NiuQinghua(secondright)togetherwithherworkersisdoingthefinalqualityinspectionoftheirproductsbeforepacking.FOR35-year-oldNiuQinghua,afarmerintheYimengMountainareaofShandongProvince,roadsmeanalot.Herhometown,MengyinCounty,issurroundedbymountains.Despitethelushvalleyandfreshfarmproduce,duetoinsufficientroads,fordecades,farmerstherewereplaguedwithpoverty.Inrecentyears,newlyconstructedroadshavecompletelytransformedtheirlives.
HighwayMeetsDoorway
NiuQinghualivesinBeiyanziVillageofMengyinCounty.Before1993,anarrowunsurfacedroadwastheonlypathlinkingthelittlevillagetotheoutsideworld.Themountainous,zigzagroadmadethecountyseatafarawaydestinationforlocalvillagers.“Backthen,evenwithabicycle,itwouldstilltakeyouseveralhourstogettothecountyseat,”Niurecalled.
In1991,theMengyinsectionoftheYimengHighwaybrokeground.The70-kmroadsection,cuttingthroughmountainsandconnectingfivetownsand53villages,significantlycutthejourneybetweenNiu’svillagetothecountyseatshorter.
Inthefollowingyears,MengyinCounty’stransportinfrastructurecontinuedtoimprove.In2003,theprovincestartedacampaigntomakepavedroadsavailabletoeachvillage.Mengyinthentookthechancetoelevateitseffortstoexpandthecounty’sroadnetwork,connectingmorevillageswithmoretowns.NiustillrememberedwhenhermothercalledherwhileshewasworkinginQingdaoCityasamigrantworker,withhermotherexclaiming,“Theroadispavedrighttoourdoorstep!”Niumarriedin2006andattheendoftheyear,decidedtomovebacktohervillage,endingherlifeasamigrantworker.“Myrootsarehere.Ifeelateasehere.Besides,withoutadiplomaandtechnicalskills,itisreallyhardformetomakemyfortuneinbigcities,”shesaid.
However,herhusbandZhangLigonghadadifferentidea.Hestillcherishedhisurbandream,reluctanttoliveinthevillage.Whileherhusbandworkedinthecity,Niustayedathometotakecareoftheirfamily.Shealsohadtomaintaintheirorchard,cleanthepigsty,anddoothermanualhousework.Duetothefatigueandmonotonyofhervillagelife,sheoncecried,wonderingifshewouldeverfindawaytochangeherlife.
AccessingaBigMarket
Althoughpavedroadswereextendingacrosstheregion,roughsectionsstillexistedbetweensomevillagesandthehighway.Acountyabundantinfruits,Mengyinishometoorchardsofaround73,000hectares,mostlyknownforitsjuicypeaches,whicharefamousthroughoutChina.However,inefficienttransportationinfrastructurewasthecounty’sprimarychallengefordevelopment.Localfarmers’desireforabetterroadnetworkgrewstronger.In2013,afterbeingincludedinademonstrationprojectforvillage-levelroadconstruction,Mengyinembracedanewroundoflarge-scaleruralroadconstruction.
Withupgradedruralroads,logisticsdepotsatdifferentlevelsquicklyemerged,whichthenledtoaboomine-commerceinthisruralarea,thusfinallyconnectingNiuQinghuawiththeoutsideworld.
Niufirstlearnedaboute-commerceatatrainingclassorganizedbythecountygovernmentin2015.Later,atatrainingsessionaboutmodernprofessionalfarmersheldinLinyiCity,sheheardabouttheconcept“Internetplusagriculture”forthefirsttime,andattendedarangeofcoursesinvolvingagriculturalcooperatives,homefarms,marketing,ande-commerce.Aswarmofnewwordsandnewpracticesintriguedher.“Theteachertoldusourfarmproducecouldbesoldacrossthecountry.Wethoughtthatwasunbelievable,anddidn’ttakeitseriously.”However,attheendof2015,NiustartedherownonlinestoreMengliangguOrchard.
“Mygoalwasverysmallatfirst.IjustwantedtosellalloftheapplesIgrew,”Niusaid.Realityexceededherexpectationswheninjustsixmonthsall5,000kgofherapplesweresold.Niualsohelpedherneighborsselltensofthousandsofkilogramsofapples.Encouragedbyhersuccessfulstart,Niudevotedherselftotheonlineshop.In2016,shestartedtoselllocalpeachesonline.
Toensurethequalityofsupply,shepersonallygoestoeachorchard,tastingandselectingpeachesforeverypurchase.Sheevenhasaninstrumenttotestthesugarcontent.Niuhashighstandardsfortheproductsshesells,andonlypurchaseshigh-qualityfruitsforheronlinestore.Beingfamiliarwiththemarketdemandforpeaches,shetellslocalfarmersthattheyshouldattachmoreimportancetoqualityin-steadofquantity,andnotapplybannedchemicalfertilizerandpesticides.Shebelievesthatonlybyimprovingthefruitqualitycanfarmersincreasetheirsalesandprofits.
