In Kanghe village 康和村, Fenxi county 汾西县, I also interviewed Ma Ai-ming, age 37, who happens to be the village head in a village of 76 households and 350 members. Though their names are similar, Ma Ai-ming and Ma Wei-ming are not related. Ma Ai-ming was appointed village head in 1995 together with 7 village cadres, but they were never compensated for their services. The election process has not reached this area. I believe the village retains the former brigade structure.
Ma farms 4 mu of irrigated land and 7 mu of dry land,
of which 4 mu are planted corn with a total harvest of
1500 kg, 4 mu of wheat, and 3 mu of bean and other cereal.
His land is better than that of Ma Wei-ming's, as some
of it is located in the main gully where the land is
better than that in the branch gullies.
His gross earning from the farm is 3800Y. His farming expenses include chemical fertilizer which he applies 100Y per mu, and insecticide 35Y per mu (because insects infest the wheat field). He just planted walnut trees on the edge of the field, but it will take 4 to 8 years for them to bear fruits.
His 4-wheel tractor earns him 5000Y yearly in side-line business, but he has to pay out 3000Y for fuel and repairs. Equipment depreciation is not a concept known to the villagers. He contributes to the government in grain 公粮, and pays an agricultural tax 农业费 in addition; he also pays the county a "collective" fee 统筹费. As village head he is going to implement the government's directive of planting 18,000 walnut trees, and to get the villagers to raise more pigs and chickens, turning the village into a "specialized project village" 专业村, a term whose meaning is not clear to me.
Fenxi county's gully land is very fertile (as shown in picture below), but Ma lives high up in the hills and his land is not as good.
