From losing money to making a name to a fortune-making story of 18 million yuan in annual revenue

Zhao Yuzhong is a big name in the vegetable sector on the outskirts of Beijing. Anyone who knows him well knows that Old Zhao is a "stubborn" man. Especially on the organic path, which is fascinating but has gone through repeated attempts, setbacks, and yet perseverance, he has worked tirelessly for 10 years. Old Zhao jokes that this organic path is the "Long March road" in the green vegetable garden. Although it is perilous, as long as you face it bravely and persevere, you will always live to see the clouds part and the bright moon appear. Indeed, last year, this small vegetable garden earned more than 18 million yuan from selling vegetables, keeping more than 300 farming households busier and busier, and happier the busier they became.

"There are a lot of phone calls now, mostly to order vegetables or arrange visits. It is not like before, when I spent all day holding the phone and asking people everywhere to help find sales channels." Taking this cue, Old Zhao's thoughts returned to the early days of the startup. In the 1980s, the Chinese cabbage from Xiaofengying Village in Yanqing was famous far and wide. Almost every household in the village grew vegetables. At harvest time, the men drove large carts through the streets and lanes, and the vegetables were snapped up in no time. However, such good years did not continue. In 2007, 298 vegetable farmers in Xiaofengying Village jointly established the Lvcaiyuan Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative. Zhao, the factory director who had originally run a glasses factory, was elected chairman of the cooperative because he understood business.

After taking office, Zhao Yuzhong discovered that the members lacked understanding of the market and that the varieties they grew were too limited. "If we grow them, we should grow high-end vegetables!" Zhao Yuzhong, who had weathered more than ten years of ups and downs in the market, conducted market research and looked up information online, determined the cooperative's future direction, built more than 200 greenhouses, and began growing organic vegetables. "Although the standards for growing organic vegetables are extremely strict and the yields are not as high as ordinary vegetables, the selling price is more than 10 times higher than ordinary vegetables." Zhao Yuzhong believed that as living standards rise, people pay more and more attention to dietary health, and organic vegetables are sure to have great prospects.

However, the bumper harvest of organic vegetables did not bring everyone back thick stacks of cash. Lvcaiyuan has a total of 99 varieties of organically certified vegetables, with an annual output of 1 million kg. But when organic certification was first obtained in 2009, 90% of the base's organic vegetables were sold cheaply at the edge of the fields as ordinary vegetables. At the worst point, the base produced more than 3,000 kg of organic tomatoes a day, and nearly 700 to 800 kg had to be dumped almost every day. The cooperative did not even have money to buy fertilizer.

Old Zhao simply refused to believe in bad luck. In order to open up sales channels and let more consumers know about organic vegetables, they often held activities in communities, exhibited and sold organic vegetables, and introduced the growing process of organic vegetables to consumers. They also opened multiple channels such as online stores, community vegetable cabinets, and community vegetable stations. They tried to break away from street vendors and find sales channels themselves. After several years, the market for organic vegetables gradually opened up. In 2012, Lvcaiyuan became one of the first batch of national-level demonstration cooperatives. Annual sales revenue also climbed steadily, developing from losing money to making a name to more than 18 million yuan in annual revenue.

Old Zhao's "Long March road" did not stop there. Right now, he is studying natural enemy insect technology, planning to let these "heavenly soldiers and generals" guard the vegetable garden, so that the park can save even biological pesticides. There is also another major matter, which is to raise the level of facility mechanization. He said: "Farmers work too hard growing vegetables. We must reduce labor intensity and make farming a respectable profession."