Honest young man Miao Jianjun leads the whole village onto the road to prosperity

Photo: Miao Jianjun is purchasing astragalus from farmers

When you drink water, do not forget those who dug the well; a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. As an honest young man who knows how to repay kindness, Miao Jianjun, through years of hard work and entrepreneurship, has prospered but has not forgotten to benefit his village and give back to society.

In February 1979, Miao Jianjun was born into a poor peasant family in Damiaogou Village, Miaojiaping Town, Zizhou County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. His father was disabled and his mother was often ill. Because life was hard, as a young boy he began going out with others to work and collect scrap. As long as he could earn money, no matter how hard or tiring it was, he never complained. Because the family was poor, his neighbors and kind-hearted people in society gave them a great deal of help, which planted in his heart the seed of repaying kindness and being grateful to society.

In 2006, with the help of relatives and friends, Miao Jianjun began the business of purchasing Chinese medicinal herbs. In only a few years, he completely changed his own life and became one of the few well-off households in the village. Thinking of how his neighbors and fellow villagers had helped him when his family was in difficulty, he made up his mind to make everyone prosperous. In 2009, after discussing it with the village representatives, Miao Jianjun led the villagers in establishing the Yongwang Agricultural Products Sales Farmers' Professional Cooperative. Hard work pays off. Over several years, under his leadership, the cooperative covered an area of more than 500 sq m, with total assets of more than 8 million yuan. Farmer households joining the cooperative could receive dividends of tens of thousands of yuan every year, and the whole village became prosperous all at once.

In 2013, he made an oral promise to farmers to purchase astragalus at 22 yuan per kg and skullcap at 8.5 yuan per kg. However, in 2014, the prices of Chinese medicinal herbs generally fell. The market purchase price of astragalus dropped to 17 yuan per kg, and skullcap to 5.5 yuan per kg. The farmers all said that Miao Jianjun would certainly not come, and even if he did, he would not purchase at the price he had promised at the time. But Miao Jianjun purchased the medicinal herbs planted by the farmers at the promised price. This promise cost Miao Jianjun more than 2 million yuan, but his credibility was established in the hearts of his fellow villagers. Chinese medicinal herb growers in Mizhi, Suide and other places even delivered plaques inscribed with "integrity" to Miao Jianjun's home to thank him for keeping his promise. Today, even when Miao Jianjun occasionally has difficulty with cash flow and does not have enough cash to pay the farmers in full, the villagers still let him take the goods away, because everyone believes that Miao Jianjun is a man of integrity.

Over several years, Miao Jianjun has worked hard in entrepreneurship and operated with integrity, and after becoming prosperous he has not forgotten his roots, donating a cumulative total of more than 600,000 yuan to poor groups. In December 2016, Miao Jianjun was listed on the "China Good People List."