A 62-year-old man goes into the mountains to raise chickens, all because of one secret

He is straightforward by nature. At 62, he set out to start a business, insisting on raising chickens on a bare earthen hill. When eggs piled up, he enlisted the help of a man in his 80s. Relying on a secret of that earthen hill, in four years he grew from a small chicken coop into the region's leading large-scale free-range Gushi chicken producer. Zhang Deyu refuses to admit old age or defeat, opening a new chapter of life past the age of 60.

This is Zhang Deyu's chicken farm. It is now 11 p.m., and 66-year-old Zhang Deyu has already worked a full day, yet he still cannot rest, because he says his chickens can only be caught at this hour. Next, Zhang Deyu organizes the workers to start catching chickens, but after catching just a few, he suddenly becomes anxious.

Zhang Deyu: Just take a random shot and be done with it. Once the light shines on them, it's impossible, you can't catch them.

Reporter: Why can't you catch them?

Zhang Deyu: In the dark they just crouch there and don't move, so they're easy to catch. With light, they run everywhere and are hard to catch.

Reporter: Then let's turn off the lights.

Zhang Deyu: Turn off the lights, catch them with the lights off. Turn off the lights, lights off, good.

Zhang Deyu says the chickens he raises are very wild and must be caught late at night.

That night, Zhang Deyu needs to catch 4,100 chickens. He tells the reporter that he will keep a small portion of them back rather than sell them, because he has a special use for them.

By the time Zhang Deyu finishes catching the chickens, it is nearly 1 a.m. He says that at four or five the next morning, he still has to get up to feed the chickens and drive them along.

The next day, our reporter arrives at Zhang Deyu's chicken farm early. Although he rested only three or four hours the night before, Zhang Deyu is still full of energy.

Reporter: Caught one?

Zhang Deyu: Even though I'm getting old, I'm still pretty good at catching chickens. Look how nice this chicken is, it's good exercise too.

The breed Zhang Deyu raises is called the Gushi chicken. Its plumage is mainly yellow, the rooster's tail is mostly black, and its beak and legs are bluish. Because it is lively, agile and fond of moving, it is very wild, and its legs are relatively long.

Zhang Deyu: This is a Gushi rooster. Big comb, good feathers, nicely raised tail, thin legs about 15 cm long, roughly 3 cm longer than an ordinary chicken's legs, just like a model's legs. This is the characteristic of the Gushi chicken.

In Zhang Deyu's eyes, the chickens he raises are not only as beautiful as models, but their taste is even more unique, which is why many people are drawn to come from far away.

Zhang Deyu: Got it, this one's good.

Reporter: How's this one?

Visitor: This one is the best.

Reporter: You've had your eye on this chicken for a long time?

Visitor: Of course, many of them were targets, but I could see this one was the best, so I caught it.

These people catching chickens have come specially to Zhang Deyu's farm to buy chickens. The small portion Zhang Deyu deliberately set aside when catching chickens at night was prepared for them.

Zhang Deyu: Come on, let's catch it together.

Although Zhang Deyu is already 66 this year, when he runs he is in no way inferior to young people. After catching chickens with everyone, Zhang Deyu quickly feeds the chickens, collects eggs, cleans the coops and more. This is a day in Zhang Deyu's life: he gets up before dawn every day and stays busy until night, managing a farm with a monthly inventory of more than 50,000 chickens.

Zhang Deyu served in the military for 14 years, and he says that back then he refused to admit defeat. Later he served as party secretary of Zhuzhuang Village in Wugang City, leading the villagers to get rich by raising pigs; as secretary, he refused to accept poverty. Now, raising chickens, he refuses to admit old age. When people mention him, everyone around says he works with more drive than young people.

Village director of Zangping Village, Yangzhuang Township, Wugang City, Henan Province: Even though he's elderly, he's different from young people. He just can't sit still, he always has work in his eyes, he just keeps working nonstop. He has an enterprising spirit, and whatever he does he has to do well.

Party secretary of Zangping Village, Yangzhuang Township, Wugang City, Henan Province: Very diligent. He's already over 60 and still working, working with more drive than young people. He's very honest and straightforward, just as we say in the countryside.

Zhang Deyu's wife: I've lived with him my whole life, and I've never once slept until dawn. He always gets up while it's still dark.

Relying on that refusal to admit old age, in just 2 years Zhang Deyu became the region's leading large-scale free-range Gushi chicken producer; in four years, he quickly sold his chickens all over the country. In 2015, sales reached more than 6 million yuan. But why, past 60, would he still raise chickens and start a business? During the interview, Zhang Deyu repeatedly told the reporter that he had discovered a secret of this earthen hill at the chicken farm long ago.

