Handsome young man from Liuyang becomes a farmer growing green fruit, earning over 2 million yuan a year
It is fruit harvest season right now, and Li Yongqin, a post-85s fruit grower in Jinzhongqiao Village, Daweishan Town, is beaming as he picks golden pears.
"Flowers in spring, rafting in summer, fruit picking in autumn, skiing in winter - there is something to do in Daweishan all year round." It is peak fruit harvest season now, and the hills of Daweishan are filled with the fragrance of melons and fruit. Walking into the Dàwéi Zhi Zhu leisure farm, the whole orchard is full of golden pears. From quitting his job as an airport security guard in 2010 to return home and start a business, to putting down roots in the mountains and fields and farming with care, Li Yongqin, a post-85s new-type professional farmer in Jinzhongqiao Village, Daweishan Town, founded his own green fruit brand and applied for green food certification. The planted area of specialty fruits such as yellow peaches, grapes, plums, golden pears and kiwis has exceeded 500 mu, generating more than 2 million yuan in revenue each year, driving hundreds of nearby households to find work close to home and realize their dream of living and working in peace right at their doorstep.
Making a fortune at the doorstep, supporting the family and earning money without conflict
"It may not look like much, but it tastes crisp, sweet and delicious." Spending the weekend with a few close friends and family enjoying the fun of picking, and taking a big bite of the thin-skinned, tender golden pear, one instantly feels the mouth water, utterly delightful. Returning happily from Daweishan Town in Liuyang City, Ms. Qin, a city resident, has grown even fonder of Daweishan, the "hometown of fruit," and her words reveal her affection for the golden pear.
"The yield per unit is not high, but the fruit is excellent in quality and tastes great, and people of all ages love to eat it." Repeat customers had already placed orders half a month earlier, and on the weekend tourists who came specifically to try the fresh fruit packed the place. Seeing the fruit they worked so hard to grow become highly sought after in the market, Li Yongqin and his wife were beaming. Although tanned dark from the sun, the couple were busy and happy, with the joy of harvest written all over their faces.
"I used to be an ordinary security guard at the airport. The job was stable, but the income was not high. Now I am my own boss, and not only has my income doubled, I can also take care of the elderly and the children, supporting the family and earning money without conflict." In recent years, Daweishan National Forest Park has become a hot tourist destination, attracting nearly a million domestic and international tourists every year. In 2010, Li Yongqin sensed the business opportunity, quit his job, returned home to start a business, and became a fruit grower in Jinzhongqiao Village, Daweishan Town. He transferred nearly 20 mu of forest land on a centralized basis, planted golden pears, and grew a "money tree."
Learn as long as you grow, there is much knowledge in the fields
Everything started from zero and had to be learned from scratch. Relying on a stubborn, never-give-up drive, Li Yongqin caught up from behind. From selecting seeds and raising seedlings to pinching tips, pruning branches and preventing pests and diseases, Li Yongqin started as a complete rookie with no experience, spending the whole year in the mountains and fields watching the growth of the seedlings, recording weather conditions and observing soil and water conditions.
Hard work pays off. From field management to new variety research and development, over several years Li Yongqin farmed with the heart of a craftsman, systematically analyzing the base's climate conditions and soil quality, and carrying out precise control and fine management at every stage. Under his careful management, the fruit base's planting scale grew from less than 20 mu at the beginning to more than 500 mu today, and output and output value doubled for five consecutive years. This year alone, yellow peach output exceeded 25,000 kg, and all of it sold out last week.
Today, Li Yongqin has become an expert among fruit growers, mastering all the skills of fruit cultivation. Last year he also applied to register the Dàwéi Zhi Zhu independent brand. The fruit produced and sold by the base is uniformly labeled and attached with a QR code. Which cooperative the fruit comes from and what variety it is can be seen at a glance with a scan, achieving full traceability from the table back to the field.
"Learn as long as you grow. Agriculture is a field of knowledge, and there is a lot to study in the fields." In his spare time, Li Yongqin does not forget to carry his bag into the classroom to "recharge," attending the new-type professional farmer training class hosted by the municipal agriculture committee to "seek guidance," and consulting experts and professors from Hunan Agricultural University. Through the internet, books, classroom training and other channels, he strengthens his professional learning, exploring in practice and improving through theory, continuously connecting with "external brains" to find ideas and broaden his thinking. Now he is planning to catch the express train of rural tourism and, by "marrying" it with rural tourism, make a "glorious transformation" toward experience-based agriculture.