Sheqi man returns home to cultivate tea tree mushrooms and leads his neighbors to prosperity

Holding freshly picked tea tree mushrooms, Zhang Xiaotang beams with joy.

"This truckload of 200 boxes of tea tree mushrooms is headed to Xiangyang, about 2 tons, and after deducting costs I can pocket 15,000 yuan." On April 25, in Qizhuang, Houmenli Village, Xinglong Town, Sheqi County, Zhang Xiaotang, busy loading and shipping goods, was beaming with joy. He said with a smile: "Right now is the peak mushroom-producing season, and I can harvest nearly 200 boxes a day. This output is far from meeting the demand of the surrounding market."

Zhang Xiaotang, 55 this year, is an "old hand" with tea tree mushrooms. Back in 2008, he and his wife went to Shaoguan, Guangdong to work, cultivating tea tree mushrooms together with relatives. Quick-witted Zhang Xiaotang learned while practicing, and in the first year he himself grew 100,000 bags of shiitake mushrooms in 1 mushroom shed, earning nearly 100,000 yuan that year. Having tasted the sweetness of success, he began working to learn the craft while also growing mushrooms on his own to explore and gain experience.