Grow anything and make money - what is the secret of this wealth-building master?
In the minds of the many farmers in Hechuan District, Chongqing, "Lai Chenghong" equals "wealth-building master." The reason is simple: when Lai Chenghong does agriculture, everything he plants makes money! How can he be so amazing? We have to start from the beginning to tell the story of his secret.
I.From the restaurant business to agricultural supplies and planting
Lai Chenghong, born in 1970, is a native of Bailu New Village, Nanban Office, Hechuan District, Chongqing. Before going into agricultural supplies and planting, he worked for a while in the restaurant business in Jiefangbei, Chongqing, and gradually became interested in agricultural supplies and planting during his work.
Lai Chenghong: "I returned to Hechuan in 1999 and have been in agricultural supplies ever since. I opened an agricultural supplies business myself, mainly dealing in seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers, and also providing technical services. I think that learning a set of techniques and helping farmers increase production, income, and benefits is a very happy thing."
II.Leading returning entrepreneurs to wealthIn running his agricultural supplies business, Lai Chenghong did not hold to the sole aim of making money. He constantly studied through various books and materials; after achieving some success, he provided project and technical help to people returning home to start businesses. From 1999 to now, hundreds of returning entrepreneurs, driven by him, have grown fruit trees, strawberries, and crops and embarked on the road to wealth.
Li Wendou (returning young entrepreneur, Wutong Sixth Cooperative, Shitan Town, Hechuan): In the past we wandered outside as migrant workers. Working away from home was very hard, and we wanted to come back and do something at home, but we did not know what to do. In hot weather, watermelons sold fairly well, so I found a few mu of land to try planting, but the hard work was still unsatisfactory. One day when we went to Hechuan, we met Boss Lai of Hongfeng Seed Industry. This year he helped guide us, and the watermelons reached about 25 [jin] for the large ones, with 10 to 20 jin being more common, and we got a bumper harvest.
Zhou Min (returning entrepreneur): Working away from home was very hard. When I first came back, I wanted to grow some fruit but did not know how to start. One day Lai Chenghong came to our village to provide strawberry-growing techniques. Under his help and guidance, I planted two mu of strawberries, and as a result got a bumper harvest and sold them for a good price.
III.The "brilliant strategist" gives advice to the yellow peach industry
With Lai Chenghong's help, more and more people became wealthy through planting and entrepreneurship, and everyone gave him the title "brilliant strategist"! At that time, the yellow peaches produced in Taihe, Hechuan, Chongqing, had poor appearance and pale color and could not fetch a price on the market. Improved varieties from other places did not adapt well once they arrived in Hechuan, and everyone was at a loss.
The villagers of Dongnan Village, Taihe Town, thought of Lai Chenghong and hoped he could give some advice to the local yellow peach industry. After some on-site investigation, Lai Chenghong took the relevant local personnel to Danleng, Meishan, Sichuan, and spent a whole week learning from major local yellow peach planting bases and studying yellow peach cultivation techniques.
Lai Chenghong said: "At that time we held meetings for farmers and conducted planting technique training. Through the mixed application of inorganic fertilizer and organic fertilizer, and by adjusting the peach tree leaves and tree shape, the fruit became redder, larger, and sweeter, with a very unique Taihe yellow peach flavor, and the market situation opened up. Now Taihe yellow peach has formed a brand. It sells very well locally and has become a resounding calling card for Taihe Town."
IV.Going out and bringing in, greatly increasing rice yields
From growing watermelons to strawberries and then yellow peaches, one success after another made the local villagers' trust in Lai Chenghong rise again and again. Lai Chenghong also transformed from an ordinary person into a "wealth-building master." By a chance opportunity, he turned his eyes to the rice-growing industry that everyone now believed did not make money.
At that time, the overall rice yield per mu in Hechuan District was around 1000 jin, and after farmers harvested and deducted various costs, the profit was quite meager. He wondered whether this situation could be changed through technical improvement. After a large number of on-site investigations across the country, in 2011 Lai Chenghong, by borrowing from relatives and friends and taking out loans, invested more than 2 million yuan in succession to introduce a foreign high-yield rice variety suitable for planting in Hechuan District, and also specially designed a rice yield-increasing plan.
