“苕大哥”成3000多户农民的依靠
“Sweet Potato Guy” Becomes Financial Pillar for Over 3,000 Families
楚天都市报极目新闻记者 董淑健 通讯员 刘玲莉
Jimu News Reporter: Dong Shujian
Correspondent: Liu Lingli
翻译：喻思楠、赵楚萱、刘桂兰（湖北大学）
Translated by Yu Sinan, Zhao Chuxuan, Liu Guilan(Hubei University)
2月18日上午，湖北红安伟杰现代农业发展有限公司创始人韩德校正率员工们打包送货，一箱箱苕粉、粉条被装上车，送往世界各地。韩德校告诉极目新闻记者，今年春节，公司从大年初三起就开始送货，订单已排到了一个月后。为扩大再生产，公司一开年就参加“春风行动”招聘工人，“工人以红安当地人为主，因为红安人最了解红薯，对红薯有感情”。
On the morning of February 18th, Han Dexiao, the founder of Hubei Hong’an Weijie Modern Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., was overseeing his employees who were packing and sending off orders. Boxes of sweet potato noodles and vermicelli were loaded onto trucks and dispatched to addresses all across the world. Han Dexiao told Jimu News reporters that his company had resumed delivery the third day of the Lunar New Year this year, adding orders were already booked for a month. To boost production, the company participated in the “Spring Breeze Action” at the beginning of the year to recruit workers. “The workers are mainly locals from Hong’an, because they know sweet potatoes best.Sweet potatoes hold a special place in the locals’ hearts.”
韩德校将一箱箱“苕货”送往世界各地（通讯员供图） Han Dexiao dispatches packagesof“Shao”(sweet potatoes)to all corners of the world (By Liu Lingli/Jimu News)
建筑老板转身变成“苕大哥”
From Construction Manager to “Sweet Potato Guy”
“2016年，我收到红安县政府的邀请，回乡创业。”韩德校说，起初家人是反对的，“我有两个孩子还在云南昆明读高中，一家人都搬回湖北有点不现实。”
“In 2016, I received an invitation from the Hong’an County Government to return home and launch a start-up,” said Han Dexiao. Initially, his family opposed the idea. “My two children were still attending high school in Kunming, Yunnan, so it wasn’t practical for the whole family to move back to Hubei.”
但韩德校还是结束了昆明的建筑生意，返乡创办了红安伟杰现代农业发展有限公司，并注册了“苕大哥”品牌。
Nevertheless, Han Dexiao still shut down the construction business in Kunming, returned home and founded the Hong’an Weijie Modern Agricultural Development Co., LTD., and registered the “Sweet Potato Guy” trademark.
“他就是个‘大苕’，情怀还能当饭吃？从古至今，哪有靠卖红薯赚钱的？”田店村党支部书记韩德伟告诉极目新闻记者，村里人对他返乡卖红薯又高兴又心疼，高兴的是终于有人带头卖自家红薯，有望过上好日子；心疼的是他把辛辛苦苦几十年创出的数千万元身家全部押到卖红薯这样一个不赚钱的产业中来。
“He’s literally a ‘spud head’. Having good intentions won’t put food on the table. Who has ever made a profit selling sweet potatoes?” Han Dewei, the village secretary of Tiandian Village, told Jimu News reporters, the villagers were both delighted and concerned about his decision to return home and sell sweet potatoes. They were delighted that finally someone was taking the initiative to sell locally grown sweet potatoes, as it gave them hope for a better life. However, they were concerned that he had invested decades worth of assets worth tens of millions into a largely unprofitable sweet potato industry.
韩德校说，人人都知道卖红薯不赚钱，这些年来，多少人卖着卖着就亏了，人都跑得不见了，可他偏偏迎头上，“这样的人不是‘大苕’是什么？”
Han Dexiao said it was no secret selling sweet potatoes was not profitable. Over the years, many had lost money and simply vanished into thin air after a while of running their businesses, but he decided to face it head on. “Without a doubt, the nickname ‘spud head’ fits him perfectly.”
