College graduate returns home to grow vegetables and finds the road to prosperity
"Song Healthy Vegetables."
Most college graduates from rural areas choose to stay in the city for employment after graduation, but Song Cheng, a post-80s young man from Liuxu Town, Qingxiu District, did the opposite. After graduation, he returned to his hometown to become a "farm owner" and "grew" a road to prosperity. "I want to use my knowledge to grow vegetables better." With a goal in mind, Song Cheng acted decisively and quickly. He contracted 100 mu of land in Liuxu Town to grow vegetables, and sold these vegetables directly to various communities in the city through WeChat, QQ and other internet methods, becoming a knowledgeable "new farmer."
Not a white-collar worker but a farmer
In October in Nanning, the autumn sun at noon was still dazzlingly bright. The reporter met Song Cheng, who was working in a vegetable greenhouse, in Lianghe Village, Liuxu Town. The farm he contracted is right here. Before the reporter's eyes, Song Cheng wore a T-shirt printed with the words "Song Healthy," a pair of jeans, and looked a little shy.
Song Cheng graduated in 2008 from Guangxi University of Finance and Economics, majoring in Modern Logistics Management in the Department of Business Administration. During a chance part-time experience in his junior year, he entered an agricultural company to do fertilizer trade. Hardworking, it took him only 4 short months to go from knowing nothing about fertilizer to becoming the company's top performer. The following 4 years of fertilizer sales experience helped him accumulate the first pot of gold in his life. In 2010, he spotted the agricultural planting market, founded Nanning Tushengjin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., and contracted 100 mu of land in Liuxu Town, Qingxiu District to begin growing vegetables in purple soil. He named the vegetables he grew "Song Healthy" farm vegetables.
Walking through the vegetable fields, lettuce, wheat vegetable, choi sum... a lush green expanse, looking especially pleasing. "After working plainly for a few years, I increasingly felt that this kind of life was not what I wanted. I came from the countryside, I always liked farmland, and I always wanted to have my own agricultural business, so I returned home to start a business," Song Cheng said.
Targeting the local market
The land in Liuxu Town is famous for its selenium-rich purple soil. "The selenium content of the land here is rare even nationwide. As long as it is planted properly, the vegetables grown will definitely be ecological and healthy." Song Cheng acted as soon as he spoke. He began planning to grow high-end vegetables such as Italian zucchini and Dutch mini winter melon to supply first-tier cities. But the transport and preservation of the vegetables became a problem, so Song Cheng turned his eyes to the local Nanning market.
After some market research, Song Cheng decided to sell the vegetables to supermarkets. So he went door to door to promote them: Likelong, Vanguard and Beijing Hualian... His sincerity moved the customers, and the supermarkets gradually accepted this young man and the seasonal fresh vegetables sold by his company.
At first, Song Cheng's vegetables were also sold mixed together with other vegetables, and his vegetables had no market recognition. Building a brand became an important step in his entrepreneurial journey. Adhering to the concept of letting "Song Healthy Vegetables enter thousands of households," Song Cheng insisted on growing only seasonal vegetables and made "grown in selenium-rich purple soil" the highlight of the brand. To ensure quality at the base, technical staff were replaced batch after batch.
"The most important thing about our vegetables is that they are ecological and healthy," Song Cheng said. Now, with the continuous improvement of living standards, people's requirements for food are constantly rising. Not only must it be fresh, but more importantly, it must be safe and healthy. "This is also why our vegetables are popular."
New sales methods are popular
In addition to selling in supermarkets, Song Cheng also promotes "Song Healthy Vegetables" through WeChat, QQ and other internet methods. While chatting with the reporter, Song Cheng's phone kept vibrating constantly. "You can contact me anytime through WeChat. Place an order today, and I guarantee the freshest vegetables will be delivered to your home early tomorrow morning," Song Cheng said. Opening Song Cheng's WeChat, there were hundreds or thousands of friends, and every day there were hundreds of orders for vegetables placed through WeChat alone.
Song Cheng said that as the pace of life keeps accelerating, home delivery not only saves the time for vegetables to go from the field to the customer's hands and ensures the freshness of the vegetables, but also reflects the company's quality service. Now more and more people are using WeChat, QQ and other methods to communicate and connect, and the company is also trying to promote vegetables through these emerging communication methods.
He started part-time work at 18, became the company's top performer at 23, owned his own agricultural company at 25, and achieved an annual net income of 600,000 yuan at 30. Song Cheng has walked out a path of entrepreneurship of his own. Now, Song Cheng's agricultural products company is gradually becoming more standardized, and its influence is gradually expanding, making him the "agricultural products spokesperson" of Liuxu Town. Last year, he also helped the town establish the Liuxu Town Ecological Agriculture Association and the Liuxu Town Jiupo Vegetable Planting Farmers Cooperative, and he often exchanges experience with farmers and growers.