Preface
When he was 35 years old, he first walked 12,684 kilometers, climbed 357 mountains, and then spent another 305 days wandering 8 provinces.
Along the way, I suffered a lot, was robbed, beaten and scolded, ate pig food to satisfy my hunger, and was mistaken for a spy....
He is the "beggar county magistrate" He Jiaqing, unkempt and ragged every day, like a madman year after year.
Why does a good county magistrate not have to endure hardships? What makes him so persistent?
The source in this article is from the official media (Beijing News), released on October 20, 2019, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only.
There is no money to inspect the mountainous area, and my father has pension money
In 1976, after graduating from He Jiaqing University, he began to stay on to teach.
At that time, he was determined to go deep into the Dabie Mountains to find those "treasure plants" that are suitable for planting in the mountains and can help the people get rid of poverty, and fulfill his dream for many years.
However, the cost of equipment for inspecting distant mountains and valleys is extremely high, and he, a young teacher who has just graduated, cannot afford this money.
Despite this, He Jiaqing did not give up.
He cut down on food and clothing every day, and only ate steamed buns and porridge to satisfy his hunger.
Other young people go to the park to play or watch movies when they have time, but he only wants to save enough money quickly and leave as soon as possible.
This insistence is 8 years, He Jiaqing is already in his 30s, time no longer allows him to continue to wait, and if he doesn't set off, he won't have a chance in the future.
But the biggest problem is money, he has only saved 4,000 yuan for so many years, and he doesn't know where the rest of the money will come from.
Just when He Jiaqing was struggling to investigate the funds, the old father suddenly handed over all the hard-earned money of half his life to him, hoping to help him in the end.
He Jiaqing couldn't bear to take away his father's last savings in his old age like this, but his father insisted that he accept it.
Not only that, but the father also took out a long bill.
It records every kindness from He Jiaqing's youth to his graduation from university, and every kindness from villagers, neighbors and all walks of life who funded him to grow and become a talent.
Looking at the details of the line of funding, He Jiaqing burst into tears, and finally understood his father's intentions.
It is not easy for me to become a talent, and this money is an opportunity for me to serve the country and benefit my neighbors.
So, He Jiaqing accepted the money and was determined to make some achievements, so as to live up to the nurturing grace of his father and fellow villagers over the years.
After 81 difficulties, the results have been popularized to the public
In 1984, He Jiaqing took a total of 8,000 yuan of start-up capital and embarked on the journey of Dabie Mountain without hesitation.
I thought it would be just a trip down to collect various plant specimens and come back to concentrate on research.
Who knew that after really entering the deep mountains of the old forest, he found that the difficulties of the road were far beyond imagination.
All kinds of towering ancient trees cover the sky and the sun, and it is difficult to find a way forward;
Moreover, there are all kinds of beasts, snakes and insects, which will threaten his life at any time;
Trekking between cliffs and cliffs, hunger and cold are commonplace.
What is even more unimaginable is that in the final stage of the investigation, He Jiaqing was mistaken for a foreign spy by the Public Security Bureau, and his work notes and specimen samples were almost all seized.
Fortunately, he proved his identity in time, otherwise the bamboo basket would have been empty.
All kinds of hardships and obstacles did not shake his firm belief in his career.
Finally, after 225 days and nights, 12,684 kilometers of trekking, and more than 370 dangerous peaks, He Jiaqing completed the first investigation of the most comprehensive and systematic biological resources in the Dabie Mountain region.
He collected 3,117 plant specimens, six times the number of species recorded by foreigners, including many rare new species that have never been discovered before.
When He Jiaqing returned to school, his crazy and dirty image was thought by the doorman to be called Huazi from somewhere.
Fortunately, a student recognized him and let him enter the school.
He rushed directly into the laboratory as soon as possible, and drew a detailed vegetation distribution map of Dabie Mountain.
But the most important thing he still hasn't done is to find a "prescription" that can help the people in the depths of the mountains get rid of poverty.
Because in the process of arduous investigation, he witnessed the hardships of the local people's lives.
The land is barren, the harvest is meager, the medical care is lagging behind, and it is difficult to ensure food and clothing...
Therefore, the school quickly reported this series of data, which soon led to the national "Spark Plan" in the Dabie Mountain area.
Through the introduction of afforestation and the development of understory economy, we will systematically help the local people improve their production and living conditions.
He Jiaqing himself has also been selected as "Advanced Individual", "Advanced Teacher" and many other honorary titles.
Later, in the analysis of the data of Dabie Mountain, he was also pleasantly surprised to find that there was a plant called "konjac" growing there.
It can thrive in the poor soil of the mountainous area, without complex cultivation technology and management, and can have a high yield of 8,000 catties per acre.
This is simply a "fortune gold mine" given by God to the people in the mountainous areas.
He Jiaqing is determined to spread the results of this technology to all villagers in poor mountainous areas.
Subsequently, he wrote a monograph on "Konjac Cultivation Technical Guidance", and went deep into every mountain village to explain and demonstrate to the masses.
In the face of everyone's worries and doubts, he directly bought konjac seedlings out of his own pocket and distributed them to farmers for trial planting, and persuaded the villagers to join the planting army with the actual fruitful harvest.
