>In December 1978, eighteen of the local farmers, led by Yen Jingchang, met in the largest house in the village. They agreed to break the law at the time by signing a secret agreement to divide the la

In 1978, 18 farmers in China decided to break the law at
the time and secretly agree to own private property: any
surplus that year would be theirs not the
collectives. That year's harvest was bigger than the
previous 5 years combined and per capita income
increased from 22 to 400 yuan.