The story of a China student who went from tramp to farmer.

There is a New South Wales on the east coast of Australia, and there is a Hunter Valley in New South Wales. It's a picturesque place with lush trees and fragrant flowers. Right here. I met Wang Baoquan, a Chinese farmer with a rich color.

in mid-December, it was midsummer in Australia. Wang Baoquan is wearing a T-shirt and casually. A pair of big hands are thick and rough, and his face is tanned. A whole farmer is not a new farmer in China's coastal open areas, but an old farmer on the Loess Plateau. A blood vessel on his left arm is as thick as a ballpoint pen, and that piece of skin is different from other places, a bit like an eraser. It's inconvenient to ask questions when we meet for the first time, so we have doubts for the time being.

according to the measurement unit in China, the area of this farm is 53 mu. Wang Baoquan doesn't like to talk about acres and hectares, but likes to talk about acres. He doesn't grow fruit trees, vegetables or oats. He grows flowers. His Ruihua brand flowers are in short supply in Sydney. He said that in this year's Sydney Olympic Games, he wanted to donate flowers to the China-winning athletes, and I wonder if the China delegation could give him this face.

He bought this farm in 1995 for 1.3 million Australian dollars, which is 7.5 million yuan in RMB. He said that in recent years, Hunter Valley has developed tourism and the land has appreciated. His farm has been worth 2.6 million Australian dollars, which has doubled. From here, we can also see the attraction of the real estate industry. In five years, even if you buy it and plant nothing there, you can produce 26, Australian dollars in one year. What can this 26, yuan do in Australia? You can buy a villa-style house with front and back gardens.

but Wang Baoquan is not ready to sell. His career is developing. In addition to land purchase, he also invested more than 2 million Australian dollars to build various facilities. He has set up two sales outlets in Sydney, listing five or six thousand bouquets of flowers every day, with a turnover of around A $3,. He said that within two years, all the investment can be recovered. He is still throwing it in, and the foundation of a building has been laid. It is a comprehensive building that integrates the functions of preservation, storage, packaging, office and staff canteen. He will also build a computer room, a fully automatic greenhouse with temperature control, watering and fertilization.

Perhaps, in his heart, he wanted to monopolize the flower market in Sydney, but he didn't say. I guessed it from what he said. He said that his farm is not big in the local area, but he has mastered the unique skill of planting flowers and the quality of flowers is good. He also takes good care of his brand. Flowers are not listed when they are bent, when they lose a petal, and when they are out of date, Australian flower consumers are very expert and know exactly what to spend. Some customers are not very particular about it. One of the flowers in a bunch has lost two petals, so they want to buy it back at a discount, but they don't sell it in Wang Baoquan and transport it back to the farm for destruction. Colleagues know that this China native is not simple, but a terrible competitor, so they inquire about this farm through various channels.

It is hard for anyone to think that this ambitious middle-aged man has experienced hardships that ordinary people can't bear.

He left his wife and daughter in January, 199, and came to Australia alone. He wanted to find a school to study. In his words, he said, "Go back with gold plating so that he can climb up". Australia attracts foreign students for profit, and the tuition is quite high. However, he has only a hundred dollars in his arms, so he can only work to earn money, hoping to earn enough tuition outside his life. He lives in a suite shared by overseas students in China. He belongs to a bunk in the corner of the living room, and pays a weekly rent of 1 Australian dollars. After staying, look around for a job. God forbid, he didn't find a job. I can't afford the rent, so I have to pack up and leave. Unable to stay in the city, he went to the countryside and began the wandering life of gypsies for half a year.

On the coast of the Australian mainland, there is a No.1 highway. With a small bag on his back, he turned a whole circle by standing on the roadside and strengthening his thumb, and went deep into the hinterland several times. Giving a thumbs-up means hitchhiking. Australians are simple and helpful. Wang Baoquan was penniless, so he relied on the help of local people to give him bread or something. He said, "It's like begging."

homeless people have no fixed place. Australia is not allowed to sleep on the streets. Wang Baoquan spent 29 Australian dollars to buy a small single tent, and stayed in the dense forest far away from residential areas. Every morning, he walked for two hours to get to a crowded place, in order to avoid the eyes of the police. One night, he left half a loaf of bread for the next day and hung it on the top of the tent. There is a wild boar in the Woods, not the one with tusks, but a wild domestic pig that was lost from the early British colonists' home. This thing has a good nose. When it smells bread, it arches the tent. He said that he didn't have a haircut, didn't shave, had long hair and shawls, and had a long beard and a drooping chest.

Later, I asked his wife quietly, and she said, "He didn't say why he made himself like this. I think he wanted to scare people and not be bullied." He is fighting for survival. He does everything, planting trees, weeding, fishing and digging asparagus. In short, as long as someone hires him for one day, he will thank God for giving him a full meal. In June of this year, in the winter in the southern hemisphere, he turned back to New South Wales and came to Hunter Valley.

Here, he got a job and planted flowers on a farm newly opened by Australians. He works 1 hours a day for 7 days in Qian Zhou, and his boss pays him 1 Australian dollars a week. At that time, the labor law stipulated that the minimum wage of a worker should exceed 1 Australian dollars per hour, and he should earn at least 7 Australian dollars. But he doesn't care. For him, having a fixed place to live and having a full stomach is already very happy.

