Tsinghua Female Master's Graduate Li Hongmei Puts Down Roots on the Barren Hills of Wusheng
Li Hongmei pinching tips and shaping fruit trees at the base.
"Everyone must pay close attention - you must turn your back to the walnut seedlings when spraying herbicide in circles..." Early in the morning on April 27, Li Hongmei, who had just returned from **, hurried to Huangmingqiao Village, Sanxi Town, Wusheng County, urging the workers to seize the fine sunny weather and promptly carry out spring management of the cash crops.
Li Hongmei is a native of Huangmingqiao Village. In 2004, she gave up her "iron rice bowl" and, together with her husband, established a professional cooperative in **. Over the years, the high-quality walnuts, rock candy heart apples, and ** jujubes she cultivated have been sold throughout the country. At the end of 2013, she returned to her hometown and contracted nearly 7,000 mu of land to plant walnuts, cherries and other crops, leading the people of her hometown to prosper together.
The 2014 China Brand "Sunflower" Individual Innovation Award, the 2015 "Sichuan Top Ten Returning-Home Entrepreneurship Stars," the 7th Sichuan Provincial Model Worker... In recent years, Li Hongmei has won numerous awards, and in 2012 she also obtained an MBA in Business Administration from Tsinghua University.
Returning Home to Start a Business, Vowing to Turn Barren Hills into Green Oases
"The 100 mu of ** walnuts I successfully improved and cultivated in 2014 bore fruit in two years, and are expected to enter full production in 5 years." Li Hongmei told reporters that the walnuts she grows are of good quality, with each jin priced 3 to 5 yuan higher than the market price. This August, more than 1,000 jin of walnuts will be brought to market in a concentrated release.
Recalling her journey of returning home to start a business, Li Hongmei said that at the end of 2013, she returned to her hometown after many years away. Seeing barnyard grass overrunning the rice paddies and wild mugwort covering the stone-slab paths, she was heartbroken. Upon learning that the Wusheng County government encouraged the development of large-scale planting industries and sincerely invited fellow townspeople to return home and start businesses, she was moved.
Li Hongmei immediately invited agricultural experts and professors to her hometown to repeatedly evaluate the geographical and climatic conditions there. The results delighted her: this place is suitable for planting **185 walnuts.
"The 185 walnut is currently one of the best walnuts in **, with large size, thin shells and high nutritional value," Li Hongmei explained. "Wusheng's rainy climate easily causes walnut seedlings to develop fungal diseases, but the weakly acidic soil is more favorable for walnut growth than in **."
Action followed words. In early 2014, Li Hongmei established the Wusheng Linxiang Fruit Professional Cooperative, first contracting 100 mu of land in Feilong Town to create a mother-tree orchard for walnut seedling propagation. More than a month later, after improvement and cultivation, the cooperative's first "Xiwu No. 1" walnut mother tree took root at the seedling base. She then contracted nearly 7,000 mu of land in Guhua Village, Shiting Village and Huangmingqiao Village in Sanxi Town, planting hundreds of thousands of walnut seedlings, which are expected to all bear fruit by 2018, and registered the trademark "Xihubei."
Expanding the Industry, Driving Neighboring Villagers to Prosper Together
"Since Boss Li came, our barren slopes have been dressed in 'green clothing,'" said villager Li Yufang, who works at the walnut base, cheerfully. "Now my family's idle land has been transferred, and every year I not only receive land transfer fees, but I can also work at the base, increasing my income by more than 8,000 yuan a year."
"It is my unshirkable duty to lead my fellow villagers to a better life," Li Hongmei said. Since the cooperative was established, it has developed more than 300 member households, not only providing employment for more than 500 local villagers, but also attracting more than 40 young and middle-aged people who had gone out to work to return home and become key personnel. "In the early stage, we invest; after the walnuts bear fruit, local farming households take over management on their own. We provide unified technical training and guidance. Farmers can sell the products themselves or have us buy them back at market price. This model can bring considerable income to the villagers."
During the interview, Li Hongmei kept busy the whole time. After directing the workers in hoeing weeds, she pinched tips and pulled branches for the cherries planted last winter. "Now I have planted more than 10 fresh fruit varieties including cherries and gai guo for experiments, and they are expected to bear fruit next year."
"Farming cannot rely on the mercy of the weather. This year I will also invest more than 10 million yuan to improve irrigation conditions. At the same time, I will expand the scale of walnut planting, introduce potted fruit, and apply 'Internet Plus' thinking to build Linxiang Fruit into a smart agriculture enterprise integrating tourism and sightseeing, leisure and entertainment, and informatization." Li Hongmei spoke softly, but her gaze was unusually firm. "Agriculture requires large investment and has a long cycle, but I have enough confidence and patience."