The matter of local elections wasn't something Chen Ke just brought up now. As early as a year ago, Chen Ke had proposed the concept of elections to the landlords. However, with wars following one after another, no one had time to bring this up again. After the soldiers learned that local elections were to be held, their biggest feeling was "bewilderment." It wasn't that they supported or opposed it; the troops had long said that local elections would happen, and the soldiers knew what local elections were for. Everyone just didn't know why they were holding local elections at this critical juncture.

The political commissars were full of praise for the "sensitivity" of the soldiers. Chen Ke said the eyes of the people were snow-bright, and these words were fully confirmed. One of the purposes of promoting local elections was to complete the legitimacy of the regime. Once the people of the base area formed their own grassroots government, it effectively meant that the people of the base area had thoroughly drawn a clear line with the Manchu Qing regime. Chen Ke didn't dare to directly raise the banner of revolution a year ago precisely because he was worried that raising the banner too early and forcibly requiring the people to take sides would be counterproductive.

For Chen Ke, this wasn't much. His revolutionary goal was actually not to overthrow the Manchu Qing; Chen Ke wanted to build a new China, and overthrowing the Manchu Qing was merely a task in the process of this cause. But the goal of the common people was to live a good life; they had no interest in overthrowing the court either. So Chen Ke's approach was disaster relief and establishing a new order; these actions that could tangibly meet the needs of the people masses easily received everyone's response.

Chen Ke viewed the Manchu Qing as dry bones in a tomb, but most comrades didn't have this magnanimity and understanding. The vast majority of comrades believed the Manchu Qing was the greatest enemy and were holding back their strength to overthrow the Manchu Qing. No matter how Chen Ke propagandized that "revolution is for the people," everyone subconsciously wouldn't think so. Fortunately, these successive great victories against the New Army gave the comrades confidence. Plus, with Chen Ke personally leading the preparatory work, the propaganda finally didn't result in the political commissars contradicting themselves. The political commissars didn't mention a word about the Manchu Qing, only propagandizing that the "people's revolution" was to let the people masses be masters of their own house. The people should manage their own affairs, so grassroots elections naturally had to be decided by the people.

Through this propaganda, the soldiers roughly understood what grassroots elections were exactly for. Chen Ke absorbed lessons from history. In history, grassroots regimes possessed enormous power; at the peak, village cadres could decide the life and death of villagers. These powers created quite a few inappropriate incidents. Limited by current communication levels, if grassroots units didn't have great power, it would be complete chaos. Chen Ke knew there were people wronged to death in every dynasty and generation. This wasn't Chen Ke deliberately turning a blind eye to this, but realistic technical means constraining the operation of much power. To solve these problems, Chen Ke had to appropriately weaken grassroots power.

First was the concentrated living of the population. The so-called "many mouths, mixed talk" could be seen as a certain degree of people's supervision. If it was a natural village with few people, then the village cadres might be able to clamp down on the common people of the entire village. If it was a large village or even a large town, the cadres couldn't possibly clamp down on so many people. After the base area suffered floods, resistance to concentrated living was small. At least in several old base areas, small villages had already been replaced by collectively built residential points.

Second was the division of land. The people's contiguous land, army farms, state-run farms, and cash crop farms were intermixed in location, greatly improving the government's mandatory management capability.

Finally, the elected official positions were also determined. Village heads, town heads—only these official positions and people's representatives were produced by election. People's representatives mainly participated in tax distribution issues. Actually, the so-called participation was just participating in discussions and then notifying everyone of the news. The base area had established state-owned enterprises, and these state-owned enterprises in the base area actually controlled the financial power. Whether village heads and town heads, or the assembly of people's representatives, they were all clear-water government offices (agencies with little power/profit). These situations would be adjusted in the future, but at the current stage, it was so. If one must say, the People's Party just needed to obtain legal tradition through the system of the assembly of People's Party representatives, proving its power was not self-appointed but came from the people's election.

Chen Ke played such political tricks under the banner of the people. He himself actually felt a bit embarrassed in his heart, but the situation was stronger than the person. If Chen Ke really promoted a thorough election system, that would only be seeking his own destruction. It would be fundamentally impossible to complete the revolution.

What the soldiers cared about wasn't political tricks; they didn't care about such things. Speaking extremely, whether the People's Party was in power or the Manchu Qing court was on stage, the people didn't care. What everyone cared about was living a good life. The political structure of the People's Party wasn't content the soldiers cared about at all; what everyone cared about was more detailed content. For example, the "Production Team" launched by the People's Party. This new policy triggered immense attention from the soldiers.

