In 2017, Ling Yuping, an associate professor at Yangzhou University, went to Guizhou for an inspection and actively launched a series of poverty alleviation activities. He walked through the steep mountains and forests, stepped on the potholed dirt road, and came to Congjiang County, located in Guizhou Province's Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture.
One of the purposes of this trip is to visit and learn about the real situation of the "RMB Girl Stone Milk Introduction".
In 1978, 16-year-old Shi Ni led to the market in Dong costumes, and her youthful beauty and extraordinary temperament made her quickly recorded by the painter Hou Yimin.
Soon, her delicate profile was printed on the fourth edition of the one-yuan yuan, becoming the closest woman to the yuan. However, this wonderful encounter does not seem to have changed much for her.
40 years later, Ling Yuping saw Shi Maoyin, who was close to the age of sixties, and couldn't help but sigh: "Is the 'RMB girl' short of RMB now!" ”
Due to inconvenient transportation, Shi Niyin's family lives in poverty all the year round, and the annual income of the family of four is only 20,000 yuan. But has her living situation changed?
Let's find out. Shi Niyin, a girl of the Dong nationality, was born in Qingyun Township, Congjiang County, Guizhou Province in 1961. She is the eldest daughter of six children, three boys and three girls, and has taken on the responsibility of household chores and taking care of her younger siblings since she was a child.
Zhaijing Village is geographically remote, with inconvenient transportation and backward economic development, and is full of poor households with living difficulties. Due to the large family population, it is difficult for the Shi family to even ensure food and clothing, let alone receive education.
"When I was a child, my family was very poor, and I didn't even have money to go to school. Later, literacy activities began in the village, and I went to attend classes for a few days before I learned to recognize my name. ”
Shi Niyin, a naturally beautiful woman, her beauty does not need too much modification, only the nourishment of green mountains and green waters, she can show her unique charm. Her willow eyebrows are curved like the moon, her pupils are crystal clear, delicate and fair, and her nose is straight and small, as if she has drawn all the beauty from nature.
And her long black and thick hair is as silky as smooth and smooth, which makes people can't help but want to get closer. On her body, you can feel a pure and touching aura, which makes her a famous beauty in Shili Eight Villages.
Whenever someone talks about her, they can't help but praise: "It's all girls, why is she so good-looking!" ”
Not only does Shi Niyin have a sweet singing voice, which is melodious and touching, but her weaving skills are also amazing. She used her home's dusty loom and trimmed it to get it running.
In addition, she also humbly asked the grandmothers and aunts in the village for advice, and integrated them into a unique set of weaving techniques. Young Dong girls usually like brightly colored fabrics, and Shi Niyin is no exception.
She extracts natural pigments from flowers and plants, concocts dyes herself, and dye cloth. After countless trials and errors, Shi Niyin finally dyed a cloth that was brightly colored and did not fade easily.
With her unique weaving skills, Shi Maoyin has made fabrics that are becoming more and more popular, and every time they are sold at the market, they are sold out. This not only allowed her to earn a lot of money and greatly reduce the burden on her family, but also attracted other girls in the village to come to learn art.
However, Shi Niyin did not take the opportunity to make money, she taught weaving skills for free, just to help others, and her kindness and enthusiasm won people's respect and praise.
In this early spring, Shi Niyin and the girls from the same village were very lively in the market, although she simply held the silk thread, but it attracted everyone's attention.
Her heart is filled with a love for embroidery, and her passion and patience have kept her skills alive.
Wandering around the bazaar was a high-profile artist named Hou Yimin. Hou Yimin once studied under Chen Xiaoxi, and has unique insights and profound skills in Chinese oil painting.
He plays an important role in the Chinese art world, and worked at the ** Academy of Fine Arts after the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 1977, with the rapid development of the economy, the People's Bank of China planned to issue the fourth set of renminbi.
In order to meet the country's requirements for national characteristics and artistry, the design of the renminbi needs to include elements of unity among people of all ethnic groups, and at the same time, the front design must be based on real people in real life.
As an important figure in the field of Chinese oil painting, Mr. Hou Yimin naturally became an important participant in the design of the RMB.
