“Thanks to our village league branch secretary Xiang Lili who has introduced several orders to me this week, I have sold over 50,000 seedlings worth more than 40,000 yuan.” Zhang Ping said that he has tried planting 8 mu (about 0.53 hectares) of fruit seedlings this year, and now he has no worries about sales and plans to expand the planting area next year.
In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet and e-commerce, young people who engage in e-commerce have emerged in Changputang Village. They sell fruits and seedlings online through Wechat Moments, online stores, and live streaming, making them the “E-commerce Youth Army” of Changputang Village.
They not only drive the development of the fruit and seedling industry in Changputang village and surrounding areas, but also give impetus into the rural revitalization of the village.
In the past, fruits and seedlings planted by farmers in Changputang Village were mainly purchased by vendors or sold on street stalls by farmers themselves.
But with the expansion of the planting area of the local fruit industry and the increase of fruit and seedling products, traditional sales channels are no longer able to meet the development needs of the fruit and seedling industry in the village.
How to expand product sales channels, break through bottlenecks in industrial development, and forge a new path? Changputang villagers have been constantly seeking innovation and changes.
In 2015, Xiang Lili who studied e-commerce in university established the Fenghuang Ancient Town Red Kiwi Base website with the help of her classmates. She took advantage of the reputation of Fenghuang Ancient Town and began selling Changputang kiwis on the Internet and Wechat Moments.
Through e-commerce platforms, Xiang Lili not only developed her own kiwifruit base, but also purchased kiwifruits from her hometown and surrounding towns to sell online. Her kiwifruits have been sold to the whole country, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Changsha, and are highly favored by customers.
This year, she sold 25,000 kg of kiwifruits through e-commerce platforms, achieving a revenue of over 100,000 yuan.
“Through online sales, there are fewer intermediate links and higher profits. And it also allows us to better understand market demand. Now, we basically produce what the market needs.” Xiang Lili added that the development of e-commerce economy is also promoting the transformation and upgrading of industries in the village, and helping increase villagers’ income.
In recent years, other young people in Changputang Village have also participated in e-commerce.
Zhou Zuhui, secretary of the Party Committee of Changputang Village and chairman of Hunan Zhoushengtang Biotechnology Company, has given himself the online name “Fenghuang Village Chief”.
In recent years, he has actively explored e-commerce sales models and sold agricultural products in Changputang like honey pomelo paste and preserved kiwifruits through live streaming, short videos and other channels on online platforms, achieving fruitful results.
In 2022, the sales revenue of Zhoushengtang Company reached 85 million yuan, of which 18.5 million yuan came from e-commerce. This made Zhou Zuhui realize the enormous potential of the Internet and strengthen his determination to do e-commerce.
Since the beginning of this year, apart from livestreaming e-commerce, he has also cooperated with online anchors to further expand the sales channels of agricultural and sideline products in Changputang Village.
Tian Xiangqun is the captain of the women’s grafting team in Changputang Village. She has exquisite fruit seedling grafting skills and has become one of the main force of the village’s “E-commerce Youth Army” through self-study.
“I usually graft fruit seedlings in the orchard and sell fruits online during the harvest season to increase income.” Tian Xiangqun said that through online sales, Changputang’s fruit brand has been established. This year, she and her husband delivered more than 280 red kiwifruit orders on the busiest day.
In recent years, led by Zhou Zuhui, Xiang Lili, Tian Xiangqun and others, over 50 young people have engaged in e-commerce. The role of the “E-commerce Youth Army” in promoting rural revitalization and industrial prosperity has been recognized by the villagers.
