Without having read the novel in question I am not sure to what extent it is accurate. In general, it appears accurate. This was part of a broader push by the party (particularly Mao Zedong) to transition China from what he termed "feudal," at least in the countryside, to socialist and then communist. In Marx's original theory of historical materialism, he describes the transition of economic relations of production as follows: primitive/hunter-gatherer, slave, feudal, capitalist, socialist, and communist. These theories were primarily based on his and Engels's analysis of European history. Taking a cue from Hegel, the rest of the world was largely determined to be "ahistoristical." Marx for a time described the state of India (and perhaps China) as "oriental despotism" or the "oriental mode of production." This idea was eventually dropped by Marx and Engles. Although, Trotsky notably was supportive of the application of this idea to the Chinese context in the 1920s.

Mao and scholars like Guo Moruo rejected this label and instead argued that China did in fact follow the European path of economic progression, but at a radically different rate. This allowed for the ideological possibility that China could in fact progress of its own accord to the state of socialism and then communism. Mao and others argued that China had remained in the feudal state until the fall of the Qing (1644-1912). The intervening years from 1911 to 1949 and the establishment of the PRC were mixed feudal-capitalist, ie capitalist in the major cities and feudal in the countryside. Mao and Guo's key intervention was the replacement of the feudal noble with the landlord.

The Maoist transition to capitalism in the countryside lasted about three years (1950-1953), most notably the redistribution of land to peasant families. Thereafter, the transition to socialism began with the gradual abolition of private property and personal production. During the Great Leap Forward (1957/1958-1962) most peasants ate at communal dining halls, until the communal project began to fail and mass starvation set in. By 1960/1961, peasants were slowly allowed to engage in the sideline production of vegetables (but not grain). While the communal dining halls were abandoned, access to the main source of calories was negotiated by contribution of labor (work points and coupons). This system would largely remain in place until 1979 with Reform and Opening. I want to stress, however, that this was a gradual process on all fronts.

I suggest reading Maurice Meissner's Mao's China and After, it's by far the best and most accessible text on Maoist China available for laymen.