The "Pig-Raising Xi Shi" Leads Fellow Villagers to Prosper Together

In Group 4 of Fengjia Village, Qitamu Town, Jiutai District, 34-year-old Zuo He is a somewhat famous "Pig-Raising Xi Shi." Not only has she built her own business and prospered, but she has also motivated farming households in the village to take up pig farming, becoming a leader among rural entrepreneurs. Recently, Zuo He was named a Changchun Good Person Pacemaker for entrepreneurship and innovation. "I owe what I have today to the help of my fellow villagers, and even more to the country's good policies. From now on I will continue to lead the villagers to raise pigs together and prosper together."

Zuo He went out to work right after graduating from high school, and during that time she met Ding Lifu, who was also a rural kid. In 2004, shortly after the two married, they decided to return home and go into farming. Zuo He asked someone to buy more than 10 sows, but things got off to a bad start: the sows she bought didn't give birth and died off one after another. Not only did she not earn a single cent, she also lost tens of thousands of yuan. "It was really hard back then, but we could only keep going, because if we fell we would never be able to stand up again," Zuo He said.

In 2005, the couple took money scraped together from relatives and friends and boarded a train to Gongzhuling, where they carefully observed local farms, learned techniques and management, and brought back two high-quality young sows. Under her careful care, the piglets slowly grew up, and after 6 months they were bred and gave birth one after another. Each pig could produce at least 12 piglets, and the piglets kept for breeding became high-quality sows in turn. Gradually, the pigpens were full, and Zuo He also began raising pigs in batches according to their age and breed. This time, Zuo He earned her first pot of gold in entrepreneurship, and she felt an indescribable joy in her heart.

Entrepreneurship is difficult and cannot always go smoothly. In 2006, the national pig market fell sharply, and combined with a sudden epidemic, more than half of Zuo He's pigs died. She became penniless and deeply in debt again. Seeing many pig farmers tear down their pigpens and give up farming, Zuo He did not lose heart. She calmly analyzed the market situation and decided to continue pig farming. "As the old saying goes, nothing stays expensive for more than three years, and nothing stays cheap for more than three years; the law of market supply and demand is there!" The couple worked from dawn to dusk and fed the pigs carefully. Finally, in the second half of 2007, pork was in short supply and the live pig market soared. Zuo He's farming business welcomed a second spring. She not only paid off her debts, but also set aside ample funds to expand the scale of her operation.

In 2009, the provincial government issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Pig, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle and Poultry Industries." Zuo He seized the opportunity to establish Fukang Farm, which smoothly passed review and acceptance, was rated as a provincial-level livestock farming community, and made her a leader in the farming industry of Qitamu Town.

Today, Fukang Farm has 500 breeding pigs on hand and about 2,000 commercial pigs marketed each year, with annual income conservatively estimated at more than 200,000 yuan. After more than ten years of entrepreneurship, Zuo He's business has achieved modest success, but she has not forgotten the villagers around her. She and her husband taught the pig-raising skills they had mastered, hand by hand, to many pig farmers. Thanks to her mentoring, the villagers of Fengjia Village are full of enthusiasm for raising pigs, and many have prospered through the farming industry.