Ignoring the anxiety of rural cadres, gangs of adventurous youths drifted into the county capital to work in the construction and transportation enterprises. Enterprise managers who sensed that they were soon to be responsible for their own profits and losses were quite willing to employ these youths because they were considered physically stronger, more compliant, and cheaper than city workers.
Commune enterprises were swept by the winds of change that affected the entire Pearl River Delta. Revived market orientations caused less efficient small-scale rural enterprises to go under. Young workers who used to be envied for their choiced employment were left to fend for themselves. The commune factory where Liang had worked was facing grave economic troubles. The manager started to lend idle machinery to other enterprises while seeking various kinds of overseas contracts to keep his workers employed. As a model technician and a former Party Youth League member, respected by his peers and groomed by the commune cadres as the factory's future promise, Liang was particularly disturbed by the situation. Though political relaxation meant maneuverability for some, livelihood in general became more insecure.
With the belief that the government was opening up in earnest, overseas entrepreneurs began to invest in the delta. County officials as well as cadres in Liang's commune were quite eager to seek overseas contracts to counter the negative effect of their declining control in the collective economy. Through the efforts of both sides, the images of Hong Kong and Macao changed from being corrupt capitalist havens to resource centres for China's modernization. Overseas connections were no longer stigmatised but sought after by foreign trade officials.
One day in 1979, officials in the county capital unexpectedly gave out application forms at street corners; residents in the county who had relatives in Macao were allowed to apply for emigration. A semi-alien world suddenly opened up. Apprehensive but intensely curious, Liang took a form home to his parents. His application for emigration shocked the commune officials and his friends, though they understood why he wanted to leave.
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