Liu Yuwei: willing to be the "bellwether" of starting a business and becoming rich

On February 24th, People's Daily, with the title "chasing Dreams into the Mountains", reported that Liu Yuwei, a graduate of Grade 2009 of Xiangyang Vocational and Technical College (hereinafter referred to as "Xiangyang Vocational College"), had an entrepreneurial dream and returned to rural areas to become a farmer. through the construction of farms, farming to achieve independent profits, and led more than a dozen poor families around to get rid of poverty and become rich. Since then, major media across the country have reprinted or reported, causing widespread concern from all walks of life, and many people are pleasantly surprised to find that there is a veritable "sheep imperial concubine" hidden in the depths of the mountain.

On February 26, the author followed the relevant leaders of Xiangyang Vocational College to the Yunting breeding professional cooperative located in Daling Hall Zhou Sangou Forest Farm, Baihepu Village, Liupi Town, Yunyang District, Shiyan City. I met the "sheep imperial concubine" Liu Yuwei and shared her experience and insights since she started her business.

Give up the "iron rice bowl" and go back to your hometown to be a farmer

Liu Yuwei was born in 1989 and lives in Yunyang District, Shiyan City. In 2009, she was admitted to the agricultural technology and management major of Xiangyang Vocational College and became a member of the "one college student in one village" program. "Liu Yuwei is quiet, beautiful and talented. she is good at drawing and writing, and her academic performance has always been among the best." Yang Hua, director of the admissions department of Xiangyang Vocational College, did not hesitate to praise former students, but she was still surprised by Liu Yuwei's choice: Liu Yuwei was assigned to work at the grass-roots level after graduation, with a monthly salary of more than 2000 yuan, and already had an "iron rice bowl." instead, she contracted barren mountains, built farms and engaged in farming. "the purpose of the 'one college student in one village' program is to train rural reserve cadres or leaders to get rich. I chose the major of agricultural technology and management in the hope of going back to the countryside to make a difference after graduation." Liu Yuwei said that the alma mater pays attention to cultivating students' entrepreneurial awareness, not only offering entrepreneurship courses, but also holding entrepreneurial competitions many times, creating a good entrepreneurial atmosphere. Under the influence of the environment, she came up with the idea of starting a business at that time, but limited by various factors, she could only keep it from the bottom of her heart.

After graduating from college, Liu Yuwei returned to her hometown to work step by step. For three years, she lived frugally, rarely bought clothes and cosmetics, and quietly saved money to prepare for her business. When she learned that there were still many poor families in her hometown, Liu Yuwei's entrepreneurial idea emerged again: contracting barren mountains to build farms and using the breeding and planting techniques she had learned to lead her villagers to become rich. Her idea was firmly opposed by her parents: "I worked so hard for you to go to college in the hope that you would have a stable and decent job, but you want to come back to be a farmer!" "generations of people in the family are farmers, and you should know that gold cannot be found in the fields."

The parents' attitude could not stop Liu Yuwei's actions. In June 2014, she contracted more than 1000 mu of barren mountains without her parents' own funds and registered Hubei Yangguifei Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd.

In the past, the little girl became a "strong girl".

"when I first started my business, I didn't think much about it. I thought the money I raised could do a lot of things, but the reality is not entirely satisfactory." Liu Yuwei said that the forest farm is located halfway up the mountain, and you have to take care of water, electricity and roads on your own. As the "little princess" of the family, she has hardly experienced any hardships since she was a child, but since she started her business, she has experienced many first times in her life: building roads, planting trees, moving bricks, building houses, running examination and approval, and repairing sheep sheepfolds.

When she slept in the forest farm and woke up in the middle of the night, she saw the wild boar besieging the watchdog and hid in the house, dared not make a sound until dawn; when building the sheepfold, she personally carried bricks, held wood and nailed boards, and was so tired that she was too sore to rest; late at night, she found that the lamb had no milk and was hungry, so she drove to the city to buy milk powder and saved the lamb by artificial feeding. Unfortunately, the goat raised in the mountains got lost. She searched the mountains for two days with a flashlight and dry food on her back. She almost couldn't find her way back to the farm. "along the way, although it is very difficult, but also touched, this is my motivation to move on." Liu Yuwei said that when there was a shortage of funds, her family, who had been firmly opposed, extended a helping hand to help her build roads, houses, wells, trees, and shacks; when the lamb was sick, the younger brother of her alma mater provided her with technical support for the whole journey free of charge; after learning the news that she was building a farm, the head teacher of her alma mater made a special trip to Shiyan to encourage and help her.

Thanks to Liu Yuwei's efforts, the former barren hill has become a vibrant manor: different varieties of green trees and slope protection grasses have been planted on both sides of the newly built road, and farmed sheep, chickens, geese and black pigs have broken the serenity of the canyon. Imported cherries and grapes are reflected in the green leaves of Castle Peak, like a paradise.

Don't forget to give back to your hometown elders when you get rich.

"although I have graduated for several years, I have been studying for the sake of my dream. I also take time out every few years to participate in training courses to systematically learn entrepreneurial knowledge and skills." Liu Yuwei told me that she had successively participated in entrepreneurship training, e-commerce training and modern young farmer training, and gradually found her own way of raising sheep: raising sheep in captivity and stocking, using green feed such as plant straw and forage grass. Using sheep manure fertilizer field, the circular ecological industry chain of "goat breeding + plant planting + sheep manure fertilizer field" is formed, the ecological model of combination of planting and breeding is realized, and resources are recycled.

According to statistics, in 2016, Liu Yuwei made a profit by selling more than 5000 native chickens, more than 300 goats, more than 100 native pigs and 700000 native eggs. Today's "sheep imperial concubine" has become a resounding brand in Qinba Mountain area, and many customers take the initiative to ask Liu Yuwei to place an order and ask for cooperation.

While getting rich, Liu Yuwei never forgot to give back to the villagers. Through the e-commerce platform, she helps neighboring farmers sell local products; gives priority to hiring poor villagers to promote local employment; buys more than 50,000 jin of corn from fellow villagers to increase income for more than 50 poor households; provides free technical guidance to farmers; provides free seedlings for poor households and helps sell them. "I started my business to lead the villagers to get rich together, and at the beginning, the road construction also took up a lot of land of my neighbors. Not only did they not 'quarrel' with me, but they also offered to help. I want to know how to be grateful." Liu Yuwei said.