as it was a task assigned by the party organization, he completed it as quickly and best, and during the liberation war, he also actively joined the militia ambulance team, and in this way, he was finally able to join the Communist Party.
From this time on, he took the first step towards the leadership group, when the environment in Dazhai was very bad, the secretary of the party branch set up a mutual aid group, and Chen Yonggui became the leader of the "old and young group".
Although this group was composed of relatively poor members, under the leadership of Chen Yonggui, the villagers were willing to endure hardships and struggle, and grain production soon exceeded that of other groups, and he became the new secretary of the major party branch.
In 1952, when the central government called for the establishment of cooperatives in various places, Chen Yonggui immediately began to follow suit, and he realized that only by organizing the peasants can the current situation of poverty be changed.
So after learning the experience, he found the leader of the county party committee and proposed to take the lead in doing a pilot in Dazhai, and by the end of the year, the people in Dazhai had joined the junior club.
It stands to reason that Chen Yonggui was somewhat an "official" at this time, but he never took advantage, and in order to sell more grain to the state, even his own family ran out of grain, and he had to go to the county to buy cheap gourd melons to fill his hunger.
It was with this drive that he led the villagers of Dazhai to turn the originally poor ravine into a granary, and the name Chen Yonggui slowly spread out of Dazhai and reached the ears of the central leaders.
Dazhai terraces
The story of Chen Yonggui and Zhongnanhai
In 1958, the wind of the people's commune blew all over the country, and Dazhai became an advanced representative of Shanxi Province under the leadership of Chen Yonggui.
Although he didn't know a few words, he was very advanced in thinking, strong in organizational leadership, and because of his experience since childhood, he empathized with the suffering of the people, so he was very suitable to be the "leader".
The leaders of Shanxi Province also began to call on all parts of the province to learn from Dazhai, to sum up the experience from the success of Dazhai, and to let other rural cadres learn from Chen Yonggui, it can be said that in the 60s, learning from Chen Yonggui in Shanxi Province became a wave.
At that time, even the People's Daily reported the story of Chen Yonggui and Dazhai, and the Beijing Municipal Party Committee invited him to give a speech to introduce his experience.
Zhou Enlai inspected Dazhai
In March 1964, Chairman Mao came to Handan, Hebei Province for inspection, where he listened to reports from the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and the Hebei Provincial Party Committee, and heard Chen Yonggui's name for the first time.
At that time, Chairman Mao was very concerned about the "five antis" in the rural areas and worried that some cadres would receive high centimeters if they did not work, so Tao Lujian, secretary of the Shanxi Provincial CPC Committee, mentioned Chen Yonggui and told him about his deeds.
After listening to it, Chairman Mao attached great importance to it, especially when he heard that this cadre originally did not know how to read, but insisted on self-study; his speech and deeds were full of dialectics and very down-to-earth; the real meaning was to come from the masses and go to the masses.
Chairman Mao specially wrote down Chen Yonggui's name, asked the entourage to find Chen Yonggui's materials, and specially called Premier Zhou to ask him to pay attention to the affairs of Dazhai.
Dazhai villagers
On May 10, the chairman mentioned Dazhai at a central meeting, saying that agriculture is to learn the spirit of Dazhai and rely on itself.
And for Chen Yonggui, who took the lead in labor and had no cadre frame, he also became the most needed model at that time, and on his 71st birthday, the chairman specially invited Chen Yonggui, and this old peasant finally met his "idol".
Chen Yonggui has always kept in mind the kindness of Chairman Mao and the Communist Party, and he has always insisted on taking Chairman Mao's thought as a guide to action.
On December 26, he came to the Great Hall of the People excitedly over his old black cotton jacket and semi-new black cloth jacket, never thinking that he would become a member of the central leadership in the future.
During this meeting, Chairman Mao and Chen Yonggui had a very pleasant conversation and highly praised him: "Chen Yonggui really has dialectics, and some cadres who are separated from the masses are very stupid and do not have the great level of him." ”
It is rare for grassroots cadres to be praised in this way by the chairman, and this can also be seen that Chairman Mao, who is good at knowing people, has already seen Chen Yonggui's ability at this time, and this is why he was reused later.
According to our current thinking, how can an ordinary person be a high-ranking cadre? But Chairman Mao insisted that workers and peasants should also participate in the management of the state, and Chen Yonggui was later made the leader of Shanxi Province.
After becoming the leader of the province, his achievements are still very eye-catching, and Shanxi Province has made great progress in economic construction and agricultural production.
And although he became a provincial leader, Chen Yonggui still worked with the villagers in Dazhai, unwilling to leave production and not receive wage subsidies, which also made the central leaders more convinced that everyone was not looking at the wrong person.
In 1974, Chen Yonggui visited Premier Zhou in Beijing Hospital, and looked at the premier who had lost a lot of weight, and he felt very uncomfortable, but he still picked up his spirits and listened to the premier's arrangement.