What is remarkable about this man is that his hardship has not eroded his ambition. He doesn't care about the immediate gains and losses, works hard, and works hard every day from before the sun rises until he can't see his fingers, and he studies hard. I don't have the conditions to learn gardening theory, so I do experiments with several pots, and observe and compare how much water and fertilizer, when to water, when to fertilize, what fertilizer to apply, temperature and humidity. Picking flowers, he works for several local white workers and grows flowers. He is a senior engineer without a title. The boss began to give him a raise of 25 Australian dollars an hour. It can be said that the boss's farm was made by him.

In 1995, he became a permanent resident and was eligible for a loan from the bank. At this time, Wang Baoquan not only learned the skill of planting flowers, but also had a clear understanding of the market situation. Unlike other Asian immigrants, he planted a large vegetable field, operated on a small scale, and accumulated capital one by one. He made a splash without saying anything. He lent 2 million Australian dollars from the bank at once, found a partner from China, raised more than 1 million Australian dollars, and bought a farm at the beginning.

he succeeded. He didn't study economics, but he succeeded in writing a big article on economics. He said that many people keep their eyes on the city, but they don't know that rural Australia is full of opportunities. Australians are lazy and can't be said to be smart. With the hard-working spirit and smart talents of China people, there are still many great articles that can be done in rural Australia.

In Australia, there are two kinds of China people I meet. One kind is that they say nothing about their motherland and are ashamed of their China origin. When they see yellow skin, they don't care about it, for fear of being touched by backwardness and poverty, just like the rich people in the old society were ashamed to associate with poor relatives. The other is that I am far away from my motherland and miss China more and more. Everything is good. Wang Baoquan belongs to the second category. He hired 12 white Australian workers. At first, those guys looked down on him, because what they learned from the local news media was a backward China. China people in Australia came here illegally by fishing boats to share their wealth and civilization.

once, the underground water pipe was broken, and several workers couldn't fix it for a long time. He jumped down and brought a muddy water to fix it. Stand there dripping wet, call all the workers, point to their noses and say, this is your job, I am the boss, I am like a mud monkey today, you should be ashamed. The workers are convinced by him. He can not only grow flowers, but also do anything, such as electricians and mechanics. It's amazing.

This year, Wang Baoquan selected two "advanced producers" and spent 2, Australian dollars to arrange a trip to Shanghai. When two white boys came back from Shanghai, they said that China was very different from their imagination. Shanghai was more prosperous than Sydney, and they didn't want to come back. Shortly before we met, Wang Baoquan got a video of the 5th National Day military parade from nowhere. He was so happy that he called all his workers together and said that he would quit his job today and watch the video. The workers were dumbfounded. They had never seen this potential faction in their lives. From then on, they not only served Wang Baoquan himself, but also served China. Wang Baoquan said that he is engaged in political work, and it is impossible to engage in enterprise management without political education.

Now, these workers are obedient and kiss up to him. Both he and his wife say that foreigners' flattery is fun. They are very eye-catching and don't avoid people at all. For example, when Wang Baoquan brought something in his hand, they would immediately rush over and snatch it from him, as if their boss was extremely guilty if he was exhausted. They will also give Wang Baoquan some snacks in front of everyone and say that my mother made them specially for you. Wang Baoquan said to me, "It feels great to manage foreigners. I like to hire foreigners." Words are a joke, but the national pride is very strong.

Just as he was about to show his talents in Australia, a troublesome disease haunted him. Both his kidneys are broken and he has to rely on dialysis to maintain them. The blood vessel on the left arm was made like this to clean the blood. The doctor connected the two blood vessels together. He said he was tired. In the process of wandering, working and starting a business, he is desperate. After a day's work, I can't straighten my waist at all, and my whole body is in a curved shape when I walk.

Baoquan, Baoquan, may you live a long life, and let us see the greater achievements of a descendant of the Chinese people in a foreign country!

Author's Note:

This article was published in Global magazine in 2 and was widely reprinted by domestic and Hong Kong media. At that time, I gave Wang Baoquan a pseudonym Wang Pengshou. On the one hand, I wished him an early recovery and longevity. On the other hand, Baoquan didn't want to appear in the domestic media. Later, I found out that he was wary of reporters and said he didn't want to be reported. I persuaded him again and again and promised not to use his real name, and he reluctantly agreed. In the subsequent telephone contact, he asked me several times what I needed his help, and said, "I will definitely do what you promised the teacher." I said nothing happened. He doesn't care about revealing his real name. In 21, I drove five hours to see him.

His illness continues to deteriorate, and he is going to Shanghai for kidney transplantation immediately. I wished him success in the operation and asked him to call me after the operation. Since then, I haven't heard from him, and I dare not call him. I picked up the phone several times and put it down. In 23, my term ended and I was about to return to China. I called him to say goodbye. A foreigner answered the phone and said that I had the wrong number. My heart tightened immediately. I was not reconciled, so I called his cell phone again and heard a familiar voice. I was overjoyed. He said that his illness continues to be serious, but he hasn't had surgery yet. Now he must have dialysis every day. The government imported a dialysis machine for him from Germany, trained him and taught him how to use it.

He is taking care of the funeral. He has sold the farm, bought a house in Sydney and bought a convenience store for his wife. He said that the survival rate of kidney transplantation is not high, and he must arrange the life of his wife and children before the operation. I said, you sound good. He said that he was born as a soldier and was not afraid of death. When the ambulance came, he always spoke like this. Until now, I haven't heard any further news from him.