As a member of the design team, Hou Yimin was under tremendous pressure, and in search of inspiration, he embarked on a journey. At the suggestion of a friend, he took his backpack and came to Guizhou, which has beautiful scenery and strong ethnic customs.
Just as he was strolling through the hustle and bustle of the market day in Luoxiang Town, the scene in front of him stopped him. The bustling streets are crowded with people in front of every stall, picking and haggling, and it is very lively.
Hou Yimin carried a sketchpad on his back and shuttled through the crowd, focusing on finding that face. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to several girls dressed in Dong costumes and wearing silver ornaments, and their smiles were like flowers, looking clean and charming.
The girl of the Dong nationality, the middle one looked at him, nodded slightly, and smiled lightly. This smile was like the sun, shining straight into the depths of Hou Yimin's heart, making his brain go blank for a short time.
Girl, what's your name? Hou Yimin asked excitedly. The girl was a little surprised that it was the first time she had encountered such a direct "pick-up". I saw a faint flush on her cheeks, as delicate as a peach blossom in spring, bright and warm.
Hou Yimin's eyes lit up, his fists clenched, and he became more determined, this was the face he had been looking for.
Hou Yimin suddenly made an interesting and novel request, and he asked Shi Niyin if he could paint a picture for her. Shi Nanyin was a little surprised, but still readily agreed.
Hou Yimin picked up the pen and smoothly sketched the side face of Shi Maoyin on the drawing board. His movements were swift and decisive, without hesitation, in one go. After a while, a lifelike portrait of the side face appeared in front of me, and its exquisiteness was not inferior to the modern **. "
In the portrait of Shi Niyin, her eyes are as clear as autumn water, her forehead is wide and full, the bridge of her nose is straight, and there is a slight smile on the corner of her mouth. The most striking thing is her simple but distinctive bun and large round drop earrings.
Seeing her portrait, Shi Maoyin's eyes flashed with surprise, and her face was filled with a sweet smile. She expressed her gratitude in Dong and then dragged her sisters away.
Although it was a little embarrassing to be asked to paint a portrait in public, it was not a particularly strange thing for Shi Niyin. It didn't take long for her to put the matter behind her.
In 1983, 22-year-old Shi Milk Yin met Shi Xuehai in Baiyou Village through a blind date. The two had similar personalities and similar interests, and soon became husband and wife under the witness of relatives and friends.
After getting married, they had a pair of children, supported each other, were considerate of each other, and lived a happy life.
Shi Xuehai's family is financially difficult, with many brothers and sisters, food shortages, and there is not even a decent bed at home. After the birth of the child, the couple felt a lot of stress.
They knew that they could not let their children suffer, so Shi Niyin picked up the weaving craft again and worked hard to support the family. In order to buy a loom, Shi Ni borrowed money from an acquaintance, but fortunately, the craftsmanship was not lost, and the money earned from weaving and embroidery not only repaid the cost of the loom, but also earned some money for food.
Ever since Shi Milk introduced herself to handcrafting, her hands have never stopped. From cutting and dyeing to embroidery, she works from morning to night, without a moment of rest. In order to fulfill the customer's order, she even has to stay up all night embroidery, leaving her eyes red and swollen.
As a result of soaking her hands in water for a long time, her hands are no longer smooth and white, but have become chapped and dull, full of thick calluses. When winter comes, her hands will have chilblains, itchy and painful, and they will fall off piece by piece, which is very terrifying.
The carefree girlhood, the time of youth and beauty are gone, replaced by the pressure and responsibility of the family, so that Shi Niyin has learned to persevere, but has also lost the beauty she once had.
Shi Niyin, an ordinary working woman, has silently paid for her family for many years, without asking for anything in return, and is unknown. It wasn't until the spring of 1987 that her life changed.
On April 27, the fourth edition of the renminbi was issued, in which the one yuan yuan used the side face of the stone milk as the pattern. This news instantly aroused the attention of the whole society, and the major ** reported one after another, competing to explore the true identity of the portrait woman.