Runninganonlineshop,Niuisnow,morethanever,awareoftheimportanceofroads.“Thedeliveryspeedandwhetherornotfruitscanbekeptfreshduringtransportdecidethecustomerexperience.However,withoutgoodroads,nothingcanbeensured,”Niupointedout.Inrecentyears,a380-kmroadwasbuiltinLinyiespeciallyforthetransportoflocalproduce,providingasmoothlinkbetweenmountainousvillagesandtheoutsidemarket.Talkingaboutthesenewchanges,Niuisveryelated,“Now,pavedroadshavedirectlyconnectedfarmfieldsandorchardswithcustomers.”
TheproducesoldbyNiu’sonlineshophasbeendistributedtoplacesallacrossthecountry.Inpeakseason,around4,000boxesoffruitsaresold;intheoff-season,about400boxes.Niu’speachsalesvolumehassteadilyincreased,from200tonsin2016to300400tonsin2017.
Niu’sworkersusuallygotopickpeachesaroundthreeo’clockinthemorning,thenpackthem,anddeliverthemaroundnoon.Ittakesonly40minutestodeliverpeachestothecountyseat.Whenthedemandislarge,theydirectlysendthepeachestothecity,whichtakesabouttwoorthreehours.Thefollowingday,thepeachescanreachcustomersinBeijing,Shanghai,orZhejiang.EventhosesettobedeliveredtodistantprovinceslikeGuangdongcanarriveinjusttwodays.
InJuly2016,Niubuiltalargegreenhousewithintegratedfunctions,coveringfruitclassification,packaging,andconsignment,alongwithabuilt-inoffice.Withtheonceroughpathnowpavedbetweenthevillageroadandthegreenhouse,evena6.8-meter-longtruckcandrivetothedoorwayofthegreenhouse.NiuQinghuaispackinglocalfarmproduceforheronlinestore’scustomers.TargetedPovertyAlleviation
Withruralroadsnowpavedallthewayuptofarmers’doorsteps,alleviatingpovertyhasnowbecomemucheasier.Niuhastakentheleadinhelpingherfellowvillagersincreaseincomeviae-commerce.Inpeakbusinessseason,Niuemployslocalvillagerstodotheclassificationandpackagingworkforheronlinestore.Asmanyas40peoplehavebeenhired,with90percentofthemfemale.
In2016,Niuproposedtohelppoorhouseholdssellfarmproduceincludingpeanutsandapples.InAugustofthesameyear,supportedbylocalofficials,Niusignedpovertyalleviationagreementswith16registeredlow-incomefamilies.
Niuoftensays,“Peopleshouldsharetheprofits.It’sokformetogetless.IbelieveI’llhavemoreopportunitiestoearnmoney.”Whenpurchasingfarmproduce,shegivesprioritytopoorhouseholds,andpaysthemabovethemarketprice.Thisway,onlybysellingfruitstoNiu,localpoorfamiliescanhaveanincomeincreaseofRMB3,0005,000ayear.Wheneverafestivalarrives,Niuvisitsthesepoverty-strickenhouseholdswithpresentssuchasbagsofriceandflourorenvelopesfilledwithcash.Thesehavebecomeherhappiestmoments.
Bytheendof2016,12outofthe16households,whichsignedpovertyalleviationagreementswithNiu,hadshakenoffpoverty.Andlastyear,theremainingfourfamiliesalsosuccessfullyfoundtheirwayoutofpoverty.ForNiu,thisisjustthebeginningofherinvolvementinthetargetedpovertyalleviationcause.
“I’llcontinuetohelppoorfamiliessteadilyshakeoffpovertyandensurethattheywillnevergobacktotheoldlife.Thisismydream.”Hermotivationisverysimple,“Iwasbornandgrewupinthisvillage.Localfarmproducehasmademerich.Ijustwanttorepaymyhometownandmyfellowvillagers.”Fortheotherlocals,sheisstillthatcapableandconsiderateeldestdaughteroftheNiufamily.
Niuoncesaidherworldwasveryconfined.Now,whilerunningheronlineshop,sheoftenheadstodifferentplacesfortrainingandbusinessexchanges.Hervisionandsocialnetworkhavebothexpandedgreatly.Manypeoplealsovisithertolearnfromherexperienceine-commerce.Shealwaystellsthemallsheknows,andvoluntarilyprovideslocalfarmerswithe-commercetrainingsessions.Influencedbyher,moreandmorelocalfarmersgetinvolvedine-commerce.Somelocalwomenhavealsostartedtheirowne-businesses.
Withthee-businessplatform,shehasmadefriendsacrossthecountry.Someregularcustomershavebecomehergoodfriends,somebecomeherbusinesspartners,andsomeevencontributeideastoherbusiness.Niualsohirescollegegraduatestomanageheronlineshop.Shebelieves,“Professionalbusinessdemandsprofessionaltalents.”
In2016,sensingthegreatopportunitiesofrurale-business,Niu’shusband,whooncerefusedtoworkonthefarmland,returnedhome,forwhichNiuwasveryhappy.“Withmyfamilybacktogether,myhappinessisbeyondwords,”sheenthused.
Niuhaswitnessedhervillage’sevolutionfromasecludedplacetoonewithadevelopedroadnetworkandlogisticsfacilities.TheboominglocaleconomyhasalsoshapedNiu,onceanordinaryfarmer,intoalocalecommerceleader.“It’sthenewly-builtroadsthatbroughtusawayoutofpovertyandintowealth,”Niusaid.
ZHANGYUANYUANisareporterwithChinaWomen’sNews.