Chapter 680: Brief
Qi Tongwei listened to Hou Liangping's firm words, and the fire in his heart that was almost extinguished due to frustration flickered again. He took a deep breath, stood up, and patted the dust off his body. Although his face was exhausted, his eyes regained some of their former spirit: "Okay, Liangping, let's do as you say. We can't just give up like this. No matter how difficult it is, we have to sort this out."
The next morning, just after daybreak, Qi Tongwei and Hou Liangping split up and began visiting every household. Qi Tongwei was in charge of the east end of the village, where there were mostly young people with more radical ideas and the strongest dissatisfaction with the status quo. When he knocked on the first door, he was a little nervous, not knowing what kind of cold face or complaints he would receive.
The person who opened the door was a young man in his early twenties named Li Gang. When he saw Qi Tongwei standing at the door, a flash of surprise flashed across his face, and then he changed to a lukewarm expression: "Secretary Qi, you are here, what's the matter?" Qi Tongwei smiled and tried to make his tone sound cordial: "Gangzi, I know everyone has some ideas about the village planning recently. I came here just to chat with you and listen to your heart. Let's go inside and talk."
After entering the house, Qi Tongwei looked around. The house was simply decorated, with a few posters of cars and high-rise buildings on the wall, showing the owner's yearning for the prosperous world outside. After the two sat down, Li Gang spoke first: "Secretary Qi, you can see that our village has been poor for so many years. Now we finally have the opportunity to develop, but the ecological protection plan has been introduced. It is not allowed to build factories or mines. How can we get rich? I also want to make more money, buy a house in the city, and bring my parents over to enjoy a good life."
Qi Tongwei nodded and patiently explained: "Gangzi, I understand your feelings. It's true that young people are energetic and want to go out and live a good life. But think about it, if we destroy the green mountains and clear waters in the village for short-term benefits, what will we do in the future? Our air and soil are polluted. Not only will agriculture fail to develop, but everyone's health will also suffer. Look at the neighboring village. They blindly opened mines a few years ago. Now there are no fish or shrimps in the river, and the crops in the fields have failed. The villagers have earned some money, but they have all spent it on medical treatment. It's not worth it."
Li Gang listened to Qi Tongwei's words, frowned slightly, and fell into deep thought. Qi Tongwei struck while the iron was hot: "In fact, developing ecological economy does not mean that we cannot get rich. Our village has unique natural scenery. If we develop it a little and develop ecological tourism, it will have great potential. When tourists come, they need to eat, stay, and buy local specialties. This will create a lot of employment opportunities. Moreover, we can introduce some environmentally friendly agricultural product processing enterprises to deeply process the harvest from our fields, and the added value will increase immediately. The money earned is no less than running a polluting factory."
Li Gang's eyes lit up: "Secretary Qi, it seems to make sense now that you put it that way. But how do we do eco-tourism? We have no experience." Qi Tongwei patted him on the shoulder: "This is what we are going to plan next. The village plans to organize everyone to go out and study, look at other people's successful cases, and then come back and combine the actual situation of our village to develop a plan suitable for us. You are young and smart, so you will have to contribute more when the time comes." Li Gang nodded repeatedly, a smile appeared on his face, and the gap between him and Qi Tongwei was suddenly eliminated a lot.
On the other side, Hou Liangping visited the elderly at the west end of the village. The elderly were very enthusiastic about him, but they couldn't help sighing when they mentioned the adjustment of agricultural planting. At Uncle Zhang's house, as soon as Hou Liangping sat down, Uncle Zhang handed him a cup of hot tea and said worriedly: "Secretary Hou, you said this is a good land, and we have been planting crops for decades. Why do you want to change it? We don't understand the new seeds and new technologies. What will the family eat and drink if the harvest is not good?"
Hou Liangping held Uncle Zhang's hand and comforted him, "Uncle, I know your worries. But now the market demand has changed. The prices of the traditional crops we used to grow are getting lower and lower, and they are not easy to sell. This new planting plan is specially formulated by experts based on our soil, climate conditions, and market conditions, in order to help everyone increase their income. For example, growing sunflowers is not just for eating seeds. Sunflower seeds can be used to extract oil, which has a large market demand and high prices. Sunflower flowers can also attract tourists and engage in sightseeing agriculture. Moreover, we have professional technicians to train everyone, providing guidance from sowing to harvesting, to ensure that everyone can master new technologies."
Uncle Zhang was skeptical: "Is it really that magical? We farmers are afraid of working for a year and getting nothing in vain." Hou Liangping smiled and said, "Uncle, don't worry. The village has signed letters of intent with several large buyers. As long as we grow it, they will buy it at the market price, so we don't have to worry about sales. Besides, let's try planting on a small area first to see the effect. If it doesn't work, it won't be too late to adjust back. You are experienced, and we will have to rely on you to check for us when the time comes." Uncle Zhang listened and his expression eased a little, and he nodded.
After a full day of visits, Qi Tongwei and Hou Liangping gained a lot. Although many villagers still raised questions and concerns during the process, most of them have begun to understand the original intention of the village planning and expressed their willingness to try new development methods. Back at the village committee, the two summarized the situation and began to discuss the adjustment plan overnight.
In the following days, the atmosphere in the village quietly changed. Young people actively participated in the preparation of eco-tourism projects. They formed a research team and went to the surrounding well-known eco-tourism villages to learn from their experiences. After returning, they proposed a series of creative ideas, such as creating a "pastoral flower sea" sightseeing route and building a cluster of farmhouse homestays, based on the characteristics of the village. At the same time, the village invited a professional tourism planning team to provide guidance and carefully designed the overall layout and landscape of the village.
The elderly, under the patient guidance of the technicians, gradually accepted the new planting plan. The village opened a test field and took the lead in planting crops such as sunflowers, specialty fruits and vegetables. The technicians were in the fields every day, teaching the elderly how to sow, fertilize, and prevent and control pests and diseases. Seeing the seedlings in the test field grow vigorously, the concerns of the elderly gradually dissipated.
However, just when everything seemed to be on the right track, new problems arose. The construction of the ecotourism project requires a large amount of capital investment, but the village's finances are limited, and the process of applying for support funds from higher authorities is fraught with difficulties. Some young people who were originally full of energy began to lose heart, worrying that the project would fail. In terms of agricultural planting, although the seedlings grew well, a sudden attack of pests and diseases made the elderly panic again.