Double-spore mushrooms pave the way to prosperity for college-graduate village official Huang Xiaoli
The button mushroom production base founded by Huang Xiaoli.
On November 22, the reporter walked into the button mushroom planting base of Xinyuan Agriculture in Wutong Village, Yuxi Town. Six neat and clean white greenhouses bathed in sunlight, complementing the small hills behind them, and a fresh scent of earth wafted through the air. Inside the greenhouses, small white mushrooms wearing "caps" quietly poked their heads out of the mushroom beds, and three middle-aged women were picking them. Their movements were skilled: with a press down and a gentle twist, the tiny button mushrooms came away from the beds.
"This base was founded under the leadership of college-graduate village official Huang Xiaoli. This young woman is truly great. She endures hardship, has plenty of drive, and took the initiative to start a business to lead the villagers to prosperity. Everyone in our village likes her." Yang Guangqun, a poor household in the village, could not wait to say. In Wutong Village, Yuxi Town, whenever the college-graduate "village official" Huang Xiaoli is mentioned, the villagers all give a thumbs-up without exception, praising her as a good village official and a good cadre, and saying it was she who led everyone to blaze a new trail out of poverty toward prosperity.
Seeking a Prosperity Project to Lead Villagers Out of Poverty
"Once you choose to be a village official, you must make a difference in that position," Huang Xiaoli said. In July 2013, carrying the dream of taking root at the grassroots and serving at the grassroots, Huang Xiaoli became a village official in Wutong Village. As a college-graduate village official, she actively assisted the village "two committees" in managing village affairs, actively threw herself into the building of a new countryside, and offered ideas and suggestions for the village's economic development.
"To play the 'game of prosperity' well, the key is to develop the collective economy and lead the villagers to start businesses together. And as a college-graduate village official, I have an even greater responsibility," Huang Xiaoli said. In July of this year, Tongnan sounded the call to win the battle against poverty, and Huang Xiaoli was burning with urgency, throwing all her energy into the work and not daring to slack off for a moment, because Wutong Village is a key poverty-stricken village in Yuxi Town, with a total population of 3,339, including 134 registered poor households and 437 people still living in poverty.
After the targeted poverty alleviation work was launched, Huang Xiaoli went into the village and households every day to learn about the situation. In conversations with the villagers, she found that their desire to develop the economy and start businesses to prosper was very strong, but due to the constraints of mindset, the troubles of funding, and examples of past failures, the villagers had a mentality of not daring to try and fearing failure when it came to starting businesses on their own.
In order to find a prosperity project and drive villagers to increase their incomes and prosper, Huang Xiaoli and several other village officials, after many visits, unanimously concluded that the village had a large surplus labor force and simply lacked an industry to drive it. In order to choose as quickly as possible a path that could help villagers prosper sustainably, Huang Xiaoli, as if injected with a stimulant, ran around to agricultural companies, enterprises, and various bases and plantations, extensively collecting information on planting and breeding and market supply and demand. At the same time, combining the geographical conditions of the poverty-stricken village and its industrial development plan, and after investigations from multiple parties, she finally introduced button mushroom cultivation as the project to drive the villagers to prosperity.
Dispelling Villagers' Concerns and Taking the Lead in Growing Button Mushrooms
"Growing button mushrooms is a new thing in our village. I want to grow them, but I don't dare try rashly," villager Bu Xiaofeng recalled. At that time, many villagers did not dare try starting businesses on their own. Under these circumstances, in order to dispel the villagers' concerns, Huang Xiaoli chose to take the lead and set an example herself.
"I didn't think much about it at the time. I just hoped I could become a successful example, and through my own entrepreneurial practice influence a group of people, drive a group of people, and bring prosperity to a whole village," Huang Xiaoli said.
No sooner said than done. In August 2015, Huang Xiaoli raised 150,000 yuan in funds. From land selection, greenhouse design, site leveling, and greenhouse construction to connecting electricity and water, she did everything herself. After all preparations were ready, in October 2012, she established Tongnan Xinyuan Vegetable Plantation and built 6 high-standard button mushroom greenhouses.
