ZHENGZHOU, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Yang Changtai, 49, is a household name in Dongyue Village in central China's Henan Province.

From an impoverished farmer to a well-to-do farm owner and then to a Party branch secretary, within six years Yang rewrote his destiny with his own efforts and support from others.

POVERTY-STRICKEN FARMER

After working for 20 years as a migrant worker in the capital city of Beijing, Yang had to return to his hometown in 2012 following a car accident.

Yang used his savings worth more than 200,000 yuan (about 28,250 U.S. dollars) that he accumulated over the years to venture into business. He started to plant tree seedlings and flowers, dreaming to "plant" a bright future.

However, after a few months, "gold" flower buds did not sprout. As a layman without farming technology and sales channels, Yang lost all his savings and incurred a debt of 80,000 yuan.

Yang's dream was shattered.

In 2014, his family became a registered poor household in the village.

SUCCESSFUL FARM OWNER

Just when Yang was planning to pack his luggage and return to cities again, Wang Tingwei, a village official in charge of poverty alleviation work, visited his home.

Yang's fate changed.

"Get up wherever you fall. We will help you to overcome difficulties," Wang encouraged the farmer to continue planting.

The grassroots official helped Yang apply for bank loans, seek professional guidance in tree and flower plantation. Besides, he provided Yang with market and sales information. Yang developed his own flower planting methods after several rounds of practice.

Flowers finally blossomed!

In just a year, Yang's plantation business helped him earn a revenue of 150,000 yuan, which not only paid off his debts but also helped him out of the village's list of poor households.

In August 2015, Yang expanded his business and founded Sifangjing Family Farm. The over 100-hectare farm cultivates organic rice, vegetables and tea, and raises crayfish and chicken.

As Yang's farm scale became larger, making standardized and branded products emerged as a new challenge for Yang.

In 2017, he registered the Sifangjing brand and started developing green agricultural products. The farm's products are now available on many e-commerce platforms in China.

PARTY BRANCH SECRETARY

Yang was elected as the Party branch secretary of Sifangjng Family Farm after it set up a Party branch in 2017.

"Only when all villagers cast off poverty can we realize the goal of common prosperity," he said. "I shoulder a heavier responsibility to help poor villagers increase incomes after I became a Party branch secretary."

Yang employed poor locals to work on his farm and provided them with seedling and flower plantation know-how and technologies free of cost.

So far, he has helped more than 100 villagers from 50 impoverished households to increase incomes.

Yang also established the industrial alliance of Dongyue Village in 2019, involving cooperatives, e-commerce companies and family farms. Last year, the total sales volume of the industrial alliance reached 2.7 million yuan.

"Next, I plan to develop agro-ecological tourism so that visitors from cities can see the culture of the village and have a taste of their childhood," said Yang. "We have many ways to make a fortune."

"I am a farmer who has shaken off poverty. I want to lead the villagers to get rich together," he said. Enditem