Profits from livestreams and pastures

Ou Jiangqu, 33, had been working as a television producer for more than a decade in her hometown of Changsha, Hunan province, when a job assignment took her down an unexpected path.

Last year, she visited Chengbu Miao autonomous county in the southwestern part of the province for the first time to film a story on the revitalization of rural areas in Hunan.

"I was impressed by the undamaged environment of Chengbu. The county has natural advantages for growing organic agricultural products," Ou said. "It is very far from the cities, and there's no high-speed rail to get here. It takes seven hours to drive from Changsha."

Feeling stuck in her career as a producer, the idea of starting an e-commerce business in Chengbu appealed to her.

"I saw a boom in livestreaming last year," she said.

"Chengbu has many high-quality agricultural products. To start e-commerce here is a win-win decision. On one hand, I can start a new career, and on the other I can help Chengbu expand sales channels and get rid of poverty."

However, things didn't go as smoothly as she had planned. The hosts Ou hired to sell agricultural products in the livestreaming room ran out of sales pitches and introduced new products when no one was watching online.

Ou encountered other hurdles, such as the high-quality produce she planned to sell not having proper certification and wholesale prices being higher than she expected.

Staff expenses were high and Ou's partner pulled out of the venture after a few months due to lack of profits.

However, thanks to Liu Shujun, deputy head of Chengbu county, the situation gradually improved.

Nanshan in Chengbu is one of the largest pasture areas in southern China and milk produced there has been a favorite of Hunan natives for generations, Ou said.

Targeting milk as a high-demand product, Liu and Ou negotiated with local dairy producers over the price and changed the packaging to meet the needs of online customers.

"The price is 60 yuan ($9.30) for 12 bottles offline, and we can sell six bottle for less than 20 yuan after negotiating the price," she said.

As a novelty to attract customers, Ou and her team moved their livestreaminging setup to open pasture, where their followers could view cows, blue sky and green grass. Liu also became one of the hosts of Ou's livestreams and introduced Chengbu's fresh agricultural products to thousands of new fans. The livestreaming account Xiangcunzhimaguan, literally meaning "official of the countryside", became the first in the country to have local officials selling products online.

"At that time, not only Liu but also many officials from other places were selling local products from our livestreaming site," Ou said.

Chengbu was formerly listed as a poor county but ventures such as Ou's helped end poverty in February. With help from the local government, sales from Ou's livestreaming site from late 2019 to mid 2020 were 5 million yuan.

The majority of the profits went to Chengbu residents.

"With a stable number of fans and orders, we now hire local people to be hosts. Some wear Miao ethnic clothing and accessories. We also give lessons to residents who are interested in running their own e-commerce business," Ou said.

In Chengbu, there is no lack of agricultural products. However, for Ou and her team, the task is how to process the raw produce and market it. "For instance, Chengbu produces a large amount of sweet potatoes, but few customers buy sweet potatoes," she said. "Our strategy is to find factories to process them and upgrade the products."

Now her business in Chengbu is on track, Ou has opened another office in Changsha with four other partners. Her main role is to plot the future path for the company.

"I've spent little time with my family because I am wholeheartedly devoted to my new career," she said. "Although it is difficult, I find meaning in it－not only self-fulfillment but also doing something for rural China."