The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 514: Chapter 514: The Young Are Provided For, The Old Are Supported

Secretary Song’s voice crackled over the broadcast system. ”Attention, all villagers! Today is the day the Jinshan Bay Investment Company is distributing dividends. We will be distributing them based on the number of people registered to each household.”

”The head of each household must be present. Any other villagers who are free can also come join the dividend distribution assembly and share in the joy of Jinshan Bay’s bountiful harvest.”

The announcement instantly threw the entire village into an uproar.

The old, the young, men, and women—everyone came over.

Just two days earlier, Secretary Song had told the villagers to hurry and get their newborn children registered, as the money would be distributed per capita based on the household registry.

As a result, even a baby born only three days ago was eligible for a share.

”Sister Cai, you’re close with Xiao Rui’s family. Do you have any idea how much money we’ll get?” an older woman asked anxiously.

Granny Cai shook her head and smiled. ”I asked. Xiao Rui said it’s a good amount, but as for exactly how much, I have no idea.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.

”If even Xiao Rui says it’s a good amount, then it must be a *really* good amount,” Grandma Chen San chuckled, heading toward the village committee office with her cane.

Before long, anyone in Jinshan Bay who was at home and had a free moment had gathered.

Han Xiaorui, Yang Jianguo, Secretary Song, and the other officials were already seated on the stage.

To the side, stacks of ten-RMB ”Great Unity” notes, along with fifty and one-hundred RMB bills, were piled as high as a small hill.

In 1987, new RMB bills were issued, including one-hundred and fifty-RMB notes. These larger denominations made life much more convenient for people.

Secretary Song was beaming. ”Now that everyone’s here, please take your seats. Let’s get this meeting started!”

As everyone’s gazes fell upon the pile of cash, the crowd gradually quieted down.

Initially, Han Xiaorui had wanted to deposit the money directly into the villagers’ bank passbooks for safety and convenience, but Secretary Song thought that was a bad idea.

For the first year of dividends, he insisted that everyone needed to *feel* the cash.

Depositing it into a passbook, while not a penny less, would just feel like a number to people, not like real money.

Therefore, Secretary Song strongly recommended handing out the cash at the village committee office.

Afterward, everyone who received cash would go as a group to the Agricultural Bank on the commercial street to open passbook accounts.

Future village dividends would be distributed on a per-household basis and deposited directly into these passbooks.

To attract so many new, high-quality depositors, the Agricultural Bank had specially dispatched two people today—a driver and a security guard—with one of the bank’s vans to escort everyone to open their passbook accounts.

Seeing the villagers’ reactions, Han Xiaorui had to admit that Secretary Song’s suggestion was an excellent one.

Secretary Song smiled. ”It looks like most of the villagers have arrived. Let’s welcome Comrade Han Xiaorui of our Jinshan Bay Investment Company to present her report.”

Han Xiaorui stood, bowed to the crowd, opened her notebook, and began to read her report.

”Hello, fellow villagers. I’m Han Xiaorui, the majority shareholder of the Jinshan Bay Investment Company. In the beginning, the Jinshan Bay village committee, on behalf of all villagers, used its land to buy into the company, securing a 15% stake in the Jinshan Bay Investment Company.”

”From 1985 until this year, after four full years of hard work, the total investment has reached 380 million RMB. The Jinshan Bay village committee’s 15% stake is equivalent to an investment of fifty-seven million RMB.”

”We actually turned a profit last year, but it was too little. After discussing it with the village committee officials, we decided to keep the earnings on the books instead of distributing them. We’ve combined them with this year’s profits for today’s dividend payout.”

”I know you’re all excited and want to know how much money you can get, so I’ll cut to the chase. For every person registered to a household, regardless of age or gender, the per capita payout is 5,300 RMB.”

”Please remember that family planning is a national policy. Children born outside the quota will not be included. Practice good prenatal and postnatal care, and abide by the law. If a person commits a serious crime, the village committee reserves the right to cancel their dividend based on the situation.”

