The entrepreneurial story of Lu Jiujun leading the way in opening a farmhouse inn
Lu Jiujun harvests high-mountain organic bottle gourd
May 1, International Labor Day, the weather was clear and fine, neither cold nor hot, the most suitable time for a family outing. As soon as the reporter entered the territory of Junhong Ecological Farm in Group 10 of Nongquan Village, Guofu Town, Qijiang District, the village was bustling with heavy traffic and coming and going of people. Many city dwellers took advantage of this rare holiday and rare fine weather to come here for picking and playing, a lively scene. What many people did not expect was that the villager walking ahead of them, carrying farm manure and wearing glasses, was Lu Jiujun, the person in charge of Junhong Farm, a migrant worker who had returned home.
In 1975, Lu Jiujun was born in Nongquan Village, Guofu Town, Qijiang District. Located in southern Qijiang, Guofu Town is 25 km from the county seat and covers an area of 174 sq km, of which 100,000 mu is forest. The ecological environment is good, the air is clear, the average temperature is 16-18°C, and the vertical climate is distinct, making it very suitable for developing rural tourism.
In 1994, after graduating from junior high school, Lu Jiujun was introduced by relatives to do automobile repair, sales and other work in Zhejiang and Shaanxi. After rushing about for decades, his income was always stretched. In 2012, when Lu Jiujun returned home for the Spring Festival, he learned that the local government had created many favorable conditions for developing rural tourism and issued many preferential policies. Lu Jiujun thought that rather than rushing about all year round and still not earning much money, it would be better to return home and develop summer resort rural tourism.
No sooner said than done! In 2013, Lu Jiujun began to build a house and transfer land, preparing to build a relatively good farmhouse inn. After being busy for almost a year, in July 2014, Junhong Ecological Farm officially opened. Because of the elegant environment and honest treatment of guests, especially the pioneering of the Gaomiao farmhouse inn buffet model, it attracted many city dwellers to come to the farm to play. Many guests established deep friendships with him. They not only introduced friends to the farm, but also publicized it through QQ, WeChat and other platforms, bringing an endless stream of new guests to the farm.
Once the farmhouse inn was opened, how could the farm's dishes be kept ever fresh? Lu Jiujun then set his sights on the dozens of mu of cultivated land in the village. He wanted to build a farm through land transfer, but the lack of funds almost stopped him. Fortunately, at this time the small guaranteed interest-subsidized loan for migrant workers' entrepreneurship from the Qijiang District Employment Bureau solved his urgent need. After receiving this money, Lu Jiujun was overjoyed and immediately did the preliminary work related to land transfer, land clearing, and land drying.
“I think that in opening a farm, one must definitely have one's own characteristics.” Lu Jiujun said that his farm has its own fruit and vegetable garden. The fruits and vegetables planted do not use chemical fertilizers, but instead control vegetable diseases and pests from the source, ensuring that no pesticides are truly used; he also raises free-range chickens and ducks and uses mountain spring water to raise fish. On the one hand, this ensures supply for the farm, and on the other hand, it lets visitors experience farming activities.
The power of example is endless! With Lu Jiujun's demonstration effect, developing rural tourism has now become the leading industry for becoming rich in Guofu Town. The number of farmhouse inns in the town has grown from Lu Jiujun's 1 in 2014 to more than 30 now, and Guofu Town has also become a well-known beautiful village.
“One person being rich does not count as being rich; only when everyone is rich is it truly rich.” Lu Jiujun said that every summer many city residents go to the farm to escape the heat. Seeing that city residents like the local specialties raised and grown by villagers and often buy them in large and small bags to take back, he led the villagers to introduce new varieties, provide technical demonstrations and related consulting services, develop planting and breeding industries, plan and build a 40-mu physical agricultural product demonstration park, promote online and experience offline, optimize the e-commerce model, and sell high-quality agricultural products farther away.
“Doing things is temporary; being a person is permanent.” Lu Jiujun said that under the new situation of mass entrepreneurship and innovation, with the strong support of the government, he will join hands with the villagers to strive together toward a moderately prosperous life!