The colorful dream in the homesickness of a village official in Xingtai County, Hebei
The colorful fruit tomatoes in Tianjiazhuang Village, Beixiaozhuang Township, Xingtai County are almost ripe: Jingdan Green Emerald, Jingdan Small Yellow Jade, Beijing Cherry, Black Jade No. 1... In less than a month, the small tomatoes will turn into "little golden eggs," bringing welcome profits to the village. This is what Wang Dongyun, the village's first secretary, has been hoping for all along.
Beixiaozhuang Township, located in the shallow hilly area, has poor soil and scarce resources, and the rural residents lack ways to increase income and get rich. Wang Dongyun is from Beixiaozhuang Township herself. Since childhood she had a dream: to succeed in her studies and give back to her hometown. After graduating from university in 2008, she passed the provincial college student village official exam and was assigned to work in Beixiaozhuang Township. In February 2015, she was transferred to serve as first secretary of Tianjiazhuang Village.
In June of the same year, with strong support from the township Party committee and government, the colorful fruit tomato planting base - Shidihe Farm - covering more than 100 mu of mountain land, began construction in Tianjiazhuang Village. Wang Dongyun was responsible for the farm's preparation and operation. Her research found that colorful fruit tomatoes sold for 15 to 20 yuan per jin on the market, 5 times the price of ordinary tomatoes. "If we grow them well, the village will have a path to prosperity."
"If the tomato seedlings are to grow well, they must be planted out before the end of August. To build 3 greenhouses and 2 arched sheds in just two months, we must guard against cutting corners." Wang Dongyun was not reassured, so she ate and slept in the greenhouses, gave up holidays, and rested only 4 hours a day, all just to act as supervisor.
During the day, she braved the scorching sun and arranged the construction, with no time to drink water or rest. Her lips often cracked from dryness, and her throat became so hoarse she could not speak. At night, she still had to keep accounts, record work hours, and arrange the next day's work. Sometimes a whole day ended with just one meal or a piece of instant noodles. One morning in July, while directing construction, her appendicitis suddenly flared up and the stomach pain made her collapse to the ground. The doctor suggested surgery, but surgery would delay things for several days. Wang Dongyun forced herself to hold on and said, "I'm fine, just take some medicine. We'll talk about surgery next time."
On August 25, the greenhouses were completed, and Wang Dongyun had lost a full 20 jin.
In mid-October, the colorful fruit tomatoes on the farm ripened one after another. Wang Dongyun immediately posted photos of the products online and asked relatives and friends to help promote them. She herself took the products and promotional leaflets and began promoting them in communities, work units, schools, and hotels in the city.
Once, while promoting in the Hongxi Shuxiangyuan community, Wang Dongyun was so cold that her hands and face turned red. Her colorful fruit tomatoes could be tasted for free, but one elderly woman insisted on paying: "Young people have it hard, and she's a girl too. I have children your age at home, and they don't have your spirit of enduring hardship." This elderly woman later became a regular customer of Shidihe Farm.
With greenhouse management experience and an accumulated customer base, Wang Dongyun drew on the strength of the Xingtai County Tanglu Planting Professional Cooperative to recruit some free-range beekeepers, free-range chicken farmers, quail farmers, and sweet potato starch noodle processors from Tianjiazhuang Village and nearby villages into the cooperative, uniformly ordered packaging boxes, used the "Lingxiao Mountain" brand trademark, and relied on Shidihe Farm to sell products.
This year, Wang Dongyun has successfully applied for "green food certification" for the colorful fruit tomatoes. She is planning to plant economically valuable trees on the farm, build a parking lot, a children's playground, and a dining service center, and lead surrounding villages in developing organic vegetable and fruit planting, using industry as a driving force to help more fellow villagers become prosperous.