Selenium-rich vegetables pave the road to prosperity, man returns home to start a business and drives his fellow villagers to increase their income

Shi Huihui is inspecting the growth of the vegetables inside the greenhouse.

The site of Shi Huihui's vegetable base used to be a piece of land relatively close to the river beach, untended and barren. Now, under his careful management, greenhouses, fish ponds, a seed base and more have been built here. Seen from the air, the farmland is neat, the leaves are green, and the fish ponds are blue.

In late spring, the selenium-rich vegetable base of the Bailitun Ecological Park in Puming Town, Lanxian County, Shanxi, is full of vitality. All kinds of vegetables are growing vigorously, the busy figures of vegetable farmers can be seen everywhere in the greenhouses, and customers coming to collect vegetables are streaming in endlessly.

Shi Huihui, 42 years old this year, is the owner of the greenhouses. With the successive introduction of various national policies benefiting farmers, and against the broader backdrop of people shifting from pursuing enough to eat to pursuing healthy eating, he saw the broad prospects of developing modern agriculture. With the funds he had accumulated from doing coal business in previous years, he resolutely returned home to start a business and established the selenium-rich vegetable base of the Bailitun Ecological Park. Along the way, the vegetable base is now thriving and has also driven local people to increase their income and get rich.

On May 4, in the pattering light rain, a reporter from this website came to the vegetable base for a visit. Four kinds of selenium-rich fruits and vegetables are planted in the greenhouses: tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and grapes. The verdant cucumbers, the bright red tomatoes, clusters of grapes like hanging pearls, and the green peppers with abundant flowers and lush leaves, fresh and tender, a scene of a bumper harvest in sight!

Shi Huihui introduced that 20 green selenium-rich vegetable greenhouses have now been built in the vegetable base, each covering about 4 mu, mainly growing fruits and vegetables. They have now passed QR code place-of-origin traceability certification and selenium-rich vegetable certification. Relying on advanced planting technology and scientific management, the fruits and vegetables produced by the vegetable base are not only high in quality but also good in appearance, selling very well locally and in surrounding counties and districts, and are widely welcomed by consumers.

"Every kind of fruit and vegetable is affixed with a QR code when sold. When consumers buy them, they only need to scan it to clearly know the place of origin and related information of the product! What we pursue is to let consumers eat with peace of mind!" Shi Huihui said to the reporter while inspecting the growth of the vegetables.

Lanxian County has high terrain, fresh air and sufficient sunlight. Growing pollution-free, green and organic fruits and vegetables, and developing agriculture, enjoy unique advantages. In recent years, the county party committee and government have stepped up publicity for local specialties such as Lanxian potatoes. Agriculture in Lanxian County has developed rapidly and has created brands that are renowned nationwide, such as "Lanxian Potatoes," which further strengthened Shi Huihui's firm belief in taking the path of developing modern agriculture. Riding this favorable trend, Shi Huihui's potato production base has also grown to more than 1,700 mu.

"The government attaches so much importance! Publicity! Promotion! Leveraging the government to promote brands, I do the real business! Now people pursue health on the tip of the tongue and humanistic care, so why not do something in green, ecological, sightseeing and leisure industries? Although farming is not as quick to make money as the coal business, in the long run the prospects are still very good!" Shi Huihui told the reporter about his ideas.

While starting his business, Shi Huihui also drives local people to employment and income growth. Wang Tianping and his wife are both workers at the selenium-rich vegetable base of the Bailitun Ecological Park. Wang Tianping, 45 years old, had long been drifting outside as a migrant worker, often with no fixed place to live. Now the couple work at the vegetable base, closer to home. Not only do they earn money, they can also take care of the elderly and children at home, and their days are getting better and better.

"Farming is our old trade as farmers, and we do it smoothly! The two of us earn about 60,000 yuan a year in wages, and we are quite satisfied!" Wang Tianping said with a smile.

Shi Huihui's vegetable base adopts a one-stop business model of cooperative + company + farmers + base + sales, and most nearby vegetable growers have joined the cooperative. From seedling raising at the base, daily management and protection, to packaging and sales, the cooperative not only provides technical support but also provides various services, such as packaging, publicity and transportation.

"Now the fruits and vegetables we produce are already in short supply on the shelves. For cooperating farmers, our purchase price is 0.05 yuan higher than the market price, precisely to let farmers increase their income! To give farmers more confidence to develop agricultural industries!" Shi Huihui said.

Guo Tianzhen, a greenhouse grower from Shijiawa Village, Puming Town, has been a member of Shi Huihui's cooperative for more than three years. At present, he grows 6 greenhouses. Through the advanced planting technology taught by the company and the hard work of the couple, the selenium-rich vegetables grown by Guo Tianzhen not only grow well but also sell well!

"We farmers are also going to strive for a moderately prosperous life!" Guo Tianzhen said happily to the reporter.

Speaking of development prospects, Shi Huihui plans to further introduce advanced technology and scientific management, improve the skills of vegetable farmers, enhance the quality of fruits and vegetables, and let consumers eat fruits and vegetables with peace of mind; at the same time, build the ecological park into a project integrating sightseeing, tourism and leisure, which is expected to drive nearly 20,000 people in surrounding villages such as Puming Village, Hougou Village and Yijia Village into employment, allowing people to continuously increase their income and embark on the road to prosperity.

During the interview, the reporter felt Shi Huihui's full drive for entrepreneurship, and was also deeply moved by his pure heart in seeking a road to prosperity for the elders and fellow villagers of his hometown. Nowadays, the whole country is engaged in the battle against poverty. There are countless typical examples like Shi Huihui, who uses entrepreneurship to drive employment and uses agricultural development to drive fellow villagers to get rich. It is precisely because of them that we will be more confident in winning the battle against poverty.