Ex-farmer inspires neighbors to follow his lead in business

One farmer's determination to be a success in business has become an inspiration for others and turned his village into a thriving commercial hub.

When Yu Jianxiang was wandering the streets of Romania in 1994 with no money in his pocket, his chances of becoming a billionaire appeared remote.

Yu, 60, comes from Linxi village in Nantong, Jiangsu province, and he was the first of his family to try his hand at selling goods overseas. His brothers followed his path to success.

This in turn inspired other villages, and Linxi has become a thriving business center with about 500 of the village's 3,500 residents owning more than 200 overseas companies, with annual sales hitting $200 million yuan ($32 million).

In 1994, Yu went to Romania with 20 bags of bedclothes to sell but ended up penniless after a crooked deal.

Yu, a former farmer, had mortgaged his watch and wedding ring to buy wholesale items but could not speak any foreign languages. He exchanged a pillowcase for a calculator so he would be able to communicate prices to the Romanians.

Several days later, he had managed to make enough money to buy a plane ticket to the East European country.

"I was deceived many times when I was doing business," Yu said. "In 2000, I lost about 7 million yuan through fraud. Some people said I wouldn't be able to do business again. But I proved them wrong. I kept learning and carried on.

"If you are sensitive to business opportunities, good at financing and have a good reputation, there is plenty of business in foreign countries."

The second time Yu went to Romania, he took relatives with him to help him establish his own textile company.

His brother Yu Jianyuan now owns more than 10 companies in Europe, Africa and North America.

Another brother, Yu Jianhua, earned more than 10 million yuan in his first year in what was then Yugoslavia by selling textiles and other products of plastic and stainless steel.

"It was hard when we just arrived in a foreign country. I had to sleep on the road outside my small store for two weeks so I had enough room to store the goods," Yu Jianhua said. "But now things are improving. We have expanded from textiles to mining, energy and real estate.

"My son is doing business in Hungary while my daughter and son-in-law are in Poland. Many people from my family have become millionaires, even billionaires."

The Yu family's success has inspired many villagers in Linxi to explore opportunities in foreign countries.

Cai Yunsong, a former chief of the village, still remembers how poor the villagers once were.

"Before the 1980s, local residents could not even afford firewood for cooking," the 58-year-old said. "They had to cut dried reeds and pick up cotton shells from neighboring villages.

"My mom made pillowcases at home and embroidered flowers and animals on them. When she made 100 pairs of pillowcases, instead of selling them in Nantong, I would go to Shanghai to earn more money."

In 1997, after hearing about the Yu family, Cai went to Romania and made more than 400,000 yuan by selling a container of curtains.

"I also took people from the village to other countries," Cai said. "My purpose wasn't to make them work for me, but to broaden their horizons and provide a platform for them to develop."

Yu Fei, vice-president of the Nantong World Trade Federation, said he takes people abroad whenever he opens a new company.

"Most of the people I take abroad come from poor families."

He owns 18 stores in Chile, 10 in Ecuador and six in Peru. "Now all of them have bought houses and cars and are living happily with their families. I feel happiest when I'm helping other people."

In 2010, when an 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Concepcion, the second-largest city in Chile, Yu donated and delivered several truckloads of goods to people in need.

Also, to help the rest of the residents in Linxi village, the businessmen who made fortunes abroad established a foundation in 2007 that has helped more than 100 poor students and elderly people.

"No students drop out of school because of poverty now," Yu said. "Many of our children get admitted to universities. They will become better businesspeople than we are."

cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn