Party chief ensures a better life for village

With cement roads linking the village to the outside world and clean tap water available to every household, farmers in Xiliuzhuang, a mountainous village in Henan province, have set off on their journey to a life better-off. It's all thanks to their united actions, led by the late Party secretary of the village who devoted his life to getting the village out of poverty.

Located at the foot of Laoqing Mountain at Yexian county, Xiliuzhuang covers a total area of 560 hectares, but it only has 44 hectares of arable land upon which 900 people live, making the village a tough challenge for the province's poverty alleviation campaign.

Due to a complicated geological structure, the village suffered a serious shortage of drinking water. Twenty years ago, villagers had to wait days and nights at a rock crack at the foot of the mountain－the only source of drinking water－to collect some for the village. Quarrels over who should own a bucket of water frequently happened, according to media reports.

The difficult situation started to change when Liu Suishen was selected as the Party secretary of the village in 1998.

Liu led villagers to build a five-kilometer main road in 2002, linking the village to the outside world. In 2008, they built branch roads that connect each household to the main road.

"Before having solid roads, we suffered from dust on windy days and muddy roads on rainy days. He (Liu) did everything he could to make the environment of our village better and better," says Fu Bangkui, a member of the village's Party branch committee.

To tackle the water problems, Liu mobilized villagers to build water cellars to store rain. Meanwhile, he kept applying for projects run by the local water management authority. In the winter of 2013, the local authority sent workers to drill wells at the village. Liu built a fire at the site to warm the workers and he accompanied them during the night to see them tap underground water as soon as possible.

Finally, in the second half of 2014, underground clean water reached every household.

"I still remember how excited I was at the moment when I turned on the tap and the water poured out," says the 81-year-old villager Chai Chunqing.

With roads, water and electricity available, Liu led farmers to raise livestock and plant fruit trees on the mountain to earn more money. The average annual income of each villager reached 4,000 yuan ($567.6) in 2016 from 800 yuan in 1997.

With subsidies of 500,000 yuan allocated by central and local governments on poverty alleviation, Liu established a cooperative which aimed to provide mutual help among villagers. Villagers can join in the cooperative with a monetary deposit. Then they can borrow up to 10 times the amount they deposit from the cooperative.

By 2018, the cooperative had helped 186 families out of poverty by developing their businesses.

Yang Taiping is one of the villagers who have benefited from the cooperative. He now runs a workshop processing wood with an average annual income of 700,000 yuan. His workshop provides jobs for more than 10 villagers.

To take care of the elderly, a nursing home was established at the village in 2008. Liu was selected as the head of the home where around 40 elderly people live. No matter how busy he was, he visited the residents of the home every day.

"Two years ago, I got sick at night. He sent me to hospital immediately and took care of me there. Even my son couldn't be as considerate as him," says 87-year-old villager Niu Xingzhao.

By 2018, all of the families in Xiliuzhuang village had escaped poverty.

However, one morning in February 2019, after visiting the elderly at the home, Liu succumbed to a heart attack. He was 57 years old.

During the past year, the village has been afforesting the mountain, as planned by Liu, to develop rural tourism in the future.

"He said he was a light positioned at the grassroots to deliver warmth, so he was dedicated to serving his fellow villagers. He is like a flag, guiding us to strive for a better life," says Fu.