Heng Zhongguo, prosperous but never forgetting his fellow villagers, leads his neighbors to increase their incomes together

"When Xiao Heng's family first came to our village, we were both happy and worried. We were happy that our village now had Han residents; we were worried that if we were in any way neglectful, they would go to another village." On May 10, Ahat Yusup, director of the village committee of Tu'ertamu No. 1 Village, Aqewusitang Township, Kuqa County, described to reporters the scene when Heng Zhongguo's family had just arrived from their hometown in Shaanxi.

Grasping Ahat Yusup's hand, Heng Zhongguo said gratefully: "The villagers have always treated our family as their own kin and helped us with whatever they could. Our family will never forget this kindness."

In the eyes of his neighbors, Heng Zhongguo is not only a good neighbor and good friend, but also a skilled income earner. Over the past 37 years, his ethnic friendship with the villagers has been sweeter than honey.

Heng Zhongguo used to grow crops with his parents. Later he worked at construction sites, ran a small mill, and learned carpentry. In 2007, at an agricultural technology training session held in Kuqa County, Heng Zhongguo gained a systematic understanding of beekeeping for the first time. After the session, he sought out the trainer on his own, and the trainer gave detailed explanations on colony selection, hive placement, and selection of pollen-gathering sites, which benefited him greatly.

From then on, after more than a year of visiting and seeking advice everywhere, Heng Zhongguo was full of confidence in beekeeping.

In May 2008, with the help of the village committee, Heng Zhongguo took out a loan of 15,000 yuan; together with money pooled from neighbors and his own savings, he spent more than 50,000 yuan to start an apiary. By the end of the following year, the apiary had made a profit of 30,000 yuan. He used more than 10,000 yuan to expand the scale of his operation, repaid more than 10,000 yuan of debt, and sent honey to his neighbors to taste.

Today, Heng Zhongguo earns a net income of about 100,000 yuan a year from renting hives for pollination, selling honey, and selling bee colonies. Prosperous but never forgetting his fellow villagers, with his leadership, two households in his own village and one household in the neighboring village have all set up apiaries, increasing their annual income by about 30,000 yuan on average.

"When my daughter was admitted to Tarim University, the family's financial situation was not very good. When Brother Heng Zhongguo learned about it, he brought over 800 yuan overnight, which moved me deeply." Old neighbor Yasen Rouzi said that later he also wanted to keep bees to increase his income, so Brother Heng Zhongguo taught him how to keep bees hand by hand. Now, from beekeeping alone, he can increase his income by more than 20,000 yuan every year, and life is getting better and better. All of this is thanks to Brother Heng Zhongguo; this friendship cannot be bought with money.

Heng Zhongguo said that transportation is now convenient and there are many policies subsidizing agriculture benefiting farmers, so he plans to establish a beekeeping cooperative with his neighbors in the next two years, to make beekeeping large-scale and industrialized, and to lead more people to become prosperous through beekeeping.

"Beekeeping makes money. Heng Zhongguo is an expert; following him will not go wrong." Villager Aihemaiti Maihemuti said.

In March this year, after Heng Zhongguo told the work team about his plan to establish a beekeeping cooperative, the work team coordinated with township agricultural technicians. Combining local natural conditions and the market environment, and after careful analysis and assessment, they considered it feasible and full of market potential.

"In the area of farmers' entrepreneurship, we have always maintained a positive attitude of encouragement and support. For farmers who have entrepreneurial ideas, we will guard them well against risks, provide technical guidance, and offer financial support." Liu Yongming, Party secretary of Aqewusitang Township, said.