Sichuan Luzhou: A Woman Farmer Develops Livestock Farming and Leads Villagers to Prosper Together
Short in stature, crisp in speech and quick in action - this is everyone's first impression of Wang Yuanzhen, a villager of Group 8, Dashan Village, Bailu Town, Hejiang County, Luzhou City.
She is an ordinary rural woman with two beautiful and filial daughters. In earlier years, like other rural women, she and her husband worked in coastal cities, economizing on food and expenses to build up family savings, support the household and pay for their daughters' education.
As her body grew weary from toil, her husband contracted pneumoconiosis and heart disease and gradually lost his ability to work. This small difficulty did not stump Wang Yuanzhen. She said: "My husband can't do heavy work and can't earn money, but I can still shoulder the burden and put our daughter through university." However, "misfortune" did not leave this family; instead, it came one after another. In 2004, Wang Yuanzhen received a phone call from her younger daughter's university teacher, saying the daughter had a high fever that would not subside. After examination, it was leukemia - the disease everyone dreads. In order to care for their daughter, Wang Yuanzhen and her husband returned home from the coast. From diagnosis to treatment, their daughter's leukemia cost a total of more than 1.7 million yuan, which not only used up all the savings the couple had accumulated over many years, but also left the family deeply in debt. "As long as our daughter recovers, everything will be fine." Faced with the blow of leukemia, Wang Yuanzhen did not collapse. To care for her daughter and husband, she became even more determined to return to her hometown, start a business and build wealth again.
Daring to Venture and Act, a Pioneer Model in Industrial Development
In August 2010, Wang Yuanzhen and her husband returned to their hometown of Bailu, built a house and began their entrepreneurial journey. Planting Zhenlong pomelo, raising pigs, chickens and fish, and running a farmhouse restaurant - she was busy and happy.
Wang Yuanzhen and her free-range chickens
In 2012, seeing the high returns of the pork market, and after seeking support from the county women's federation and the Bailu Town government and women's federation, she built a pig farm covering 2000 mu and in 2013 established the Wangshan Pig Breeding Professional Cooperative, becoming a specialized pig farmer and opening the door to prosperity through industry.
Not only that, she also registered the trademark "Zhengyihe" to "endorse" her agricultural products such as "green-shell" eggs, eco-friendly fruit and eco-friendly vegetables. Today, Wang Yuanzhen has planted more than 3500 Zhenlong pomelo trees; once they come into production, annual income can reach more than 100,000 yuan. Her free-range chickens and "green-shell" eggs are in short supply and sell as far as Beijing and Taiwan, China, with daily sales of more than 2000 eggs. Her farmhouse restaurant, which operates on the basis of green food, sees a steady stream of guests every weekend.
Although she is nearly 60 years old and her business has already reached a certain scale, Wang Yuanzhen is still not satisfied with the status quo and continues to expand into new industries. Under her plan, she intends to introduce "breeding chickens" for free-range chickens and develop a self-circulating free-range chicken project to save costs. At the same time, with the support of the Bailu Town government, she will also build a "Lotus Wetland Park" in Bailu Town that integrates sightseeing, tourism and agricultural product development.
Support from Many Quarters, a Rural Woman Who Knows Gratitude
"I could get to where I am today thanks to the care and help of the county women's federation, the Bailu Town government, the Bailu Town women's federation and other departments. I am very grateful to them," Wang Yuanzhen said.
When she lacked funds, the county women's federation and the Bailu Town government actively coordinated to solve the problem and helped her obtain loans; relevant leaders also mobilized friends around them and, through personal connections, raised more than 150,000 yuan for her. When she lacked equipment, the county women's federation promptly equipped her with a computer and internet access so she could carry out modern sales. When she did not understand the channels, relevant leaders of the Bailu Town government went with her many times to county-level relevant departments to report on her work and seek support in projects, funds and other aspects. When she did not understand the techniques, the Bailu Town government and the Bailu Town women's federation coordinated agricultural technicians to visit her home to guide her in planting and breeding techniques, and specially arranged personnel who understand online sales to contact and guide her on how to carry out online e-commerce sales.
The entrepreneurial journey has been very arduous. Whenever she had free time, Wang Yuanzhen would run to the Bailu Town government to talk over difficulties, share ideas and exchange views with the leaders. "On the one hand, I can hear the leaders' suggestions and opinions; on the other hand, I hope to get more support from the government," Wang Yuanzhen said.
Mutual Help, a Model Force in Poverty Alleviation
"One person being rich does not count as being rich; only when everyone is rich is that true wealth." Wang Yuanzhen not only says this, but also acts on it.
From 2013 to now, she has led villagers from 6 villager groups in Dashan Village to plant Zhenlong pomelo together, covering an area of 2380 mu, about 52,360 trees. She has also led villagers to prosperity through the pig breeding professional cooperative. At present, the cooperative has 108 members in total and regularly raises more than 20 sows and more than 1000 meat pigs. Through unified management and unified sales, it is gradually moving toward greater technological sophistication and industrialization, and has been rated a "Quality and Integrity Demonstration Professional Cooperative".
In August this year, Wang Yuanzhen also led impoverished women from the town out to learn rattan weaving techniques, and planned to spend her own money to invite the teacher to her home to teach the techniques to impoverished women free of charge.
Wang Yuanzhen not only provides villagers with ideas for prosperity, but also does not hesitate to sacrifice her own interests to help impoverished households escape poverty. Since last year, she has many times given chicken chicks and Zhenlong pomelo seedlings free of charge to registered impoverished households in Bailu Town, Yankou Village in Fubao Town and other places. She has also provided free feed, offered free training in planting and breeding techniques, and promised to buy back the chickens at market price once they are grown.
Although this increases her own production costs, this order-based production model can help impoverished villagers increase their income and escape poverty. Wang Yuanzhen is sincerely happy, because she feels this is the best way for her to give back to society. She will also extend this model to farming households in even more impoverished villages, such as Lishuwan Village and Jiale Village in Xiantan Town.
An ordinary woman, with practical action she has interpreted the extraordinary "half the sky" and held up "a piece of the sky" for her family. In recent years, she has successively been rated a "Most Beautiful Family" by the Luzhou City women's federation, a "Woman Expert in the Dual Study and Dual Comparison" and a "March 8th Red Banner Woman Pacesetter" by the Hejiang County women's federation, an "Annual Advanced Individual in Work", an "Outstanding Doer of the Chinese Dream" and a "Pacesetter in Women's Prosperity" by Bailu Town, a "Pacesetter among Heroic Women" by the Bailu Town women's federation, and an "Advanced Individual as a Prosperity Expert" and "Annual Advanced Individual" by Dashan Village in Bailu Town.