Gradually, Wan ran out of money. His 260,000-yuan starting fund was mostly spent on houses, equipment, vehicles, and the already dead saplings at the very beginning.
He later managed to collect another 300,000 yuan by mortgaging his father's house and borrowing from loan sharks and his friends and relatives.
From 2000 to 2006, Wan invested about 750,000 yuan in total.
However, his original dream！"setting up a comprehensive modern company that engaged in grassland farming, processing and marketing farm produce, and tourism in five to ten years"！had still not been realized at that point.
Turning the financial straits over and over in his mind, Wan decided to cooperate with locals in developing his land instead of fighting against them.
Wan had found that vines are quite adaptable to the sandy land and tried to develop vineyards together with the farmers.
Nobody was interested in his idea at the very beginning, witnessing that he had invested such large sums in the past but barely pocketed any profits over the years.
Wan eventually talked 11 families into joining him. Though revenue in the first year could only cover the expenses of transportation, they began cooperating with a wine brewer in Qingdao, Shandong Province in 2008.
Wan thought he had found a mode to sustainably develop and improve the sandy land as more residents were trying to grow vines.
However, his hope was jeopardized soon in 2009 by a wind power company, which destroyed many vineyards right in harvest season.
"It is a state-owned company. What can we do? Mr. Wan even wanted to commit suicide," noted Zhao Derong, a local farmer, whose vineyards were completely leveled.
Fortunately, Wan's efforts are gradually paying off. He held a celebration for the 10th anniversary of his pilot counter-desertification project in May this year, with participants from various provinces, including all the 300 local residents of Xinhe Village.
"There was a desert sandstorm in the afternoon," said Tian Guixia, a local farmer, adding that at that time, Xinhe residents finally understood Wan. "Without him, our village could have been swallowed up by sand a long time ago."
