Raising chickens to increase income, Chen Jianwei leads the masses onto the road to prosperity

"Come on, take it quickly. Look, you helped me last year, so don't be polite about this little gift!" "Uncle, there's no need, thank you!" On December 2, Yiming Sawuti, a 68-year-old villager from Qiongkule Village, Qiongkule Township, Qiemo County, was holding a "Niya Black Chicken" and looked somewhat annoyed, because his "relative" - Chen Jianwei, an outstanding CPC member of the Second Division and a worker of the First Company of the 37th Regiment - refused to accept his gift.

Qiongkule Village, Qiongkule Township, Qiemo County, is adjacent to the 37th Regiment, leaning against the continuous Kunlun Mountains to the south, facing the vast Taklamakan Desert to the north, and with the endlessly flowing Cherchen River to the east. Not long ago, it was here that Chen Jianwei and Yiming Sawuti became paired relatives.

In 1998, Chen Jianwei came to the First Company of the Qiemo Engineering Detachment (today's 37th Regiment). That year, the 23 mu of cotton land he contracted was a large sand mound, leaking water and fertilizer. The cotton stalks were not even as thick as a chopstick, and the seed cotton yield per unit area was the lowest in the whole company. Some people said, "What are you doing farming land like this? Hurry up and give it up."

Chen Jianwei picked up a handful of sandy soil, as if lost in thought.

In the spring of the following year, Chen Jianhua borrowed 10,000 yuan from relatives and friends and raised 100 chickens and 13 sheep. After the autumn harvest, he pushed a bicycle and carried chicken manure and sheep manure to the field, one trip, two trips, three trips... Four years passed, and Chen Jianwei was raising more chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep. People noticed that the crops in his field were also growing better and better. By 2006, the yield per mu of the cotton land he contracted ranked first in the whole company, making it jump to become the company's high-yield field. In less than 10 years, through breeding and contracting land, Chen Jianwei had accumulated more than 1 million yuan in funds.

In 2010, Chen Jianwei gloriously joined the Communist Party of China, and he felt that the burden on his shoulders had become heavier.

After the beginning of spring in 2015, Chen Jianwei conducted a market survey within Qiemo County and found that there was not even one chick hatchery here. The chicks people bought for raising chickens were all high-priced chicks transported from Hotan, Kashgar, and other places hundreds of kilometers away.

"If only we could build a hatchery and develop large-scale chicken farming on the regiment farm! There is snow water from the Kunlun Mountains here, 17,000 mu of jujube orchards and more than 7,000 mu of woodland. The chickens raised are all 'green chickens,' so selling them definitely won't be a problem!" Soon, Chen Jianwei reported his idea to the regiment's trade union.

In 2016, the 37th Regiment issued preferential policies to encourage capable people to take the lead in starting businesses and increasing income. Chen Jianwei invested 400,000 yuan, and 20 employees in difficulty, including Li Gaojian and Zhang Juanjuan, contributed 50,000 yuan as shares, and registered and established the Jiuyuan Green Jujube Orchard Chicken Breeding Farmers' Professional Cooperative. The regiment farm specially introduced the "Niya Black Chicken" from the Hotan region, encouraged employees of all companies to develop under-forest breeding, and provided Chen Jianwei and his cooperative with 96,000 "Niya Black Chicken" chicks.

In July 2016, the Jiuyuan Green Jujube Orchard Chicken Breeding Farmers' Professional Cooperative registered the "Moxiang Renjia" Xiaoyuan Black Chicken trademark. Each egg could sell for 2 yuan, and demand exceeded supply.

With the support of the regiment farm, Chen Jianwei also opened an e-commerce service station in Korla City, more than 700 kilometers away, bringing the "Moxiang Renjia" Xiaoyuan Black Chicken into Korla City's live poultry market, while also selling in bulk to Qiemo County, Ruoqiang County, and the neighboring 38th Regiment and other places, achieving a one-stop service integrating production, supply, and sales.

That year, Chen Jianwei led 93 employees in difficulty to develop under-forest breeding, with an average household income increase of 5,000 yuan. He successively advanced 130,000 yuan in funds for more than 10 chicken-raising households in difficulty, enabling them to buy feed such as corn and oil cakes.

He also gave chicks to ethnic minority villagers in Qiongkule Township, Qiemo County, and voluntarily taught breeding techniques.

In 2016, Chen Jianwei was honored with the title of outstanding CPC member of the Second Division.

Recently, another piece of good news uplifted him - in 2017, the 37th Regiment will raise 2 million "Niya Black Chickens," build a chicken-raising industry integrating slaughtering and processing, cutting and packaging, and diversified operations, and promote diversified income growth for employees.

Chen Jianwei said, "Next year I plan to expand the factory building, purchase advanced numerical control equipment and processing production lines, and recruit more than 20 additional employees in difficulty to join the cooperative, striving to increase per capita income by more than 30,000 yuan."