Planting the "golden ingots" of prosperity, hoping to turn barren hills into "mountains of gold"
Clearing idle land, burning dry branches, digging holes, planting seedlings, filling in soil... In spring, a quiet little hillside in Liyang Village, Tonggu Township, Youyang County, Chongqing, came alive with the bustle of a group of people. The couple Ran Jinghong and He Qiuyun were leading more than 50 villagers in planting ingot trees (Chinese tulip tree, Liriodendron chinense), turning barren hills into a "mountain of gold."
An idea takes root, and they act on it at once
"Ingot trees have high economic value; they can be used both medicinally and as ornamental plants." Ran Jinghong told reporters that a year ago, he happened to see a promotional feature about ingot trees on TV, and the idea of planting them took root in his mind.
"There is plenty of wasteland in my hometown; it's a pity to leave it empty. I can also get the villagers to plant together with me, that works!" By researching materials, consulting experts, and learning methods, Ran Jinghong and He Qiuyun reached a consensus, and immediately began contacting seedling sellers, renting land, and finding workers...
Just as the two were preparing to go all out, a problem arose - some villagers were unwilling to rent out their land.
Locally, Ran Jinghong is a man known for getting rich, and he once spent more than 100,000 yuan to build roads for the village, earning the villagers' respect and trust. But in rural areas, many people regard land as their life, and would rather let it lie fallow than rent it out.
To dispel the villagers' doubts, Ran Jinghong promised emphatically that he would not occupy even one inch of land without compensation, that he would pay rent upon signing the contract, that wages would be paid by the day, and that a shareholding dividend system would be implemented, with villagers taking 40 percent and him taking 60 percent. Through Ran Jinghong's repeated assurances, the villagers finally set aside their doubts, signed contracts with him, and even called on villagers from neighboring villages to join the tree-planting team.
Taking on impoverished households for nearby work
"Ran Jinghong is a well-known good man in our Liyang Village." Worker Li Xuechang, who was planting trees, told reporters that he is from Group 1 of Liyang Village, 45 years old this year, his wife has an eye disease and cannot work, and 3 children are still in school. All the expenses depended entirely on him working away from home, but in recent years his health has also been poor, his income dropped sharply, and the family is quite impoverished.
Considering his difficulties, Ran Jinghong hired him to plant trees. "He doesn't mind that my health is poor and I work slowly. I get 70 yuan in wages every day. I am truly grateful." Li Xuechang could not praise Ran Jinghong enough, and he is quite satisfied with this job.
Chen Qiong, also from Group 1 of Liyang Village, is both a land lessor and a worker. Her husband has been bedridden for years, and at home there is also 1 daughter with cerebral palsy and 2 children still in school. The whole family's livelihood depends entirely on her farming at home. Since the tree planting began, she has been working here all along.
"Working here, it's close to home, the work isn't tiring, and I can also take care of the old and young at home." Chen Qiong's working hours every day are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Now, in addition to the daily wage of 70 yuan, she also has income from land rent. The key point is that once the ingot trees generate economic returns, she can also receive a 40 percent dividend.
According to Ran Jinghong, more than 50 workers come to plant trees at the base every day, most of them registered impoverished households.
Leading villagers to prosper together
Since childhood, Ran Jinghong had tasted the hardships of rural life, spending all day facing the yellow earth with his back to the sky, yet earning little for his toil. Unwilling to accept this, he resolved to break out of the mountains.
Twenty-five years ago, his wife He Qiuyun sold a big fat pig she had raised for 1 year to put together the travel expenses for him to go north to Tianjin to work. After striving away from home for many years and saving up some money, the couple returned to their hometown to start a business, running a brick factory, contracting projects... gradually accumulating a certain amount of wealth.
"Liyang Village is my hometown, and the villagers are my family. I help as much as I can." Now wealthy, Ran Jinghong has not forgotten his fellow villagers. In the past he built roads for them, and now he is leading them to plant trees together to increase their income.
"Living in the mountains, one can make a living from the mountains." Ran Jinghong knows well that to thoroughly change his hometown's poverty and backwardness, industry must be developed. He invested more than 1 million yuan to rent more than 1,000 mu of land, planning to plant more than 100,000 ingot trees. After the seedlings are planted, he also plans to build a large reservoir in the village to make production and daily life easier for the local villagers.
"With mountains, water, and industry, we are not far from the day of prosperity." Ran Jinghong said with full confidence that when the seedlings grow and there are returns, the villagers will believe that these trees are truly "ingots," and there will be more benefits, leading them to develop the planting industry together.