How Wu Shunlin Became a Young Leader in Getting Rich
Wu Shunlin, 36 years old, is an ordinary farmer in Changxi Village, Changxi Township, Shexian County. Through years of hard work, he has now become a major farming and breeding entrepreneur well known throughout the township, with an annual output value of more than 40 million yuan and an annual profit of nearly 1 million yuan.
Because his family was poor in his early years, Wu Shunlin returned home to farm after graduating from junior high school, helping his family grow and sell tea and taking odd jobs in factories, earning only about 3,000 yuan a year. In 2003, Wu Shunlin began doing business in tea. Without a factory building or equipment, he could only buy fresh leaves and resell them, and after two years his income was still less than 10,000 yuan. He realized that to get rich, one must have an innovative spirit. So he decided to contract the Longxu tea garden in what was then Hongqi Village and engage in special breeding. After operating for a period of time, he saw the prospects of this industry. As reform and opening up deepened further, he realized that new opportunities had arrived. With the support of the township government and under the support of various policies benefiting the people, he took out loans from a rural credit cooperative and in 2007 expanded the contracted mountain land area to develop special economic crops. In the course of doing business, he also studied through various channels to improve his own qualities. In 2009, his enterprise was designated a "Double Training, Double Leading" demonstration base of Changxi Township. It included a 200-mu tea base, with an annual net income of 300,000 yuan.
To adapt to increasingly fierce market competition and open up broader horizons, he realized that he had to build a brand and establish an image. In 2007, he founded Shexian Changxi Shuntai Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. and organized the Longxu Planting and Breeding Professional Cooperative, successively developing more than 1,000 mu of special economic crops. The company purchases large quantities of fresh leaves from surrounding villagers, which has stimulated young farmers' enthusiasm for growing tea, raised farmers' living standards, and provided jobs for surplus young rural laborers. The company now has more than 4 million yuan in fixed assets and an annual income of more than 1 million yuan.
Wu Shunlin told this writer with full confidence: "I hope to further build a series of brands within three years, reaching more than 20 kinds." At present, he has contracted more than 1,000 mu of barren hills in Changxi Village and is investing in the construction of a Chinese medicinal herb base project in Changxi Village, Changxi Township, planting Chinese medicinal herbs such as Atractylodes macrocephala, Salvia miltiorrhiza, and Platycodon grandiflorus, with a planting area of 2,000 mu. At the same time, he recruits large numbers of young workers with skills, especially those from poor families; there are currently 200 planting workers and 20 skilled workers. Wu Shunlin explained that Chinese medicinal herbs such as Atractylodes macrocephala, Salvia miltiorrhiza, and Platycodon grandiflorus are herbaceous plants with the function of absorbing water and fixing soil. Therefore, the construction of the seedling base plays a certain role in conserving water sources and preventing soil erosion.
Today, Wu Shunlin has become a rural young leader in Changxi Township who has become rich through self-reliance. He told this writer, "I want to use my success as a demonstration, pass on my experience and ideas to others, and let everyone walk the road to prosperity together."