Chapter 33: Recording Every Moment

Wei Dong never liked journalists.

Whether it was the contrived interviews he saw on television, or the faces he encountered when dealing with municipal reporters via the tax bureau, he always felt a natural wariness and distaste toward the profession of journalism, which he considered rather useless. Even when he finally agreed to meet a reporter, it was with a cotton gauze mask on his face, refusing both photos and recordings. If the reporter wanted to take notes, he would let them, but he would never sign his name.

Yet, it seemed that journalists of this era were somewhat different.

The reporter arrived, travel-worn: "I heard you’re just a bystander, but secretly you aided the Wan Shang Trading Company..."

Wei Dong hurriedly denied it, "Hey, hey, don’t make wild claims—I barely know them, I’m just a passerby. Whatever speculative economic ventures they’re involved in, we common folk aren’t qualified to comment."

His words hardly sounded like those of a laborer.

The seasoned reporter smoothed things over, "Mm, mm, then could you share your impressions as an observer?"

Wei Dong was helpless, "Do you really need to observe? Isn’t that strap diagonally across your neck for a camera? Go out and take a few pictures around the streets, then go to Jiangzhou, take photos in Huanghai, and if these two cities can’t compare, try the towns and counties across Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Is there anywhere as lifeless as Shangzhou?"

The middle-aged reporter diligently took notes, his eyes brightening. What kind of broad perspective was this? Claiming to be a porter—clearly, he was a mouthpiece!

He maintained a calm demeanor, "For example?"

Wei Dong, inexperienced in society, replied, "Take a simple principle—selling goods from rural areas to the provincial city is never a problem. Go see the wholesale market at Jiangzhou’s textile hub, or Huanghai’s Qipu Road small commodity market, and you’ll see the public’s strong demand for this sort of life. But reverse the direction: when the city wholesales goods to the countryside, people get arrested. What does that tell you?"

He even managed to throw the question back.

The reporter scribbled furiously, not looking up, "Hmm, what does it tell us?"

Wei Dong’s conclusion was clear, "It shows that policy transmission takes time. After decades of emphasizing policy, cutting tails, cracking down on factions, to suddenly demand instantaneous, nationwide reversal—is that possible? Each level is still faithfully executing the last command, their mindset hasn’t shifted yet, so inevitably they run into obstacles. Only the first level can react in time. So this is normal—some people are bound to be crushed during this phase."

The reporter’s pen paused, forcing him to look up and scrutinize the masked face, still youthful.

These words had already surpassed the era, no, surpassed the understanding of ordinary people.

It was like a child faced with a broken toy: most would throw tantrums, cry for their parents, but a rare, thoughtful child would accept calmly, quietly attempt repairs, even avoid their parents to escape scolding.

Anyone seeing such a child would be deeply impressed.

Dong Xueying, holding her baby, stood proudly behind the reporter, quietly cheering on the masked youth.

The interview was taking place in her home—a local family with an old but spacious tile-roofed house, a small courtyard overlooking the river, with several plantain trees making for a pleasant scene.

Wei Dong was simply repeating phrases he’d grown accustomed to hearing in the tax bureau compound. Every time tax policy changed, the hardest part was enforcement from top to bottom—often, before the last change was settled, a new adjustment would arrive.

During the rapid growth of the economy, tax reforms seemed to happen every few days, exhausting everyone.

He'd heard such complaints so often that they left a deep impression. Now, he still seemed unaware: "What, did I say something wrong?"

The reporter quickly shook his head, "Go on, go on. What does the current situation in Shangzhou and the Wan Shang Trading Company case reveal?"

This was a setup—Wei Dong was Dong Xueying’s highly recommended interviewee. If he were a plant for You Qili, answering this would easily expose him.

Wei Dong sat at the eight immortals table in the courtyard, casually glancing around. The sweeping river view opened his heart further.

And so he spoke more openly, "In recent months, the crackdown has started everywhere—why is that? Some say it’s because reform and opening widened the gap between rich and poor, stirring unrest and worsening public security. But that’s the wrong causal link. It’s because we need to develop the economy, so we must strengthen public security. A stable environment is the foundation for economic development. Cracking down so hard is meant to foster the economy. It’s laughable that so many people can’t see this, instead targeting economic offenders with the current wave."

This was the familiar refrain from security briefings in later police departments—everything is to safeguard economic development, public security is a basic matter.

But the reporter was so stunned his pen nearly dropped!

This was policy interpretation at a whole new level.

Originally jotting notes on his lap, he now placed his notebook on the table.

Eyes met, hoping to glimpse more of this young man’s inner world, "So you mean economic offenders shouldn’t be arrested?"

