Just a farmer
Shen's life is legendary. During her lifetime, she met with Chairman Mao Zedong, new China's founding leader, 13 times, and has been received by Ho Chi Minh, former Vietnamese leader and Kim Il Sung, former leader of North Korea. But at heart Shen said she is still an ordinary farmer. Over more than 50 years, she has never left Xigou village, even when she became famous. In 1973, she was elected as the director of the Women's Federation in Shanxi. She accepted but said she will never leave her village. "I'll always be an ordinary farmer. I don't want salaries, hukou (registered residence), rankings and private cars," she said.
In the past years, Shen has led villagers in Xigou to plant nearly 1,667 hectares of trees, constructing more than 800 small dams and developing 60 hectares of land reclamation. With these great achievements, Xigou has turned from an extreme poverty-stricken mountainous village into a national example of a "Model Village."
But she still lives in her old rundown house. Although her neighbors have tried to persuade her to move into a more modern home, she always refuses. "I'll move when all my fellow villagers in Xigou have a better life," she said.
When asked if she will serve the in the next term of the NPC, Shen smiled and said, "It's not determined by me. If the people elect me, I will. Otherwise I will not. No matter I will or not, I will still earnestly fulfill my duties." |