Wangjinzhuang Youth Wang Hulin, Disabled but Determined, Returns Home After College to Start E-commerce, Selling Hometown's Premium Millet

Shexian County in Hebei Province sits at the junction of Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan provinces, a typical deep-mountain county in the Taihang Mountains. With many barren hills, little arable land, and scarce water sources, it has long been described as "80% mountains, 5% water, and 15% farmland."

Facing harsh natural conditions, local farmers used local materials, building stone dikes and filling the spaces between them with earth to create patches of farmland.

With thick rock, thin soil, and arid climate, local people have chiseled stone and built dikes over hundreds of years, creating vast Taihang terraced fields. In the Wangjinzhuang area alone, there are over 80,000 plots.

Ancient farming methods stubbornly persist to this day. Dormant heirloom seeds are being revived through conservation and use, and the agro-tourism industry derived from farming culture is injecting new vitality into the weathered Taihang terraced fields.

In 2014, the "Shexian Dryland Stone-Dike Terrace System" was recognized as a "China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage System." In May 2022, this terrace system was inscribed on the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) list managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Wang Hulin is a native of Wangjinzhuang. In the 1990s, as a child, when he followed his elders leading donkeys to work on the terraced fields, he was curious and yearned for life beyond the mountains. From that time, he was determined to leave the towering Taihang Mountains. (Photo shows Wang Hulin.)

When Wang Hulin grew up, he studied diligently and fulfilled his wish by being admitted to Tianjin University of Technology. Born in the 1980s, he dreamed of soaring freely like an eagle in the sky. Wang Hulin once worked as a dashing sailor, and in his spare time on board, he would sit in the cabin reading the "Book of Songs" and savoring the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Unfortunately, after returning home in 2014, Wang Hulin had an accident that left him severely disabled (burst L4 vertebra, fractures in both legs). Not only could he not take care of himself, but the costs of 11 surgeries were overwhelming. To make matters worse, his father was also seriously ill that year, pushing the family into despair. Every time he had to go out, his fellow villagers would use poles and thick ropes to lift him from his bed, step by step, carefully carrying him to the main road to take him to the hospital. "Those days were worse than death. I felt like a useless person and even thought of suicide. But every time I saw my parents' white hair, I was conflicted. I often cried secretly under the covers those days."

During the Spring Festival of 2015, upon learning of Wang Hulin's condition, the Shexian Disabled Persons' Federation and the villagers of Wangjinzhuang extended a helping hand, donating 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan... little by little, their kindness brought him warmth.

"I must live on, live better, and repay my fellow villagers." Wang Hulin cried again, but this time tears of determination. He began learning about internet entrepreneurship, spending every spare moment browsing webpages on his side and voraciously reading textbooks.

Wangjinzhuang Village is the land of terraced fields. The primitive farming methods give the terrace millet a soft, moist texture and unique flavor. Wang Hulin sensed a business opportunity.

"E-commerce is a good choice. With a computer connected to the internet, that's all you need. We won't sell clothes or cosmetics, but the specialties of our Wangjinzhuang: millet, walnuts, and Sichuan pepper. We can complete transactions without leaving home." When this idea was proposed, everyone was worried: Can e-commerce work in a rural village? Will anyone want these rural products? The peak of e-commerce development has passed—can we succeed by catching the tail end? And importantly, do you know how to open an online store? "Let's give it a try," Wang Hulin would always say. That try has continued to this day.

In October 2015, already able to walk with crutches, he registered and established an e-commerce company focusing on selling local specialties like millet, with the help of the Shexian Disabled Persons' Federation. He rode a tricycle door-to-door to purchase new grain, becoming the "spokesperson" for his hometown's millet.

Wang Hulin has a happy family. His wife, Wei Jiao, is gentle, virtuous, and hardworking. Together, they have raised two lovely and well-behaved daughters. (Photo shows Wang Hulin with his wife and child.) Inspired by Wang Hulin, his wife joined him in entrepreneurship. She said: "At first, business was slow, so Hulin and I read books and researched together. Finance, marketing, humanities... I just felt that heaven rewards diligence."

Hard work pays off. The rich terrace culture and high-quality millet hitched a ride on the internet express. Wang Hulin's millet sales have been increasing year by year: 3,000 jin, 10,000 jin, 20,000 jin, and this year surpassed 50,000 jin.

To improve his e-commerce, Wang Hulin started learning photography, video shooting, and editing, taking photos for his fellow villagers. Through hard work, he achieved notable results and received praise from all walks of life, along with many certificates and trophies.

In the spring of 2023, Wang Hulin had some new ideas and boldly implemented them. His new plan was to successfully sell products under the "Spring Plowing of Wangjinzhuang Terraced Fields" initiative.

Spring plowing at Wangjinzhuang terraced fields—welcome your participation! Pre-order five jin of Wangjinzhuang terrace millet to help the villagers of the Panglv'er Cooperative plow their fields. In autumn, you will receive priority for five jin of Wangjinzhuang terrace millet. You can eat it yourself or give it to friends and loved ones. Free shipping on millet.

For just 49 yuan, you can participate in the protection of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System—Wangjinzhuang Terraced Fields. Let's protect the Wangjinzhuang terraced fields together. Pass on agricultural heritage, support the spring plowing of Wangjinzhuang terraced fields. Welcome your participation! Youth, dreams, terraced fields, millet—let's look forward to a bountiful harvest at Wangjinzhuang terraced fields!

Wang Hulin said, "I have loved this land since childhood. The terraced fields and heirloom seeds of my hometown have always been our pride." In Wangjinzhuang, in the past, growing on terraced fields was only to solve food and clothing. With the support of specialty agricultural cultivation and agro-tourism development, the protection and utilization of the terraced fields are increasingly becoming effective ways to revitalize the local countryside and increase farmers' income. More and more young people are returning home. This once poor place, described as "mountains high, rocks many, leaving home means climbing slopes," now lives up to its name: there is "gold" on the mountains, and a village at the foot.