Wei Dong shook his head, "It’s not that absolute. Of course, many exploit reform and opening, economic liberalization, and mass entrepreneurship to fish in troubled waters. But at this stage, everyone is crossing the river by feeling stones. As long as it’s not malicious fraud, minor mistakes shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Public security is the current priority; economic policy can be loosened a bit to encourage vitality. Once the economy improves, there’s room to adjust management. If there’s nothing to manage, emphasizing public security is just pointless struggle."

The reporter nodded vigorously at this balanced, moderate perspective, "Specifically, are there any examples?"

Wei Dong shared his own experience, "For example, farmers really suffer. But if they save some eggs and vegetables to sell in town—is that allowed? It is, and it’s been allowed for ten years. No one interferes, everyone knows a bit of cash means oil and salt money, textbook fees for the kids, shoes and clothes to wear. In the mountains, our family only had one pair of decent pants for going out—so that’s how things are. Farmers don’t produce cloth, after all."

The reporter quickly took notes, "Mm, mm, go on."

"But if a farmer gets clever, buys a sack of seeds wholesale in the city, and resells them at the township market—is that allowed? No, he’ll get arrested... Officially, it’s called profiteering, but in reality, he’s competing with the supply and marketing cooperative, touching vested interests, so they use that excuse... Wouldn’t you say that’s how it is?"

Wei Dong had brooded over this for forty years.

The reporter was dumbfounded—what depth, what insight!

Beneath surface phenomena lay deep-rooted interest struggles. To see this was extraordinary.

So even he had to ask, "Given this reality, what solutions do you suggest?"

Wei Dong answered matter-of-factly, "Set examples! Everyone knows reasoning with blockheads is hopeless—only reality teaches. Jiangzhou just became a separately-planned city, so promote how open Jiangzhou is, how vibrant its markets, how developed its economy. Even if only one county follows suit, set it up as the model. When other places see how impressive, how advanced, how much money, how beautiful the urban construction, with cars, TVs, lights, phones, they’ll copy it."

The tax system later summed up this strategy: nothing works better than setting examples.

On one hand, hype up the millionaire selling preserved meat snacks; on the other, publicize celebrities caught for tax evasion. Get the economy going, increase tax revenue, and the job is done.

But to a reporter in early 1984, this was utterly enlightening.

He nearly forgot he’d come to Shangzhou for a minor story—this was a monumental topic, a golden road that could make his career.

"Wait, wait, let me organize my thoughts. Excellent! You mean that the current resistance and contradictions in reform are inevitable. If we force it, it’ll backfire. Instead, we should vigorously promote models and pioneers, creating reform leaders for the whole country to emulate—is that correct?"

Wei Dong reminded him, "For instance, promote cases of rural prosperity, township leaders guiding wealth, provinces and cities vigorously investing to invigorate the economy, publicizing how backward areas are transformed. That’s surely more effective than just promoting the coastal regions."

The reporter was overjoyed, "Yes, yes! That would definitely work better. Do you have any recommended cases?"

Wei Dong hesitated, choosing not to mention the Red Light Factory’s titanium sales, but seeing the Canon camera strap on the reporter’s chest, he said, "Oh right, I’ll tell you about a case of bold reform thinking, but it’s best to wait until after the Spring Festival before discussing it..."

The reporter eagerly flipped pages, "Tell me! Publicize it after Spring Festival, right?"

His attitude had completely changed.

Wei Dong then told him in detail about the military factory, "Actually, besides farmers, I think the hardest is factory restructuring—from planned to market economy, many factories can barely keep afloat..."

The reporter was like an old lady touching a live wire—shocked. After farmers, now industry!

Workers and peasants are our greatest social base. The scope of this conversation was astonishing, "Mm, for example?"

Wei Dong dared to name names now, "These two factories have different approaches. After Spring Festival, we’ll see—which succeeds: the one striving for high-end goods to compete with imported brands for your select customers, or the one focusing on affordable products for ordinary consumers?"

The reporter considered it carefully, "Actually, we don’t stress fancy photography skills. Recording and reflecting reality is our main task. You’ve given them a big-picture perspective."

Wei Dong spoke grandly, "Yes, I just want hundreds of millions of consumers to record the bits and pieces of our lives!"

Wasn’t this the early slogan for that little video app?

The reporter was so excited he trembled, head bowed, scribbling furiously, "Wonderful, wonderful!"

Wei Dong had no idea what this meant yet, but looking up, he saw the young woman hiding behind the reporter, lifting her coat to feed the baby... dribbling food all over the child’s face, wasting it!

If that were recorded, what would happen!

He quickly turned away, blushing.