Chapter 706: Squeak
As the reputation of "Xia Ke Village" spread, the surrounding villages followed suit more and more fiercely. They copied the model of "Xia Ke Village" and even competed at low prices in an attempt to snatch customers. For a time, signs such as "Jianghu Competition" and "Xia Ke Searching" were everywhere in the market, and tourists gradually became dazzled, and the passenger flow of "Xia Ke Village" fluctuated.
Some young people in the village began to lose their temper and ran to Qi Tongwei to complain: "Uncle Qi, what are they doing? The ideas we worked so hard to come up with were copied by others. What are we going to do in the future?" Qi Tongwei looked at these anxious young people, smiled slightly, and comforted them: "Don't panic, everyone. It's easy to follow the trend, but can they copy the heritage of our village? We have to work harder."
Qi Tongwei led a few villagers with ideas and plunged into a deeper exploration of the village's history and culture. They visited every old man and searched every corner of the village, looking for stories that had been forgotten by the years. Finally, they made a new discovery - in a secret cave in the back of the village, they found some weapon fragments and martial arts secrets that were suspected to be left by ancient knights. Qi Tongwei realized that this was a great opportunity to make the "Knight Village" brand more unique.
He quickly contacted a professional archaeological team and historians and invited them to come for identification and research. After a rigorous investigation, the age of these items and their relevance to the knights were confirmed. With the authoritative endorsement, Qi Tongwei began to prepare for the expansion of new tourism projects. They restored the cave and turned it into a small "ancient knight museum", which displays those precious cultural relics and the life scenes of the knights restored according to historical materials. At the same time, they also invited martial arts masters to come regularly to hold martial arts lectures and performances, so that tourists can not only watch the "excitement" but also learn the real "doorway".
However, the project preparation process was full of difficulties. In terms of funds, repairing the caves, setting up the museum, and inviting experts all require huge investments. Although the village made considerable profits in the early stage, it was still difficult to cope with this expense. Qi Tongwei ran around to apply for special support funds for rural revitalization from the government, and actively negotiated cooperation with some companies in the hope of attracting investment. After countless setbacks, several companies were finally impressed by his persistence and the potential of the village and were willing to provide financial support.
Technical problems also followed. The protection of cultural relics in museums requires professional knowledge and equipment. Any carelessness may cause irreversible damage to cultural relics. Qi Tongwei organized villagers to participate in cultural relic protection training courses and hired professional cultural relic protection technicians at high salaries to guard the museum day and night. Organizing martial arts lectures and performances is not an easy task. It is necessary to coordinate the schedules of martial arts masters, arrange venues, and ensure the safety and viewing experience of tourists.
Just when the "Ancient Knights Museum" was about to open its doors to the public, an accident almost made all the efforts go to waste. A rainstorm triggered a landslide, the road leading to the cave was buried, and cracks appeared on part of the museum's outer wall. The villagers were heartbroken when they saw this scene, and some even began to doubt whether this road was impassable. Qi Tongwei suppressed his inner grief and stood in the rain to shout to everyone: "Fellow villagers, we have come a long way and overcome difficulties greater than this, so this little setback is nothing! As long as people are still here, our hope is here!"
He quickly organized villagers to rescue and relieve the disaster, clearing the roads and repairing the mountain, and carrying out emergency repairs on the museum. After several days and nights of hard work, the danger was finally eliminated and the museum opened as scheduled.
Tourists flocked to the new attraction, which was full of history. The "Xia Ke Village" became the focus again, and the number of tourists not only recovered, but also exceeded the previous level. The surrounding villages that followed the trend gradually lost their competitiveness due to the lack of real connotation support.
In the field of agricultural product processing, new challenges are also faced. With the diversification of market demand, consumers have put forward higher requirements for the quality, packaging, and nutritional content of agricultural products. Some large food companies have launched whole-wheat products similar to "Xia Ke Village" and quickly seized part of the market share with their strong brand influence and marketing channels.
Qi Tongwei realized that agricultural products must be upgraded. He led the villagers to cooperate with agricultural research institutes and universities to introduce new wheat varieties that not only have high yields but are also rich in a variety of nutrients. In the processing stage, the production equipment was upgraded and advanced low-temperature grinding technology was adopted to retain the nutrition and taste of the wheat to the greatest extent. At the same time, the packaging was redesigned and martial arts elements were incorporated to make the product more recognizable.
In order to expand sales channels, Qi Tongwei also personally led the team to participate in various agricultural product exhibitions and food festivals. At the exhibitions, he dressed in ancient costumes and transformed himself into a knight, introducing the agricultural products of "Xia Ke Village" to passing merchants and consumers, and performed on-site performances on making wheat cakes, which attracted many people to stop and watch, taste and buy. Through a series of efforts, the agricultural products of "Xia Ke Village" have once again gained a firm foothold and are selling well in the market.
Looking back on the journey, Qi Tongwei and the villagers have gone through countless hardships. They once struggled on the poverty line and fought hard for a little harvest and a little customer source. Now, facing fierce market competition and sudden natural disasters, they have not been defeated, but have relied on their love for the village, excavation of historical culture and persistent pursuit of quality to break through the difficulties again and again.
Today, the "Xia Ke Village" has become a model of rural revitalization. The villagers live a rich and happy life, children can study in spacious and bright classrooms, and the elderly can relax and have fun in the comfortable square.
At that time, the village was mired in poverty. The villagers worked hard in the fields, but the poor land produced little, the wheat was sparse and yellow, the corn was thin and grainy, and the harvest at the end of the year was barely enough to make a living. When selling grain, everyone looked forward to the purchaser, but the other party would wantonly lower the price, arguing over a few cents, and the money they got was very little.
In order to develop, someone in the village proposed to develop tourism. At first, everyone was enthusiastic and hastily launched several crude projects. However, because they had no characteristics, a group of tourists came but nothing came back. The investment was wasted, the villagers blamed each other, conflicts arose, and the village was filled with disappointment and frustration.
The turning point came by chance. When Qi Tongwei was looking up ancient books, he found that the village had a deep connection with an ancient knight. He immediately decided to dig deep into this history and reshape the village brand. When the news came out, there were doubts: "What can we do in such a poor place?" "Don't waste your energy, it's better to plant more land." But Qi Tongwei did not waver.