A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

The land covers 30 acres, with a 10,000-ton cold storage facility at the east end, an automated sorting workshop at the west end, and a packaging line and testing center in the middle.

The training building and exhibition hall are painted snow-white, and the seven large red characters "Gobi Apple Industrial Park" on the roof can be seen from afar.

On the day of the unveiling ceremony, the courtyard was filled with people.

Li Chao didn't go on stage; he stood in the crowd.

Ai Ni, holding a megaphone, announced: "Fellow villagers! From now on, this will be the base camp for our 'Gobi Apples'!"

Apples that leave here are the standard, top-quality, and renowned "Gobi apples".

Supermarkets recognize it, markets recognize it, consumers recognize it.

Applause erupted like a tidal wave.

Li Chao looked at the sun-darkened faces—Uncle Wang was grinning, Guli was wiping her eyes, Aishan had her son on her shoulders, and the child was waving his little hand.

He quietly stepped back a few paces and walked out of the crowd.

Three months after the park was completed, news spread that Li Chao was leaving.

On the day of the departure, Shihezi Garden Airport was packed with people.

It was agreed that only a few representatives would come, but Uncle Wang arrived before dawn, riding his tricycle from twenty miles away. The back of the tricycle was full of apples, each one carefully wrapped in a red net.

"Cadre Li!"

Uncle Wang pushed through the crowd and shoved the basket into Li Chao's hands. "Try it. The sugar content is 23.5. It was grown according to your rules."

Li Chao took the basket; it was heavy.

He picked up an apple, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a big bite.

"Sweet! Uncle Wang, you've given me a perfect score on the test!"

Guli's eyes were red, and she handed over a blue cloth notebook: "Teacher Li, I have written down everything you taught me here, stroke by stroke."

From pruning to frost protection, from fertilization to pesticide application, not a single step was missed.

Li Chao flipped through the notebook, which was filled with dense text and drawings.

He closed the notebook and patted it: "This is more precious than anything else."

"Guli, you're the association's chief agronomist now; you'll be teaching others from now on."

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

Aini pushed through the crowd and walked up to Li Chao.

This usually cheerful man moved his lips, but before he could utter a word, he bowed deeply.

"Aini!" Li Chao quickly went to help her up.

"Officer Li, please let me finish this bow."

When you came, we all trusted you completely. Now, the words "Gobi Apples" can sell for eight yuan per pound.

This isn't my skill, Aini's skill, it's yours...

Li Chao straightened him up. "Stop. You planted the apples one by one, and you sold the brand box by box."

I just lent a hand.

At this moment, a young man squeezed to the front. It was Erken, the same guy who had shouted "Why should I listen to you?" at the training meeting last year.

He scratched his head, his face flushed, and said, "Teacher Li... um, now that you're gone, who can we turn to if we encounter any technical problems?"

Li Chao took out his phone and created a WeChat group on the spot.

He showed the QR code to everyone: "Scan this."

I've already thought of a name for the group: Gobi Apple Technology Support Group.

If you have any questions in the future, take a picture and send it to the group. I, Li Chao, guarantee that I will reply within 24 hours!

In the first spring after Li Chao left, something big happened.

Just after May, a sudden cold snap struck.

The temperature plummeted to minus ten degrees overnight, and the apple blossoms froze into ice lumps.

At 3 a.m., Aini sent an urgent message in the group chat, accompanied by a picture of branches covered in frost: "Officer Li, help! The branches are all frozen!"

Less than five minutes later, Li Chao called.

"Now listen to me. First, organize people immediately to build eight tobacco piles per acre to smoke and prevent freezing."

Second, spray antifreeze immediately after daybreak. I'll send you the formula via WeChat.

Third, we need to tally the affected area and contact the Agricultural Research Institute for remedial measures.

The video conference then began.

He pointed to the photos Aini had sent, "Don't panic, look, only the surface of the flower buds is frozen, the heart of the flower can still be saved."

"Seizing the moment now means seizing this year's harvest."

Three days later, an express delivery arrived in Shihezi from Dalian, containing "post-flowering recovery nutrient solution" urgently prepared by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Along with the package was a note in Li Chao's handwriting: "Don't be afraid, natural disasters are inevitable, as long as we're alive, that's all that matters."

That spring, the orchards in Shihezi were shrouded in smoke for a whole week.

Aini led her team in shifts day and night, while Guli went door-to-door in the fields with her notebook, teaching everyone how to spray pesticides.

In the end, production was maintained at 70%.

When it came time to settle accounts, Aini sent a large red envelope in the group chat, saying, "Officer Li, we didn't lose money this year, we actually made a profit."

Thanks to your midnight phone call.

Li Chao replied, "You saved yourselves; I only said a few words."

A year later, at the Apple Festival, Li Chao was invited back as the "Gobi Apple Brand Promotion Ambassador".

When the car drove into Shihezi, he almost didn't recognize it.

The village that used to be dusty is now paved with asphalt roads and lined with neat rows of fruit trees.

At the entrance of the park, the seven large characters "Gobi Apple Industrial Park" gleamed in the sun.

Aini and her men were waiting for him at the door. The two embraced tightly as soon as they met.

"Cadre Li, look at us now."

Aini pulled him along into the park.

On the automated sorting line, apples roll by in a row, cameras snap photos, and robotic arms quickly pick out the defective ones.

Guli is giving a lecture to a group of students from out of town.

Without needing to refer to her notes, she spoke eloquently: "...So, more fertilizer isn't necessarily better; the key is to feed it at the right time."

In the e-commerce live streaming area, several young women were talking animatedly into their phones: "Look, everyone, this is our premium-grade fruit with a sugar content of 23 or higher."

Scan this QR code to see the entire process of this fruit tree from flowering to fruiting!

After walking around the circle, Li Chao's eyes felt a little hot.

On the stage of the Apple Festival, Aini handed him a bright red certificate: "By vote of all members, Comrade Li Chao is hereby awarded the title of Honorary Lifetime President of the Gobi Apple Association."

The applause of the audience was thunderous.

Li Chao took the certificate and touched the gold-embossed lettering.

He walked to the microphone, cleared his throat, and said, "I'll accept this certificate. But there's one condition: it must be used to establish a 'Young Fruit Growers Entrepreneurship Fund,' and I'll personally contribute 50,000 yuan for the first installment."

The audience erupted in even louder applause.

At this moment, Erken, the young man who had worried about who to turn to for technical issues back then, stood up.

He said loudly, "Officer Li, now we can not only grow apples, but also engage in e-commerce, build brands, and discuss exports."

We haven't forgotten anything you taught us back then.

And...we're teachers now too, and students from Gansu and Ningxia come to us!