One day in March 2012, Zhang Deyu suddenly told his wife that he wanted to take the 200,000 yuan he had saved over most of a lifetime and go raise chickens, which his wife could not understand.

Zhang Deyu's wife: I said don't do it, you're old, dozens of years old, life hasn't been easy, it's time to enjoy a few days of comfort. Why bother?

Besides his wife, when people around him heard he wanted to raise chickens, they all began to speculate.

Village director of Zangping Village, Yangzhuang Township, Wugang City, Henan Province: His family isn't exactly struggling. His daughter and son are both settled, and when he's old he'll still have a pension. The two of them have enough to spend.

Party secretary of Zangping Village, Yangzhuang Township, Wugang City, Henan Province: Why bother running around working every day with your wife? You're older, the investment is so large, and your son isn't home. It felt unrealistic. In the end, I never expected he'd pull it off.

Zhang Deyu served 14 years as an artilleryman and also served as party secretary of Zhuzhuang Village in Wugang City. After retiring, Zhang Deyu lived a comfortable and enviable life, and no one could understand why at his age he would still endure such hardship.

Zhang Deyu: A person needs a certain spirit to live. With spirit, you have to do something, have a career, have work. When you're busy all day long, you stop thinking about the issue of age. More importantly, a person needs something to do in life.

A person needs a certain spirit to live. Driven by that spirit, after retiring Zhang Deyu always wanted to do something more. That was when he discovered that raising chickens free-range had great prospects. In 2012, Zhang Deyu bought nearly 30,000 Gushi chicks to start raising them, and he also built a chicken farm on this earthen hill in Zangping Village, Yangzhuang Township, Wugang City. The reason Zhang Deyu chose this place for the farm was that he discovered a secret around this earthen hill, which for him was a rare piece of feng shui treasure land.

Zhang Deyu: I think it's a feng shui treasure land. Originally very few people came here, there was nothing on the hill, no one came.

Who would have thought that this feng shui treasure land would put Zhang Deyu through endless hardship. Starting a business again at 62, he faced an earthen hill with not even a road.

Zhang Deyu: I built a small path shovel by shovel, the purpose being to make it easier to herd the chickens. When it rains, the chickens are driven up there.

To save money, for every brick and tile of the chicken farm, whatever Zhang Deyu could do himself, he did himself. A bag of chick feed like this weighs over 80 jin, and even now, at 66, Zhang Deyu still carries it himself.

Reporter: How many jin is this bag? Slow down, slow down, can you manage?

Zhang Deyu: This bag is 80 jin.

Reporter: Do you carry it every day?

Zhang Deyu: Every day. When the truck comes, I carry it. Usually it's brought over from over there. This room can't hold it, there's a dedicated warehouse. When it's brought over from elsewhere, I still have to carry it.

Seeing Zhang Deyu work so hard, his wife beside him feels distressed.

Zhang Deyu's wife: You're getting on in years, if it falls on you, you can't take it. Wait until it's lower, then deal with it.

Yet Zhang Deyu's hard work paid off in the second year of his business.

Because Zhang Deyu's chicken farm is too far from the city and very desolate, in the past no one was willing to come here at all. Yet relying on that secret of his, before long this earthen hill, just as he predicted, drew many people. What did he do to make this earthen hill so attractive?

At Zhang Deyu's chicken farm there is a special coop and open area, a place specially set up for visitors to collect eggs and catch chickens. That day, when the reporter was interviewing, it happened to be the weekend, and many visitors came. As soon as they arrived, these visitors began collecting eggs themselves.

Visitor: I'd love to stay here, I want to stay here, because it's so much fun. I want to hatch the eggs.

Besides collecting eggs, the visitors also picked fruit and vegetables themselves and ate them. During the interview, the reporter noticed that for another group of visitors, Zhang Deyu was preparing to lead them in a game.

Zhang Deyu: Welcome everyone to Golden Phoenix Farm. The meal is free. Although the food isn't fancy, I hope everyone eats their fill. For catching chickens, whoever catches one buys it. Everyone can start catching now, go ahead.

Visitor: Catch with our hands?

Zhang Deyu: With your hands.

Reporter: Is it easy to catch?

Visitor: Find two people to surround it together, corner it. Once it's cornered, run fast, then grab it quickly. It takes teamwork.

Some caught chickens, some collected eggs, and others set up barbecue stalls. Everyone had a wonderful time. Afterwards, everyone stayed at Zhang Deyu's chicken farm for a meal. Zhang Deyu says that when there are many people, two tour buses can arrive, and all the tables can't seat them.

