A few years ago, her young husband died suddenly due to a fire, leaving behind dozens Xi of huge debts totaling more than 200 yuan and an elderly mother-in-law and two young children. She adhered to integrity to pay off all the arrears one by one, and led 12 poor households around her to get out of poverty, becoming a typical inspirational figure in the local area. Recently, a reporter from Dawan News went to visit.
On nine cold days, there is an endless stream of strawberry pickers
In the past few days, the temperature has dropped sharply, bringing the first heavy snow since the beginning of winter, allowing pedestrians to feel the "cold after snow" in extremely low temperatures. On December 19, a reporter from Dawan News drove more than 100 kilometers to Xue Rong's family planting farm in Gaoshang Village, Xixidian Town, Dingyuan County.
It happened that Xue Rong went out to deliver goods, and then the Dawan News reporter met several groups of guests who came to buy and pick. In waiting for Xue Rong time, the reporter randomly visited this family farm covering an area of 100 acres, dozens of greenhouses are arranged in an orderly manner, some greenhouses are waiting for agricultural rest after picking, some greenhouses have been renovated with new soil, the newly trimmed soil seems to have been planted, and several workers are busy renovating the soil.
Xue Rong introduced the strawberry variety named "Hongyan" to reporters.
"I'm very sorry for keeping you waiting!" After sending off the guests, Xue Rong greeted the reporter warmly. She said that in fact, it is now past the peak season of picking, some time ago at four or five o'clock in the morning to get up early picking, and then go to Changfeng to catch the market to sell, sometimes even noon can not be taken care of, usually there are customers and wholesalers to the farm to pick and buy.
Xue Rong, who is of medium stature and smart and capable, told the Dawan News reporter that compared with last year, the strawberry market this year is not very good, with a price drop of about 10 yuan per catty, but the price of agricultural materials is rising, and she lamented that agriculture is becoming more and more difficult to do. Xue Rong said that at present, the farm has a total of 70 planting greenhouses, mainly growing strawberries, watermelons and high-quality vegetables, paying workers more than 400,000 yuan in wages every year, the workers are farmers in the same village, several of them have worked in her house for many years, have regarded the farm as their own home, get along very well, usually she is not on the farm is the same, what to do they know very well.
"No matter what the market is, it doesn't matter if you make money or not, as long as you can guarantee the wages of workers!" Xue Rong said, do things to be calm, business is even more the same, this year's market is not good does not mean that the future is bad, do everything must be "expensive in persistence".
Suddenly, stay-at-home mothers support the family in crisis
However, Xue Rong, who is familiar with planting and management, was a full-time mother who ran the household in the countryside eight years ago. On the night of December 23, 2015, a fire was caused by a circuit failure in the board room on duty, and her sleeping husband Yang Wei was ruthlessly engulfed by the fire.
The "pillars" of the family fell, leaving behind an elderly mother-in-law and two young children, as well as a husband who owed more than 50 loans of more than 200 yuan to expand the scale of planting, the most of which was more than 1 million, and most of the rest were loans ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan, and some did not even have IOUs, only a simple record in the account book.
Xue Rong (second from left) leads female workers to pick up strawberries.
After the incident, there were many people who came to the door every day to ask for accounts, and the helpless Xue Rong didn't know what to do, crying and promising to repay the loan. However, everyone will be skeptical of this housewife's promise, for fear that she will leave home and pay her debts, and the good family will be in a desperate situation.
"It was my mother-in-law's encouragement that cheered me up!" Xue Rong told the Dawan News reporter that afterwards, the two brothers and sisters of the mother-in-law and her mother pooled more than 200,000 yuan and asked her to pay off the debts that she urgently needed to repay first. Her mother-in-law, Wang Guanglan, encouraged her to cheer up, saying that there are also many female entrepreneurs, so let her continue to do her business...... The support of his family allowed Xue Rong to tide over the difficulties temporarily and ignite hope for life. But she knows how much courage it takes to support this family in crisis!
"The plantation is a career that he (husband) loved during his lifetime, and everyone will borrow money when they trust us, and we can't let the cause and reputation be ruined in my hands!" After thinking about it again, Xue Rong went door-to-door and promised the creditors, "I will never run away, and I will definitely repay your money as soon as possible." After that, she learned Xi from scratch, asked her master for greenhouse planting techniques, and looked for information and business in her husband's mobile phone......
Adhere to integrity and repay more than 200 huge debts in five years
Everything is easier said than done. For Xue Rong, who was heavily indebted and self-made, it was difficult to imagine how difficult it was to start a family farm again.
