"Famous" Lao She: Not a problem

"No Problem" is a short story published by Mr. Lao She in 1943. It tells the story of the Decline of Shuhua Farm in the rear area of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression under the management of Director Ding Wuyuan.

Anyone who comes here — Shuhua Farm — must feel that there is no war in the world, and that there is no bombardment, slaughter, and death that comes with war. In terms of scenery, this place really deserves to be called the paradise of the chaotic world. In front of it is a river that has just been turned by a small gorge, and the water is always so clear and turquoise that people are willing to jump into it in winter and spring. Behind it is a small hill. There is nothing on the mountain, except for a clump of green bamboo dwarf trees, and in the empty space of the bamboo and tree, there are often ochre-colored blocks, as if the painter has dyed them.

In the middle of the hill, the green patch, in the cyan revealed one or two white walls and two or three roof ridges, is the Shuhua Farm. The small ferry on the river, about half a mile from the farm, the ferrymen in the small boats, even if they go in the opposite direction, tend to turn their heads and look at this beautiful place. If they go up the slope, they must point to the farm, because the half-yellow oranges on the trees, or the apples that are already red, always make people notice and want to praise a few times. When the spring blossoms are in full bloom, or when everyone is on vacation, the ladies in the city sometimes take a visit to shuhua farm as an elegant act, and the beauty of this farm may still exist in some small texts and short poems.

A farm must not be built for the sake of watching and playing: then we cannot simply praise the scenery and ignore the more practical things. In fact, the water used by Shuhua Farm is no problem, because the river is under its feet. There is no problem with the shipment of the production. It is only more than thirty miles away from Chongqing City, and you can take a boat in the river, and there are also small roads on the riverside. Its equipment is quite impressive: there are duck and goose ponds, rabbit cages, flower beds, vegetable beds, cattle and sheep pens, and orchards. Duck eggs, flowers, vegetables, fruits, cow and goat milk... These are exactly what is necessary for a city like Chongqing. Moreover, its founding was in the year of the War of Resistance: the population of Chongqing, after the War of Resistance, grew day by day; so the things needed, like the things produced by vegetables and other Shuhua farms, naturally became more and more every day. There is no problem in making money.

Not far to the left from the ramp on the ferry, there are some redstones that have not yet been fully weathered, and there are several clumps of fine bamboo growing next to the stones. When you reach the bamboo bushes, you will reach the narrow and clear stone road of the farm. Not far from the bamboo bushes, there are two green pines growing opposite, and on the pine trees are hung two rough and planed wooden signs, and the white paint is painted with "Shuhua Farm". On the side of the stone road, on this side of the river, there are flowers; so that people can slowly shift their eyes to the turquoise water from the various colors of the flowers. On one side of the hill are many upright, fan-shaped grape trellises, and behind the shelves are various fruit trees. After walking the stone road, there is a vine shelf that is not very high, but quite wide, which is the gate of the farm, and the horizontal plaque is engraved with the two characters of "Shuhua". Entering the door, on the green grass, or on the way to the rubble, you can often see a few soft and light duck and goose feathers, because the duck and goose pond is on the left hand side. The ducks here are pure white and fat, the real Peking Filler Duck. Opposite the duck pond is a flat dam full of flowers, plants and vegetables. At the end of the dam, covered by bamboo trees, is the office. This is a rather sturdy and elegant two-storey building, and the fragrance of flowers and fruits will always fill every corner of the building. The cattle and sheep pens and the workers' huts were again at the back of the building, and the lambs were crying mournfully from time to time.

With some of these equipment, the farm was taught to use at least twenty or so workers. However, in terms of its production capacity and good sales of its products, it should make money in addition to all expenses. Whether it is an insider or a layman, as long as they have seen this farm, they probably will not imagine that this is a money-losing business.

However, Shuhua Farm loses money.

When you start it, of course, you have to advance money to the "inside". However, chicken and duck, green vegetables, flowers, cow and sheep milk, it does not take a long time to have some numbers in terms of profits. According to the connoisseur's calculations, if the second year is not very smooth, at least at the beginning of the third year, it can be absolutely earned.

However, the loss of Shuhua Farm was in the third year after its establishment. At the first shareholders' meeting in the third year, the director and the shareholders all sent a half-day letter to the account books.

Losing some money, the field director does not care at all, he is just one of the major shareholders, and he is elected by everyone to be the field leader. He also had many careers much bigger than the farm. But even if he didn't care about the loss of this little business, even if he forgot all about the loss as soon as he went to the courtyard and looked at the delicious flowers and plants, he was now — at the shareholders' meeting — a little uncomfortable. He is confident that he is a master, he will make money everywhere, and he is an industrialist that everyone admires. The farm loses money? It hurt his self-esteem. He loses some money, shareholders they lose some money, it doesn't matter: it's just that they can't get off the stage! It's tighter than anything! As for the shareholders, most of them can stand with the field director and call on their brothers. Their fame, capital, and ability may not be as good as the field director, but in terms of losing ten thousand and eight thousand yuan, if the field director can hold his breath, they are not convenient to make more noises. A very small number of shareholders really want to invest in the capital and make some money, but they are inconvenient to question first, because they have few shares and low status, and if they speak with a red neck, they may offend the market leaders and major shareholders - this is probably even greater than the loss of some money.

In fact, if everyone is willing to open the window and say something bright, they can point out the reasons for the loss of money in unison, without a doubt. The reason is simple, they use people wrong. The field director, although he is the field chief, cannot, refuses, will not, and disdains to go to the farm to supervise and guide everything. Shareholders don't come to see it eight times out of ten — they only want to go on a hike during a meeting, enjoy the countryside, drink two glasses of wine with old friends, and incidentally reveal their shareholder identity. Except for a few minority shareholders, most of them received the notice of the meeting, as if looking for the clothes in the box to change the festival, they stumbled upon a roll of banknotes that they couldn't remember how to put there - "Vomit, there's still a bit of fun here!" ”