He introduced: "At that time, through studying outside, I learned that Yuan Longping's seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers were matched as a set, a technique called good seed and good method. Under the same planting conditions, it can obtain greater returns." Lai Chenghong's idea was good, but he soon encountered a big problem: the local farmers did not buy it!
In order to dispel everyone's concerns, during the early promotion process, Lai Chenghong traveled to more than 20 towns and subdistricts in Hechuan District, including Qiantang, Yunmen, Longshi, Dashi, Taihe, and Longfeng. At each place, he personally went to the fields, gathered the local farmers together, trained them hand by hand, and popularized planting knowledge and skills among them.
At first, a small number of farmers were half-believing and half-doubting, and with a try-it-and-see attitude planted a small amount according to the increase plan, while more farmers took a wait-and-see attitude. Tang Daosheng, a farmer from Shayu Town, Hechuan District: At first when they came to promote it, we still did not quite believe it. Only after planting did we believe it. Now one mu of field can harvest about 1700 [jin] of rice. His method is very good, and now more people believe him.
In the face of the fact of a bumper harvest, the original wait-and-see attitude and doubts disappeared, and farmers chose to use Lai Chenghong's plan one after another. Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, experts from the Chongqing Yudongnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and professionals from the Chongqing Plant Protection General Station, the Hechuan District Plant Protection Station, the statistics bureau's agricultural survey team, the agricultural technology station, and the seed station came one after another to inspect and measure production and harvest, and received unanimous praise and recognition from top to bottom.
At present, this increase plan has been promoted over a large area in multiple towns and subdistricts in Hechuan District. Among them, Xianglong Town even carried out village-wide advancement, bringing good news to thousands upon thousands of rice growers.
Lai Chenghong said: "If Hechuan farmers follow my method, yields have increased from the previous eight or nine hundred jin to about 1600 jin now. Farmers' benefits have increased, profits have increased, and farmers' returns have also been guaranteed."
V.Investigation and trial planting: the new "cream watermelon" gets a bumper harvest
This success let Lai Chenghong taste the sweetness, and also made the thoughtful Lai Chenghong realize the importance of introducing high-quality, high-yield varieties! In 2012, at a tasting event during an overseas investigation, Lai Chenghong discovered the new variety "Xiangbati" cream watermelon. Its rich cream aroma and refreshing, pleasant, sweet, and juicy taste left a deep impression on him.
He said: "In my impression, many farmers and melon growers complain that the watermelons they grow do not taste good, are hard to sell, and yields cannot go up. My idea is to introduce this high-quality watermelon to Hechuan, set an example for these melon growers, make it easy for them to learn in the future, promote this technique, and improve melon growers' benefits."
That same year, after fully investigating the towns and subdistricts of Hechuan, Lai Chenghong opened small-scale experimental fields in multiple towns and subdistricts including Gulou, Yunmen, Longshi, Longfeng, and Weituo to try planting and observe the performance of this variety under various local geographical and climatic conditions. During the 3-year trial planting process, he finally chose Liujiao Village in Weituo Town, located on a mountain ridge at an altitude of about 500 m. With its suitable climatic conditions, fertile and high-yield soil, and high-quality cold spring water, the taste, sweetness, and appearance of the "Xiangbati" cream watermelon all reached the optimal level. After trying it, everyone reached a 100% favorable rating and purchase intention.
Wang Lingjing (resident): After eating the "Xiangbati" cream watermelon grown by Lai Chenghong and his team, we thought it was very good. Compared with other varieties of watermelon, it is crisper, sweeter, juicier, and also has a light creamy aroma. Not only will I buy it myself, I will also bring some back for relatives and friends.
Lai Chenghong introduced: "This year we planted 30 mu of 'Xiangbati' cream watermelon. This is not only a beginning. Next year we also want to establish a watermelon professional cooperative, plant a larger area, and drive more surrounding farmers to wealth."
Tips for wealth-building experience:
1. Master the techniques, and once one is mastered, all are mastered, making you a wealth-building master.
2. Have what others do not; turn foreign varieties into local specialties to build wealth skillfully. Going out and bringing in, what to bring in and how to localize it on the ground, also requires your careful consideration.
3. Cultivate your own unrestrained and imaginative innovative thinking.