Fang Jiaping is one of them. As a result of a work injury, the 47-year-old's left leg has withered to the extent that the muscles are barely visible. Wearing a flat cap and clutching a handmade pipe, Fang had to lean against a wall for support as he spoke.
Nearly 20 years ago, Fang headed to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, to do odd jobs. His injury occurred when he fell off scaffolding while working at a construction site, leaving him with a crippled leg and five toes he is unable to flex. He said pain is the only thing he has felt in his lower limb for nearly two decades.
Fang, a Han, is married to a woman from the Buyi group. They have a 19-year-old son, who has followed his father's example and left to work in Zhejiang province, despite a serious skin condition that's exacerbated by the humidity in the coastal province.
"He lives on his own money. We don't expect him to give us anything. We're happy as long as he doesn't come back to ask us for money." Fang said, with a humble smile that revealed several yellow teeth.
The family has three mu (0.2 hectares) of land. Before Hu was elected as the village head the family was dependent on Fang's wife, who raises chickens, cattle and pigs in addition to farm work, to make ends meet.
Hu's plan has raised the family above the national poverty line of 2,600 yuan per person per year. Fang acts as a casual laborer at the company, packing bags with grain, earning 90 yuan ($13) a day. He has also invested 5,000 yuan in the cooperative to become a shareholder, which has given him a rare taste of how it feels to make money with money. Even better, even when the cooperative fails to make a profit, Fang can still get his 5,000 yuan back whenever he wants.
Cai Xingxue's urinary system was damaged in a farming accident, so the 52-year-old has to wear a diaper in bed. His wife has a serious spinal condition which prevents her from working, despite the fact that the couple has three daughters and a young son to support. Before Hu established the cooperative, a family such as Cai's would have been reliant on limited government subsidies.
"Since joining the cooperative, I do whatever I am able to do, such as spraying pesticides, watering the plants, and weeding. Every year, I work for five or six months and earn about 10,000 yuan," he said.
Villagers whose land falls within Hu's area of activity have an extra option. They can invest their land in exchange for shares in the cooperative, and every mu they allow it to use brings them a fixed sum of 600 yuan a year.
Hu is proud that his idea has improved the peoples' lives: "We give them cash before the seeds are planted, and as long as the plot of land is accurately measured, the dimensions are made public and no one disagrees, I transfer the money to their bank accounts, so they have a guaranteed income. For now, at least, investing their land brings them 200 yuan (per mu) more than farming it would."
