Li Xueqin and her husband, Li Liansheng, live in Aiguo, a village in Huachuan, a county in Jiamusi, a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. In 2017, the couple established a cooperative that specializes in agricultural products and byproducts. Li Xueqin, director of the cooperative and president of the local women's federation, has helped create jobs for local women. She and her husband have long been — and remain — dedicated to bringing prosperity to the other villagers.

Fine Family Values

Li Wangui, Li Xueqin's father, was principal of the primary school in Aiguo before he retired. Li Wangui attached great importance to his children's education. Li Xueqin and her two brothers began reciting ancient Chinese poetry at an early age. Li Wangui tutored them when he had time, and he instilled in them the importance of both being honest and reading books. Influenced by Li Wangui, Li Xueqin and her brothers became avid readers, and they have shared their love for reading with their children. 

When Li Xueqin was young, her mother, Wang Xiuhuan, shouldered responsibility for the family's farm work. "My mother is hardworking. At that time, she got up early every day, and she worked on the farm until late. During summer and winter vacations, my father took me and my brothers to the fields. He often did plenty of farm work, to help ease my mother's burden as much as possible," Li Xueqin recalls. 

The mutual understanding and support Wang and Li Wangui had for each other set a good example for their young children. After school, Li Xueqin and her brothers cooked the family's meals, and they did the household chores, to ease the burdens on their parents. 

Like Li Xueqin, Li Liansheng grew up in a warm family. His parents raised sheep, and they worked diligently, from morning to night, to earn money to put their children through school. Li Liansheng helped graze the sheep when he was young. He also studied hard, and he achieved good grades. 

The hard-working spirit exhibited by Li Xueqin and Li Liansheng's parents, and their emphasis on education, had a profound influence on Li Xueqin and Li Liansheng, and they have since passed on those good character traits to their children. 

'We Are Both Farmers' Children'

In 1999, Li Xueqin and Li Liansheng began cultivating rice. The couple studied advanced planting technologies, and they purchased modern agricultural machines to improve efficiency. Their family became the first household in the village to use a seed planter, harvester and a rice transplanter. Given their unremitting efforts, they have reaped bumper harvests, year after year. Their achievements have encouraged other villagers to purchase and learn how to use modern agricultural machines. 

With the support of the local women's federation, the couple in 2017 established Xiaohuoban Agricultural Product and Byproduct Specialized Cooperative. Since then, they have led the villagers in planting, processing and selling quality agricultural products. They also created Bingduo, a chili-sauce brand. "We are both farmers' children. We deeply understand villagers' yearning for a happy life. We hoped to start our own business, and we hoped to lead the villagers in living a more prosperous life," Li Xueqin says. 

From the beginning, the couple has made all-out efforts in managing the cooperative. Li Xueqin has encouraged women associated with the cooperative to work with all their might, and to become independent, confident women in the new era. "If we can endure the hardships others cannot endure, and if we can do what others cannot do, we are sure to succeed," Li Xueqin says. 

The villagers have been inspired by the couple's unyielding spirit. Women working in the cooperative, regardless of their jobs, have worked hard. Their efforts have borne fruit. In 2019, sales of the chili sauce reached 10 million yuan (US $1.41 million), and the cooperative helped more than 300 villagers increase their incomes.

Grateful Heart

One night, in early 2020, a fire, caused by aging equipment, destroyed the factory. As she stood amid the ruins, Li Xueqin felt disheartened. However, her husband encouraged her not to give up. 

"We invested all of our money in the cooperative, but it was destroyed. I felt so guilty. However, my husband did not complain ... He knew I would not be defeated ... So, he supported me, without hesitation. At that time, I realized the significance of mutual understanding, and support for a husband and wife," says Li Xueqin. 

The local government and the local women's federation provided financial support, to help Li Xueqin's family through the difficult time. Li Xueqin's parents offered their hard-earned savings, to encourage their daughter to continue her business. The villagers helped rebuild the factory. The support gave Li Xueqin great confidence — and strength. That fighting spirit kept the cooperative alive, and later that year the cooperative achieved an annual growth rate of 35 percent. 

After the business was back on track, Li Xueqin's parents reminded her to give back to others. "We must not forget the support of the Party and the local government, as well as the assistance of the villagers," they reminded her. Since then, Li Xueqin and her husband have provided rice, noodles and other gifts to villagers every Spring Festival. The couple also donated AED (automated external defibrillator) equipment, worth more than 100,000 yuan (US $14,084.51), to Huachuan County. In 2023, they participated in the paired-up assistance program for northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They are now building a chili-sauce factory in Xinjiang. 

"Along the way, I encountered difficulties, and I received great help from others. I got a lot of support and understanding from my family members, and I have pursued my career, with a grateful heart," says Li Xueqin. In the future, she plans to lead local women in living a more prosperous life. 

'Parents Are Always My Role Models'

To develop other varieties of chili sauce, Li Xueqin studied how to make beef and mushroom sauces in Xiamen, a city in southeast China's Fujian Province. She also made repeated visits to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to ask experts for advice on making chili sauce. Production of a new variety of chili sauce, developed by her team, will begin in the near future. 

Li Xueqin enjoys reading books, especially celebrities' biographies and books about sales and leadership. She and her husband set up a book corner in the factory, and they often encourage their employees to read. They also provide training opportunities to their employees. Influenced by the couple, many of their employees have developed the habit of reading, and many have mastered additional work and life skills. The cooperative has trained 10 employees to be livestream anchors. More than 30 employees have participated in the work of promoting the cooperative's products through livestreaming and short videos. 

Li Xueqin and her husband have set a good example for Li Shuangxu, their daughter. Li Shuangxu was born in 1998. In 2019, she began pursuing her master's degree in Technical University of Munich (TUM), in Germany, after she graduated from the University of Nottingham-Ningbo, in Ningbo, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province. In 2022, she began working toward her Ph.D. at TUM. She has always lived a frugal life. Every time she returns home, she works in the factory to help her parents. 

"My mother has instilled in me that a person must experience wind and rain in his/her life. If he/she can endure the hardships, to the best of his/her ability, he/she will not be afraid of anything. My mother is hard-working, thrifty and tenacious. She loves studying, and she never accepts defeat ... My parents are always my role models," says Li Shuangxu.

Photos from Interviewees

(Women of China English Monthly November 2024)

Editor: Wang Shasha