Just two months of work, and we’ve already made a name for ourselves. One more year of effort next year, and we’ll have a way forward. Next year is one year. It is extremely important: take steel as the key link, the three great marshals, and the two vanguards.

What does it mean to have built socialism? What does it mean to transition to communism? We need to formulate a definition.

Fight bitterly for three years, then work for another twelve years, and transition to communism in fifteen years. Do not publish this, but not doing it would be bad.

How long will it take to transition from collective ownership to ownership by the whole people? Three, four, five, six, or a bit more years—is that too short? Or too long? Sometimes it feels too long, and sometimes I worry it’s too short. I worry more often that it’s too short. When can people’s communes reach the level of the Anshan Steel Works? Can agriculture be turned into factories? Products and accumulation must be transferable. Not all accumulation needs to be transferred, but products that must be mobilized must be transferred unconditionally. Only then can it be considered ownership by the whole people. Henan says four years—that might be too short; double it to eight years. Fan County says two years of bitter struggle to transition to communism.

What Stalin wrote must be read. The advantage is that only he discussed socialist economics. The biggest flaw is that he drew the framework too rigidly, saying that collective farms only want commodity exchange and are unwilling to accept transfers. This is because he did not want continuous revolution and sought to consolidate the socialist order. Russian peasants are not that selfish; they would not reject continuous revolution. Russia established a socialist order, but this order cannot be consolidated. We, on the contrary, disrupt part of the socialist order. The supply system is precisely a disruption of this order.

Public grain, accumulation, and labor are all transferable and belong to ownership by the whole people. A million heroes crossed the Yangtze River—why can’t we now transfer people to labor? Currently, only partial transfers are possible; province-wide or nationwide transfers are not feasible. For example, Anguo plans to give Fuping 500 jin of wheat per person next year—this is unprecedented in the world. Transfers must be both possible and necessary; they cannot be made arbitrarily. Qin Shi Huang transferred 700,000 people to build his tomb and ended up collapsing. Emperor Yang of Sui also collapsed due to arbitrary labor transfers.

Was King Wu’s campaign against King Zhou a case of the "three transformations"? Since ancient times, it has been the three transformations, starting first with the military.

How many years will it take to go from collective ownership to ownership by the whole people? Is four years feasible? Henan says four years; Fan County says two years. The standard is the Anshan Steel Works. At Anshan Steel, after deducting 7,200 yuan in cost depreciation, the remainder is 10,800 yuan. Workers receive 800 yuan, and 10,000 yuan is accumulated for the state. Transfers must be like this. For Stalin, this kind of transition was extremely difficult, requiring many years to specify a timeline. This is the first transition. The second transition is from "distribution according to labor" to "distribution according to need." Preparations for the second transition have already begun: eating without paying. The Soviet Union also boasts, but all we hear is footsteps on the stairs—no one comes down. Our practice of eating without paying is the sprout of distribution according to need. Right now, we have too little oil—generally less than four liang, with amounts of one, two, three, four, or five liang, usually three or five liang. Nutrition comes from grain, so people eat a lot, and this can be transformed. We must not take risks; whatever can be done must be done gradually. This cannot but be called a communist factor.

Self-sufficiency, the supply system, internal commune transfers, and commodity exchange must develop in both directions. Without the development of a commodity economy, wages cannot be paid. A professor visited Xushui University and saw that they issue five yuan a month and eat less than two packs of Qianmen cigarettes a day—do you call that superiority? In Hebei, three counties need relief; a dozen or so counties can only manage to eat; the third type issues wages, ranging from two mao to a few yuan. Beijing and Shanghai have more money. In rural areas, water and fire are not counted as costs—we need to agree on a standard.

A mother’s womb contains a baby; socialism contains the sprouts of communism. Stalin failed to see this dialectic.

We cannot focus solely on agriculture for two or three years. We must now develop industry while continuing to advance agriculture. We also fear neglecting agriculture. Every commune must be encouraged to produce commodities—do not shy away from the word "commodity."