The small mountain village is located in a remote area and is closed to information, so when the news of the new issuance of the renminbi reached this mountain village, it was already a long time later. One day, the neighbor's child was holding the new version of one yuan and admiring it excitedly.
At this time, Shi Milk led the way. The boy looked at the banknote in his hand, and then looked at Shi Maoyin, his eyes widened, and he suddenly jumped up, and said excitedly to Shi Maoyin: "Sister, the person on this money is you!" ”
Shi Ni took the banknote and looked at it, the person in the pattern did look a little like herself, although it was not as beautiful as when she was young, but there was still a resemblance of seventy or eighty percent. However, the current Shi Niyin is no longer young, and her beautiful face is also quietly passing away, compared with the young and beautiful woman in the painting, there is still a gap between her.
When Shi Niyin saw this painting, a familiar feeling emerged in her heart, which was a trace of memory. She remembered that more than ten years ago, when she was 16 years old, while picking silk threads at the market, a strange man stopped her and painted a portrait of her sideways.
For ordinary people, it is a matter of pride and pride for their face to be printed on banknotes. However, as far as Shi Niyin is concerned, she doesn't want too many people to know about it.
Although she understands it in her heart, but externally, she has always pretended to be stupid, never admitting that the person in the painting is herself, and only jokingly that everyone recognizes the wrong person. Even her husband and children, she did not reveal the truth to them.
With the widespread use of one yuan, Shi Milk as the image of the Dong family girl has aroused widespread heated discussions. The villagers took the new coins one after another and repeatedly compared them with the image of Shi Maoyin, which brought a lot of trouble to Shi Maoyin's family.
In desperation, Shi Maoyin had no choice but to admit that she was the person in the painting. The news spread like the water of the Yangtze River to villages and cities everywhere. **The team flocked to interview Shi Niyin, and this closed small mountain village instantly became lively.
The village cadres decided to strike while the iron was hot, and put up a large number of posters about Shi Niyin inside and outside the village, telling the story of her and the one yuan yuan, making the "Dong family girl on the one yuan" famous.
Driven by more people's curiosity about the unknown, the village where Shi Niyin is located attracts tourists from afar, and the local tourism industry has developed rapidly. This change has brought opportunities for many local residents to make a fortune, many of whom have benefited from the stone milk introduction.
However, Shi Niyin's own life has not improved as a result, and the family conditions are still very difficult, and the situation of large people and little land makes it difficult for them to earn enough income through agriculture, and can only barely make ends meet.
For the past 16 years, Shi Maoyin and her family have been receiving the subsistence allowance and are considered by the village to be the representatives of the subsistence households. However, in 2012, the eligibility criteria for subsistence allowance households were raised, meaning that those who have land in their homes and have young workers are no longer eligible for subsistence allowances.
As a result, Shi Maoyin's two children had to leave the mountains and work in the city, rarely returning home. She and her wife continued to live in the mountains, taking care of their grandchildren and cultivating the fields to support the family.
In 2017, Professor Ling Yuping of Yangzhou University was deeply moved by the story of the Dong family girl on the one-yuan banknote, and he made a special trip to Guizhou to meet 56-year-old Shi Niangyin.
After many studies, Professor Ling Yuping found that the soil in Guizhou is very suitable for growing rice. However, the Shini family had very little land and could not rely on rice cultivation to get rich.
Therefore, Professor Ling Yuping suggested that Shi Maoyin should raise loaches and yellow eels in rice paddies to increase additional income. In order to stimulate the enthusiasm of the local people, Professor Ling Yuping even took the initiative to donate loach seedlings and started a one-year trial.
Professor Ling Yuping set up a poverty alleviation ** to teach villagers the knowledge of breeding and help them increase their income on the basis of growing food. Within two years, their annual income increased from 20,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan, achieving a threefold growth, successfully lifting them out of poverty and running towards a well-off life.
Today, although Shi Maoyin is 61 years old, her pursuit of life is not money and fame, but hopes that her children and grandchildren will be safe and her family will be harmonious. Her attitude towards life is "not to be happy with things, not to be sad about yourself".