Chapter 336 Capital has no borders
"Hey! Old Song, can you let me talk to Comrade Deming alone?" The newcomer Mr. Ding interrupted Mr. Song's introduction with a dry cough.

"Uh, haha, OK, OK, you two can chat." Mr. Song laughed awkwardly and raised his hand to look at his watch. "It just so happens that I have a meeting with Lao Ding and Deming later. There's a restaurant called Zhengyanglou just next to our company. Haha, it serves authentic Shandong cuisine. I'll ask people to reserve a table. Comrade Deming and I will come to welcome you tonight."

"Haha, great! It's rare to be able to eat authentic Shandong cuisine in Hong Kong. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get used to the food here in Hong Kong."

After a burst of fake laughter, Mr. Song left with his secretary and closed the door of the clinic.

"Comrade Deming, would you like a cigarette?" Mr. Ding took out a pack of Peony cigarettes and popped one out with a smile.

Wang Deming was startled at first, then he took it with a smile and took out a lighter to light a cigarette. He thought that with such a high standard, he would either smoke Zhonghua or white box.
There were only two of them in the clinic, and Mr. Ding spoke more casually, "Comrade Deming, before I came to Hong Kong, Leader Ye from the Ministry of Foreign Trade told me that I would talk to you first and listen to your opinions."

"Previously, on the issue of food imports, Hong Kong and Western leaders have been unable to reach an agreement. The leaders in Beijing are very anxious!"

Hearing Mr. Ding's tone, Wang Deming frowned and felt annoyed. He took a deep puff of cigarette and asked, "Mr. Ding, hasn't the domestic food situation improved this year?"

"At this time, the summer grain should have been harvested. How could there still be a large grain shortage?"

The smile on Mr. Ding's face instantly turned pale. He took two deep puffs of his cigarette, the flame of the cigarette butt flickered continuously. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Anyway, this kind of thing can't be concealed."

"Do you know what happened in Xinyang, Henan?"

Wang Deming shook his head.

"Did you know that Wu Yi from Henan ordered the arrest of 20 people?"

Wang Deming shook his head again.

Mr. Ding smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it. I can't explain it clearly. You can look up the information yourself later, otherwise you will definitely be put in the small dark room."

"Natural disasters and man-made disasters are 30% and 70% respectively."

"It's not just Wu Yiba from Henan. Zeng Yiba from Anhui also fell to Shandong."

The more Wang Deming listened, the more excited he became. The three wrinkles on his forehead were clearly visible, and connected to the line between his eyebrows, forming the Chinese character "王"!

He inhaled the remaining half of the cigarette in one breath and crushed it into the ashtray. The blue-gray smoke spewed out of his nostrils like an angry bull.

A deep voice roared out from his throat: "Didn't they receive any punishment at all?"

"We have withdrawn, but who knows if they will rise again in the future?"

Wang Deming seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he collapsed on the chair helplessly, "I understand."

Then he pulled himself together and said, "Tell me, Mr. Ding, what do you need me to do?"

Mr. Ding put out his cigarette and slowly told Wang Deming about the problems he was facing. Some of them he knew, but some he didn't.

Since the food problem occurred in late 59, in 60, all agricultural products, including grain, meat, oil, etc., that were used to pay for loans to the Soviet Union were urgently stopped, and negotiations were also held with the Soviet Union on whether a batch of food could be provided urgently?
The Soviet Union responded by saying that it was also facing drought at home and could not provide support.

Then they urgently imported food from other Warsaw Pact countries, but unfortunately they did not have large quantities of food. They could only turn to the West, but the big problem they faced was that the Western leadership was always hesitant. Although food was not included in the Batumi agreement that restricted exports, it was the first time for such large-scale cooperation and it had not been approved.

So it has been delayed until now, and the country has just sent Mr. Ding to Hong Kong urgently, hoping to solve the problem of food imports as soon as possible.

Wang Deming was in no mood to keep a low profile, so he took out his Zhonghua cigarettes and lit them up for the two of them. The small clinic was filled with smoke, like a fairyland.

He repeated Mr. Ding's words several times in his mind and asked, "Which countries are you in contact with now?"

"It's mainly Australia and Canada. We have already imported some grain from France. There are also some grains from other countries. It's just a drop in the bucket. However, with such a large-scale grain import, we can't always transit through France. We can't afford the transit tax alone."

"Well, we were talking to people from the other department before, did you know that?"

"I asked Mr. Song, the economic department and the general manager's office in charge of foreign trade in grain."

"Have you never contacted the agricultural associations of these two countries?"

"Farmers' Association?" Mr. Ding was stunned when he heard the name. "Is it useful?"

"Take out the question word."

It is no wonder that Mr. Ding was confused. Many people may also be confused, because our country had farmers' associations at that time. Of course, to be more precise, they were called Poor Peasants' Associations, and they existed for a long time. It was clearly written in the "Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan" in 1927.

How powerful it is to organize farmers' associations to fight against local tyrants and evil gentry and their lackeys, to reduce rent and interest, etc. Where there are farmers' associations, the rights and interests of farmers are greatly enhanced.

There was also this in the 60s, when many militia members were also members of the Farmers’ Association, so the workers, farmers, businessmen, students and soldiers of the people’s commune were all included.

Even in the past, there were trade unions, but now that we have become a modern industrial country, we can still hear about trade unions from time to time, but as for farmers' associations, it is estimated that there are many who have never heard of them in their entire lives.

Wang Deming slowly explained to him, "The West is a capitalist country, so the forces behind their governments are actually the capital forces behind them. The farmers' associations in various countries are their agents in the grain business."

"It would be much more effective for the farmers' association's agents to lobby the government than for us to go to their government."

He lit another cigarette. “If you want to deal with the West, you have to know a famous saying: capital is greedy and has no borders.”

"Don't be fooled by their current shouting in Batumi. It's just that we don't have enough money. Otherwise, Western countries would definitely be willing to secretly sell us technology and equipment."

Mr. Ding stood up neatly, raised his hand and checked the time. "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll contact the heads of the farmers' associations in the West right away. Food cannot wait! Henan, Anhui, and Shandong are in great shortage! Comrade Deming, you will negotiate with me when the time comes."

Wang Deming stood up to see him off: "Okay, I'll be there whenever you call."

After Mr. Ding left, Wang Deming opened the door of the clinic to let in some fresh air, but he still felt stuffy, so he simply changed his clothes and prepared to go to the street to get some fresh air.

I told the comrade on guard at the stairs on the 8th floor that I would go to the Zhengyanglou Beijing cuisine restaurant at 1 Pedder Street in advance, and then went downstairs.

People were coming and going on the street. In the prosperous area of ​​Central, people of all kinds had rosy faces. Men were well-dressed and arrogant, while women were arranging flowers and putting on powder, swaying in the wind.
Wang Deming sighed to the sky, those three places are the most serious
Although Mr. Ding did not say it explicitly in the end, he could guess that these people would definitely make a comeback in 20 years.
"Mr. Wang?"

　As I get older, my body parts wear out too quickly. I went to the city's dental clinic for treatment for my toothache, and it just got better. But now my finger joints are uncomfortable again. I wanted to take a leave, but I'll continue to persevere for the sake of my book friends who have always supported me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)