At the beginning of 2016, the two village committees provided Xue Rong with a small credit loan of 50,000 yuan for poverty alleviation, and the party committee and government of Xidian Town applied for 200,000 yuan of science and technology poverty alleviation project funds for her, and the village-based team also helped her obtain 100,000 yuan of project funds...... Various policies benefiting farmers have injected a steady stream of vitality into Xue Rong's family farm, which has made Xue Rong see hope and be more motivated.
When the strawberries were ripe in spring, Xue Rong got up at 4 o'clock in the morning, arranged for the family to take the workers to the field to pick. In summer and autumn, Xue Rong picks watermelons under the scorching sun, and it takes more than 10 minutes to lift a basket of more than 200 catties of watermelons to the storage site, and she has to run dozens of times a day; in winter, she keeps breeding and cultivating seedlings to ensure the harvest of the next year. Long-term high-intensity work caused Xue Rong to suffer from severe low back pain, and the doctor asked her to rest in bed, but she said: "I can't lie down, and no one will pay the bill if I lie down!"
It was icy and snowy outside, and the greenhouse was as warm as spring, and the huge temperature difference made the lens foggy.
Xue Rong placed an account book next to his pillow, on which a number of debts were clearly recorded, and a list of debts was repaid according to priority, 1,000 yuan, 3,000 yuan, and 10,000 yuan...... In May 2016, when the first batch of strawberries was sold, she immediately repaid 30,000 yuan from her relative Uncle Yang's family, and since then, she has used every income she has used to repay the debt.
Xue Rong told reporters that in order to repay the debt, the family had a very hard time during that time. In addition to buying essential daily necessities and paying utility bills, there are almost no other expenses, and clothes and shoes are also old items given by relatives, and only new clothes are added to the children during the Chinese New Year. In August 2020, Xue Rong paid off the last arrears of 10,000 yuan, and she solemnly wrote in the account book: "Pay off all the arrears today." After returning home, Xue Rong cried excitedly and said to his mother-in-law: "Mom, the debt has been repaid, I have not lived up to everyone's trust and have not discredited the whole family!"
I will do my part when others are in trouble
Xue Rong is hardworking and capable, virtuous and kind, and is famous in the village. In order to repay the debts along the way, Xue Rong couldn't forget the sisters and village neighbors who worked together, and did his best to help the poor people around him get rid of poverty and become rich.
"Xue Rong is very kind to us, knowing that my family is in difficulty, and she returned my 7,600 yuan early after the accident, which made our family very moved, and I am willing to work with her even because I have no salary!" Zhang Guoxia, a villager, said that she believed in Xue Rong's personality for so many years.
I learned that Dong Yushu, a sister in the same village, had her finger crushed by a machine when she was working, and she had no job since returning to her hometown, and her family life was very difficult. So, Xue Rong took the initiative to invite Dong Yushu to work on the farm, but Dong Yushu felt that his fingers were disabled and he was not qualified for picking work, so he refused. Xue Rong encouraged her to try it first, and the sisters in difficulty helped her together. Xue Rong's sincerity finally touched Dong Yushu, who was grateful and hardworking and willing to work, and now Dong Yushu has become the foreman of the farm, and her family has gradually come out of the predicament.
According to the village cadres, Xue Rong Family Farm has absorbed more than 20 people who are sick and disabled, with an average annual salary of more than 30,000 yuan, and an additional 50 yuan per month living allowance. She also helped 12 poor households in the surrounding area to successfully lift themselves out of poverty by teaching planting methods and providing sales channels.
"My family was able to get out of the predicament smoothly, mainly because of the national poverty alleviation policy and the help of well-wishers, and our whole family will remember this kindness, and when others encounter difficulties, we must also 'reach out' and do our part. Xue Rong told Dawan News reporters that she often teaches her two children not to forget this special experience.
"If I want to expand my business and go further, my cultural knowledge is far from enough!" Xue Rong, who has paid off his debts, has his sights set his sights further. In the past few years, she went to Nanjing, Suzhou and other surrounding areas to learn advanced strawberry, melon and fruit planting experience, Xi heard that the town came to Anhui Agricultural University's new seedling variety assistance project, Xue Rong took the initiative to go to the docking Xi, and now her planting skills are improving year by year.
Xue Rong insisted on winning a "marathon" of keeping promises for many years, and deeply wrote the word "integrity" on the answer sheet in her life examination room.
Dawan News reporter Ye Sujian/photo report