A university student village official's dream of getting rich through vegetables

On March 22, Xu Peipei gave a lecture to vegetable farmers at the villagers' classroom in Lilou Village.

On March 22, Xu Peipei (fourth from left) explained common knowledge about vegetable pest and disease prevention in a vegetable greenhouse in Lilou Village to vegetable farmers.

Xu Peipei graduated from Hebei Agricultural University with a major in animal and plant quarantine. One spring day in 2013, while shopping at a market, she noticed that the zucchini sold by a young couple had "viral disease," so she took the initiative to ask about the situation. Learning that the vegetable farmers were from Lilou Village, Daliuzhuang Township, Linxi County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province, Xu Peipei immediately contacted the party secretary of Lilou Village and rushed to the vegetable greenhouses in Lilou Village that afternoon, gathering the vegetable farmers to explain on site the dangers of viral disease and tell them how to prevent and control it. From then on, Xu Peipei began working in Lilou Village as a "specially appointed vegetable technician."

In January 2015, Xu Peipei formally came to Lilou Village to serve as deputy secretary of the village party branch, becoming a university student "village official." With her help and efforts, Lilou Village registered the "Guangyin" vegetable trademark, established a dedicated cooperative, and formed its own sales team. Lilou Village's vegetable greenhouses grew from 40 at the beginning to more than 120 now, and per capita income rose from more than 3,200 yuan 3 years ago to more than 9,500 yuan now. Lilou Village was among the first impoverished villages in the county to shake off poverty and be removed from the poverty list.

In January 2016, Xu Peipei began serving as first secretary of the party branch of Lilou Village. She plans to build 50 more winter-warm greenhouse sheds within two years, fulfilling her dream of leading the villagers to grow vegetables and become prosperous.