Ningzhong Town, Guangdong: Starting from One Pig, Reaping the Sweet Rewards of Scientific Farming
Most young people in rural areas today believe it is hard to make a difference in the countryside, especially in mountainous rural areas, and always think about working in enterprises elsewhere or locally to earn money, feeling that this brings more prestige. But He Wenhui, a villager from Daying Village, Ningzhong Town, Xingning City, returned home from working elsewhere and took up farming activities such as raising pigs, raising Muscovy ducks, and cultivating other people's abandoned paddy fields. With a family of six, old and young, their life has been getting better and better, and recently they even built an additional two-story house of 140 sq m.
Returning Home to Farm Out of Filial Piety
He Wenhui is 45 years old this year, of medium build, with slightly ruddy but very sturdy-looking skin. Starting in 1992, he went to work as a security guard at the Beijing Street Police Station in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. Because of his serious and responsible work, he was twice rated as an advanced individual by his unit. In 1999, since his parents were already over 60 and in poor health, He Wenhui resolutely quit his security job and returned home to care for his aging parents.
Shortly after returning home, he mainly did home appliance installation work. In 2001, he married Li Qingying, who sold clothes at Dongyue Palace in Xingcheng. After marriage, they saw that there were many abandoned paddy fields in the village and felt that farming in the countryside would not leave them without money to earn, while also allowing them to care for the old and young. So, starting in 2007, they took up farming activities such as raising pigs, raising Muscovy ducks, raising chickens, and cultivating other people's abandoned paddy fields.
Hardworking and Eager to Learn, Business Thriving Day by Day
Everyone knows that farming is firstly bitter and tiring, and secondly greatly affected by weather and other natural conditions. He Wenhui and his wife endured hardship and worked hard, and with their own diligent hands, starting from raising one sow, they developed year by year. In 2013, they spent over 40,000 yuan to expand the pig pens. Now, they have over 50 fattening pigs of various sizes, 7 sows, over 2,300 Muscovy ducks, over 100 chickens, and cultivate 8 mu of rice. The feed for their fattening pigs and Muscovy ducks never contains any added hormones, and the water they drink is clear water from below Heshui Reservoir. Therefore, although their fattening pigs and Muscovy ducks have relatively longer rearing periods, their meat is delicious. The fattening pigs are sold locally, and the Muscovy ducks are exclusively sold by Fujian merchants, at a price slightly higher than local.
According to He Wenhui, raising so many livestock and also growing rice is quite hard, but to save costs, they have not hired helpers, relying entirely on the couple working together and diligently supporting themselves. The author asked whether farming had been smooth over the years. He said it had been fairly smooth, mainly because he had gradually mastered farming techniques. It turns out that although He Wenhui did not attend university, he is good at learning and researching. The books placed in his room include "One Hundred Cases of Pig Farming," "Pig Disease Prevention and Treatment," "Common Disease Drug Manual," "Duck Raising Techniques," and so on. When he encounters problems, he reads books or checks the computer. Now, when livestock get sick, he prescribes medicine and gives injections himself, and the surrounding villagers like to ask him for help when their livestock are sick.
One step at a time, steady and solid, combined with scientific farming, has let He Wenhui and his wife taste the sweet rewards. They said happily that in the future they want to make a great success in farming, strive for an annual slaughter volume of 200 pigs, plan to expand rice cultivation to 15 to 20 mu, and try to recultivate the abandoned paddy fields of Hebei villagers.
Honest and Enthusiastic About Public Welfare
During the author's visit, Li Baohuan, a Meizhou Municipal People's Congress representative whose hometown is not far from He Wenhui's home, spoke highly of He Wenhui, saying he is not only hardworking and eager to learn, but also honest and enthusiastic about public welfare.
There is a section of village road over 80 m long in the village. The road surface was originally less than 2 m wide. Last June, He Wenhui and his nephew funded the widening of the road surface to over 3 m, making it easier for villagers to pass. Last April, when the village carried out a safety project, two surveillance cameras were installed on the village road, and he was responsible for paying the monthly electricity bill. At the sluice gate below Heshui Reservoir, the reservoir management office used to pay someone to watch over it. He Wenhui's duck farm was nearby, so he offered to watch over the sluice gate voluntarily. Whenever there is heavy rain or a rainstorm, and debris blocks the river channel upstream of the sluice gate, he takes the initiative to go into the river to help clear the blockage. In He Wenhui's view, these are all trivial matters that are easy to do and convenient for both others and himself, so why not do them?