Disabled young man returns home to start a business, leading villagers out of poverty toward prosperity
Ni Chunming explains the cultivation techniques for Shiranui mandarins to the villagers.
In Liang'an Town, Lezhi County, Ziyang City, everyone gives a thumbs-up when Ni Chunming of Group 4, Yaojiapo Village is mentioned. This post-80s disabled young man has prospered through his own hardworking hands, and has led even more disabled people to stand on their own feet, strive for self-reliance, and live good lives.
A Sudden Misfortune
Working Away from Home and Regaining Confidence
One autumn when he was 16, the mountain road was slippery after rain, and Ni Chunming broke his right leg on the way home from farm work. Because the family was poor, he did not receive timely medical treatment, which left him disabled. To suffer such a turn of events in the prime of his youth left Ni Chunming feeling utterly despairing, and he had thoughts of ending his life.
"At that time, this boy really made us worry. We didn't dare leave him alone at home, afraid he might do something desperate." Ni Chunming's mother still feels some fear when she recalls that time.
With the help of his family and neighbors, Ni Chunming finally opened his heart and regained his confidence. He packed his bags and, together with the young men of the village, set out on the road to work in Guangzhou.
The companions who went to Guangzhou with him all quickly found work, but Ni Chunming ran into obstacles everywhere; no one was willing to hire him. After much effort, Ni Chunming found a job installing water and electricity on a construction site. Diligent as he was, he treasured this hard-won job. He arrived at work earlier than his coworkers and left later than them, and did no less work than any of them. At the same time, he also felt the joy of earning money to support himself.
While working hard to earn money, Ni Chunming also constantly broadened his knowledge and learned new things. During his many years of working in Guangzhou, Ni Chunming discovered that pork, mutton and all kinds of famous high-quality fruits fetched good prices on the market, with broad market prospects. So he had the idea of returning home to develop farming and breeding. To that end, he studied planting and breeding techniques in his spare time.
Returning Home to Develop, Earning a Fortune
In 2010, Ni Chunming returned to his hometown with the money he had earned from 7 years of working. After investigation and research, he finally decided to open a pig farm. That spring, Ni Chunming's pig pens were built, and the piglets were raised. That year, he sold 300 pigs and made a net profit of 200,000 yuan.
This first taste of success made Ni Chunming even more determined to start his own business. In 2013, he continued to expand his breeding scale, with annual sales of more than 800 pigs and a net profit of 800,000 yuan. In 2015, Ni Chunming applied to establish Guangming Farm, and the pig breeding site further expanded to 3,600 sq m, with annual sales of more than 3,000 pigs and a net income of as much as 1.5 million yuan.
As the breeding scale expanded, the disposal of pig manure became a real problem for Ni Chunming. To recycle and make use of the pig manure, in 2014 he transferred 180 mu of barren slope and vacant land in his own group and neighboring groups at a price of 500 yuan per mu, using pig manure as fertilizer to plant famous high-quality fruits such as Chun Jian and Shiranui mandarins, launching a circular planting-and-breeding model of three-dimensional agriculture.
"Ni Chunming is a very good young man. Don't think less of him because he is disabled; he has a good head for business and is happy to help others." When talking about Ni Chunming, the old and young men of the village all praise him without end.
Rich but Not Forgetting His Own, Leading Disabled People Out of Poverty Toward Prosperity
"One person being rich doesn't count as being rich; only when everyone is rich together is it the path to moderate prosperity." Ni Chunming often says this. As a disabled person himself, he often helps the people in difficulty around him.
Ni Chunming hired 10 disabled people to farm on his farm, and at the same time taught them pig-raising and fruit-tree management techniques, helping them learn a professional skill so that they would have the ability to make a living.
Under Ni Chunming's help and guidance, the disabled people in the village took on a new look. They overcame one difficulty after another, actively developed breeding and planting, gradually escaped poverty, and embarked on the road to happiness.
"Without Chunming's help, I wouldn't have the life I have now." Wu Dingxiang, a disabled person who works on Ni Chunming's farm, has rediscovered the joy of life.
Seeing the villagers live good lives with his help, the plain-spoken Ni Chunming has even more confidence in his own future development. This year he also built a 4,000 sq m sheep shed, bought 500 black goats, and plans to seek support from all levels of assistance to build an ecological base integrating planting and breeding, leisure sightseeing and elderly care, leading his fellow villagers onto a new path of sustainable development.