THE GREAT REVERSAL The Privatization of China, 1978-1989 ...

Construction Bureau who wanted to negotiate the transfer of more Long Bow land. Thesecond was the head mechanic from the trucking depot at the railroad yards. He hadcompleted repairs on one of Long Bow's tractors. The last one in was Zhang Wenying, headof the women's association. What she had to announce, with her usual good cheer, was thata delegation of sanitary inspectors was on its way. She wanted people mobilized to sweep thestreets. Dr. Shen offered her a cigarette. She lit it from the burned stub already in her mouth."Two more women have agreed to have their tubes tied," she said."How many does that make altogether?""Fifty this year."It was a commune record.Jinhong suddenly appeared out of the bedroom, concerned that we had not been offeredtea."Aren't you supposed to be sick?" I asked."Oh, it's not that bad. I'm almost well now," he protested with a voicepage 47that faded halfway through the sentence. Then he coughed, a rasping sound that came fromdeep in his chest. He didn't sound well to me, but no one else seemed worried. The dampnessunderfoot aggravated coughs, and so did the dust in the air. Within a few hours after everyrain the dust blew up again because so much of the earth was bare. You could feel grit in yourmouth whenever you clenched your teeth.It did Jinhong little good to stay home. The affairs of the brigade followed him day andnight. They were ever present, like the dust. But his spirit, if not his body, thrived on thechallenge. And I could see why. I had a strong sense, sitting there that day, of the vitality theraw energy, the unleashed creative power of the cooperative and its 2,000 members. Therehad been years of stagnation. They could be repeated. But right now the sluices were open,and almost everyone was wading out to do battle -- remaking the soil, bringing in water,setting up industries, building homes, taking hold of birth control, planning a new school,sending out buyers to places as distant as Shanghai and Harbin. Above all, they had thetemerity to challenge the age-old dominance of the hoe. That impressed me the most.