Yilin Town, a famous historical and cultural town, was founded in the ninth year of Yongzheng (173 1), with a history of more than 280 years. The name of Yilin Town can be traced back to the 18th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1385). In order to escape the bandits' rebellion, people from Suzhou and other places in the south of the Yangtze River came to this Yilin area to cultivate agriculture, which was called Hongwu expulsion in history. At that time, Tao Yilin moved from Suzhou to the local area (then Shanyang County), and the land was named after people. Yilin Town is located at the southwest edge of Funing County, bordering Huai 'an in the west and Yancheng in the southeast, at the end of the main tributary of Sheyang River, with convenient transportation. The Tao clan, accounting for more than half, is a proverb that "Yilin peaches can't be eaten". During the Anti-Japanese War, there were more than 3,000 households and more than 20,000 people, twice as many as before the war. It was rare that Tao Shixing's four oil mills were able to generate electricity independently at that time. The soybean oil and bean cakes they produce are exported to Nantong and Dongtai. The local post office and telegraph office in the town are fully set up, and the Farmers Bank of China has an office to handle deposit and mortgage remittance business. There are many factors contributing to the prosperity of industry and commerce, which are described as follows:

1. The geographical environment is moderate: from the town to the north, there are dry roads, and there are roads leading directly to Lianshui, Siyang and Suqian, and goods are coming from the south. Here, you have to go south by boat; To the south of the town, there are all waterways, which can be used for sailing with hundreds of wooden boats. Before the Anti-Japanese War, there were even small steamboats of Dada, Sheng Da, Dayuan and Jiang Tai companies, Yitai Bantong connected Taizhou, and Shao Yi Bantong connected Yangzhou Shao Bo, all with Yilin as their destinations.

Second, the upper and lower system is excellent: southern businessmen do their best to invest downstream and sell the imported groceries and cloth; Businessmen from the north all stay up late to sell miscellaneous grains and pigs. The upstream and downstream bosses are all their own customers, with fierce competition, fair trade and mutual purchase of needed goods. In other words, the import and export each try their best to take precedence over the plan, with clear barriers and no fraud. They only charge reasonable commission and room and board, which makes customers in the north and south extremely trust and happy.

3. Goods are easy to deliver: there is a saying in shopping malls that the supply of goods is not as good as the gathering place. Speaking of the actual situation of goods distribution, the goods in the north of Yilin Town include soybeans, peanuts, sorghum, pigs, sorghum wine, peanut oil, and especially pigs. After arriving in the town, it is called helping pigs to export directly, or curing them after slaughter. Ilya state pigs can be sold as far as Wuxi and Shanghai. Slaughtered pig offal, called "Big Five Pieces", can't be exported, but dumped in local towns and villages, and most of them are sold to Yancheng and Xinghua counties, with extremely low prices. Unfortunately, there were no methods such as canning and refrigeration. The goods in the south are five oceans (foreign oil, foreign cigarettes, foreign sugar, foreign soap and foreign fire), groceries, dried fruits in the north and south, seafood and various kinds of cloth. Tourists from the north compete for transshipment as far away as Lianshui, Siyang and Suqian. In addition to helping pigs, local processors, such as soybean oil refining and sorghum brewing, had more than ten large and small oil mills, seven or eight oil tanks and two foreign oil stations before the war.

Fourth, the people are hardworking: in business, in addition to inheriting their father's business, they adopt the apprenticeship system. Boys go to a private school for a few years, that is, to study in a shop or business office. As an apprentice, the life rules are strict, and you can be punished by the boss or cashier. After three years of full-time teaching, continue to serve, and those with superior ability stand on their own feet. Strict training in adolescence is often beneficial for life; Treat people with things, often for the sake of prominent reputation, to engage in industry and commerce, in order to develop. 5. Try to keep quiet: Since the Northern Expedition, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, bandits and local bandits, the prosperity of the market has been affected. Thanks to local shops and self-organization, there are trade associations in all walks of life, and the general winner is Yilin Town Chamber of Commerce. No matter soldiers or bandits, they bribe money and share it with the people, trying their best to maintain local peace and prosperity.

In short, Yilin Town is indeed an excellent flood and drought wharf in the southwest township of this county. The surrounding towns and villages, such as Donggou and Gu Feng Village, have tried their best to win customers many times, but all in vain.