"Each greenhouse covers an area of 200 sq m and grows button mushrooms in both spring and autumn," Huang Xiaoli said. "The greenhouse construction is of great significance. It concerns the village's development and carries the expectations of many people. We must win this 'battle.'"
In growing button mushrooms, technology is key. In order to master button mushroom cultivation techniques as quickly as possible, Huang Xiaoli not only often invited technical experts to provide on-site guidance, but also actively participated in various edible fungus technical training classes in the district and went to large edible fungus planting bases for technical consultation.
In order to fully master button mushroom cultivation techniques, Huang Xiaoli spent almost all her time in the mushroom sheds. From the initial material preparation, disinfection, fermentation, inoculation, shed setup, and racking, especially after the mushrooms emerged, watering, harvesting, and trimming, a series of tedious and meticulous tasks required continuous effort day and night. For this reason, Huang Xiaoli was often exhausted and aching all over. But deep inside she had a tenacity: the road she had set her mind on must be walked to the end.
Hard work pays off. After a period of exploration, Huang Xiaoli finally gradually transformed from a complete layman who knew nothing about button mushrooms into a "local expert." "In my view, growing button mushrooms depends on being careful. Choosing the road of becoming prosperous through science and technology is definitely the right one!" Huang Xiaoli said proudly. At the end of November, under Huang Xiaoli's careful tending, the first batch of button mushrooms had already gone fully on the market by the end of November, and current market sales exceeded supply.
Sowing the Seeds of Prosperity for the People and Fulfilling the Villagers' Dream of Wealth
"I also want to follow Xiao Huang and grow button mushrooms now." Watching clusters of button mushrooms arranged neatly in Huang Xiaoli's greenhouse, with creamy white mushroom caps blooming fresh and tender and giving off bursts of fragrance, villager Bu Xiaofeng could not help saying.
"Button mushrooms are called the 'king of vegetarian food.' Because of their high nutritional value, good shape, and pure color, they are very sought after on the market," Huang Xiaoli introduced. At present, the market price of button mushrooms is 7-9 yuan/jin, and demand is large, so there is no worry about sales at all. Based on current production and sales, it is expected that 30,000 jin of button mushrooms will be produced this year, with an output value of 210,000 yuan.
Today, Huang Xiaoli's base creates 2,400 yuan in land transfer income for poor households each year and provides multiple jobs. At the same time, it also drives the development of the village's deeply impoverished households through a model of land converted to capital shares and guaranteed dividends. At her button mushroom base, two deeply impoverished households each hold 8% of the shares, each household's annual dividend is about more than 5,000 yuan, wages are 60 yuan per person per day, and land rent is 350 yuan per mu, so the benefits for poor households are quite considerable.
Mo Huaixue originally had a relatively heavy family burden. In the past, he mainly relied on doing odd jobs elsewhere to make a living, and his wife, who had suffered from liver disease for many years, had no one to care for her. Since coming to Huang Xiaoli's base to grow button mushrooms, his life has gotten better and better. Mo Huaixue said: "The time I work here exactly avoids overlapping with my own farm work. Not only can I take care of things at home, but nearly 2 mu of land has also been converted into shares. This year I can earn around 10,000 yuan, and getting out of poverty is no longer a problem."
"Once I learn the techniques, I also want to grow button mushrooms." Yang Guangqun is a poor household in Wutong Village. In the past, she could only rely on growing traditional crops to make a living, and life was very difficult. Now, Old Yang works at the mushroom planting base, can earn several dozen yuan in wages every day, and can also learn planting techniques for free, which makes her extremely happy.
Today, Huang Xiaoli is leading the villagers with full confidence along a road to prosperity full of hope. Speaking of her future plans, Huang Xiaoli said: "The next step is to continue using the 'one village, one product' agricultural industrialized management model to leverage farmers' income growth points, give full play to the supporting role of science and technology, and promote the village's industrial development to a higher level. At the same time, we must also introduce newer and better mushroom strains so that, while developing and growing, more villagers can realize their dream of increasing income and prospering."