Ningbo, 19 Jan (Xinhua) -- In the office of Yu Jiachen, chairman of Fushenglong Clothing Co., Ltd., in Ningbo, nearly 100 straw hats of various kinds are hung on the wall on the right side of the gate. Colleagues joke that every time he walks into his office, it's like stepping into a pocket-sized "Straw Hat Museum."
"I love straw hats, and I slept with straw hats when I was a child." Picking up a milky white straw hat, Yu Jiachen told reporters in detail about the production process. He said that in a small straw hat, the "hundred-year memory" of the Yu family's generations is condensed.
Yu Jiachen (left) discusses straw hat design issues with employees. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gu Xiaoli
Yu Jiachen's ancestral hometown of Ningbo is rich in lincao, and since the Ming and Qing dynasties, many families have relied on the skill of weaving straw hats to supplement their families. In the 1920s, his grandfather Yu Lizi started a business in Shanghai, making and acquiring the embryos of hemp hats and golden wire hats from many places, and using Shanghai as a trade starting point to sell overseas. Later, Yu Lizi and his son Yu Yitao went to Hong Kong and Taiwan respectively to continue to expand the hat-making business. In the 1990s, Yu Jiachen, who was born in Taiwan, became a new generation of explorers of the "Straw Hat House".
The cause of making a small straw hat will continue for a hundred years, Yu Jiachen said, the most important quality of this is the inheritance of "good thoughts". "Hats" and "people" are interdependent, and to be kind to hats is to be kind to people's hearts. This kind of good thought is to let more people get real and perceptible care, and to let more people harvest the warmth born from the heart.
Although he went out to do business very early, his grandfather Yu Lizi has always had a belief in bringing his hometown father and elder together to "get better". After the reform and opening up, Yu Lizi told his children and grandchildren more than once that he had the opportunity to "go back and see" and do something practical for his hometown. In 1993, next to the old residence of the Yu family in Zhenhaidu Driving Bridge Village, Ningbo, a brand-new straw hat production plant was built. After a few years, Ningbo Haishu, 20 kilometers away from DuqiaoQiao Village, also built another workshop, and with the continuous improvement of the local business environment, the output value of the two factories has risen steadily in recent years.
Yu Jiachen recalled that his father, Yu Yitao, used to say that the so-called weaving hat is also "weaving the heart". He takes good care of his employees and is always gentle in talking to them. "He treats employees as his relatives, not only the value of employees now, but also how he can go better in the future."
Yu Jiachen (right) inquires about the production of straw hats for employees in the workshop. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gu Xiaoli
Like his father, Yu Jiachen also likes to go to the workshop from time to time. In front of the row of sewing line, he naturally leaned over like an old friend and chatted with a few colleagues. When introducing employees, he often hangs the phrase "I've been on our side for a long time." Many female workers have been working in the factory since graduating from school, and after more than ten years of marriage and children, they are still busy with Yu Jiachen in front of the sewing machine on the front line of hat making.
"The purpose of my factory is also to let the 'small family' behind the old employees as much as possible have a better 'everyone' who has money to earn together." Yu Jiachen said.
The Yu family believes that education is the foundation for all-round development, and knowledge is the power to make more people rich. After the reform and opening up, the Yu family donated funds to build Qiao Zi Primary School (now Qiao Zi School) for their hometown Hai, and later created the "Zi Ya Ding Yu" education fund for the school. "ZiYa" rewards students who have outstanding performance in both learning and virtue, and "Dingyu" rewards teachers who have enthusiasm and innovative methods in teaching.
In May 2004, Yu Yitao and his party attended the inauguration ceremony of the Huaixiang Building of Qiao Zi Primary School (photo provided by the interviewee).
On January 12, 2022, the new "ZiYa Dingyu" Education Fund Award Ceremony was held at Qiao Zi School. As usual, Yu Jiachen came to the ceremony site as promised, and together with the relevant responsible persons of the school and the local Taiwan Affairs Office, awarded a bonus of more than 60,000 yuan to nearly 300 teachers and students of the school. At present, the award ceremony of the "Zi Ya Ding Yu" Award has been held for four years, benefiting more than 1,000 students and teachers.
"Now that our school has more than 800 students, the teaching force is getting stronger and stronger, I am very happy, and I also admire the teachers who have been struggling in the cause of education." Yu Jiachen said in his speech at the scene, "I believe that all of you here will definitely achieve greater achievements than me in the future, and I hope that everyone can also actively give back to the society and pass on the 'good thoughts'." ”
"Recently, everyone has been talking about common prosperity, and I think that the pursuit of common prosperity requires 'good thoughts' and a two-way 'mutual help' spirit." Yu Jiachen believes that "if we build a smoother and more precise 'bridge' of mutual assistance between people, it will be beneficial to the realization of all-round human development." ”