Staying true to his original aspiration, he leads farmers to common prosperity and a comfortable life

Why should hardworking and honest farmers have to suffer and be poor? This question has lingered in Li Ping's mind since childhood. "My parents made a living growing fruit, and the sight of them toiling away all day is deeply imprinted in my heart." As early as fourth grade, he began to ponder, "Someday I will make sure farmers are no longer poor!"

In June 2014, Li Ping initiated and established Pingbian's first rural professional technical association focused on kiwifruit cultivation technique training - the Tongda Kiwifruit Industry Association. Since its development, the association has driven more than 150 local young growers and has radiated outward to drive more than 10 enterprises in surrounding counties and cities including Gejiu, Jianshui, Luxi, Yuanyang, Luchun, as well as Wenshan and Yuxi.

The planting base has grown from less than 200 mu previously to more than 3,000 mu now; by 2020, the association will also develop more than 30,000 mu of Hongyang kiwifruit; by 2025, the association will achieve kiwifruit output of more than 45,000 tons and an output value of more than 900 million yuan. For this reason, he was once rated as a "Startup Star" for 2009-2013 by the Prefecture Youth League Committee and the Prefecture Human Resources and Social Security Bureau; was hired by the County Youth League Committee as a "Pingbian County Youth Entrepreneurship Mentor"; was rated by the Pingbian County People's Government as a "Pingbian County Second Batch County-Level Expert"; and was hired by multiple agricultural development companies as an agricultural development "Technical Advisor."

That's right, Li Ping is realizing his dream step by step.

On January 11, the reporter met this entrepreneurial young man in Gejiu. That day, he was very busy. He had only just arrived in Gejiu from Luchun in the morning, and then had to spend nearly 1 hour rushing to a small village in Gejiu - Wangjiazhai. This was not tourism, but work. According to him, he came to Wangjiazhai because members of their association were there, and he had made a special trip to give them grafting training.

What? Going so far in person to train them? It sounds incredible, but the fact is exactly that. "There was no way around it. The farmers who bought seedlings from me specifically asked for me to train them," Li Ping said with a smile.

One household told the reporter that this was Li Ping's 13th visit to train them. In the 1 year from buying seedlings to now, Li Ping had come 13 times.

Li Ping also admitted frankly: "That's indeed the case, because some planting techniques cannot be explained clearly over the phone. I must teach them hand by hand in person. I have to see that they have truly learned before I can feel at ease. I cannot 'scam' them."

As he spoke, Li Ping went with several households to the field. After only a few words, he gathered everyone to watch him graft seedlings. Because the seedlings were relatively small, he simply knelt directly on the ground. While explaining the knowledge and precautions of grafting seedlings, he skillfully carried out the grafting operation. Before long, he had grafted one seedling, and then he had the members operate on their own while he guided them at the side. Just like that, before anyone realized it, the training had gone on for nearly two hours.

Only after everyone had learned did Li Ping end the day's training. How much income did Li Ping get from doing this? The reporter did the math for him. Four households in Wangjiazhai bought seedlings from him, which amounted to just four or five thousand yuan, while Li Ping drove himself here from out of town. After deducting the cost of the seedlings, almost no profit remained, and he might even lose money. Wasn't this a bad deal?

"You calculated it wrong, you calculated it wrong." Li Ping corrected him, saying the account should be calculated this way. He said these households were already association members. The current loss-making training was to help them master kiwifruit techniques and increase the survival rate. Later, once they had experience and expanded kiwifruit planting, he would purchase and help them sell the fruit, and everyone could easily make money together, with neither side losing out.

This way of calculating made everyone burst into laughter. After the training ended, the enthusiastic members insisted on pulling Li Ping home for a meal. While chatting about everyday matters, they listened to Li Ping explain management technique knowledge about growing kiwifruit.

Gejiu was only the fourth stop on his training trip this time. The training across six stops in total was almost finished, but Li Ping's original dream continued on all along.