Luo Zhenwang and his "lucky fruit" planting story

The winter solstice has just passed, and the chill has not yet faded.

Yet inside the Qinyuan Picking Garden in Taitou Village, Xingcheng Town, Qianxi County, there is a scene of prosperity: in two greenhouses, triangular cactus vines shaped like arrow shafts climb upward, and here and there one can already see dragon fruits wrapped in scales poking their heads out; in the other two greenhouses, the lush strawberries have already borne fruit; the phone for catering business rings from time to time...

"This May Day, everyone will be able to taste the dragon fruit I grow, with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide at all." Without discussing the strawberries about to ripen, without mentioning the booming catering business, and even less mentioning the environmentally friendly aerated bricks being produced that can float on water, as the head of the picking garden, Luo Zhenwang's favorite is his dragon fruit.

Of medium build, with slightly graying hair, the now 40-year-old Luo Zhenwang is a well-known figure in the village. "If you do something, be first," and Luo Zhenwang's road of "dual innovation" is full of stories.

First innovation - tailings sand transformed into aerated bricks

In 1996, after graduating from secondary school, Luo Zhenwang stir-fried chestnuts, raised vehicles, and contracted an iron ore dressing plant. Relying on diligence and a daring, enterprising spirit, in more than 10 years he became one of the few well-off households in the village.

In 2008, Luo Zhenwang, whose head was full of new ideas, began researching transformation.

"Sooner or later the mine will be exhausted. People cannot live only off the resources of future generations; besides, looking at these piles of tailings like mountains here and there, I feel uneasy. Wherever they are piled, don't they pollute the environment?" Living in Qianxi County, a key county for iron ore mining nationwide, Luo Zhenwang had always wanted to do something in the comprehensive utilization of iron ore tailings.

In 2011, Luo Zhenwang went to Beijing, Henan and other places for inspections and raised 10 million yuan. In October of that year, the enterprise began trial production, but product quality was not satisfactory. "Everything depends on human effort." During the day, Luo Zhenwang studied formulas and adjusted equipment together with the technicians; at night, he looked up information and improved the process, never closing his eyes before 12 o'clock. Correcting formulas, resetting processes, and keeping his eyes on every problem wherever it appeared, although the factory was only half an hour's drive from home, Luo Zhenwang hardly went home a few times. His originally thick, jet-black hair turned more than half white in one month. From the start of trial production to May of the following year, relying on an infatuated dedication to research, the product was finally successfully trial-produced. The qualified product rate rose greatly, costs dropped greatly, and strength, appearance and weight all exceeded design standards.

Good products bring good returns. Heat-insulating, lightweight, soundproof, fireproof and energy-saving, turning waste into treasure, and through word of mouth, Luo Zhenwang's aerated bricks sold extremely well, and now they are already shipped to Tianjin, Hangu, Chengde, Pingquan, Kuancheng and other places. The enterprise's annual output of aerated bricks has reached 150,000 cubic meters, realizing a benefit of 10 million yuan.

"Capable, meticulous, hard-working, and unwilling to admit defeat, he just wants to leave something meaningful for future generations." As a childhood playmate, Liu Zhiyang highly approves of Luo Zhenwang.

"First-class product in the national brick and tile product quality supervision spot check, advanced enterprise in provincial wall material innovation for comprehensive benefits, provincial resource comprehensive utilization enterprise, advanced enterprise in municipal building materials industry for waste utilization and energy saving..." Luo Zhenwang, who has blazed a new path, has brought many honors to his enterprise.

Benefits are the weather vane. Pingquan, Qian'an and other neighboring counties also facing the problem of tailings disposal have come to Luo Zhenwang's enterprise to learn from his experience.

Innovating again - planting the fiery red "lucky fruit"

In 2015, the restless Luo Zhenwang had a new idea. He contracted more than 200 mu of idle land in his own village.

"Since childhood, I have wanted to break new ground on the land. Doing what others have not done gives me a sense of achievement."

At first, Luo Zhenwang planned to grow golden bergamot, but found that the audience was very small. Later he thought about growing Chinese medicinal herbs, but homogenization was severe. By chance, he found that growing dragon fruit was a very good idea. Dragon fruit is fiery red all over, sweet in taste, carries a very good meaning (dragon fruit is commonly known as lucky fruit), and sells at a high price. He was instantly tempted.

He went to the Beijing-Tianjin area to inspect the market and to Guangdong and Guangxi to inspect technology. Luo Zhenwang was away for more than two months. In April 2015, having made up his mind, Luo Zhenwang began preparing to build greenhouses.

"If you do it, you have to do it properly, and not do something that will have to be torn down and redone in the future." The walls used aerated bricks produced by himself, the land was prepared to the limit of deep plowing, the supports used stainless steel pipes, and planned and built together with 4 greenhouses. Luo Zhenwang also built a cold storage.

In more than 2 months, a picking garden with an investment of more than 3 million yuan, 4 greenhouses, a 160-square-meter cold storage, and various auxiliary buildings with a floor area of 1,000 square meters stood at the entrance of Taitou Village.

What made the villagers even more amazed was that inside the greenhouses were planted green plants shaped like arrow shafts one after another. This dragon fruit, which grows in the south, had actually settled down right beside them.

More than 3 mu of land, more than 2,500 plants, each seedling costing nearly 80 yuan, from ridging to transplanting, fertilizing, sterilizing, planting and trellising, Luo Zhenwang regarded the dragon fruit as his children. He constantly paid attention to the greenhouse temperature, watered once every half month, carried out dwarfing treatment, and tirelessly sought advice everywhere on technical problems he did not understand, transplanting his experience in growing flowers and fruit trees onto dragon fruit. Luo Zhenwang well knew that only by mastering core technology could success be held in one's own hands. Hard work pays off. In early October 2015, the dragon fruit transplanting succeeded. Judging by the current growth, in May this year they can be picked from the plants, and the two greenhouses are expected to yield more than 5,000 kilograms.

Focusing on picking while also deeply processing the fruit and developing dragon fruit juice; after achieving benefits, growing his own seedlings, providing seedlings and technical export services, and driving surrounding villagers to form scale; afterward developing special sightseeing and catering... Luo Zhenwang has long-term plans to build a northern dragon fruit modern sightseeing picking garden integrating sightseeing, picking, catering and leisure.