While speaking, the premier threw out an explosive news, and the central government decided to make Chen Yonggui vice premier of the State Council and promote the spirit of Dazhai to the whole country.
Hearing this, Chen Yonggui was terrified, how could he become a central cadre as an uneducated old peasant? He quickly refused, saying that he could not be the deputy premier.
But Premier Zhou said, "Yonggui, are you a party member?" If so, you must obey the arrangement, this matter is the decision of the chairman and the central committee, and you must do things for the country on behalf of the peasants. ”
Hearing this, Chen Yonggui no longer shirked, and could only secretly vow in his heart that he would do a good job and reassure the chairman and the premier.
So in 1975, Chen Yonggui officially became one of the 12 vice premiers, ranking seventh, and this old farmer with little education created a miracle that shocked the whole country.
But for him, these experiences have never been the most important, or rather, "high-ranking officials Houlu" has given him a headache...
Deputy Prime Minister dressed as a peasant
As mentioned above, after becoming the leader of the province, Chen Yonggui still dressed as a typical old peasant, and his style was also very simple, which did not change much after he became vice premier.
In his heart, Dazhai is his own root, and farmers are his own background, so no matter what activities he attends, even if it is a state visit, he is still dressed as a farmer, and he is also jokingly called "the vice premier with a white towel".
Chen Yonggui also always felt uncomfortable about the promotion of the vice premier's salary, and after moving to Diaoyutai to live, he was accustomed to the excitement and labor, and always wanted to run back to Dazhai instead of being "locked up" here by the inner three floors and the outer three floors.
So not long after, he wrote to Chairman Mao, applying to move out and live, and also to divide the time, not only to stay in the central government, but also to return to the grassroots and Dazhai to see, which also made the chairman once again feel his simplicity and purity.
At work, Chen Yonggui has always adhered to his duty, and in life, he has always refused to enjoy too many privileges.
After he became vice premier, he could actually transfer his hukou to Beijing, but he insisted that his original rural hukou and his wife and children should also be left in Dazhai to eat by work.
He also does not want to take the salary of the state, only follows Dazhai to share grain, a deputy premier, only takes 1.5 yuan a day of work, put it now, who dares to imagine?
But because Chen Yonggui often has to travel on business, and the cost of living outside the home is higher, Shanxi Province gave a subsidy of 100 yuan per month, and the central government gave a subsidy of 36 yuan per month.
In the memories of the Chen family children since childhood, the family has not enjoyed any big fish and meat, and even many times it is a little embarrassing, but even so, the family is very satisfied, because Chen Yonggui has set the best example in spirit.
Although he has become a state cadre, Chen Yonggui never plays a prestige at home, does not beat his children, and helps his wife with housework. People don't go to the ground? Wife cooking, you can't peel a green onion? ”
When he saw the atmosphere of equality between men and women in Beijing, he returned to Dazhai to educate the villagers and let the masters learn to do housework, and Dazhai became a well-known "village of men and women".
In the streets of Dazhai, you can always see Chen Yonggui visiting the door, he still eats simple cornmeal, if he occasionally boils an egg, he will go out and distribute it to the villagers as he walks.
This vice premier, who was devoted to the community and the country, suffered the most painful blow in 1976, Chairman Mao died, and Chen Yonggui did not eat or drink for several days, and he deeply missed the chairman.
After that, he still adhered to the chairman's instructions and concentrated on agriculture, until 1980, when he quit his job and started a retirement life.
After resigning from the post of vice premier, although the central authorities said that all benefits would not be abolished, he still insisted on moving out of the courtyard of the organization, and some of the original furniture was left in place, taking only some simple daily necessities with him.
In the days of retirement, his life was only to read newspapers and raise flowers, which made Chen Yonggui, who was busy and accustomed, very uncomfortable, so he applied for a new job with the organization and served as a consultant for the farm in the eastern suburbs of Beijing, continuing to contribute to the country.
In July 1985, when Beijing Hospital operated on Chen Yonggui, he found that Chen Yonggui had advanced lung cancer, and he was very calm when he learned the bad news, and for him, he had lived a wonderful enough life.
In March 1986, 71-year-old Chen Yonggui died in a Beijing hospital, and his last wish was to give the more than 8,000 yuan he had saved to the party organization for party dues, but because his child was about to go to university, he eventually left a part.
But for the children of the Chen family, the wealth left by Chen Yonggui is not this money, but the spirit of always maintaining his true colors.
Chen Yonggui's ashes were scattered on the land of Dazhai, and the people of Dazhai erected a monument for him on the top of Hutou Mountain, which read: "Meritorious work covers the tiger's head, and the achievement anchors the earth."
His deeds have also been written into a book "My Grandfather Chen Yonggui" by future generations, allowing more people to see the selfless spirit of the older generation for the collective and for the country!