Visitor: On Sundays I bring the kids and family over to spend the weekend.

During the interview, the reporter learned that some of these people came from other urban districts more than 100 km away. Zhang Deyu says that this is the effect of his feng shui treasure land drawing so many people here.

Zhang Deyu: This place belongs to Yangzhuang Township, and Yangzhuang Township is a major tourism township in Wugang City. Over here is Xianglong Valley, a tourist attraction; over there is Dengtaijia, also a tourist attraction; and further north is Shimantan Reservoir and Erlang Mountain. This whole area is full of tourist spots. There's a highway entrance and exit here, which makes transporting chickens convenient.

It turns out that Yangzhuang Township in Wugang City is extremely rich in tourism resources. Zhang Deyu, who served 28 years as village party secretary, knew this local environmental advantage well, so in the early days of his business he chose the chicken farm's location right in the middle of several scenic areas. After visitors tour the scenic spots, they pass by Zhang Deyu's chicken farm, and after a meal they can continue on to the next scenic spot.

Visitor: Coming down the Xianglong Valley route, with the kids it's a half-day trip, and it happens to bring us right here. For the return trip it's one day, and it gives us exactly a way to return to nature.

Zhang Deyu provides visitors with a place to get close to nature, which in turn drives the sales of chickens and eggs. He also pursues an original ecological approach to raising chickens. In front of each coop there are several lamps like these, and he says these lamps can add nutrition for the chickens.

Zhang Deyu: The insect-killing lamps attract insects. The insects fly onto the lamp, get electrocuted, and are knocked down. Once knocked down, the chickens can eat them during the day.

After insects are electrocuted by the insect-killing lamps and fall to the ground, the chickens can eat them. Besides eating these insects, Zhang Deyu's chickens also eat corn, soybean meal and other foods. Raising chickens this original ecological way produces very special eggs.

Zhang Deyu: Look at our egg, when you crack it there are three layers. In the middle is the white, and the white splits into two parts, one thin and one thick. An ordinary egg wouldn't have this transition in the middle. The transition shows it's thick.

The chickens' quality is good, and word spread from one to ten and ten to a hundred. Zhang Deyu's farm quickly became famous locally.

Zhang Deyu: Is it tasty?

Visitor: Tasty, very good, very chewy. We came because of its reputation. Whenever we come here, we want to eat this chicken. Come on, raise your glasses.

As time went on, Zhang Deyu thought about selling his chickens farther away. Just then, a big order came knocking on his door.

This young man is named He Guo, procurement director of a catering management company in Beijing. Before the 2014 Spring Festival, due to a shortage of supply, after making inquiries in many places, he came to inspect Zhang Deyu's farm and took chickens and eggs back for testing. The next day, He Guo asked Zhang Deyu to send a batch of Gushi chickens worth more than 200,000 yuan, and paid immediately.

The chickens had not even been sold yet, and the money was already in hand. This delighted Zhang Deyu enormously.

Zhang Deyu: After getting the big order, I felt at ease. It was near the end of the year, and selling chickens to them, I thought I could have a good New Year, give the workers a little something, have a meal together and so on.

Who would have thought Zhang Deyu's joy was in vain. This big order was not easy to fulfill. Not only did he lose more than 200,000 yuan worth of chickens, he also lost several thousand more on top. This time he truly suffered a double loss. But Zhang Deyu said that if he hadn't compensated for those several thousand chickens, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly for the rest of his days. What was going on?

When Zhang Deyu's batch of chickens arrived in Beijing, He Guo broke into a cold sweat when he saw them. He immediately called Zhang Deyu, and when Zhang Deyu heard the news, his head spun.

Zhang Deyu: I felt awful. The very first batch of chickens had gone bad. My head was spinning, I couldn't eat, and I hurried to take a car to see the scene.

He Guo of Heiji Xiaoguan Restaurant: By the time they arrived, those chickens had already thawed and weren't very fresh. The quality of these chickens might still be edible, but for our Heiji Xiaoguan, it would affect the taste of the dishes.

It turned out that during transport, the delivery truck broke down on the road, which ultimately caused this batch of chickens to thaw by the time it reached Beijing. This was originally the driver's mistake, but after the chickens arrived in Beijing, the driver could no longer be found.

Zhang Deyu and He Guo had only met once before, and there was no relationship between them at all. In the end, when the chickens had a problem, He Guo's heart was in his throat.

He Guo of Heiji Xiaoguan Restaurant: Because we had already paid, and it was our first cooperation, if he didn't send us replacement chickens, there was nothing we could do. At the time I was quite worried.

