Recently, a faint fruity fragrance wafted along the banks of the Yuan River in Yuanling county. From the high-altitude orchards of Tieluping village in Mingxikou town, trucks laden with ruby-red bayberries set off for destinations including the county’s senior care homes, sanitation stations, Longzhou Square, Fenghuang Mountain Square, and Aomen Garden.  

With an average elevation of over 600 meters, Tieluping village is often shrouded in mist. Led by orchard manager Zhang Jian, local villagers have cultivated a thriving high-mountain fruit industry, developing a 600-acre orchard featuring bayberries, emerald pears, golden peaches and so on. “The significant day-night temperature difference here boosts the products’ sugar content. This year’s favorable rainfall has also increased our yield compared to last year”, Zhang explained, plucking a glossy, deep-purple bayberry with glistening flesh.  

After discussions, the orchard divided its first harvest of 1,500 kilograms of bayberries into three batches: one delivered to the county’s senior care home, another distributed to frontline sanitation workers, and the last offered free to the public. At the care home, workers handed the berries directly to elderly residents. In the squares, orderly queues formed as Zhang managed the distribution, ensuring sanitation workers received priority. The workers’ faces lit up with smiles as they savored the perfectly balanced sweet-tart flavor of the fresh bayberries.  

Today, this remote mountain orchard has become a “prosperity garden” for surrounding villagers. Over 40 residents from nearby townships like Jiemuxi and Mingxikou now work locally, with the orchard paying out more than 400,000 yuan in annual wages. “Before, we’d just play mahjong during the farming off-season. Now, there’s work from spring to autumn, and the income beats traditional farming”, said 67-year-old Cao Xinjin.  

“Sweetness should give back to society!” Zhang Jian remarked. To him, bayberries are more than just fruit—they are a bridge connecting urban and rural communities and a vessel for warmth. Carrying the dew-kissed sweetness of the mountains, these berries have brought joy to the elderly, gratitude to sanitation workers, and a growing reputation for Tieluping’s high-altitude orchard, rippling outward like the waters of the Yuan River.

(Translated by Qu Qiongxue)