Enduring frost and snow, striving to grow the precious black Gastrodia elata
Harvesting Gastrodia elata.
Poor, Hungry and Driven (the "PHD rule") - these three elements may well become the cornerstone of your success. On Yunfeng Mountain in Yunyang, there is just such an inspirational story.
This story tells of how the poor young man Zhang Chengsheng lived out the "PHD rule" on the road to success. Over more than ten years of tempering in ice and snow, he finally cultivated a precious Gastrodia elata whose gastrodin content reached 8.2 times the national standard, and the brand he founded won the titles of "China's Most Influential Product Brand" and "Chongqing Famous Brand Agricultural Product".
A fateful bond with the "magical" black Gastrodia elata
Yunfeng Mountain stands at 1809 m above sea level, the highest peak in Yunyang County, and is covered in ice and snow in winter. Right now, the mountain would ordinarily have entered its idle winter season, yet the villagers are busier than ever, digging up a kind of black Gastrodia elata that is "as precious as gold". This year, output is expected to reach 1500 tons, with a market value of 150 million yuan.
Why does a remote mountain have such enormous "gold-making power"? Zhang Chengsheng is the creator of a legend.
In 1988, Zhang Chengsheng graduated from high school. Because his family was poor, he carried 180 yuan borrowed by his father and went with his elder brother to Fengjie to do business in Chinese medicinal herbs. Later, he went alone to Yichang, Hubei, to make his way, and through honest dealing he quickly gained a foothold in Yichang's Chinese medicinal herb market.
In the course of business, Zhang Chengsheng discovered that black Gastrodia elata has extremely high medicinal value and commands a price several times that of ordinary red Gastrodia elata, but its supply is extremely scarce. In 1997, when he returned home to purchase medicinal herbs, he accidentally acquired one plant, which a herb gatherer had dug up by chance while crossing the mountains. Regarding this kind of Gastrodia elata, the locals also have a magical legend - it is said that it can fly and run, and even glows at night, and only those with especially good luck can come across it.
"Since Yunfeng Mountain can grow black Gastrodia elata, why can't I cultivate it artificially?" Zhang Chengsheng's bold idea immediately met with strong opposition from his family. "That thing is something you can only encounter by chance, never seek out; I have never heard of anyone succeeding in cultivating it." "Your conditions are already good now, so there is no need to take such a risk"...
Years of wind and snow temper the true gold
"The fact that others dare not try it only proves how rare it is." Ignoring his family's opposition, Zhang Chengsheng stubbornly began his dream of artificially cultivating black Gastrodia elata.
He had neither a seed source nor technology. He first found a related plant research institute, hoping to buy seeds and technology, but was turned down.
However, he did not waver in his determination because of this. He ran to major bookstores, bought books on Gastrodia elata cultivation techniques, and studied them on his own; he sought out experienced old herb farmers and apprenticed himself to learn from them; he went deep into Yunfeng Mountain, found the places where wild black Gastrodia elata grows, built a small hut, and carefully recorded, observed and studied the soil, temperature, humidity, sunlight conditions and so on of wild black Gastrodia elata.
In 1999, after two years of preparation, Zhang Chengsheng staked his entire fortune and rented 400 mu of land on Yunfeng Mountain to begin large-scale cultivation.
However, because the technology was not up to standard, the Gastrodia elata died on a large scale, and the few that survived by luck only grew leaves. His first attempt ended in total loss, and he also fell heavily into debt.
Facing a dead end, he did not retreat. Instead, he built a thatched hut at the base, kept watch over the Gastrodia elata year after year, and endured frost and snow.
In 2007, after hundreds of failures and after tackling one difficulty after another, he finally worked out a set of cultivation techniques for black Gastrodia elata.
Brand building is like scaling high mountains
After that, following several more years of technological innovation and improvement, the black Gastrodia elata Zhang Chengsheng grew by simulating the wild environment was tested by the China National Institute for Food and Drug Control, and its gastrodin content reached as high as 1.64%, 8.2 times the national basic standard, ranking first in the country. At a national Chinese medicinal herb procurement fair, the Yunyang black Gastrodia elata he cultivated even sold for a sky-high price of up to 12,000 yuan per jin, causing a sensation in the domestic industry.
Today, Chongqing Yufeng Agricultural Industry Co., Ltd., founded by Zhang Chengsheng, has established a 14,000-mu black Gastrodia elata planting base through the development model of "company + cooperative + base + farming households", driving more than 2,900 surrounding farming households and increasing their average household income by about 5,000 yuan.
The "Yufeng" brand black Gastrodia elata he built has thereby won many glittering titles, including "China's Most Influential Product Brand", "Chongqing Famous Trademark" and the Gold Award of the China International Organic Food Expo. Yunyang County has also thereby won titles such as "Hometown of Chinese Black Gastrodia elata" and "National Geographical Protection Mark for Yunyang Black Gastrodia elata".
"The road of brand building for agricultural products is like climbing one high mountain after another. Only the most resolute climbers, who never stop their steps, can enjoy the scenery at the summit. In my 20 years of artificially cultivating black Gastrodia elata, if I had wavered even a little along the way, perhaps I would not have today's achievements." Zhang Chengsheng said with deep emotion.