What surprised He Guo was that Zhang Deyu immediately made a decision.

Zhang Deyu: I said, consider this batch of chickens as given to them, and I'll send you another batch. If you handle things badly, it may be a regret for the rest of your life. In my conscience I always felt I had let them down.

Yet Zhang Deyu's approach also brought him more wealth.

After this incident, the restaurant decided to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with Zhang Deyu.

He Guo of Heiji Xiaoguan Restaurant: He dares to take responsibility. When something goes wrong with the goods, he promptly thinks of a way to solve it rather than shirk responsibility. I feel this person is reliable in doing business.

In order to supply the other party on time and in the required quantity, Zhang Deyu quickly expanded his farming scale, increasing the number of free-range Gushi chicken coops to 8. Now, his farm's monthly inventory stays above 50,000 chickens. However, ever since he added coops, a major problem emerged.

Zhang Deyu: These are all eggs.

Reporter: These were all laid outside.

Zhang Deyu: Some are laid outside, some inside.

Reporter: Do these eggs have to be collected every day?

Zhang Deyu: Collected 4 times a day, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. Generally 90% are sold out. If they aren't sold out, they're no longer fresh. If we sell them the next day and still can't sell them all, the more they pile up, the more there are.

Zhang Deyu has always sold eggs the same day they are laid. After adding coops, basically about 10% of the eggs could not be sold each day. If these eggs weren't sold that day, they would pile up more and more, and this became a burden on Zhang Deyu's mind. He needed to find a way to sell the unsold eggs, and unexpectedly he found a man in his 80s to solve the problem for him.

And getting this man in his 80s to come out of retirement was no easy task.

Zhang Deyu: I went to him several times. At first he wasn't willing to come.

So what were these two men, with an average age of over 70, determined to achieve with that refusal to admit old age?

These are preserved eggs, a kind of egg product and also a traditional flavored snack in Henan Province. The production process is similar to that of century eggs. Selected eggs are rolled and dipped in a pre-mixed paste so that the surface of the shell is covered with paste, then evenly rolled in pine sawdust. The paste and pine sawdust are kneaded evenly, sealed in bags for 7 days, then taken out and air-dried before eating.

Zhang Deyu discovered that many local families have the habit of eating preserved eggs.

Zhang Deyu: In our area, preserved eggs are a local specialty product. Adults and children alike are willing to eat them. The preserved eggs on the market all use eggs from caged chickens. No one makes preserved eggs from free-range native chickens.

Seeing the potential of making preserved eggs from native chicken eggs, Zhang Deyu planned to start with preserved eggs to sell his stockpiled eggs.

It turned out that this elderly man was named Gao Bizhong, who had been making preserved eggs for 20 years. Gao Bizhong had very high standards for making preserved eggs. Besides being very meticulous in the production process, there was one more thing: he had to select fresh native chicken eggs to make preserved eggs.

Gao Bizhong: His eggs are fresh. Some native chicken eggs are fake. People pick a few small eggs of other breeds and pass them off as native chicken eggs. They taste different. Boss Zhang is quite honest, so I'm willing to pass my technique on to him.

Seeing that Zhang Deyu did business with conscience, Gao Bizhong not only guided his production but also told Zhang Deyu his secret recipe from many years. And so these two elderly men, who could originally have enjoyed family happiness at home, came together.

During the interview, Gao Bizhong also taught the reporter how to tell good preserved eggs from bad without opening them.

Gao Bizhong: Tap a good preserved egg with your hand and the inside moves. Your hand can feel it, one tap and it shakes.

Reporter: So if it hasn't reached the required time, you check the quality this way, and once it has reached the time, you can check the quality this way.

A good preserved egg, after being tapped with the fingers, will have a trembling feel and be elastic. This shows the preserved egg has finished curing and is ready to eat.

Properly made preserved eggs are not easily broken during transport. More importantly, making fresh native chicken eggs into preserved eggs extends the eggs' shelf life. In early 2016, as soon as Zhang Deyu's preserved eggs were launched, they were very popular on the market.

Li Jianmin, Zhang Deyu's sales manager: At present, for this product, monthly sales are almost 100,000 yuan, close to 120,000 yuan.

Now, the grapes, apricots, walnuts and other fruits planted at Zhang Deyu's chicken farm have entered the fruiting stage. Next year, visitors to his chicken farm will be able to pick and eat the fruit. As the next step, Zhang Deyu plans to create a sea of flowers, combining chicken raising with tourism and sightseeing to drive the sales of even more products.