Zhang Chao Gets Rich by Raising Chickens, Golden Roosters Sing a Song of Increased Income

Before meeting Zhang Chao, you would never imagine that a chicken farm could be built to look like a small garden. The blue-roofed chicken coops sit neatly on the hillside, and among the verdant flowers and trees, loud rooster crows ring out from time to time, giving it every bit the appearance of a leisurely little mountain resort. Before I even had time to take it all in, Zhang Chao, the owner of the farm, came up warmly to greet me.

On August 11, led by Zhang Chao, the reporter came to his warehouse where fresh eggs are stored. The warehouse was packed with eggs, stacked up to half a person's height. Zhang Chao said these eggs had just been collected from the coops that morning and were about to be shipped to supermarkets.

When it came to his entrepreneurial journey, this honest man told the reporter all about it in detail.

At the end of 2010, Zhang Chao was discharged from the military and returned to Zhangying Village, Huying Town, Nanzhang County. Should he live off his parents' savings until they ran out, or should he start a business? Unwilling to settle for the status quo, he chose the latter. After learning that Nanzhang County had a very strong laying hen industry and that it was a project with quick returns, he decided to build a laying hen farm on the barren hill behind his own house.

As soon as he raised the idea, it immediately won the support of family and friends. At the end of 2011, Zhang Chao applied for a loan of more than 700,000 yuan from the rural credit cooperative and built the laying hen farm. Zhang Chao said: "The farm covers 3,000 sq m and can raise more than 20,000 laying hens at the same time."

For his first venture, Zhang Chao had no confidence, so he only brought in a few thousand chicks to test the waters. Because he had no breeding experience, when a chicken disease struck, he could only watch helplessly as the chicks fell one batch after another, and all his hard work and sweat were washed away.

Having "choked on water" in the first round of diving into business, his parents did not want him to keep wearing himself out and suggested he open a small restaurant.

"Should I give up, or keep going?" Zhang Chao shut himself in a room and thought hard. "At the time I still owed the feed supplier a large sum of money. If I gave up, all my previous efforts would be wasted."

With the perseverance and determination forged through military service, Zhang Chao did not want to give up easily. He went to the Nanzhang County Agriculture Bureau to ask experts for advice on preventing and treating chicken diseases, and he learned how to scientifically mix feed for laying hens. Through his efforts, the farm finally "came back to life."

After the first batch of eggs was produced, Zhang Chao took them to the market to sell. Because the eggs looked good and tasted pure, he immediately won many customers. "From being laid to being delivered to supermarkets, our eggs are all done within two days, and every box is full in quality and quantity."

However, the road to entrepreneurship was not all smooth sailing. In 2013, just when the farm was gathering momentum, avian influenza raged, the market slumped, and he lost several hundred thousand yuan all at once. The heavy blow left him extremely discouraged, and at one point he wanted to sell the farm to someone else. With the encouragement of his family and the help of relatives and friends, Zhang Chao pulled through. Now, the large-scale facilities are being continuously improved, sales channels have opened up, and the farm's sales last year reached more than 4 million yuan.

As the farm gradually expanded, large amounts of chicken manure and wastewater gave off a foul odor and bred mosquitoes and flies, which caused displeasure among nearby villagers.

How could he seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and turn waste into treasure? Pointing to the biogas digester not far from the farm, Zhang Chao said, "To solve this problem, the county agriculture department allocated more than 100,000 yuan and specially sent technicians to help me build a biogas digester. It not only solved the pollution problem, but also let me enjoy the dividends of green development."

"Look, how strong the flame on the biogas stove is. Boiling water and cooking are very fast!" In Zhang Chao's kitchen, he gently turned the ignition device and blue flames shot right up with a "puff, puff, puff." Zhang Chao told the reporter that in the past, his family used a gas stove and sometimes made do with a firewood stove, using at least 8 canisters of gas a year.

Zhang Chao told the reporter that this biogas digester can supply more than 10 villagers' households. At present, several villagers are preparing to pipe biogas into their own kitchens. Apart from the money for rubber hoses, which the villagers pay for themselves, the biogas is used free of charge.

"At first I got into farming just to find something to do. Now I think more about doing some practical things for the villagers," Zhang Chao said. Over the years, he has often given fresh eggs and clothing to poor households in the village, tried his best to hire villagers to work on the farm, and let the farm's benefits reach more of his fellow villagers.