Chapter 708 Abacus
Finally, the "Ancient Knight Museum" was grandly opened, and its unique historical and cultural charm attracted a large number of tourists, and the "Knight Village" once again became the focus. In terms of agricultural product processing, facing the competition from large enterprises in the market, Qi Tongwei led the villagers to cooperate with agricultural research institutes and universities, introduced new varieties and new processes, upgraded packaging, participated in various trade fairs, and successfully gained a foothold with high-quality products and unique marketing methods.
Now, looking back, those difficult years seem like a lingering nightmare, but it is also these hardships that have forged the villagers' tenacious character and made them understand the power of unity, cooperation and innovation. The once barren land now grows the fruits of hope; the villagers who once fought for a little benefit now learn to share the fruits of development. Watching the children gain knowledge in the spacious and bright classrooms and the elderly enjoying their old age in the comfortable square, Qi Tongwei knows that all these efforts are worth it.
The road ahead is still long, and "Xia Ke Village" may encounter new challenges, but they are confident that with their love and protection of this land, they will continue to write their own glorious chapter and let the name of "Xia Ke Village" shine forever in the starry sky of rural revitalization.
The roads in the village turned into muddy ponds when it rained, and the children went to school with one foot deep and one foot shallow, splashing mud all over their bodies. In order to earn more money, the villagers guarded the few acres of thin land, eagerly looking forward to the harvest to mature and sell it at a good price.
But when it came time to harvest, everyone was in trouble again. Grain dealers pushed down the price so much that the villagers argued fiercely over a dime or two. Qi Tongwei saw it all and was anxious. He knew that if things continued like this, the village would have no hope. So he took the lead in looking for sales channels, contacted relatives in the city, and asked if there were any factories willing to buy grain, even if the price was a little higher.
Later, after hearing that eco-tourism could make money, Qi Tongwei and several motivated villagers decided to use the mountains and rivers around the village to start a simple farmhouse. At first, there were only a few guests, and everyone was unsure about the money they invested. Some people began to complain, thinking that it was a waste of time. But Qi Tongwei refused to admit defeat, thinking that he had to have some characteristics to attract people.
By chance, he learned that there were knights living in seclusion in the village in ancient times, and he was suddenly inspired to build a "knight village". It is not easy to design a martial arts style activity. Props, venues, rules, everything has to be started from scratch. The villagers have limited cultural level. In order to understand the martial arts culture, they stayed up late to look up information and consult people who know the business. The activities started, and tourists gradually increased, and the village became a little lively.
However, the good times did not last long. The surrounding villages were jealous and followed suit. For a time, the "jianghu" became chaotic, the tourists of the knight village were diverted, and the income dropped sharply. The villagers were extremely anxious. Some proposed to reduce prices to compete, and some wanted to give up the characteristics and return to the old business. Qi Tongwei firmly disagreed. He felt that this was putting the cart before the horse.
In order to dig deeper into the characteristics, Qi Tongwei led everyone to cross mountains and ridges to look for relics. Once, they got lost in the mountains, tired and hungry, and almost couldn't get out. Fortunately, hard work paid off and they found an object that was suspected to be left by a knight, which gave the village brand a turnaround.
Funding was a big problem when preparing for a new attraction. The village had no money, so Qi Tongwei shamelessly ran around, looking for the government and enterprises, and talked his mouth off. Technically, protecting cultural relics and arranging the venue were big challenges. The villagers learned while working, busy day and night.
Just when the new scenic spot was about to open, a rainstorm triggered a landslide, destroying the road and damaging the scenic spot. The villagers burst into tears when they saw their hard work destroyed, thinking that God was so unfair. Qi Tongwei held back his tears and encouraged everyone: "We can't just accept it like this, we can fix it and start over!"
Everyone cheered up and worked together to rescue and restore the scenic spots. After reopening, tourists flocked to the village, and the village became popular again. In the agricultural product processing area, in order to cope with the competition, Qi Tongwei led the villagers to introduce new varieties, upgrade the technology, and repackage. When participating in the trade fair, he personally stood on the stage and introduced the products in dialect, and his enthusiasm moved many people.
Today, Xiake Village has become rich. A new school has been built in the village, so the children can study well; a large square has been built, so the elderly can take a leisurely walk. Looking back on the past, it was full of hardships. We were once so poor that we could not even afford to eat, and we had to fight for a little profit. Now, when I think about it, those hardships are also wealth.
Once upon a time, the barren land produced meager output, and if the harvest was not good, neighbors would quarrel over irrigation water and the demarcation of arable land boundaries. At that time, a little bit of profit could make everyone red-eyed. Family and friendship became fragile under the pressure of survival, as if controlled by an invisible hand, making everyone fall into the quagmire of selfishness and narrow-mindedness. This was a farce of "power supremacy" directed by poverty, and everyone was forced to play a helpless role in it.
When the opportunity to develop tourism and process agricultural products came, it was not smooth sailing at first. When preparing the theme of "Xia Ke Village", someone wanted to monopolize the planning and take the lead, relying on his family's prestige in the village, in an attempt to get a bigger share of the pie, which brought the preparation work to a standstill; when agricultural product processing started, the uneven distribution of funds caused many complaints, and there was mutual shirking of responsibility for technical learning, fearing that their efforts would not be rewarded accordingly.
But the village showed its resilience in the face of adversity. Under the leadership of Qi Tongwei, everyone gradually realized that internal friction would not help. During the rescue and relief work, everyone was equal. The young and strong rushed to the front to carry sandbags and clear silt, while the women boiled water and cooked in the back to take care of the wounded. At that moment, the past conflicts of interest disappeared. At the trade fair, Qi Tongwei spoke in a simple dialect and told the stories of the hard work behind the agricultural products. Everyone was no longer working for personal gain, but for the common reputation and future of the village.
Today, the new school is filled with the sound of reading, which is a movement of hope; the elderly in the square are leisurely and contented, which is a picture of happiness. The past disputes over interests have turned into a tacit understanding of working together to forge ahead. The so-called "power" has been replaced by the power of unity. Every step of the village's development has witnessed the villagers' transition from narrow-mindedness to open-mindedness, from poverty to prosperity. The conflicts of interest that were once thought to be crucial are nothing more than grinding stones on the road of growth, making the village of knights more dazzling.
Some people almost came to blows over water sources; they slandered each other behind their backs to attract customers. On the road to development, it seems that everyone wants to be the "protagonist" and control the situation, but the result is often a lose-lose situation.
Later, faced with natural disasters, man-made disasters, and fierce competition, everyone gradually realized that the individual's "small plans" could not defeat the collective's "big plans."