In 1978, there was a severe drought. The villagers of Xiaogang Village in Fengyang were burdened by a big pot of rice and suffered from food shortages all year round. Yan Weidong united with eighteen households of villagers to establish a life-and-death contract and implemented household contracting. There was a bumper grain harvest that year and they were able to get rid of the dilemma of subsistence relief. Later, he followed the general trend of reform, broke the monopoly on purchasing and marketing, opened supply and marketing stations, developed industries, opened up export channels, and led the villagers to continue to increase their income. He and Zhang Xiaoya stayed together to tide over the difficulties, and finally achieved prosperous industry and happy life.
