The farming story of agricultural grower Zhang Gongguo

    Started with 50 yuan, walked until his feet blistered  Zhang Gongguo, originally from Anhui, came to Zhangjiagang in 1997. Carrying 50 yuan, Zhang Gongguo arrived at the Qingcao Lane wholesale market. With that 50 yuan, he bought an iron wok and other tools, took raw chestnuts on credit from the market, roasted them, and then sold them in the wholesale market. "The wholesale price of raw chestnuts is 8 yuan/kg, and the cooked ones are 16 yuan/kg, so there is an 8 yuan difference per kilogram." That day, Zhang Gongguo actually sold more than 100 kilograms of chestnuts and, after deducting costs, made more than 400 yuan. With the money earned from roasting chestnuts, Zhang Gongguo rented a stall in the wholesale market and started a vegetable wholesale business. 
         
    After doing wholesale business for two years, Zhang Gongguo decided to grow vegetables himself. That year, Zhang Gongguo contracted 50 mu of land and began growing sugarcane and chili peppers. Under his careful care, the sugarcane grew very well. "In August of that year, just as the sugarcane was about to be harvested, a major typhoon hit our area." In the blink of an eye, a large patch of nearly mature sugarcane was blown down. "Even though we encountered the typhoon, at that time very little sugarcane was produced locally, and our sugarcane was very popular, with output value per mu of 4,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan." After deducting investment, the net income per mu was about 1,500 yuan, which greatly encouraged Zhang Gongguo. 
         
    Switched to new varieties, and yield increased by more than 30 percent  The first success made Zhang Gongguo determined to make the most of vegetable growing. "Although I gained good returns, based on my years of wholesale experience, affected by the market, seasonal vegetables grown in the traditional way generally cannot fetch a good price." Zhang Gongguo said. Therefore, he decided to pursue greenhouse cultivation so that the vegetables and fruits he grew could reach the market earlier and bring greater economic benefits. 
         
    In developing greenhouse cultivation, investment is the first step. "If it is a bamboo structure, one greenhouse costs about 4,000 yuan; if it is a steel pipe structure, the investment for each greenhouse is more than 10,000 yuan." However, high investment also brought Zhang Gongguo high returns. "Take greenhouse watermelons as an example. They are generally sown in late January and can be harvested in mid-May; ordinary watermelons do not reach the market until late July." Last year, when his greenhouse watermelons reached the market in May, the wholesale price per kilogram reached 3.6 yuan. "Moreover, inside the greenhouse, the temperature can reach 40°C during the day and drop to 15°C at night. Watermelons grown under such a temperature difference are much better in quality than those grown in the ordinary way." The average return per mu of greenhouse watermelons was about 8,000 yuan, "much higher than traditional cultivation." "For high-investment facility agriculture like greenhouse cultivation, finding high-yield and high-efficiency varieties is very important." Zhang Gongguo explained. Facilities plus new varieties are what make the benefits even better. "Look at the zucchini we are growing now. I introduced it from Beijing in 2006. One zucchini plant can produce 7 to 10 kilograms, and the yield per mu is more than 30 percent higher than the original variety, reaching 600 kilograms." Not only that, the new variety of zucchini has a good appearance and high quality, "and in March alone we sold more than 100,000 yuan worth." 
         
    Three layers of film inside the greenhouse, and new technology brings high returns  "After this batch of zucchini leaves the field, these greenhouses will be planted with celery; the greenhouse film will also all be removed, and loofah will be planted beside the steel pipes." Zhang Gongguo said while inspecting the growth of the zucchini. "The loofah seedlings have already been raised and can be transplanted in about 20 more days." The reason for planting celery under the loofah is not only to make full use of the greenhouse facilities, but also for another important reason. "Celery is a low-temperature crop. It stops growing when the temperature reaches 25°C and begins to age after exceeding 30°C." Planting loofah above the celery can effectively lower the temperature and solve the technical problem of year-round production of celery. 
   
    In this greenhouse, a layer of film is laid close to the ground, another layer of film is placed 50 cm above the ground, and there is also a greenhouse film on the outermost layer. Could something rare be planted inside? "This is called the three-film mulching sugarcane intercropped with chili pepper technique." Zhang Gongguo explained. Chili peppers are planted at the very bottom, and sugarcane is planted beside them. The three layers of film can effectively ensure that the sugarcane sprouts early and reaches the market early; intercropping with chili peppers further improves land utilization. "Last year, we planted more than 50 greenhouses this way, and the output value of one greenhouse was more than 10,000 yuan." The benefits were clearly higher than planting them separately.