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Last July, Meng Binglin became the head of a small village in Miyun, a county to the northeast of Beijing. But contrary to what one would normally expect, one of Meng's earliest moves as a village head was to start an online business on Taobao.
This curious move turned out to put Meng into a small spotlight — one highlighting his good will and, to some extent, his creativity.
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The eggs need to be protected with mini-airbags, two for each egg. [Photo/bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn] |
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These products are to be shipped in the next two days. [Photo/bjby.bjwmb.gov.cn] |
Upon arriving at Bulaotun town, Meng was impressed with its abundance of green foods: chestnuts, walnuts, honey, eggs, and firewood, to name but a few. The whole town was like a treasure trove of products in high demand in the cities.
Meng saw it all as an opportunity. The products were just being regarded as valueless, so why not turn them into some real cash to brighten up the town? Under the approval of a local village committee, Meng started his "Village Dream" Taobao store.
But the traditional villagers were accustomed to the physical trading of money and products. Any "promises" were mistrusted by nature, and so the villagers were unwilling to part with their household goods, even when Meng assured them that they would be returned later. Unwavering, he decided to launch the plan at full throttle anyway by pitching in his own wages.
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Meng actually spent over a decade pursuing the arts, before winding up in Bulaotun Town. [Photo/Qianlong.com] |
Meng solved this, only to be confronted by delivery problems. The town was 45km away from the city, and couriers refused to drive this far for a reasonable price. After some negotiations and help from the other village leaders, Bulaotun managed to settle an agreement with the local bussing company, where products would be periodically driven down and transferred to the delivery companies.
The store was up and running within the first two months of Meng's arrival.
"The goodies in front of you were all hand-wrapped and delivered by me, Old Meng! May your busy city live to be a little healthier, and a little warmer!"
Meng indeed dedicates an enormous amount of time towards his project. "Delivering 100 eggs would mean wrapping 200 layers of protection foam, which, admittedly, is rather cumbersome, but just think about what would happen on the other end. The customer opens the box to see my careful wrapping — now wouldn't that be a warm, fuzzy feeling?"
To date, Meng Binglin has earned over twenty thousand RMB for his village, in exchanger for 200kg of honey, 150kg of eggs, 750kg of walnuts, and 250kg of chestnuts.
Edited by Wang Zili