In these few days of propaganda, the most common sentence among the soldiers was "Brother So-and-so, after we go back, let's persuade our families to form a production team, okay?"

The production teams run by the Party in history were very cute; they were a great integration of "Leftist Egalitarianism." When Chen Ke was in the 21st century, he knew some "powerful running dogs" of large American capital consortiums. Everyone had discussed the agricultural issues after land reform. Since these brothers could mix to the status of "powerful running dogs," their insight was naturally extraordinary. They had detailedly criticized the problems of the old-style production teams. The biggest problem of rural production teams at that time was deviating from the basic principles of economics; politics interfered with the economy, and at the same time, state intervention was missing.

According to the views of those few brothers, the purpose of forming production teams was to realize the effective combination of "production capital and labor force." Egalitarian "big pot rice" was unacceptable. The state forcibly engaged in "matching" back then, letting strong labor power and weak labor power be distributed together. It even deviated from the basic principles of socialism. Socialism talks about "distribution according to work." Letting strong labor power and weak labor power take the same remuneration satisfied no one. Under the erroneous guidance of "egalitarianism," both strong labor power and weak labor power felt they took too little. Strong labor power felt they worked more and took less; weak labor power felt they needed more care and should take a bit more. The government's idea of "internal relief" ended up pleasing neither side.

Rather than pleasing neither side like this, Chen Ke positioned the government in the role of a referee, and let the masses form production teams themselves. The government was only responsible for guaranteeing contract execution.

The army was a highly specialized large group organization. Its members were all uniform young adults. Even positions like military doctors who weren't good at fighting all possessed professional skills. The organizational model looked more average, but precisely was not "big pot rice." The soldiers of the troops actually didn't care about elections. Now that the election system was public, the army only needed to ensure no riots occurred during the elections.

The People's Party's land reclamation let the soldiers personally experience the benefits of collective labor. Dozens or hundreds of people working together had high efficiency. Soldiers with land reclamation experience all hoped to increase their own grain output by forming their own production teams. Since the People's Party provided a large number of positions in breeding and industrial sectors, and these positions could earn quite a lot of money, the land could be cultivated by strong male laborers, and women could go work in those breeding farms and factories. This model could greatly increase family income. If a single family did it themselves, efficiency would be lower instead.

Comrades-in-arms were a simple relationship tempered on the battlefield. These soldiers inevitably wishfully thought they could persuade their own families. After receiving this feedback, Chen Ke felt very satisfied. Actually, soldiers might not necessarily be able to persuade their own families. Farming together with other families, just the income distribution would require long-term discussion, and cooperative labor needed even more running-in. This wasn't something that could be done overnight. What made Chen Ke happy was that after the soldiers experienced the advanced production mode, they actively began to promote it to the broad masses. Regarding these spontaneous actions of the soldiers, Chen Ke strictly ordered the political commissars not to participate. If soldiers asked political commissars for advice, political commissars could provide opinions, but they absolutely couldn't make mandatory requirements of the soldiers.

While the discussion in the troops was in full swing, the situation in the base area was even livelier. Hearing that village officials were no longer dominated by clan elders or local tyrants, the common people were happy but also uneasy. Everyone could vote, but for those big families with many people and great influence, who exactly should they vote for?

The Standing Committee members each led a county. It could be said that except for Yuwen Badu, the other Standing Committee members understood Chen Ke's meaning after reading the documents and letters sent by Chen Ke. In other counties, the People's Party cadres in the countryside began propaganda work. The propaganda naturally wouldn't be "You must elect our People's Party," but propaganda on "What exactly is a good life."

Yuwen Badu had been partnering with Ren Qiying these days, and his work had improved greatly. After reading the documents and letters, his first reaction was to call Ren Qiying over.

Ren Qiying had now been formally promoted to Director of the County Committee Office. After finishing the documents Yuwen Badu handed over, Ren Qiying already had a calculation in her heart. "Secretary Yuwen, actually this matter is easiest to handle in our Fengtai County. We have a good foundation; Secretary Chen completed the preliminary preparations long ago. Just doing it according to the regulations will do."

Yuwen Badu had roughly understood the regulations, but he lacked confidence. "Director Ren, what do you think we should do?"

"What we need to do is explain to the common people what these official positions are used for. When common people encounter problems, who should they go to? Who the common people elect is the common people's own business. Let's not participate."

"But other counties have started propaganda; shouldn't we propagandize?" Yuwen Badu didn't quite understand.

