Former construction worker swaps big wages for new career in home village

A young construction worker decided to swap big wages in the city to embark on a new career as a postman in the remote mountain village where he was born.

Every weekday morning, Wang Qingcong delivers newspapers and parcels by motorcycle to nearby villages from the post office in his home village of Fanmao, Hainan province.

In the afternoon, he helps residents - mostly the aged left behind to take care of their grandchildren, whose parents are working in cities - pay electricity and telephone bills online in the post office, the only public place in the village with Internet access.

Since Jan 1 last year, the local government has set out to establish post offices in once secluded villages scattered throughout the island province.

Wang's post office is one of 1,708 established last year, and it lies about 7 kilometers from the city of Wuzishan in China's smallest and southernmost province.

The post office serves as a transit spot, collecting letters and parcels and then forwarding them to recipients.

It also handles newspapers, and Wang sends out 10 different newspapers every day.

"In the past, newspapers had to be sent to the village committee and then later picked up by residents, with an occasional delay of up to four days," said Wang.

"Now, with the village post office, residents can read the latest news, and things like college acceptance letters being lost will not happen again."

At about 3 pm, Wang arrives at the station and helps villagers pay bills online.

He spent around 3,000 yuan ($487) on the computer needed to do online payments and another 960 yuan for network devices.

"I like using the computer, and it is a good thing for people in the village, so it's really not a big deal," said Wang, speaking of his outlay to provide the service.

"The online payment service Wang offers has greatly helped villagers," said Huang Xiangzhong, a resident of Fanmao.

"We are really shut off here. In the past, we had to go to the electric power department in Wuzhishan. Now it is much more convenient. I pay my cellphone bills at the post office as well."

Wang Yanfei contributed to this story.

liuxiaoli@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/26/2015 page7)