Two brothers become pig herders, hoping to turn barren hills into a money-making bank
In the photo, Lyu Huaijun drives pigs out of the pen and up the mountain. Photo by Li Zhongyong
??? In the great tide of mass entrepreneurship and innovation, how can aspiring people in both urban and rural areas break new ground and develop? In Gulan Village, Cangyanshan Town, Jingxing County, Hebei Province, two brothers, Lyu Ruijun and Lyu Huaijun, decisively changed careers, returned to their hometown, contracted barren hills, and raised black pigs free-range, carving out a development path based on supplying green, environmentally friendly pork. Their story has become a much-told tale among local cadres and residents.
??? On the 3rd, setting out by car from Jingxing County, Hebei Province, and heading south along the Yisha Highway, after passing Jingzhuang Village they turned onto a township road running southwest, entered a deep mountain ravine where only a sliver of sky was visible, and kept pushing farther in. On a mid-slope they found Lyu Huaijun herding pigs on the mountain. He was not tall, stocky, wearing a work coat, holding a pig-driving stick, and constantly shouting.
??? "You came so suddenly that I was not mentally prepared at all, so I will just say whatever comes to mind." Facing the reporter's visit, Lyu Huaijun talked about his entrepreneurial experience with his older brother Lyu Ruijun while herding the pigs.
??? According to Lyu Huaijun, his older brother Lyu Ruijun bought a vehicle in 2000 and got into coal transport. After Lyu Huaijun was laid off, he also got into the coal trade. After more than ten years of hard work, the two brothers had both grown into "small bosses" and were living comfortable, well-off lives. In recent years, as the economic situation developed, the two brothers began to consider changing industries and exploring a long-term development path that would neither pollute the environment nor fail to make money.
??? "In 2013 I traveled to Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan and found that locals there raised yellow cattle free-range on the mountains. Later I heard that someone in the village raised black pigs in pens and that sales were good," Lyu Huaijun said. So he came up with the idea of contracting the barren hills of his hometown to develop free-range black pig farming and produce green, ecological meat. When he told his older brother Lyu Ruijun, his brother gladly agreed, and their elderly parents also supported it.
??? Lyu Huaijun told reporters that in 2014 the two brothers returned to the village, applied to the village committee, held discussions, and signed a contract to take on 2,000 mu of barren hills. "Troops and horses have not yet moved, but food and fodder must go first." The infrastructure construction project was planned with an investment of more than 1 million yuan. Money had to be spent as soon as work began. The two brothers brought out their own assets, borrowed part of the funds from relatives and friends, and also mortgaged their own properties to apply for loans.
??? Recalling the early days of their entrepreneurship, Lyu Huaijun still remembered it vividly. He revealed to reporters that at the time there was nothing at all on the mountain and no place to stay, so they found cornstalks and built a shack. Not only did they themselves eat and live on the mountain, they also moved their parents, uncle, and other family members up into the mountain to set up camp. During construction, the two brothers drove a three-wheeler out to haul materials. On one return trip, because the road was narrow, steep, and hard to travel, the vehicle overturned. Lyu Ruijun was pinned under the vehicle and could not move, and scalding hot water from the machine spilled onto his leg, causing third-degree burns.
??? "After a year and a half of intense construction, the basic engineering construction was finally completed, with a total investment of more than 3 million yuan, and we began raising black pigs and wild boars in large numbers," Lyu Huaijun said. The two brothers also roughly divided the work, with Lyu Ruijun responsible for pig production and Lyu Huaijun in charge of feeding technology and sales.
??? During the interview, Lyu Huaijun said that for free-range black pigs, epidemic prevention and disease control are key. At the beginning, because they did not understand feeding technology, the mortality rate of piglets was especially high. For this reason, he specifically went to the county agriculture and animal husbandry department to attend veterinary training, humbly consulted professionals, and also invited livestock experts to visit the pig farm in person to help formulate a free-range black pig plan and immunization process. Following the experts' requirements, he set up records for each pig, gave vaccinations at the appropriate times, and carefully recorded growth conditions, bringing the piglet survival rate to more than 90%.
??? "After breeding and reproduction, the current stock of black pigs has reached 400, and several dozen wild boars are also being raised. These black pigs are small and nimble in build, mainly eat wild food on the mountain, are environmentally clean and pollution-free, and are rich in nutrients," Lyu Huaijun said. Last year, 100 were sent to market, and the market showed a situation of demand exceeding supply.
??? As for the future, Lyu Huaijun is full of confidence and expectations. He plans to run the pig business while using the mountain resources to cultivate wild tea and the Chinese medicinal herb Forsythia suspensa, truly turning the barren hills into "rich mountains" and bringing greater benefits into play. "People should have pursuits and dreams. Building a free-range black pig farm in the mountain ravine, providing citizens with green, environmentally friendly meat, and turning barren, bald ridges into a development 'bank' is my dream." (Li Yang, Li Zhongyong)