By staff reporter ZHANG HONG

LIN Cuiying has sought ways to make life more affluent for local residents ever since she assumed the posts of the Party secretary and head of Xiejiagou Village， Shandong Province in 2011. With her efforts， the once less developed village has been built up into a successful example in the construction of the new socialist countryside.

Raise Funds for Road Restoration

Lin， selected as the village head by 800-plus villagers， views her job as a duty entrusted to her by the people.

Before engaging in village affairs， Lin and her husband ran a company that transports apples and apple juice products across the country. With a fleet of a dozen vehicles， the company prospered in the local area and built up steady relations with a considerable number of well-known juice manufacturers. Their business success not only greatly improved the couples life， but also encouraged them to help their fellow villagers have a better life.

Qixia City is a major center for apple orchards in China， accounting for one fifth of the countrys annual apple output. Xiejiagou Village， located some 10 km south of the city proper， yields three million kg of apples each year. Transportation， however， used to be a problem as the rough and bumpy roads to the market often ruined the ripe fruits. Top-grade apples usually priced at three to four yuan per 500 grams were marked down to less than one yuan once they had suffered damage in transport. Lin realized that repairing the road was， in one sense， a way to facilitate an increase in farmers incomes. Nevertheless， it was no easy job for a village without any substantial economic acumen.

Years before， Lin had donated RMB 30，000 to the village for a bridge restoration project. To repair the road， she decided to pay RMB 150，000 out of her own pocket and made further efforts to raise more. Endorsing her selflessness， Lins husband completely supported her decision. Local residents were also motivated to actively donate. Within three days， more than RMB 400，000 had been raised. In the course of construction， Lin rushed between the site and the village day and night to oversee the work while coordinating different sectors.

With the completion of a 20-meterwide blacktop road， villagers no longer worry that the fruits of their labor will be ruined， and now benefit from increased incomes.

Dedication to Villagers

Later， Lin began to tackle another problem – difficulty of access to potable water. She raised RMB 60，000 to build a 350-cubic-meter tank to store potable water. In addition， she raised RMB 15，000 to repair a well in the village which ensures the availability of water in the event of power or water failures.

Villagers in Xiejiagou mostly rely on fruit trees to make a living， but irrigation used to be a problem. With persistence， Lin visited the local water resources bureau again and again to raise the problem and strive to secure financial support from the local administration. In 2011， a water-saving irrigation project to solve the problem for Xiejiagou and its neighboring villages was finally initiated in Xiejiagou.

Requisition of some lands in the vil-lage was needed in order to construct tanks to store irrigation water. Nevertheless， local administrators feared the villagers would not be receptive. Lin assured them， on her honor， that the villagers would fully support projects beneficial to peoples livelihoods. It turned out that she was right. Most villagers backed the land requisition proposal. Lin went from door to door visiting those reluctant to yield up land where they had planted peanuts， wheat and fruit trees， patiently persuading them. A consensus was eventually reached. After one years construction， irrigation pipes now finally reach every households land， rendering it much easier to water the trees than ever before.

Above and beyond this， Lin also endeavors to help farmers perfect the quality of their fruit. Having found that traditional cultivation methods impaired the quality of apples， she invited experts to develop an improved method. The modification leaves a wider space between the trees， which are relatively lower than before， but which now produce apples of a better size and color. Villagers have registered a constant rise in their incomes ever since. Lin moreover does her best to sell the apples nationwide. She also set up the Yingda Fruit and Vegetable Co.， Ltd. to supply quality juice materials to a German firm.

Enriched Cultural Life

Like farmers in other parts of the country， Xiejiagous villagers toil in the fields all year round and spend little time enjoying life. Though some of them are interested in public square dancing and yangko （a Chinese folk dance）， they are just too shy to perform in public.

Aiming to enrich the villagers cultural life， Lin and the village committee have encouraged seniors enjoying high prestige and experienced in yangko performance and active youngsters to form a troupe. But the problem of funding reared its head once again， as cash is needed for the purchase of costumes， props， and various accoutrements. Lin discussed the issue with her husband. As always， he was supportive and generous. With the RMB 40，000 the couple donated and the money Lin raised， the village committee built a small square for public activities and purchased fitness equipment， as well as musical instruments and costumes for the yangko troupe. This was well received by the people. They now not only actively participate in various activities， but also invite choreographers to improve their performances.

Rather than watching TV or playing cards or mahjong at home after a days farm work， villagers now enjoy relaxing times in the square. Some engage in physical exercise， while others dance the yangko. An evening in the square is the happiest time in the village. Witnessing the villagers impressive progress in yangko dancing， Lin encouraged them to establish a troupe to stage performances during festivals which often draw a large crowd of the denizens of neighboring villages and towns.

Responding to the campaign to preserve a clean environment in rural areas launched by the Qixia municipal government in the summer of 2015， Lin called on the villagers to spend over one month doing a thorough cleaning. However， a few villagers opposed the cleaning up of haystacks around their houses even though they were often jumbled and even obstructed passage， because they were convenient to tend kitchen fires. Lin patiently persuaded them， enabling them to understand that cleaning up garbage and haystacks repels mosquitoes and flies， and is of benefit to the health of all villagers. Having listened to her advice， the villagers removed the haystacks and also cleared their drives and roads. In addition， Lin has donated more than RMB 100，000 to build a clinic and a small library to further ease the villagers lives.

Wang Wei， a local official， is impressed with the changes underway in Xiejiagou Village in recent years. “The village has logged considerable progress in terms of peoples moral and economic condition，” Wang observed. “Locals are very grateful to Lin， who is known to be selflessly devoted to bringing a better life to the people.”

In addition to contributing to improved living conditions， Lin also stresses maintaining a harmonious atmosphere in the village. She upholds good deeds and organizes village meetings. Recently， 10 families have been commended for maintaining harmonious family relations and respecting the elderly， while taking good care of children. Furthermore， a group of villagers has been praised as good neighbors， kind mothers-in-law and dutiful daughtersin-law. Inspired by these moral models， the ethos in the village has been constantly on the up and up， and Xiejiagou has been distinguished as a model village for the entire area to emulate.