"My Farewell to Poverty": Sericulture, my way to prosperity

Foreword

Through the continuous endeavors of the whole Communist Party and the people of all nationalities, the dream of a well-to-do life that the Chinese people have kept pursuing for thousands of years has come true!

"We have realized the first Centenary Goal and a well-off society has been built on the Chinese land," Chinese President Xi Jinping stately declared at the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China on July 1.

Nowadays, from the south to the north, from the urban to the rural areas, stories about shaking off poverty are being told everywhere on the vast Chinese land. Being well-off means being well-fed, well-clothed, and living in peace, means medical and old-age care, and means physical, mental, and spiritual enrichment. It is also the sense of gain, happiness, and safety.

The special column "My Farewell to Poverty" is opened to provide a platform for people from various fields in several regions to tell their own stories.

Today I feed the silkworms, tomorrow they will bring me wealth – this is my way to prosperity.

If you don't believe it, have a look: my house, furniture, appliances, and deposits, are all "spitted out" by the silkworms!

My family has once kept silkworms in the 1990s. It was unexcepted that half was dead. I had no choice but to work a casual job in Guangdong, which was a way to raise a family but not enough to get rich.

These years, the government has introduced precision poverty alleviation policies to encourage people to raise silkworms. I wondered: I have tried it before, but why did I fail?

I went back home with the idea of giving it a try to continue my former career. I was upset in the beginning not knowing why I earned a few thousand yuan while the other families earned tens of thousands in a year.

The poverty alleviation staff investigated and told me that it was due to my backward techniques.

I was introduced to a sericulture cooperative in Nanning to be an apprentice. I firstly imitated the way they made beds for silkworms with bamboo weaving and disinfected with lime. Gradually, I found the way.

"The little silkworms are weak and should be managed meticulously. By the critical period of silkworm growth, special attention is needed to prevent disease," I cannot forget the words of the technician.

People always say that technology is the best tool to increase harvest, which I believe. This thing largely increased the survival rate of the silkworms: my income has been increased by more than ¥ 60,000 by sericulture. In 2017, I stepped up my efforts to expand the scale and earned more than ¥ 80,0000.

Since that, my business has been getting better every year.

To help others get rid of poverty, I established a sericultural training base to share my expertise with other villagers. Last year, I took the lead in establishing a farmer's specialized cooperative of edible mushroom cultivation. The cultivated mushrooms received very good responses as soon as they were on the market.

The intellectuals have a saying when talking about the current situation of the Zhongshan village:

The silkworms are busy spitting silk, making the farmland full of fragrance. The cars are running all over the village, and every family is living in fine buildings. Everyone works hard, and every family is on the way to a well-off life.

The article is contributed by Zhou Shixing, translated by Fei Jinglun.

Find the original piece at https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2021-07/08/nw.D110000gmrb_20210708_5-01.htm