Raising Stubborn Donkeys, Earning Tens of Millions a Year: The Stubborn Young Man's Guide to Getting Rich

His son quit his job to come home, vowing to make a fortune from donkeys. A newborn calf fears no tiger - he was cheated and fooled, and occasionally even kicked by a donkey. See how this stubborn young man from Shaanxi makes his donkey fortune.

He is Diao Long. Bathing the donkeys, cleaning the donkey shed, and feeding the donkeys are things Diao Long has to do every day. Young as he is, he does everything well. Back in 2016, Diao Long even opened a restaurant and made a fine restaurant owner, and of course his restaurant's specialty was still donkey meat. Diao Long was determined to make his donkey fortune, but back in 2015, when the reporter first interviewed Diao Long, not a single person in his family thought well of him. What exactly was going on?

At four in the morning, a corner of Qingcheng County was already bustling. By half past five, over a hundred vehicles carrying livestock started up on time and drove into this mountain hollow. Every month on the 4th and 7th days of the lunar calendar, livestock trading takes place here.

An old saying goes that nothing gets done without a middleman. Livestock trading must have a middleman to proceed, and this middleman even has a special name: yazi. The yazi helps buyers and sellers negotiate prices and takes a commission in between. A good yazi can judge a animal's meat yield to within three jin, and the price offered must also be precise. The bidding also has a special method, which is a hidden operation: the two people hide their hands under their clothes or shield them with their arms to make bids. This trading method is called "pin mazi" (pinching the code). It is said that pin mazi began in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and has been preserved to this day. The reason for not speaking but pinching with hands is to keep the negotiated price from being heard by others and spoiling the deal.

So what exactly is the secret behind this pin mazi?

Reporter: Seven hundred fifty.

Reporter: Nine hundred ninety. Oh, it's our five-four-three-two-one, six-seven-eight-nine. Then what about ten thousand? How do you know whether it's ten thousand or one thousand?

Trader: The animal is big and fat.

Reporter: Oh, you can tell by looking.

Reporter: You name a number, let's pinch.

Trader: Four hundred fifty.

Reporter: Four hundred fifty. Name another number.

Trader: Four hundred sixty.

Reporter: This isn't hard. What's hard is judging the price accurately.

Trader: Right.

In places like Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Shaanxi in our country, large livestock trading is still conducted in this way. At the trading site that carries the smell of yellow earth, one figure stands out. Compared to the others, he looks noticeably younger and more inexperienced.

His name is Diao Long, 28 years old this year. Young as he is, he has built one of the top donkey breeding bases in the Guanzhong region, with annual sales of 12 million yuan. Today, he and his uncle came to this trading market to find a special kind of donkey. They had their eye on one, but the price negotiation hit some snags.

Diao Long: How much?

Uncle: He wants 8000 yuan. How about it, how about it.

Donkey seller: That's the price.

Uncle: Are you kidding or not.

The uncle thought the seller's price was too high, while the old man selling the donkey refused to budge. The two sides locked horns. The uncle discussed it with Diao Long, and finally the nephew gave the word.

Diao Long: If it's any higher, we don't want it.

Diao Long knew clearly that the price he offered was reasonable, and the old man selling the donkey was simply trying to make a bit more profit, which was why he was stubbornly refusing to sell. After whispering a couple of words with the trader, the experienced trader understood immediately and at once paid a 100-yuan deposit.

Uncle: Miss this chance and there won't be another.

After spraying a mark on the animal, the donkey was considered secured.

Reporter: I noticed earlier you didn't seem too willing to sell this donkey.

Seller: Willing, willing.

Reporter: So are you happy with this price in your heart?

Seller: Accept, accept.

Diao Long is young, but he judges livestock and bids with steadiness, accuracy, and ruthlessness.

Reporter: Back then he didn't understand anything.

Uncle: Didn't understand anything. For example, if it was worth 3000 yuan, or 2500, he'd offer 4000. Tell me, is that losing money or not?

Reporter: How is his level now?

Uncle: Not bad.

Reporter: Can he judge accurately?

Uncle: Not bad.

Reporter: So who makes the final call now, who's in charge?

Uncle: I listen to my nephew. He's in charge. He's the boss.

The green young man of the past can now stand on his own, and the uncle feels gratified. Today, Diao Long looked at many donkeys but was satisfied with only a few, because what he was looking for was not an ordinary donkey but a Guanzhong donkey.

The Guanzhong donkey originates from Guanzhong and is the largest of all donkey breeds in China. With agricultural modernization, the Guanzhong donkey, once used as labor, has decreased drastically, and purebred Guanzhong donkeys are even harder to find than one could wish. Only in some remote mountain villages in Gansu can Guanzhong donkeys be found. Diao Long wants to expand this ancient donkey breed from his hometown, which not only brings economic benefits but also helps protect the Guanzhong donkey.

Diao Long told the reporter that to judge whether a Guanzhong donkey is purebred, besides looking at its size, there is also a mnemonic: pink nose, bright eyes, white belly.

When it comes to donkeys, Diao Long is now absolutely an expert.

Diao Long: Look at these big teeth. If they haven't been replaced, they're all white teeth, the teeth are all white. Look, these have been replaced, 1-2-3-4, four teeth have been replaced, they're yellow, replaced. And the replaced teeth are hollow in the middle. Make it open its mouth and you can see.

Reporter: Hollow. The white teeth before weren't hollow.

Diao Long: Solid, and not yellowing.

Reporter: So this is how you judge age. How old is it now?

Diao Long: It's 4 years old now. Look, look at this little donkey, see if its teeth are white. It only has two teeth.

Reporter: So cute.

Diao Long: And it hasn't replaced teeth. The replaced teeth are all long teeth, and they turn yellow. No tooth replacement, very white.

Today, Diao Long's college roommate came to visit his donkey farm. Seeing so many donkeys for the first time, the buddies were very excited and wanted to have a donkey-riding race.

College classmate Sun Han: As for love, at the time everyone was especially envious, a beautiful rich woman. We have a college group chat, and everyone calls him Diao Million.

College classmate Li Junmao: Tens of millions now, not just a million.

Reporter: Oh, now he's become Diao Ten Million.

In the eyes of his college classmates, Diao Long, with both marriage and career flourishing, is simply a winner in life.