Post-80s young man puts down roots in the countryside to do e-commerce
Recently, Xie Rongyao, a 28-year-old college-graduate village official in Wali Village, Qinghe County, Hebei Province, has been unusually busy. He is busy helping the village's e-commerce sellers add summer clothing to their listings, while also busy negotiating with a "One Product One Village" sales platform in Beijing. "If the cooperation succeeds, using this sales platform, the village's e-commerce sellers will not only be able to sell cashmere products, but also put agricultural products online for sale, giving the villagers another path to prosperity." Hearing Xie Rongyao's words, 50-year-old village committee director Lang Taihai nodded repeatedly, fully in agreement; the old and the young worked together in remarkable harmony.
In 2012, Xie Rongyao, a graduate of North China Electric Power University with a degree in engineering management, gave up a high-paying job at a provincial power company and returned to his hometown to take the exam to become a village official, serving as deputy secretary of the Party branch in his home village of Wali.
"Is it easy to support a college student? We wished on stars and waited on the moon, and finally he graduated and got a job in a big city. He worked there for less than three days before insisting on going back to the countryside to be a village official." This gap really made Xie Rongyao's father, Xie Zhikun, feel miserable for a long time.
Not only did his father disapprove; the village officials and the villagers did not understand either. "Just a kid, his head gets hot and he insists on going back to the countryside to build a career; he won't last a few days before he goes back to the city." Lang Taihai spoke without avoiding what he thought at the time.
"Right now we are in the upsurge of mass entrepreneurship and innovation by all. In recent years, e-commerce in our county has been booming. I want to return to the countryside to start a business, so that rural areas can also get on the fast track of the internet." Xie Rongyao explained his original intention at the time.
Facing the doubts around him, Xie Rongyao was single-mindedly determined to lead the villagers into e-commerce. In his first week back in the village, through visits he discovered that several young people in the village were doing e-commerce, and their business was decent. Xie Rongyao thought it over: Qinghe County is the country's largest cashmere products production base, and the county's cashmere products market has dedicated Taobao suppliers; farmers doing e-commerce do not need to invest a single cent, and can directly get goods from the market and make money. So he wanted to organize and lead more people into e-commerce. When he told Lang Taihai his idea, the old Lang shook his head like a rattle drum. "What is the internet? Can we farmers, born and raised here, make money online?" The villagers were also full of doubts.
"If words can't persuade them, then rely on practical action. I can open a shop and run it first. If I do well and make money, the villagers will naturally follow." In the autumn of 2012, Xie Rongyao registered his own online shop on Taobao. By the next year, his shop could earn four or five thousand yuan a month, and in 2014 he earned more than 100,000 yuan in one year. This caused quite a stir in the village, and the villagers began to look at him differently. Some young people took the initiative to ask him to teach them how to open an online shop.
Driven by Xie Rongyao, in Wali Village, which has more than 300 households, more than 240 households have entered the ranks of e-commerce. More than 70 households earn over 100,000 yuan a year, and five or six households earn over a million yuan. The average annual income of ordinary people has doubled compared with 3 years ago.
E-commerce has become the main industry of Wali Village, and the villagers have embarked on the road to prosperity through e-commerce. But Xie Rongyao was not satisfied. He clearly recognized that for healthy development, on the one hand, product quality must be improved, development must be differentiated, and a one-shop-one-product development model must be implemented; on the other hand, they must register their own brands, operate with integrity, and take the path of branding; in addition, the village's e-commerce sellers must be united to huddle together for warmth and venture into the market.
The first to taste the benefits was Lang Jingbin in the village. Under Xie Rongyao's suggestion, he focused on "one shop, one product" and took the path of "tailor-made" products for customers. This neither tied up inventory nor lacked its own special features, and the profit per piece of clothing also increased by 20% compared with before. Last year on "Double Eleven," Lang Jingbin received more than 500 orders in a single day.
Recently, Xie Rongyao has been planning to open up online sales channels. Not only selling on Taobao, but also developing online sales platforms such as Vipshop, JD.com, and WeChat business. This cooperation with a Beijing sales platform is only the first step.
"I'm not afraid of difficulties; what I fear is lacking the determination and courage to overcome them. As long as the ordinary people need me, I will always be with them, help them solve their problems, and keep walking with them on the road to prosperity." Facing the future, Xie Rongyao is firm in his confidence.
Yan Xiuzhen, Hao Lingfeng, reporter for this newspaper