"Whatever should be propagandized in our Fengtai County has already been propagandized. Doing it again is useless," Ren Qiying answered very crisply.

"True, true." Yuwen Badu nodded repeatedly.

Seeing Yuwen Badu being so obedient, Ren Qiying was also quite proud in her heart. She continued: "Since Secretary Chen did the work ahead, then we have to be a step ahead of other counties. I suggest we focus on grasping the matter of forming production teams."

"Good, we must definitely complete the formation of production teams." Yuwen Badu continued to nod in agreement.

As soon as these words came out, Ren Qiying immediately felt a bit stifled. To save Yuwen Badu's face, Ren Qiying handed Chen Ke's letter to Yuwen Badu. "Secretary Yuwen, Chairman Chen specifically said in the letter that the government is not allowed to forcibly form production teams."

Reading the letter again, Yuwen Badu indeed found this sentence. He was a bit confused; since Ren Qiying had already noticed this matter, why did she want to treat forming production teams as a key point to handle?

"Secretary Yuwen, Chairman Chen specifically said at the party cadre training meeting that our People's Party cannot do things with a head but no tail. If we start, we must finish. If production teams are forcibly formed, that equates to production teams formed by our government. What difference is there between that and the state-run farms currently opened? This production team requires the people to form it spontaneously. We want to propagandize and guide, but we absolutely cannot have the slightest coercion, or even let the common people feel we are instigating."

Hearing Ren Qiying say this, Yuwen Badu scratched his head. "Director Ren, doing it like this, what is the difference from not grasping the formation of production teams?"

Ren Qiying laughed: "Secretary Yuwen, Chairman Chen repeatedly emphasized at the training meeting that everything requires preparation. Which departments will sign the contracts for the production teams? Production teams can apply for loans from the government; which department should they go to for these loans? We have to contact and arrange these well. Moreover, after production teams are formed, there will definitely be quite a few people coming to work in factories. Which factories are recruiting? We also have to contact and arrange this, right? If we do these preparations, no matter how many common people actually form production teams, the subsequent work won't make us flustered. This is the proof of us opening up a new situation."

These words were a bit complex for Yuwen Badu, but at any rate, Yuwen Badu had done so much work with many Standing Committee members. Although designing these things wasn't his strong suit, Yuwen Badu had wide connections and much experience. Frowning and thinking about who to contact, Yuwen Badu suddenly beamed with joy. "Right, not to mention anything else, after the cotton is harvested, the textile factory will start work immediately. This just happens to need people. This solves a big chunk of labor demand."

Ren Qiying smiled as she watched Yuwen Badu finish talking about the textile factory and then list a long string of departments needing labor. Looking at Yuwen Badu's elated appearance, Ren Qiying felt somewhat helpless. Yuwen Badu actually wasn't a bad person, nor could he be said to lack ability. But this thing couldn't be compared. Compared with Chen Ke and other Standing Committee members, Yuwen Badu appeared inadequate. Even without comparing to others, Ren Qiying felt that if she weren't a woman, with her ability, she absolutely wouldn't be willing to be subordinate to Yuwen Badu.

However, this thought only surfaced for an instant and disappeared. It wasn't Yuwen Badu who promoted Ren Qiying, but Chen Ke. Ren Qiying firmly believed that Chen Ke had long anticipated the current situation. If Ren Qiying tried to climb up without obtaining Chen Ke's authorization, Chen Ke would absolutely not turn a blind eye.

Thinking of this, Ren Qiying said: "Secretary Yuwen, since we want to form production teams, I'll go home first to talk to my family. You know too, my family's manpower isn't good. My father doesn't know how to farm. My family actually needs to organize a production team the most, to produce jointly with families with thriving manpower. So can I go home for two days?"

"Sure, sure!" Yuwen Badu agreed profusely. He actually didn't quite want Ren Qiying to steal his limelight at this critical moment either. People had already started making strange remarks, saying things like Fengtai County was actually being managed by the County Committee Office. Ren Qiying was transferred by Chen Ke's order, so everyone dared not say anything about Ren Qiying's promotion. So the fire was concentrated on Yuwen Badu. Having finally thoroughly understood Secretary Chen Ke's meaning with great difficulty, Yuwen Badu still wanted to clear his name. It was actually better if Ren Qiying wasn't here at this time.

