After more than 10 years of volunteering,
Xiang Siqing felt that he could "do something bigger".
In the summer of 2020,
When he delivered 2,000 boxes of fresh peaches for free
In the hands of front-line sanitation workers in Xiantao City,
Everyone was stunned:
The volunteer brother has become a "farm owner" and a "caring brother".
That is, this year,
People know about Taobaoyuan Ecological Leisure Farm.
Establishment of cooperatives,
Growing peaches, raising chickens, developing tourism,
Get more people employed at their doorstep,
Xiang Siqing has been working in the new industry for 5 years.
"Vinegar Chicken" is famous far and wide
April 25, noon. A 10-minute drive west from Xiantao City will bring you to Taobaoyuan Ecological Leisure Farm.
From afar, leisure tents are scattered along the ravines, and wildflowers are in play. On the huge lawn, people set up tea tables to chat, and the kettles sizzled beside them.
Tourists play in a leisure farm
"That's what the citizens want. Yan Fang, vice chairman of the Xiantao City Writers Association, who led the team to collect wind here, told the Jimu News reporter that Taobaoyuan Ecological Leisure Farm covers an area of 170 acres, and a main road connects the picking area, fishing area, camping area and other areas, and the picking area is planted with peaches, pears, oranges, oranges and other fruits. The meadow of the campsite is a shared camp specially built for tourists and villagers, and there are tents and stools all year round, so that no matter who you are, you can sit down and rest, and you don't have to say hello if you want to tear off a handful of vegetables in the vegetable garden.
"Birds in the garden and birds in the trees. According to Xiang Siqing, his chickens are all ecological free-range, eating grass leaves and insects, the orchard has a large range of activities, more than 6,000 chickens fluttering and playing, all of them are strong and bright. More than 20 geese and a dog patrol the forest to prevent weasel attacks. Chicken manure also provides nutrients for the growth of trees, reduces the cost of planting and breeding, and achieves a win-win situation of economic and ecological benefits.
Catch local chicken to Siqing and cook
So, he began to ponder the chicken article. Needless to say, how can the local chicken make the villagers like it? Xiang Siqing decided to use "vinegar chicken" as a signboard.
Vinegar chicken is a local famous food in Xiantao, and it is also a famous dish at rural banquets. There is a saying in the local area: Xiaoqu wine, vinegar chicken, and the gods don't want to leave when they smell the fragrance. In order to restore this delicious dish in his childhood memories, Xiang Siqing specially arranged for the chef to go to the nearby town of Sanfutan to learn, and the vinegar chicken should be cooked and mixed with chili, soy sauce, vinegar and other seasonings. The chicken must be freshly caught, and the vinegar must be aged locally, so that the vinegar chicken has a unique flavor.
"Casserole chicken soup and vinegar chicken are our must-order dishes. Mr. Jian, a tourist from Wuhan, said that when he returned to his hometown of Xiantao after retirement, he heard the story of doing public welfare to Siqing, and he was respectful and often brought his family to cheer. But Xiang Siqing is too honest, not to mention that the price of vegetables is cheap, and he never charges money for picking vegetables from the field and taking them away.
Vinegar chicken
The sub-district office supported the construction of a parking lot
In 2017, Xihe Village was still one of the key poverty-stricken villages in Xiantao City, with no special economy, village collective economy and industrial projects, and young people went to the city to work for their livelihoods, leaving only the elderly, weak women and children at home. In order to accelerate development, the village began to find ways to recruit projects, and the village cadres thought of Xiang Siqing, who went out from their hometown.
At that time, Xiang Siqing started from scratch and had already run a food packaging company in the urban area, with more than 60 employees at its peak and annual sales of 4 million yuan. After the company was on the right track, he has also been paying attention to the development of his hometown and wants to make some contributions.
After the village cadres put forward the idea of going back to the village to run the project, Xiang Siqing did not think too much and decided to return to his hometown to invest and start a business.
After field investigations, there are few leisure integrated farms around the city, so he established the Xiantao Junjia Baiguo Agricultural Planting Professional Cooperative in March of that year, and the address was selected on the peach orchard in the village.
In the beginning, the farm planted a single peach tree, and over time, fruit trees such as pears, oranges, and oranges were introduced. Businesses such as picking and selling fresh fruits are maturing.
"The superiors organized us to study in other places, which broadened our horizons. According to Xiang Siqing, under the arrangement of the sub-district office, he successively went to Huanggang, Shiyan and other places to learn from live broadcast bases and agricultural and cultural tourism projects, and brought back advanced management and operation experience.
Gradually, according to the plan, a fishing area and a camping area were opened up on the basis of the orchard, forming a complex farm with rich projects.
With the increasing popularity of the farm, in April this year, the Duhu Street Office planned in advance, took the initiative to dock, and planned to build a parking lot near the farm, and the design plan and field survey have been completed, and the construction is expected to start in May.
Leisure farmstead
Be the "leader" of the villagers to get rich
Since 2008, Xiang Siqing has used his screen name to volunteer anonymously, and his good deeds have been circulated everywhere among the people, but his real name is unknown.
Wang Jiaoying, principal of Xiantao Special Education School, is friends with Xiang Siqing, and she recalls that in 2008, Xiang Siqing was invited to the school to participate in public welfare activities, and was only a guest at that time. As a result, not long after the event, he came to the door again with stationery, clothes, quilts and other supplies. Since then, he has often visited the children at school, and every time he comes, he will carefully help each child with food and water. For the first few years, I only knew his screen name, and after a few years I learned his real name.
Among Xiang Siqing's multiple identities, he frankly admitted that his favorite is the title of volunteer. After joining the volunteer organization in 2008, he will participate in public welfare activities whenever he has time, such as garbage classification publicity, environmental beautification actions, and caring for the elderly in nursing homes.
"I'm content to be able to help others. Xiang Siqing said that in the past 16 years, it has not only helped others, but also realized self-worth.
The fifteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is called the "Great Dragon Boat Festival" in Xiantao. In 2019, Xiang Siqing hit it off with 7 fellow villagers who love dragon boat sports, raised funds to buy a dragon boat, and started practicing on their own. The members of the dragon boat team are all from the rural areas of Duhu sub-district, and they are busy with farming during the day and gather together to train at night. In less than a month, 22 players were gathered, and in the past two years, it has been expanded to 48 people.
In the China Dragon Boat Open (Hubei Xiantao Station) held in 2023, team leader Xiang Siqing led the Duhu Street Farmers Dragon Boat Team to win 3 championships in the public group in individual and overall results. On the same day, surrounded by the villagers, Xiang Siqing commanded the team members in a dragon boat and cruised nearly 3 kilometers in the river at the door of their homes. In Xiang Siqing's heart, winning 3 championships is not the end, but leading the villagers to get rich is the goal.
Ying Zhongqin, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Duhu Sub-district Office, told the Jimu News reporter that Xiang Siqing's tenacity, drill strength and kindness are admirable, and the street is planning to set up a Township Sage Council, under the leadership of the Party branch, unite a group of influential, resourceful and caring Township Sages like him to participate in the construction and development of their hometown.
Source: Jimu News