One-legged woman builds her agricultural project bigger and stronger, dancing out a wonderful life
Li Lihong is sorting crops.
Li Lihong, 37 years old this year, lives in Group 7, Guoyuan Village, Guanyin Town, Pengshan District. Twenty-nine years ago, a car accident cost her her right leg, but with a disabled body and a strong will, she has strived to realize her own value in life, and has twice competed in the National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the Sichuan Provincial Games for Persons with Disabilities, winning gold and silver medals.
From 1994 to 2006, Li Lihong started her own businesses, running clothing sewing, clothing sales and a snack shop, among others. From 2006 to 2014, through diligent study, she became the branch manager of a travel company. In 2014, Li Lihong resolutely decided to return to her hometown to take up farming, and through more than a year of effort, she has become a well-known skilled grower in the area.
Tied to her hometown, returning to start a business
Because of the amputation she suffered in the car accident, Li Lihong developed an optimistic and competitive character from childhood. Many employers were unwilling to hire Li Lihong because of her disability, so through a relative's introduction she went to Shanxi to work, learning tailoring, making clothes and selling clothes. A few years later, through a friend's introduction, she went to Shaanxi and Hunan to work in tourism, and unexpectedly that departure from home lasted more than 10 years. "Working for others is not a long-term plan, but what could I do if I went back home?" Li Lihong was confused for a time. "During all those years running around outside, I gained at least a little knowledge and accumulated some experience and capital. Not letting myself become a burden on society because of my disability, that is my biggest dream."
At the end of 2014, she saw online that her hometown Pengshan had been listed as a national pilot zone for deepening rural reform, and Li Lihong believed this was a major opportunity to return home, start a business and realize her dream. After discussing it with her husband and careful consideration, she decided to return home alone to take up farming, while her husband continued to work at the travel company. Through field visits, Li Lihong invested more than 300,000 yuan to transfer 70 mu of land in Gongyi Town and founded "Xiaoyu Yizhuyuan" (Laughing Words Leaning on Bamboo Garden), focused on growing modern fruits and vegetables, planting 40 mu of Lei bamboo, 15 mu of asparagus and 10 mu of the high-quality citrus "Chunjian", and in the first year she intercropped sesame between the Lei bamboo and asparagus, embarking on her own entrepreneurial path in her hometown.
Facing challenges, pressing forward under a heavy load
In order to build up the planting base as quickly as possible, Li Lihong came from Guanyin Town to the planting site in the park early every morning and worked hard alongside the workers. A woman hopping around the fields on her left leg made everyone believe that her strength would surely bring good fortune to the plantation.
"I was too impatient at the start and ran into quite a few setbacks," Li Lihong said. At the end of 2014, she set her sights on the Minjiang Modern Agriculture Demonstration Park. Without delay, she quickly contacted the relevant departments to contract land, investigated the local soil conditions and the park's planning and development, and also attended planting technology training courses organized by the local government, while constantly asking experienced farmers for advice, and finally decided to grow the more promising Lei bamboo, asparagus and Chunjian.
Li Lihong said with a smile: "This plantation has very high expenses, workers' wages, land rent, seedling planting and so on, so later I could only take out bank loans. The bank had a policy for small loans for women, with discounted and subsidized interest, and the preferential policy solved my urgent problem." Although the temporary difficulty was solved, new difficulties emerged. Facing inadequate infrastructure, she needed to build roads and workrooms, which still required a large amount of investment, and the plantation would not go into production until 3 years later, so she still faced enormous challenges and could only press forward under a heavy load.
Policy support, entrepreneurial success
"The relevant policies for deepening rural reform solved Li Lihong's worries." According to the person in charge of the Pengshan District Office for Deepening Rural Reform, a new-type agricultural business owner like her fits exactly the targets supported and encouraged by rural reform policy. The roads and ditches she builds can be resolved through government investment of fiscal funds, and after her industry produces output, 1% of the total investment will be repaid each year as an infrastructure maintenance fund and local collective economic income. The relevant staff also coordinated with the district employment bureau to promptly secure for her a discounted loan quota of 80,000 yuan from the entrepreneurship fund, successfully solving the difficulty of funding for her infrastructure construction.
"With the government's care and policy support, I am firm in my confidence and can start my business without worry," Li Lihong said. Lei bamboo shoots and asparagus are both high-end vegetables, and their market trend and prices are also very good. She estimates that two years from now she can earn about 15,000 yuan per mu per year. When talking about her plans for life in the future, Li Lihong said full of confidence: "I want to make this plantation bigger and stronger, and strive in 3 to 5 years to double the scale of the plantation, then open a rural guesthouse and develop tourism agriculture projects, turning this place into the most distinctive sightseeing agricultural park."