As soon as Ren Qiying returned home, her mother Ren Xushi immediately came to welcome her daughter with a face full of spring breeze. Ren Qiying was now serving as the Director of the County Committee Office, and rumors outside said she was about to serve as County Magistrate. The neighbors didn't know how many good words they said about Ren Qiying to her face. With her daughter being so credit-worthy, Ren Xushi naturally had great face. Seeing her daughter, Ren Xushi's face almost bloomed with smiles.

"Mother, where is Father?" Ren Qiying asked. Before coming back, she had actually run to the Education College to look for her father Ren Yugang, who studied and concurrently taught there. As a result, the news she got was actually that her father Ren Yugang had asked for leave to go home. Ren Qiying was quite worried that something had happened at home.

While speaking, the door of the main room opened, and Ren Yugang walked out. "Girl, go to your room to talk." Obviously, there were some things Ren Yugang didn't want Ren Qiying's mother to mix in. If in the main room, they couldn't drive out Ren Xushi, the mistress of the house. In Ren Qiying's room, they could largely shut Ren Xushi out.

After the father and daughter sat down, Ren Yugang first listened without a word to Ren Qiying finish talking about the general situation of the recent elections and the detailed ins and outs of forming production teams. He listened very seriously, and Ren Qiying wasn't worried at all that Ren Yugang would miss anything. This attentive attitude was Ren Yugang's style, and Ren Yugang had also required Ren Qiying to do this since she was free (young?). When she was small, Ren Qiying felt her father was a bit too strict. Only after joining the People's Party did Ren Qiying know what precious wealth her father's education was to her.

"Girl, is your meaning to let our family form a production team with other families first?" Ren Yugang asked.

Ren Qiying answered: "Father, if you feel forming a production team with others is too troublesome, then we can also not get involved in this matter."

Ren Yugang shook his head. "There's no trouble in this. You also know our family has no one to farm. Your mother is no good at working in the fields, and I only understand teaching. Your younger brothers and sisters are still small and are all studying now. Our family's land actually has no one to farm it at all. Our family's land is currently entrusted to your uncle's family to farm. Forming a production team is quite good; with the government guaranteeing the contract, there won't be so many troublesome things."

After saying this, Ren Yugang looked at Ren Qiying's slightly flickering gaze and tightly pursed lips. He asked: "Girl, do you have any ideas that are hard to say?"

Ren Qiying thought for another moment, gritted her teeth, and finally said: "Father, have you ever thought that we could simply make the production team bigger?"

"How so?" Ren Yugang knew his daughter had quite some ambition. Since she hesitated for a long time before saying this, presumably she had some clue.

"Some time ago before the war, I reported work to Chairman Chen. Talking about rural issues, Chairman Chen casually said a sentence: small-scale peasant production teams are very good, but small-scale farms might be more suitable for China. I asked a few follow-up questions. Chairman Chen said he hadn't done rural work. Although those large-scale farms of tens of thousands of *mu* have high overall efficiency, they may not be suitable for China. China has little arable land, so this kind of production team of one or two hundred *mu* also has high yield per *mu* and relatively high efficiency. Perhaps it is more suitable for China's situation. After Chairman Chen finished speaking, I went to check Chairman Chen's documents. Chairman Chen has written many things about this aspect. Although chaotic, they are very interesting."

Ren Yugang listened to his daughter explaining these farming matters to him. He actually really didn't understand farming. The reason he listened here was only that as a father, he must support his child. And he also had to watch that they didn't walk the wrong path. As for what specific work to do, Ren Yugang felt that as long as one did their utmost, it was fine. So he only roughly understood what Ren Qiying said. Ren Qiying planned to contact a few more farming households to form a production team of 150 *mu* in size. This production team would comprehensively imitate the production methods of the army farms and state-run farms currently being set up. And not just a few families uniting to supply each other's needs.

As a layman in farming, Ren Yugang actually understood the introduction by Ren Qiying, who was also a layman. And he even felt it was very feasible. He was very satisfied with his daughter's considerations. However, what Ren Yugang asked was another question. "Girl, did you say you learned these from the things written by Chairman Chen?"

"Yes." Ren Qiying was a bit puzzled by this digression of her father. After answering the question, she looked at her father with slight surprise.

"Exactly how many things has Chairman Chen written?" Ren Yugang continued to ask.

"That's a lot. I think there must be a million words in total." Ren Qiying answered.

Ren Yugang nodded slightly. "Girl, I won't say anything else. Chairman Chen has such great ability. You must not be disloyal to Chairman Chen."

Hearing her father's words, Ren Qiying said seriously: "Father, don't worry. I won't make a mistake about who I should follow."