Sunday, 13 September

Letter to Li Yannian (李延年) thanking him for the White Flower oil his friend Xie Youji (謝有吉) brought to me yesterday. Also to Bingkun, eldest sister, and F.T. Cheng informing them of my new address.

Tass announced today that 1) Nikita S. Khrushchev has been appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee. 2) A long report by Khrushchev, in which he criticized the policy of putting all the national resources on heavy industry and replacing the needs and welfare of farmers. Decisions have been adopted a) to raise the standard of living of the Soviet people, particularly that of farmers. Government prices for farm products are to be raised and the contributions of the collective farms and individual farms to be lessened. Personal possessions are to be protected. b) To improve and encourage stock farming of cows, sheep and pigs. c) More consumers’ goods are to be manufactured.

Khrushchev may now rank as second to Malenkov and takes precedence even over Molotov. He is 59 years old, corpulent, bald on the crane and with the big hands of a former miner. He is a Ukrainian and is the brother of (?) of Mrs. Malenkov (second marriage) who was a famous singer. The new policy of raising the standard of living of the people should have been adopted several years ago.

To Cluny Palace to see Clark Gable in Across the Wide Missouri. Not so good as expected.

Business at restaurant very good -108 clients.