Author: Wang Ping Qin Fangjie
In the golden autumn of September, I walked into the Xinyue She Village, Wushi Town, Zixi County, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province, located at the western foot of the Wuyi Mountains. Rows of buildings were neat and orderly, and seedlings were flourishing. The road is lined with trees. Three or five children were playing and running on the roadside, and the villagers were enjoying themselves... It was a leisurely scene, full of poetry and painting.
From a little-known poverty-stricken ethnic minority village deep in the mountains, it has transformed into a well-known "seedling village" and "a village with Chinese ethnic minority characteristics". Why has Xinyue Village undergone such a big change? The villagers all said that this was because there was a leader in the village who wanted to do things, was able to do things, and accomplished things. She was Lan Nianying, a three-term National People's Congress representative and first secretary of the Xinyue Village Party branch.
She is not tall, wears simple clothes, her hair is neatly tied up, her eyes are full of courage and perseverance, and she walks as fast as flying. This is Lan Nianying's consistent impression on people. In the 1960s, when she was young, she moved her family from Xin'anjiang, Zhejiang to Zixi with her father. Since then, she has taken root and worked hard here, leading the villagers to use hard work and hard work to paint a beautiful picture of enriching the people and strengthening the village.
Nursery stock industry supports the dream of getting rich
When it comes to rural areas, many people associate them with "shabby, old, dirty and messy". The economy is backward and young people go out to work and are unwilling to come back. The same was true in the Crescent Village in the past. The villagers lived a hard life of "making sweet potatoes into cakes, peppers for frying in oil, and braziers for cotton-padded jackets." In 1995, when Xinyue Village was first established, the collective economic income of the village was low and villagers had no way to get rich. One-third of the cultivated land per capita was less than one acre and was cold slurry field.
Lan Nianying had some success in planting seedlings and became the first "ten thousand yuan household" in the village. The villagers all felt that this woman was trustworthy and reliable and would be able to lead everyone out of poverty, so they unanimously voted her to be the director of the village committee. "This is the trust the villagers have in me. From then on, I secretly made a determination to help the whole village get rid of poverty, become rich, and live a good life." Lan Nianying said.
Poverty alleviation is not as simple as words. It is indispensable to develop industries. Although she has a background in growing seedlings, Lan Nianying is not sure whether the seedling industry is in line with the actual development of the village. At first, she tried to open a leather shoe factory and a brick factory, but they all failed without exception. Until 1998, severe floods raged and forest vegetation was destroyed in large areas. Lan Nianying keenly sensed the opportunity.
"I read in the newspaper that soil erosion was very serious across the country that year. I judged that the country would vigorously support the seedling industry and restore vegetation." So she made a prompt decision to make full use of the "natural plant gene bank" in Zixi County. The advantages of the so-called 300,000 acres of virgin forest in Matou Mountain call on villagers to collectively go to the mountain to collect seeds and breed them into seedlings, opening up a new path for the production and development of Xinyue Village.
What if the saplings cultivated cannot be sold? The villagers were hesitant, no one wanted to take the risk. Lan Nianying was determined to make the villagers and the village rich, so she went door-to-door to do work, and persuaded the villagers to sign an agreement with her on the condition that they bear all losses. "It's okay for me to suffer a little loss, but I can't watch the people continue to live in poverty and hardship." Lan Nianying said.
National People’s Congress representative Lan Nianying (third from left) with villagers. (Photo provided by Lan Nianying)
In the end, 50 villagers were moved by Lan Nianying's sincerity and signed a 100-acre seedling planting contract with her, worth more than 1.8 million yuan. In addition, she agreed to sell the villagers' saplings first, then those of party members and village cadres, and finally her own, so that the villagers could take reassurance and plant seedlings with "zero risk".
The road is blue and blue, to open up the mountains and forests. In 1999, Lan Nianying spent most of her time traveling to explore the seedling market. In 2000, Lan Nianying's vision and decisiveness were generously rewarded. This year, the national policy of returning farmland to forest was implemented, and a large number of orders came in. The fruit tree seedlings and afforestation seedlings in Lan Nianying's hands became "hot cakes", and their value doubled. "I kept delivering goods and was so busy that I once slept in the car for 28 consecutive days." Looking back on the past, Lan Nianying smiled lightly, "In 2001, I brought back 2 million yuan in cash.That year, the villager who received the most money received hundreds of thousands of yuan, while the smallest received tens of thousands of yuan. "
Under the leadership of Lan Nianying, the seedling industry in Xinyue Village continued to develop and grow. At its peak, three professional seedling cooperatives were established in the village, and there were 21 seedling farms run by villages, households, and joint households, and a seedling base Covering an area of more than 1,000 acres, there are more than 50 varieties such as Duying, Dangui, and Hanxia, which are exported to more than 10 provinces and cities such as Fujian, Guangdong, and Shanghai. The annual output value exceeds 4 million yuan. Every household in Xinyue Village bid farewell to the old mud houses. Xiaoyanglou has become a well-known wealthy village.
As the greening seedling market gradually becomes saturated, we need to find new ways to help villagers get rich and increase their income. Lan Nianying confidently told reporters, "Next we are going to expand the variety of seedlings and try to expand the number of seedlings. Transform high-end seedlings such as modeling trees to expand the market. ”
Rural tourism opens the door to happiness
In the exhibition room of She ethnic cultural and creative products in Xinyue Village, there is an exhibit of special significance—a golden scarf embroidered with a phoenix pattern.
