【Commentary】In early spring and March, in Hongwei Community, Yinghong Town, Yingde City, Guangdong Province, tea trees are pumping out fresh green buds. Returned overseas Chinese Li Mingshan and the workers of his tea factory ushered in the busiest time of the year, and freshly picked spring tea brought them a lot of income.

In September 1978, 9-year-old Li Minh Shan left Vietnam with his father, returned to the motherland, and was resettled in the Yingde overseas Chinese farm. After joining the work, Li Mingshan and his father learned planting, picking, fermentation and other crafts in the local tea factory, and began his tea cultivation career.

【During the same period】Returned overseas Chinese Li Mingshan

When I was young, I had already returned to the motherland, and my parents were arranged to produce tea leaves, and we also helped more and less together when we were young. Later, after I joined the work myself, I still engaged in this tea (industry), and slowly felt that this tea is very important to us.

Yingde City has a long history of tea cultivation, but it has not formed the main varieties before, and in 2002, the economic benefits of tea cultivation began to decline. Li Mingshan tried to grow fruit to subsidize his family. Until 2008, Yingde City promoted the excellent tea plant variety "Yinghong No. 4" to tea farmers, and provided free technical guidance and training. Li Mingshan, who already has rich experience in tea cultivation and tea, believes that the new varieties have a good taste and broad market prospects, although many people were not optimistic at that time, he still "felt the stones to cross the river" and began trial planting on <> acres of land in front of his home.

【During the same period】Returned overseas Chinese Li Mingshan

The first planted is these 4 acres, and now I am reluctant to dig it up, because it is too emotional, and it is all dependent on it to make a fortune, plus the quality of our tea (planted) is quite good in the past 10 years.

At that time, when I was breeding seedlings and when I was planting tea, people once advised me not to invest blindly, the original tea price was too low, and the market was not good. I said definitely not, because I saw this market prospect and strengthened my belief and kept doing it.

【Commentary】With his own efforts and policy support, Li Mingshan's personally contracted tea garden has reached more than 200 mu, and at the same time has a 40-mu black tea seedling base, with sales of more than 300 million yuan (RMB) last year. With the vigorous promotion of the government, the brand awareness of Yingde black tea has become more and more high, and many returned overseas Chinese and relatives in the village have asked him for advice. Li Mingshan has not forgotten that he learned tea seedling breeding technology for free from the Yingde City Fine Seed Farm, and he also taught seedlings and tea planting techniques to the villagers without reservation and free of charge.

【During the same period】Returned overseas Chinese Li Mingshan

My idea is that they can grow and succeed. Because the income of our expatriates was still relatively low at that time, and after three or five years of perseverance, many of my friends and fellow villagers also grew tea, and their income slowly improved. Now there are basically no idlers in every household, really, those who have tea pick tea. If you don't have it, you don't have much of your own, and after picking it, you can help others pick it. After picking a lot, I came to work on my tea plantation without anything to do.

【During the same period】Returned overseas Chinese Zhang Shouyu

My family lives nearby, very close. I don't have to worry about finishing today, my family has finished picking tea, nothing to do and no income. He gave me a very fixed salary, which made me feel very relieved.

At present, Hongwei Community has become a "one village, one product" black tea professional village recognized by Guangdong Province, with a total area of more than 5000,<> mu of black tea, and every household has its own tea garden. Some villagers also work in Li Mingshan's tea factory to increase their income, and they build buildings, buy cars and live happily ever after, driven by the black tea industry.

Reporting by reporters He Junjie and Xu Qingqing in Guangdong

Responsible Editor: [Peng Dawei]