"Mr. Zhang, when you come to our valley county, you must stay a few more days! Although we are a bit poor here, the air is really good!"
The speaker was a staff member of the Poverty Alleviation Office, with red cheeks and a typical Ganzhou appearance. He was sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head and looked at Zhang Yida and Zhao Erya in the back seat and said.
"Haha, Director Niu is so polite. The reason we came here this time is to inspect the rural areas of Ganzhou Province and see how the next poverty alleviation loan work should be carried out."
Through the car window, Zhang Yida saw a series of high mountains and barren slopes outside the road. Just looking at this landscape, he knew why the economy was lagging behind.
"Okay, Mr. Zhang, we will fully cooperate with you." Section Chief Niu said with a smile on his face.
Section Chief Niu’s name is Niu Xiaojun, and he is the director of the Poverty Alleviation Office of Valley County.
A few days ago, he received a notice from the county that the boss of a large financial group company in Beijing with a valuation of several billion would personally lead a team to inspect their county and carry out some poverty alleviation loan work, and he was asked to do his best to receive and cooperate with them.
.
So he called several staff members from the Poverty Alleviation Office early today and drove three cars to the city airport to wait for him.
He was quite curious about Zhang Yida assuming a big position at such a young age, so he asked:
"I heard that Mr. Zhang is also a top student at Beijing University? He is really a proud man of heaven, a dragon and a phoenix among men!"
"Director Niu deserves the award!
Yes, I will be a sophomore next semester!"
Zhang Yida did not hide anything and said happily.
"It's amazing! When college students start a business, the company has reached a scale of several billions. The most important thing is to have a heart to repay the society. Mr. Zhang's sense of social responsibility is admirable!"
Section Chief Niu verified the information. It seemed to be similar to the information searched online. This person was no more than 20 years old.
Zhang Yida did not keep chatting with Niu Xiaojun about these useless words, but directly brought back the topic and asked:
"Director Niu, can you tell us about the situation in Valley County? The composition of the main industries, GDP per capita, etc."
Niu Xiaojun felt that this young man, Mr. Zhang, was different and quick-tongued.
Some of the entrepreneurs I received in the past were always pretentious and talking about this and that. Unlike this one, who went straight to the point. It seemed that they really wanted to come here to engage in poverty alleviation work, so they didn't do any testing.
He directly began to tell Zhang Yida about the situation in the county:
"Our valley county has a population of 650,000, 13 towns, and 2 townships, with a total area of 1,572.6 square kilometers...
The county's cultivated land area is 1.2588 million acres, with per capita occupation of 1.97 acres. The basic farmland area is 1.0165 million acres, and 655,800 acres of terraced fields have been built...
In 2013, the regional GDP reached 5.252 billion yuan, an increase of 0.9%...
The per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 21,234.4 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%...
The per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 5,036.8 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%...
The main agricultural products produced are lamb's horn pepper..."
…
It is indeed not optimistic. Zhang Yida made his own estimate and found that the per capita GDP is only 8,000 yuan.
Zhang Yida asked again:
"Director Niu, the farmers in this county mainly grow peppers, right? There are also some handicraft owners such as hemp shoes, embroidery, and chili animals? Do they need loans to expand their operations?"
Niu Xiaojun nodded: "Yes, all the men have gone out to work. Only some housewives are growing peppers at home, making some hemp shoes, and doing embroidery to supplement the family income.
If you need a loan, you need to visit the farmers specifically. But I think it’s not necessary, mainly because you won’t be able to sell it if you produce too much!”
Zhang Yida frowned. Loans for rural areas and farmers are not urban consumer loans. They can be understood as business loans. They are mainly lent to farmers to plant, breed, and expand production, so as to make more money.
If you can't sell the goods, what's the use of the loan?
A few hours later, the vehicle arrived at the door of the most luxurious hotel in the county.
As soon as Zhang Yida got out of the car, two middle-aged men came up to shake hands. Niu Xiaojun introduced him and found out that it was County Magistrate H, a senior official in the county.
The group of people went to the restaurant in great force. Zhang Yida frowned a little when he looked at the large table of sumptuous lunch, but it was hard to say anything.
After three rounds of drinking, the county magistrate H and senior county officials sitting on the left and right of Zhang Yida began to express their bitterness.
Zhang Yida knew that the meat show was coming, and it was to attract investment.
Zhang Yida said with a smile on his face:
"Secretary Shen, County Magistrate Wu, and Yimin Financial Services Group will definitely invest in Valley County.
As a financial group, our first cooperation with your county is farmer loans.
If a farmer gets a loan, grows more peppers, and builds a chili sauce processing factory, wouldn’t GDP increase?
It is unrealistic for our group to directly build a factory. We have no manufacturing experience and it is not in line with our group's consistent strategic positioning.
What we are good at is financial empowerment. Only when farmers begin to have this awareness of self-reliance and expand production through loans can an industrial chain be formed.
With the industrial chain, the government can guide the establishment of some processing plants and manufacturing plants, creating more jobs and GDP."
County Magistrate Wu smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Zhang! Who will invest in processing plants and manufacturing plants in a place like ours where birds don't lay eggs? There are no decent industries and the transportation is not convenient. How can we form an industrial chain?"
Zhang Yida thought for a few seconds, looked at County Magistrate Wu and said:
“We also brought an economic inspection team with us this time. We will inspect your county’s pepper, hemp shoes, embroidery, ridged animal and other industries later and formulate relevant reports.
If possible, loans will be provided to farmers engaged in these industries in your county.