Talking about the origin of this scarf, Lan Nianying had a happy and proud smile on her face. “It was March 6, 2015, during the third session of the 12th National People’s Congress, when General Secretary Xi Jinping participated in the deliberations of the Jiangxi delegation. "Recalling the scene five years ago, Lan Nianying's memory is still fresh. "General Secretary Xi Jinping was sitting directly opposite me at that time. When he saw my clothes, he recognized me as a She ethnic group and asked me kindly, 'How to start a farmhouse? "Is the highway open?" and asked me to do a good job in eco-tourism. "Taking this opportunity, Lan Nianying presented this scarf, a tourism product from her hometown, to General Secretary Xi Jinping. "The General Secretary did not accept it, but encouraged us to develop eco-tourism well. ”
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s concern gave Lan Nianying great confidence and motivation to speed up the construction of beautiful villages and develop rural tourism. Taking advantage of the development of all-region tourism, Lan Nianying deeply explored the cultural characteristics of the She ethnic group and created a village with ethnic minority cultural characteristics. . She invited folklore experts to collect and sort out the culture of the She people, improve the cultural content of the She people's songs and dances, costumes, food, martial arts, religions, etc., and build a village She people's characteristic cultural center. With her efforts, Xinyue Village built a new village gatehouse and renovated it. The houses are painted with folklore patterns with She ethnic characteristics such as "Three Princesses Praying for Rain" and "Lan Linggong Goes to Huizhou for Treatment". After entering the village, visitors can see houses with green tiles and white walls. The exquisite carved windows and unique paintings.
Not only that, the tourist roads around the village, tourist trails, and Shanha Square all fully demonstrate the distinctive totems, sacrifices, and farming history and culture of the She people. At the same time, she established the She people. The folk customs performance team and the martial arts performance team create folk customs tours of the She ethnic group, allowing villagers to earn a living as a tourist while working as farmers. Zhong Donglin, a marginal household living on the subsistence allowances, is one of them. “I now earn 150 yuan a day from participating in folk custom performances. Where is the income! "Zhong Donglin beamed.
Lan Nianying's goal is more than that. She believes that income cannot be increased solely by relying on tourism. Therefore, she took the lead in vigorously developing supporting services in the tourism industry and developing peripheral products. Three fresh rice dumplings, golden rice dumplings, seven-layer colorful rice dumplings Rice flour cakes, She wine, old white tea and other She ethnic specialty foods have been developed into tourist souvenirs. Because of their good taste and excellent prices, tourists who come to the village taste, like and buy them one after another. Driven by Lan Nianying's demonstration, Xinyue. The village achieved poverty alleviation in 2018. For her outstanding contribution to poverty alleviation, she won the "2018 National Poverty Alleviation Award". In July 2019, Xinyue Village was shortlisted for the first batch of national rural tourism villages. In June, the Xinyue Village Tourism Scenic Belt, including the Crescent Village Tourist Attraction, was rated as a national 4A-level scenic spot.
Today, the Crescent Village has a new look, with neat and beautiful villages, green mountains and green water, which is beautiful. Like a painting. The village is beautiful and increasingly popular. The villagers receive more than 1,500 tourists per day through the company's dividend distribution, agricultural product sales, and participation in folk performances. The average annual income per capita is close to 17,000 yuan, and they live a happy life. The door has been opened.
National People's Congress representative Lan Nianying (second from right) leads the villagers to develop Shejiu into another important industry for villagers to increase their income and become rich.(Photo provided by Lan Nianying)
Remain true to our original aspirations and run towards a better future
Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia this year, the national tourism industry has suffered a huge impact. During this period, Lan Nianying was not idle. She registered the "March 3" trademark for Xinyue Village in order to build the brand and reputation of Shejiu.
In order to improve the quality of She wine, she took great pains to go to Zhejiang to learn from the experience, and conducted on-site inspections in wineries of all sizes to learn the construction and operation experience of wineries. When she was in isolation at home, she prepared more than a dozen wine tanks at home, continued to make wine and taste it every day, and finally determined the unified standard of osmanthus wine based on the taste.
Nowadays, Xinyue's "Red Yeast Drink" and "Osmanthus Dew" have become unique ethnic minority brands in the province. The monthly income of villagers working in wineries can reach more than 3,000 yuan. At the same time, through cooperation with tourism development companies, Zixi County Xinyue Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. established by the village collective has become a "cash cow" for the villagers.
"Don't forget your original intention and always follow the party, keep in mind your mission and revitalize Xinshe Village." This is the couplet hanging on the archway with She ethnic characteristics at the entrance of Xinyue Village, and it is also a true reflection of Lan Nianying's heart. "As a deputy to the National People's Congress, I must shoulder this responsibility and use practical actions to lead the people in this land to get rid of poverty and become prosperous!" Looking back on the great changes in Xinyue She Village in the past 25 years, Lan Nianying said that she has never forgotten the past. The hardships of starting a business will never stop and we will continue to run towards a better future.
Although she is over sixty years old, she is still full of fighting spirit. "I hope to lead more villagers to get rich through hard work with their own hands in the future, achieve everyone's dreams on the road to harvesting wealth, and live a harmonious and happy well-off life!" (Wang Ping, Qin Fangjie)
Source: National People's Congress
