Longnan County, Jiangxi: The "Snow Skirt Fairy" props up a mushroom of prosperity
Recently, this writer visited a bamboo fungus (Dictyophora indusiata) cultivation base in Lintang Township, Longnan County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, and saw bamboo fungi with umbrella-shaped fruiting bodies, like “fairies” in snow-white skirts dancing gracefully, which villagers were carefully picking.
“You've come at just the right time, you can see the bamboo fungus break through its bud and open its skirt.” Seeing this writer's arrival, base manager He Xingcai came over warmly to greet him. He told this writer that from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., bamboo fungus grows fastest and produces the most mushrooms, and during this time period the bamboo fungus needs to be picked by workers promptly, because as the temperature rises, the grown bamboo fungus will shrink back again. “After picking, the bamboo fungus must be placed in a drying room to be dried, and only after dehydration processing into dry goods can its shelf life be extended.” He Xingcai said.
It is understood that bamboo fungus is one of the precious edible fungi, and because of its graceful form and delicious taste it is known as the “Snow Skirt Fairy” and the “Queen of Fungi.” In 2014, by a chance opportunity, He Xingcai came into contact with bamboo fungus. He found that bamboo fungus not only has high nutritional value and a high product price, but also has large market demand. If the bamboo fungus industry could be introduced to Dongheng Village, where he is located, it would certainly become a local characteristic industry for prosperity.
He Xingcai is a native of Dongheng Village, Lintang Township, Longnan County. After graduating from university in 2011, he gave up the opportunity to work in a big city and returned to his hometown to become a college-graduate village official, determined to change his hometown's backward appearance. Dongheng Village has clear mountains and waters, beautiful scenery, and rich bamboo and wood resources. For a long time, the villagers had not made good use of this resource advantage, the foundation for industrial development was weak, and the villagers' economic income was relatively low. Leading the villagers to develop industries and helping fellow villagers escape poverty and become prosperous was He Xingcai's greatest wish.
In 2015, He Xingcai transferred 16 mu of farmland to begin trial cultivation of bamboo fungus. In order to master bamboo fungus cultivation and management techniques, he sent technical personnel to a bamboo fungus cultivation base in Fujian to study, while also teaching himself through books and the internet, and then repeatedly practicing in the fields. Over the course of a year, in production he mastered techniques such as soil improvement, plant protection management, and drying, and the bamboo fungus he cultivated came out crisp and refreshing, sweet and delicious, winning the favor of customers. Now, the base's cultivation scale has expanded to 50 mu, with an output value of more than 13,000 yuan per mu, and many merchants have come to place orders.
“I have lumbar disc herniation and can't do tiring or heavy work. Now every morning I pick bamboo fungus here, and in the afternoon I do my own farm work. I can earn more than 1,000 yuan a month. This job suits me perfectly.” Impoverished household Zheng Cai'e said to this writer cheerfully. This writer learned that cultivating and picking bamboo fungus requires a large amount of labor. At present, the base has hired more than 30 rural women to work, including 8 impoverished household laborers, each of whom can earn more than 1,000 yuan a month.
“As a Party member and a college-graduate village official, taking the lead in developing industries and leading fellow villagers to escape poverty and become prosperous is my duty, and also a wish I have had all along. I plan to establish a bamboo fungus cultivation farmers' cooperative, and in combination with the surrounding leisure tourism projects, further expand the scale of the bamboo fungus industry, so that more villagers can embark on the road to prosperity.” He Xingcai said.