How did sweet potato tips earn ten million yuan a year? The road to wealth of Xijin migrant worker Chen Weihong

Chen Weihong (left) working with workers in the vineyard

From a construction site odd-job worker earning only 90 yuan a month to now owning a sweet potato tip planting base with an annual output value of more than 10 million yuan and a high-end grape planting base with an annual output value of 5 million yuan, Chen Weihong of Fangxing Town, Xinjin County, Chengdu, spent more than 10 years. Today's Chen Weihong is not only a major grower, but also a well-known entrepreneurial star far and wide. Looking back on returning home to start a business, Chen Weihong admits it was a coincidence: at the time he was working as a grocery buyer on a construction site, and he discovered that green ecological vegetables not only fetched high prices but also had a large market. So Chen Weihong developed the idea of returning home to start a business, and in 2003 began contracting dozens of mu of land to grow vegetables.

A big business opportunity in tiny sweet potato tips: at first provided free to restaurants

"Back then I was working in Guangzhou, with little work and plenty of time to play." Chen Weihong said that through the opportunity of buying groceries, he discovered this business opportunity in green ecological vegetables. After detailed market research, he found that the Chengdu market had great prospects, so he invited several fellow townsmen and resolutely decided to return home to start a business.

In 2003, the bold Chen Weihong contracted dozens of mu of land in Chongzhou City to begin trying to grow green ecological vegetables. At first the vegetable varieties grown were all over the place, but the careful Chen Weihong later discovered that the sweet potato tips he grew were different from others: they only grew tips and not much root, smelled very fresh, and tasted very crisp. When sent to a testing department for nutritional testing, they turned out to have much higher nutritional value than everyday vegetables. Later, through improvements, the harvest period for sweet potato tips could last as long as three seasons (March to November), with more than a thousand kilograms harvestable per mu. This was a huge business opportunity.

Previously, not many people in Chengdu paid attention to sweet potato tips, but Chen Weihong firmly believed there must be a market. So every day he rode a motorcycle to promote them at hotels, restaurants and supermarkets of all sizes. "Because at first no one accepted them, I provided them free of charge." Chen Weihong said frankly that from giving them free for a month at the start, to later buying 10 jin and getting 10 jin free, to later no discounts at all, in the end many restaurants rushed to get them. Chen Weihong's sweet potato tips went from being ignored to selling better and better, from door-to-door sales to market wholesale, and from vegetable markets directly into large supermarkets in Chengdu. Chen Weihong expanded the planting scale of sweet potato tips and became a major grower known far and wide.

In 2008, Chen Weihong's hometown of Fangxing Town, Xinjin County, established an entrepreneurship park for returning migrant workers, and Chen Weihong became one of the first targets for investment attraction. Afterward, Chen Weihong formed Chengdu Xinjin County Fangxing Town Fangjia Agricultural Company and leased more than 500 mu of land to grow sweet potato tips. In 2009, the sweet potato tips grown by Chen Weihong passed the national green food 3A certification, were named "Xialvyuan" and had a trademark registered. With the advantages of being green, fresh and low-priced, these sweet potato tips secured a place in Chengdu's large agricultural wholesale markets and were also sold as far as Chongqing, Lhasa, Beijing, Shanghai and other places. Now the planting area has also expanded to more than 1,000 mu, with an annual output value of more than 10 million yuan.

Switching to high-end grape growing to fill a gap and help everyone get rich together

In 2010, Chen Weihong discovered that high-end grapes were increasingly favored by people in the market, but these high-end goods all came from outside the province, and growing high-end grapes in Chengdu was still a blank. Chen Weihong believed this was an excellent business opportunity. He immediately went to Shaanxi, Zhangjiagang and other places to investigate the grape industry. By consulting experts and studying hard on his own, he mastered the growing techniques for different varieties, and also used new technology to make grapes bloom twice a year, so the grape harvest time could be extended from June to the end of the year.

In 2011, the daring Chen Weihong invested all his savings of more than 6 million yuan over several years into high-end grape growing. Over two years, Chen Weihong invested more than 10 million yuan in growing grapes, and now all his efforts have paid off. In the first year of grape harvesting, the yield in the first season alone could reach about 3,000-4,000 jin per mu. The grapes grown by Chen Weihong were in short supply in Chengdu's wholesale market. This year the output value is expected to reach at least 5 million yuan, with profits of nearly one million yuan.

After making money himself, Chen Weihong did not forget to remember where his success came from, and he actively gave back to society and his hometown. It is reported that Fangjia Agricultural Company absorbs more than 400 surplus rural laborers year-round, with 200-300 temporary workers, of whom those aged 40 and 50 account for more than 80% of the total, older women laborers account for more than 70% of the total, the per capita wage reaches more than 2,000 yuan, and local villagers increase their per capita income by 20,000 yuan each year. In addition, Chen Weihong also encouraged more than 20 bosses in the town to participate in planting together, with a total scale of more than 800 mu, getting rich together with everyone.

In 2012, Chen Weihong was elected as an outstanding rural youth entrepreneurship leader in Fangxing Town, Xinjin County. In the face of his achievements, Chen Weihong did not stop, but continued to advance toward higher and greater goals. "My plan for the future is actually very simple: to stand firm in the competition." Chen Weihong said frankly that the quality and safety of agricultural products now attract much attention and cannot be treated carelessly. He will continue to adhere to the principle of "high quality, green, ecological" in growing vegetables and fruits, "hoping to make the market for green ecological agriculture bigger and bigger."