China has an extremely irrational method of production: 500 million people are only engaged in producing food, yielding just a little—370 billion jin of grain. Two lessons have been drawn: promote mechanization and plant less to harvest more, saving labor to vigorously develop industry. Achieving this by next year or the year after will suffice. Hebei plans to cultivate 10 million mu next year, with a per-mu yield of 10,000 jin, totaling 100 billion jin. Last year, 88 million mu yielded only 25 billion jin; this year, it’s only 45 billion jin. Use the power of machinery and electricity to cultivate a small amount of land and obtain a large amount of grain. Don’t boast too much, or the result will be like what Huang Yanpei said: in Zhengzhou, they only eat vegetarian food. After all the boasting, it’s just one liang and five qian of oil per month—what superiority is there? Low standards have several levels. By Fan County’s standard, it could be called communism, with 95 percent industry. But now it cannot be called communism. The level is too low; we can only speak of communist factors and sprouts. Do not lower the high standards of communism.

The supply system is a form that facilitates transition and creates no obstacles. Building socialism lays the foundation for preparing the transition to communism.

Standards vary. There is the standard of a monk; Engels wanted to eat oil and meat.

The Soviet collective farms do not engage in industry, only agriculture, and their agriculture involves extensive planting with low yields. That is why they cannot transition. The Soviet Union’s socialism consists of collective ownership and ownership by the whole people. Stalin’s transition to communism was described as difficult; he did not transition to ownership by the whole people, did not promote communist factors at all, severed heavy and light industry, openly advocated not emphasizing the production of consumer goods, and widened several disparities.

We must reread Stalin’s *Problems of Socialist Economy* and take a look at the *Collected Essays on the Problem of Bourgeois Rights*.

The nature of people’s communes, how to transition, how much time it will take, and the 40-article constitution—these need to be discussed. How should urban people’s communes be organized? For different people, should the principle be not to lower standards? Cadres within the Party will undergo slight adjustments, but this will not be publicized. Professors’ salaries will be reduced, and they will smoke fewer Qianmen cigarettes—if standards are lowered, what superiority is there? Should we take some steps so that raising standards demonstrates superiority? Workers may need a wage increase. Peasants have already risen; the urban supply system must also be implemented.

Starting January 1 next year, changes will begin: sleep a full eight hours. Four hours for eating and rest, two hours for study. For peasants, the schedule is 8-4-12-10; for workers, the best schedule is 8-4-12. Otherwise, it cannot be sustained. Rest on Sundays.

Not resting—this is the communist spirit. Labor is not for renminbi; it is no longer merely a means of livelihood but a necessity of life. I myself do not work for 539 yuan but out of necessity. We need to conduct a survey. The heart that worries about children and personal matters must transform into a heart devoted to social undertakings.

This year has been full of great achievements, blazing a trail and realizing many things previously unimaginable. That is why we now dare to imagine people resting and one-third of the land resting.

Forestry is extraordinary—do not look down on it. Williams said: "Agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry must be integrated. Do not think that planting trees is merely about greening." In the south, it takes 15 to 25 years; in the north, 40 to 50 years. Trees must also be densely planted; with companions, they grow easily. When everyone grows together, it is comfortable; a lone tree does not thrive. Planting trees also requires a set of methods. Raising fish is like raising pigs; planting trees is like planting grain. Dig one zhang deep and apply fertilizer in layers.

This year, we vigorously promoted small-scale indigenous methods. Some say there has been great waste in forestry and coal, but there has also been great savings. Tens of millions of people went up the mountains, discovered resources, and gained experience—this is a gain.

We cannot judge entirely by living standards; otherwise, those corrupt emperors and nobles would have already achieved communism. We must speak of needs. It is enough to say that 500 calories of heat suffice. Being an emperor or a feudal lord—exceeding that is unbearable. Too little is also unacceptable. Food contains nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, magnesium, potassium, sodium, germanium, phosphorus, and chlorine. Communism, too, only uses a certain amount of elements as nutrition. It cannot be too much.

The 40 articles, including this year, span 15 years. Complete them in 10 years.