Blooming Youth

He Yongqun [For Women of China]

Many people are impressed by He Yongqun's confidence and strong character. In 1987, He was born into a poverty-stricken family in a remote mountainous village in Shangri-La, capital of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Now, she is chairperson of Wofulin Agriculture and Forestry Development Co., Ltd. (in Diqing). How did she become such a successful businesswoman?

In 2004, He's father was disabled during an accident. From that point, He, the eldest daughter in her family, had to do manual work (when she was off school) to help her family meet its daily expenses.

In 2006, He was admitted to the School of Foreign Languages & Literature, under Yunnan Normal University, after she passed the university-entrance examination. "While I studied in the university, I did five part-time jobs, so I could have enough money to cover my tuition and the costs of my daily expenses, and to support my brother and sister as they studied in their schools," He recalls.

Soon after she graduated from the university, in 2010, He began teaching English at a foreign language school in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. Two years later, she quit her job and established three private schools that offered extracurricular courses. In 2013-2014, He pursued a master's degree in business administration at Yunnan University.

"One day, in 2014, I received a phone call from my mom. She said my dad, who had a relapse of epilepsy, was in critical condition. Immediately, I decided to return home to start my own business, so I could take care of my parents," He recalls.

Soon after He returned home, a teacher at Yunnan University suggested she could raise and sell porcupines to earn money. As she learned the animal has high economic and medicinal value, she decided to follow her teacher's advice.

At the end of 2014, she began rebuilding her family's pigpens. In September 2015, she established Wofulin Agriculture and Forestry Development Co., Ltd. Within a month, she and her employees began raising porcupines, and processing and selling poultry products.

The porcupines raised by He [For Women of China]

He often recalls the hardships she encountered during the first year of running her business. For example, she lacked capital and the experience needed to develop her business. Despite such difficulties, He and her employees carried on.

Wofulin during the past few years has employed farmers to raise porcupines in the company's production bases, in several villages in Diqing's neighboring areas. He has visited the villages, to teach the villagers how to raise porcupines.

He and her employees earned a considerable profit after He sold all of the carefully bred, fully grown porcupines in 2016. That was her "first bucket of gold."

To earn greater profits, He during the past two years has led her employees in processing porcupines' quills into chopsticks, fish floats, toothpicks and other products.

As the old Chinese saying goes, "Those who work hard will be rewarded." He and her employees' efforts in developing the business have paid off, as He's company has boomed in the past two years. The company generated more than five million yuan (US $746,269) in revenue in 2017.

Helping Rural Residents Escape Poverty

He received a silver medal during the Third China Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, which was held in Shanghai in June 2016. "While I participated in the competition, I got to know many businesspeople, who were potential investors for my business," He recalls.

In 2017, Wofulin received 4.9 million yuan (US $731,343) in financing from Aochuang Asset Management Co., Ltd., an angel investor.

Also that year, Aochuang, Zhejiang Wuburen Culture and Art Development Co., Ltd. and Fujian Broken Films Co., Ltd. began creating a movie, Darla's Youth, based on He's story. The film caused a sensation throughout the country when it debuted, online, in April 2018.

Given He and her employees' efforts in developing the business, Wofulin has become one of China's leading porcupine-raising enterprises. He, who has always remembered her original dream of helping rural residents escape poverty, has been doing her best to promote rural economic development, and to help farmers get rich through hard work. As He has supplied improved breeds of porcupines to residents of several towns and townships in Shangri-La, many of the residents have escaped poverty by raising porcupines.

So far, Wofulin has employed 106 rural residents, and has signed contracts with 14 towns and townships (in Shangri-La) to develop porcupine farming. The company has also arranged for more than 3,400 rural residents ( including 1,465 impoverished farmers) to attend lectures to help them improve their poultry-breeding skills. Many residents, who applied what they learned in raising porcupines, have substantially improved porcupines' production.

He (M) poses for a photo with her mother and younger brother. [Women of China]

China's State Council (the central government's cabinet) on May 13 hosted a television and telephone conference, during which various departments were urged to work together to help young people, especially university graduates, find work and/or start businesses. The event was held in Beijing. He shared h e r experiences in establishing her enterprise. She was the only representative who spoke on behalf of self-made entrepreneurs (across the country).

Many leaders, who attended the conference, offered positive comments about He's speech.

He vows to make greater efforts to develop her business, in response to Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for youths to strive for the bright prospect of national rejuvenation. She plans to establish a porcupine-processing plant in her hometown.

(Women of China)