The Pig Farming King's Clever Path to Wealth: How He Made His Fortune
Huang Maocai and Lu Wenhuan are a loving couple approaching fifty, living in Anhua Tun, Anma Village, Anma Township, Yizhou City. In the spring of 2013, they boldly founded the first farming cooperative in their hometown, embarking on the road to prosperity through scientific pig farming and becoming the locally renowned "Pig Farming King." The couple's pig farm has also become the largest and most scientifically managed farm in the township. Currently, they have 950 pigs on hand. In 2015, they sold a total of 1,300 market hogs and suckling pigs, with total sales revenue reaching over 4 million yuan and net income of over 800,000 yuan.
When this writer arrived at the pig farm, Lu Wenhuan was busy in the pigsty. Her husband Huang Maocai told this writer that when they first started the pig farm, they spent at least a dozen hours a day feeding the pigs, cleaning and disinfecting the pens. Sometimes, to make it easier to watch over the sows giving birth, they simply moved their bed into the pigsty and "lived together" with the pigs. Huang Maocai and his wife were not only hardworking but also eager to learn. Through self-study, they mastered techniques for preventing and diagnosing swine diseases, were able to give the pigs injections, and treat some common illnesses.
Speaking of their path to wealth, Huang Maocai said with a smile: "In 2012, my wife and I were unwilling to rely solely on growing crops to make a living. We wanted to develop a larger industry to improve our lives and escape poverty..." So the couple visited Nanning, Yulin, Luchuan and other places to learn about pig farming experience. In the spring of 2013, by raising funds from various sources totaling over 1.8 million yuan, they built two long rows of pigsties covering an area of 6 mu, capable of housing 1,200 pigs. After the pigsties were completed, the couple immediately purchased 100 breeding sows from the Nanning Xionggui Breeding Pig Farm for breeding and raising. That same year, they also built a large pig manure storage tank. Thus, the couple's "Wenhuan Farming Cooperative" was born, watered by their hard-earned sweat.
While developing animal husbandry, they did not forget crop cultivation. Building on the gradual growth of their pig farming business, in the spring of this year, Huang Maocai and his wife boldly contracted collective land and planted 100 mu each of Sichuan pepper, Sanhua plum, and peaches. They used their own pig manure to fertilize the fruit trees, greatly reducing the cost of purchasing chemical fertilizers—truly killing two birds with one stone.
When you drink water, do not forget those who dug the well. Huang Maocai became wealthy, but he did not forget the care of the Party committee and government. In 2015, when the township government held Spring Festival cultural activities, he contributed 12,000 yuan; when the village committee built a basketball court and other recreational activity centers, he contributed 3,000 yuan; when his own village held Spring Festival activities, he slaughtered 4 large pigs to treat the villagers and celebrate the festival with everyone.
Speaking of future development, Huang Maocai and his wife are full of confidence. They told this writer: "We want to keep working for a few more years, continue to expand our scale, and make our farming and breeding business bigger and stronger. We strive to make our cooperative a model farming and breeding base in Anma Township and lead the surrounding people onto the road to prosperity together."