New crops, new hope

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-07-2009 12:49

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In the rural areas of Sichuan's Shifang city, many farmers make their living from wood ear mushrooms. Last year's earthquake destroyed their crops. CCTV reporter Zhang Lu revisited a family there and finds out that production has now resumed and things are looking up.

Chen Qijun, a farmer of Longjusi village of Shifang in  Sichuan province, said, "We lost our faith at the beginning.  Our loss was about 50 thousand yuan last year. But when we  saw other people are growing mushrooms again, we knew that  we couldn't give up. We had to move on."

One year after the quake, it seems that Chen and his family have conquered their depression.

Many changes have taken place. The biggest one is the new greenhouse for wood ear mushrooms.

It was built in February. The mushrooms have sprouted and are looking healthy.

Chen Qijun, a farmer of Longjusi village of Shifang in Sichuan province, said, "We lost our faith at the beginning. Our loss was about 50 thousand yuan last year. But when we saw other people are growing mushrooms again, we knew that we couldn't give up. We had to move on."

Last May, the greenhouses all collapsed, the mushrooms were ruined, and the house was badly damaged. The biggest heartbreaker was that they lost their 15-year-old daughter. The couple felt life was over for them.

A government subsidy and low-interest loans allowed Chen to started growing mushrooms this year. He says this helps the whole family regain strength.