Our economic investigation team is all experts who graduated from universities in Qingbei or studied in prestigious foreign universities, and have in-depth research on small and micro enterprises.
Let them first investigate the market. After the investigation is completed, we will analyze the specific situation based on the conclusions.
Don’t worry, since I’ve come to Valley County, I definitely want to sincerely help my farmer friends get rich.”
Seeing Zhang Yida's resolute attitude, County Magistrate Wu didn't want to force him to do anything, so he should wait until the inspection was completed first!
He was actually worried that Zhang Yida and the others would run away after inspecting the market and finding it was too bad...
They have encountered more than one or two waves of this kind of investors. It is true that the environment here is too bad to retain people.
The atmosphere was a little awkward. Secretary Shen smoothed things over and said:
"Come on, let's eat the food. It'll be cold in a while!"
After the meal, six or seven vehicles, accompanied by County Magistrate Zhou, drove to a town where the pepper planting area is located.
Seeing the mountains and fields covered in red, Zhao Erya couldn't help but say: "It's so spectacular!"
County Magistrate Wu on the side knew that Zhao Erya had a close relationship with Zhang Yida, so he talked to him:
"Yes! The harvest season is coming soon. But it can't be converted into much money! I eat it at home or sell it to the locals in the vegetable market."
Zhang Yida walked to the field, picked an unripe small pepper, put it in his mouth, chewed it for a few times, and praised: "Don't tell me, it's quite delicious. Even a Sichuanese like me thinks it's quite to my liking."
Zhao Erya quickly handed Zhang Yida the mineral water and asked: "Isn't it spicy when eaten raw?"
"It's not spicy, it's quite fragrant!" Zhang Yida said casually.
Zhao Erya picked one and put it in her mouth, chewed it for a few mouthfuls, then vomited it and drank mineral water continuously. Zhang Yida laughed loudly on the side.
County Magistrate Wu also smiled and said: "It's actually quite spicy. Only you Sichuan and Shu people can handle it."
Zhao Erya's face turned red, she kept sticking out her tongue to exhale, and twisted Zhang Yida's arm hard. County Magistrate Wu turned his head to the side. He, the county magistrate, also worked hard to attract investment, and he saw the young lovers fighting here.
Love and humor.
The group went to the homes of several pepper growers and asked them about production, harvest, sales channels, prices and other aspects.
The rest of the business delegation took out pens and paper and began to record various data, and asked farmers some questions from time to time.
The second stop was a hemp shoe weaving family.
It was August, and Zhang Yida and his party walked into the village in great force.
Some children were running around wearing hemp shoes and watching the fun. Zhao Erya pointed to the children's shoes and asked:
"Are these hemp shoes? They're quite pretty."
County Magistrate Zhou smiled and then said: "Every household in these villages can make hemp shoes. Because I am poor, I can't bear to buy foam sandals, so I basically make my own hemp shoes for the children to wear."
Zhang Yida said: "They are a bit similar to our straw sandals from Sichuan and Sichuan! When I was a child, I saw some old people wearing them. Now I rarely see them."
"We have no choice but to rely on mountains and rivers to eat! Valley County is located in the upper reaches of the Weishui River. It is a temperate monsoon semi-humid area with moderate rainfall, which is very suitable for the cultivation of cannabis.
The cultivation history is also very long, with a history of more than 5,000 years, and it is one of the main cannabis producing areas in Longshang.
The cannabis grown in the valley and surrounding counties is white and shiny, resistant to moisture and rot, and is tough, long and elastic.
Precisely because of the high-quality raw materials, the production history of hemp shoes can be traced back to before the Eastern Han Dynasty. The historical background is still very profound."
County Magistrate Wu began to popularize science for the two of them.
Zhang Yida sighed as he walked: "This is a craft with a long history! It must be carried forward."
County Magistrate Wu shook his head repeatedly: "Who still wears hemp shoes nowadays, especially those in cities? They have been eliminated from the market long ago. I just make a little and sell them in the countryside."
The team was led by the village party secretary and stopped in front of a bungalow. The village party secretary shouted:
"Shuzhen! The county magistrate and the big boss have come to inspect your home. Come out quickly!"
"Here it comes! Here it comes!" A woman in her 30s walked out of the bungalow, her cheeks flushed.
The village party secretary quickly introduced:
"This is the county magistrate. This is Mr. Zhang, the big boss from the capital."
County Magistrate Wu and Zhang Yida quickly stepped forward to shake hands with the woman and said:
"Comrade Shuzhen, hello!"
"Sister Shuzhen, hello!"
Seeing that there were more than twenty people in the group, Shuzhen felt a little shy and didn't know where to put her hands.
Seeing her helpless look, the village party secretary shouted:
"Why are you still standing here? Why don't you invite the leaders to come in and sit down?"
County Magistrate Wu waved his hand, frowned and scolded:
"It's time for me to criticize you! Don't always put on official airs, and don't have a sense of distance from the masses."
Then he saw Shuzhen with a smile and said:
"Comrade Shuzhen, don't be afraid or nervous.
We are coming to your home this time! I heard that you are the best at making hemp shoes. Mr. Zhang and I, who are from Beijing, both want to know something about hemp shoes.
When we ask, just answer it!"
County Magistrate Wu has a friendly face and shows his kindness to the people.
Shuzhen nodded, and then invited everyone into her home. The room was relatively narrow, so those who couldn't sit down borrowed some stools from the neighbors next door to sit in the yard.
Zhang Yida, the inspection team, and County Magistrate Wu entered the room.