With his unremitting efforts, konjac was soon promoted in a large area throughout the county, and He Jiaqing was affectionately called "konjac king" by farmers.
But he didn't care about it, because it was his only wish for the people to get rid of poverty and become rich.
Konjac is just the beginning, and he still has to continue to explore the next "golden key" that can help poor villagers.
Serve the people wholeheartedly as a county magistrate and explore the Great West again
In 1990, He Jiaqing was appointed as the deputy county magistrate of Jixi County.
On his first day in office, he rode a dilapidated bicycle around the county and went door-to-door to listen to public opinions.
Through a series of preliminary work, he quickly formulated a targeted poverty alleviation plan such as the development of local characteristic plant resources and the development of understory economy.
During his term of office, he took the lead and personally guided the peasants to breed improved varieties of silkworm moths and plant stress-resistant cash crops, which increased the peasants' income by more than 100,000 yuan.
During the devastating floods of 1998, he risked his life to organize rescue efforts on the front line of the most severely flooded water, and survived the difficulties with the local people.
During his 850-day tenure, he spent more than 700 days in poor villages, sharing weal and woe with the masses, and truly achieving the "relationship between the government and the people."
At the end of his term, the people spontaneously sent pennants, calling him an outstanding cadre of the Jiao Yulu style.
And he has no pride, just continues to run around the grassroots, hoping to make more contributions in the future.
In 1998, He Jiaqing, who was nearly half a hundred years old, once again resolutely embarked on the road of investigation in the western region in order to find more ways to help the people in the mountainous areas get rid of poverty.
This time, he was alone, lasting 305 days, traveling through eight provinces and more than 400 deep mountain villages, with a total distance of 30,000 kilometers.
On the way, he encountered all kinds of disasters and almost couldn't come back.
He was robbed by bandits, got stuck in a quagmire, was bitten by a poisonous snake, was abducted and shackled, was beaten and plundered, and was once reduced to the point of begging to survive.
Because he was penniless after being robbed, and it was difficult to walk with a limp.
In order to keep himself alive, when it was the hardest, he begged the villagers who passed by for a bowl of pig food to satisfy his hunger...
Now it's hard for everyone to imagine what kind of day it was, but He Jiaqing was stunned and survived.
He said that as long as he has a breath left, he will fight for the future of the hardship people.
In the end, he got his wish to find out the birthplace of "konjac", so that the previously advertised konjac growers have mastered higher yield and better quality cultivation techniques, and everyone's income has naturally doubled.
This struggle against the arduous fate made He Jiaqing famous, and he directly won a bonus of 100,000 yuan from the state.
But he did not hesitate to donate all the prize money to help children from poor families in the deep mountains go to school.
Because he knew how difficult it was to get out of the mountains back then, and how important it was to study to change his fate...
The family is poor, everyone helps, and the life is simple and does not forget the roots
He Jiaqing was born into a poor family in rural Anhui Province, and his father relied on the meager income from pulling coal trucks to support the family every day.
Other people's children all go to the fields early to farm, but his father insisted that he go to school, hoping that he would have a good job in the future and not be trapped here forever.
Therefore, as a poor family, he can only rely on the help of his neighbors to make up enough for his tuition.
His father was also frugal, spending all the money he could save.
Back then, after he was admitted to university, his father had nothing to give him, but he used his year's salary in exchange for a blue tuniche for him to wear to school.
This set of clothes later accompanied He Jiaqing for decades, and when it was broken, it was sewn and repaired, and it was repaired and continued to be worn.
So how did he get on the road to Dabie Mountain?
It turned out that after graduating from university that year, He Jiaqing stayed in the school to teach, but there was definitely no practical result from the study on paper.
That's why he decided to translate the results of botanical research into practical applications, and personally went into the mountains to collect specimens.
He traveled for many years in the backwoods, even when he went back to school, he was dressed simply.
In a shabby leather bag that never leaves his hand, it contains a "treasure" that can change the fate of thousands of farmers.
Whenever he has new research results, he will bring them to the field and guide farmers on how to apply new varieties and technologies to help them get rid of poverty and become rich.
Over the years, He Jiaqing has always been grateful, and his life is simple and economical.
Always be vigilant not to forget your roots, and remember the kindness of your fathers and fellow villagers.
It is He Jiaqing's spirit of being willing to serve others and sacrificing himself for others that makes him a respected "Professor of Buyi" in the hearts of ordinary people.
But people are born, old, sick and die, and no matter how bright the flame is, there will be a moment when it will be extinguished.
Falling red is not a ruthless thing, turning into spring mud is more protective of flowers
In 2019, 70-year-old He Jiaqing suddenly fainted during a grassroots investigation.
When he was sent to the hospital for examination, he was unfortunately diagnosed with terminal cancer.
He knew that his life was short, but he did not live a negative life, but insisted on working until the last moment of his life, only hoping to give full play to his greatest value.
In the end, when he was dying, he expressed his wish to donate his cornea and passed away peacefully.
His donation successfully helped two poor students deep in the mountains to regain their sight.
He spent his life practicing the life creed of "applying what he has learned and never stopping", and interpreted what selfless dedication is with his hard work and life.
Such a modern role model will surely be remembered by the world, and his innocence and spirit of great love will also be passed on from generation to generation.