Wang Guolin, a 69-year-old Rugao native who returned to his hometown to start an agricultural cooperative in 2019, now earns over 3 milllion yuan ($472,700) per year by selling vegetables.

Located in Changjiang town, Rugao, Jiangsu province, the agricultural cooperative covers an area of 250 mu (17 hectares) and grows white turnips and lettuces.

The lettuces growing in Wang Guolin's greenhouse. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

In order to ensure the yield and good taste of the lettuces, Wang hired a professional to provide instructions on the planting.

In Wang's vegetable base, the growth cycle of the lettuces and the ambient temperature are under strict control. Lettuces are harvested when they grow to 20-25 centimeters. Before the delivery, all the lettuces will be cleaned and then covered with plastic wrap to keep them fresh.

Wang said, "The yield of lettuce reaches 4, 000 to 5, 000 kilograms per mu. Recently, the daily sales volume is 5 to 6 metric tons. After 10 days, the daily sales volume can reach more than 10 tons."

This agricultural cooperative has received a large number of orders from large chain enterprises, such as Zuotingyouyuan, Nanjing Qingmai Supply Chain Co Ltd, and Hema, generating more than 1 million yuan in earnings for Wang.

In addition, Wang's agricultural cooperative also reprocesses white turnips into pickles, which generates 800,000 yuan in earnings for him. 

Moreover, the base has employed 60 villagers from surrounding areas, which offers them the opportunity to increase their incomes.