为何选择一个不赚钱的产业？韩德校说，“我是在红安这片红土地长大的娃，对山村有特殊的感情，希望把家乡的好产品推向更大的市场，让乡亲们都过上好日子。”
Why choose an unprofitable industry? Han Dexiao said, “Hong’an raised me; this is home. I have a special fondness for rural areas. I hope to promote quality products from our hometown to a larger market and improve the lives of our fellow villagers.”
很快，他给两个儿子办理了转学，带着妻儿义无反顾地回到红安。一干就是7年。
He, along with his family of four, soon returned to Hong’an, after transferring their two sons to a local school.It has since been seven years.
如今，公司每年将数万元的红薯苗免费发给乡亲，垫钱供肥、包收红薯。公司目前拥有5万吨红薯加工能力，生产鲜食类、面食类、精粉类、粉丝类、休闲食品类等8大品、系列产品120多种，去年销售额1580万元，成了全镇31个村3000多户农民增收的坚实依靠。
Today, the company distributes tens of thousands of sweet potato seedlings to the villagers for free each year, provides fertilizer on credit, and guarantees the purchase of their sweet potatoes. The company currently has a processing capacity of 50,000 tons, producing over 120 variations of processed sweet potato, which largely fall into eight major categories, including fresh food, noodles, refined flour, vermicelli, and snacks. Generating 15.8 million yuan in sales, the company has established itself as a reliable source of income for over 3,000 farming families in 31 villages across the town.
散装英语走红，海外圈粉上万人
Viral Broken English Captures International Fans
工厂建好后，最重要的就是扩大销售规模。
After establishing the factory, the company’s top prioritywas to expand their reach.
2022年“双11”前夕，“苕大哥”韩德校用半生不熟的“散装英语”面向中外粉丝直播带货的视频火了。
On the eve of “Singles’ Day”, China’s biggest online shopping festival, in 2022, a video of the “Sweet Potato Guy” Han Dexiao during live-streaming sales to Chinese and foreign fans with his “broken English” went viral.
“Hello, boss! This is Chinese sweet potato vermicelli. It tastes Q弹 smooth and delicious.”（你好，老板！这是中国红薯粉条。它口感Q弹顺滑，非常美味。）
老区农民的质朴本色、红安口音英语，再加上时不时蹦出来的中文俚语，让他迅速走红网络，引起了众多媒体的关注。当时，他的直播号海外圈粉上万人，卖出多单产品。
His down-to-earth demeanor as a farmer from a rural area, his Hong’an-accented English, coupled with occasional bursts of Chinese slang, made him an instant hit online, capturing the attention of numerous media outlets. At that time, his live streaming account amassed tens of thousands of international fans and sold multiple products.
“没想到英文视频这么出圈。”韩德校说，“散装英语”出圈是意外，但偶然中可能也存在着必然，真正出圈的是带着泥土气息的好产品，是红安人的淳朴气质，农村实干家的真诚态度。散装英语背后，农村本土企业积极求新求变、拥抱更大市场的理念和行动，让网友们打心眼儿里感到：“Good！Good！”
“I didn't expect the English video to go that viral,” said Han Dexiao. While the popularity of his “broken English” was unexpected, it was bound to happen. What truly went viral were quality products with a rural flavor, the simplicity of the Hong’an people, and the sincere attitude of hardworking rural folks. Behind the broken English are the hopes and efforts of rural local enterprises actively seeking innovation and change, while embracing a larger market. This is what resonated with netizens, who were left feeling genuinely：“Good! Good!”
近年来，红安县通过走出去参加粤港澳大湾区农产品产销对接会、第十届北京农业嘉年华等展销活动，请进来举办红安苕订单种植收购签约会，线上线下齐发力，不断拓展红薯销售渠道，推动红安红薯走出红安、走向全国、迈向国际。
In recent years, Hong’an County has continuously expanded sales channels for sweet potatoes by participating in exhibition and sales activities such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Agricultural Products Production and Marketing Matching Meeting and the 10th Beijing Agricultural Carnival, and by hosting signing ceremonies for sweet potato order planting and purchase. Through online and offline efforts, Hong’an sweet potatoes have been promoted beyond Hong’an, reaching nationwide and international markets.