”We will now begin the distribution. Secretary Song will call out the names. When your household is called, the head of the household should come to the stage with your household registry and ID card to collect the money. After receiving the cash, please board the Agricultural Bank’s van. Once seven people are on board, it will take you directly to the bank to deposit the money, ensuring your dividends are safe.”

Wave after wave of applause erupted from the crowd. Everyone clapped until their palms were red.

Granny Cai did a quick calculation. Her household had six people. Though she had two children, both were born before the family planning policy was enacted, so they weren’t considered excess births.

5,300 RMB per person, for six people, came out to 31,800 RMB.

This was just the first year’s dividend. There would be more every year, and the amounts might even get bigger in the future.

Grandma Chen San’s household had four people, which came to 21,200 RMB.

Take Han Xiaorui’s household, for example. Even Ye Feng had transferred his household registration to Jinshan Bay and was now on the same registry, with Han Xiaorui as the head of the household.

That meant Han Xiaorui’s household also had six people. Although she had four children, they were two sets of twins from two different marriages, so none were considered excess births. Her family would also receive over thirty thousand RMB.

One family that hadn’t divided its household registry had a total of nine people and received 47,700 RMB.

As the heads of households received the dividend money from the village accountant, their eyes brimmed with tears of emotion.

Everyone knew Han Xiaorui was capable and a great earner, but they never imagined they would receive so much money themselves.

”Thank you to the village committee, and thank you, President Han, for helping us in Jinshan Bay escape poverty and build a prosperous life!” This was the heartfelt sentiment of every villager.

Between buying shops, starting businesses, and the surge in employment opportunities, the income of Jinshan Bay’s residents had already increased dramatically.

Now, with such a large dividend payout—and an annual one at that—it was like having a stable financial safety net for every family.

The young were provided for, and the elderly had security to rely on.

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Don’t thank me. If thanks are in order, I should be the one thanking you. It’s only because you all believed in me that our Jinshan Bay has what it does today.”

”Development will be rapid in the future. We in Jinshan Bay must continue to ride the tide of reform, work hard, and reach even greater heights.”

The crowd roared, ”Reach even greater heights!”

Everyone collected their money and, in an orderly fashion, were shuttled to the Agricultural Bank to open passbooks and deposit their funds.

The manager of the Agricultural Bank was personally on-site, grinning from ear to ear.

He’d gained so many new account holders, and all of them were high-value clients.

Now that these people had money, they would make investments and take out loans, which meant even more business for the bank down the line.

The bank employees were all starting to envy the people of Jinshan Bay.

They had been transferred here from other places; business here had originally been dismal, but they never expected it to become so busy.

The bank’s business was thriving.

When the people of White Crane Village heard Jinshan Bay was handing out money, they grew especially hopeful for their own dividend payout next year.

The reason they received no dividend this year was that their water park and aquarium were still operating at a loss.

There would only be a surplus by next year, which is when they could finally issue dividends.

Word of Jinshan Bay’s massive cash distribution spread not only to the surrounding residents but also reached the higher-ups at the district government, catching their attention.

’Isn’t this the very definition of common prosperity?’

Although Han Xiaorui earned the most, she had also invested the most and still owed a considerable amount to the bank.

The other villagers hadn’t put up any cash, only the usage rights to the village’s collective land.

The village’s childless and elderly, those in the ”Five Guarantees” program, all received money, which significantly lessened the community’s welfare burden.

Moreover, Han Xiaorui was also a strong supporter of education, providing substantial aid to the Jinshan Bay Primary and Middle School.

The district was planning to build a new high school, and while funds had been allocated, the amount was not enough to build a top-tier institution.

After careful deliberation, the district leaders decided to build the high school in White Crane Village, bordering Jinshan Bay. Their plan was to then persuade Han Xiaorui to include the new high school under the umbrella of her educational funding.

With the district’s financial allocation plus Han Xiaorui’s support, they would definitely be able to build a high-quality high school.