Two Brothers in Yunxi Return Home to Raise Sika Deer: Invest Ten Million and Never Forget Their Neighbors
In Jinlongshan Village, Jianchi Township, Yunxi County, there is a pair of brothers: the elder, Zhang Fei, 48 this year, and the younger, Zhang Xueping, 45 this year. Both found success starting businesses elsewhere, but never forgot their original intention to give back to their hometown, donating more than 2 million yuan in total to rural development. In March 2015, the brothers returned to the village and invested ten million yuan to build northwestern Hubei's first large-scale sika deer farm, and established a cooperative to lead the villagers to prosperity together.
Never Forgetting Their Original Intention
Giving Back to Their Hometown After Finding Success
"Our hometown was too poor. Even back in my school days, I planned that once I entered society I would certainly make something of myself, give back to my hometown, and do something to help my neighbors escape poverty," Zhang Fei said frankly during the interview.
Zhang Fei, 48 this year, and Zhang Xueping, 44, are cousins who grew up playing together, both natives of Jinlongshan Village.
Zhang Fei explained that after graduating from junior high school, he drove a tractor in his hometown, worked in a coal mine, and did business in turquoise. Zhang Xueping's family had seven siblings, and with limited financial means, he left to make his way in the world before finishing junior high school, working in sales and then in renovation. Four or five years ago, Zhang Fei followed Zhang Xueping to Xiangyang to engage in real estate development, and finally achieved success, laying a solid foundation for giving back to their hometown and for future development.
"We both come from poor families and know what poverty feels like. Our wealth alone doesn't count as wealth; only when everyone is wealthy is that true wealth," Zhang Xueping said.
In 2010, when Xiaying Village in Jianchi Township was building a bridge, Zhang Xueping donated 50,000 yuan. In Jinlongshan Village, Jianchi Township, a college student's family was in difficulty, and Zhang Xueping sponsored him with 10,000 yuan a year for four consecutive years, until he graduated from university.
In March 2015, the brothers invested 800,000 yuan to build 5 km of concrete road for Jinlongshan Village, solving the villagers' difficulty in getting around. That same year, to solve the problem of more than 30 people in 6 households in the village having difficulty crossing the river, they spent 160,000 yuan to build a 12-meter-long poverty-alleviation bridge. In July 2015, the Zhang brothers donated 400,000 yuan to Jianchi Township to support the balanced development of compulsory education in their hometown. This year, to support their hometown's targeted poverty alleviation work, they donated 700,000 yuan to Jianchi Township's relocation housing project.
Over the past two years, the brothers Zhang Fei and Zhang Xueping have never forgotten their original intention, giving back to their hometown with cumulative donations of more than 2 million yuan.
Investing Ten Million
Building a Large-Scale Sika Deer Farm
Through market analysis and market research, the brothers Zhang Fei and Zhang Xueping decided to change careers — taking the path of specialty breeding.
Zhang Fei explained that in recent years, as people's living standards have continued to rise and health awareness has continued to strengthen, a series of deer products including venison have been in short supply domestically and even globally, making it a sunrise industry. The sika deer is a national first-class protected animal, and every part of it is treasured, especially its velvet antler, penis, blood, heart, kidney, and tendons, which have extremely high medicinal value. According to surveys, China's current stock is about 50,000 head, and northwestern Hubei has no large-scale farm yet, so they decided to invest and build one to fill this gap.
Why choose to build the farm back in Jinlongshan Village? Zhang Xueping said that in terms of the village's transportation and resource conditions, it was not the most ideal choice, but to fulfill the brothers' childhood wish, they resolved to invest in their hometown.
In early July last year, Luding Breeding Deer Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Luding Company) signed the "Cooperation Agreement on the Sika Deer Breeding Project in Jinlongshan Village, Jianchi Township" with Jianchi Township, planning to raise 50 million yuan in financing to build northwestern Hubei's largest sika deer breeding base. The signing of the agreement marked the official establishment of Luding Company, with Zhang Xueping and Zhang Fei serving as chairman and vice chairman respectively.
Zhang Fei explained that with the strong support of departments at all levels, the deer farm project was welcomed by the people of Jinlongshan Village. Land acquisition, site leveling, foundation digging, design... these tasks were carried out almost simultaneously, and he and Zhang Xueping had to both manage affairs outside and oversee the construction of the farm. After half a year, the two brothers had grown thinner from exhaustion, once again experiencing the hardships of starting a business.
In just 5 months, a high-standard farm with an investment of more than 5 million yuan was completed. The farm covers an area of 1,500 sq m, fully equipped with a complete set of functional buildings including deer pens, a feed processing room, a quarantine room, and office space.
"Come quick, the adorable sika deer have arrived..." In March this year, after a burst of crisp firecrackers, the company was surrounded so tightly by villagers who had come to see the novelty that not a drop could get through.
The 350 sika deer fawns introduced from Changchun arrived smoothly at the Jinlongshan Village sika deer ecological farm, marking the official launch of northwestern Hubei's largest sika deer ecological breeding project.
It is said that sika deer are raised mainly for their velvet antler. A sika deer lives about 16 years, and from age two to age twelve it can produce antler for ten years, bringing economic benefits of over 100,000 yuan. Generally, the purchase cost of a sika deer fawn is around 10,000 yuan. Sika deer meat is delicious, and since ancient times there has been the saying of a "whole deer banquet," which is even more popular today; its lips, tongue, liver, brain, tendons, bones, tail and more can all be made into precious dishes.
At present, the company has completed an investment of more than 10 million yuan. The farm has more than 20 pens, implementing scientific pen-raising and all-around video surveillance management. Next year it will introduce another 700 head to further expand the breeding scale and carry out deep processing and development of deer products such as venison, velvet antler, and velvet antler wine.
Careful Breeding
Deer Listen to Music and Enjoy Showers
"The breeding cost per deer is 2,000-2,500 yuan per year, lower than cattle and sheep, and the requirements for pens are not high. Each deer occupies about 10 sq m, and keeping it clean and hygienic, sunny, well-ventilated, and sturdy are essential conditions," introduced Hu Xuefeng, the farm manager.
The entire breeding area is separated from one another. Each pen is over 30 sq m, divided into a rest area and an activity area. The pens are fully equipped with electronic surveillance, flowing water troughs, feeding troughs, and electric fans. To prevent the deer from becoming irritable, broadcasting equipment is also installed in the pens, playing light music for over an hour every noon or afternoon to regulate the deer's mood. Shower equipment is installed on the tops of the pens; when it gets hot, the sika deer can not only enjoy electric fans but also take showers.
Hu Xuefeng explained that when these deer first arrived, they were not adapted to the new environment. The workers often groomed their fur and scratched their itches, and every night they still needed to feed and watch over them, caring for them like infants in swaddling clothes.
Sika deer are relatively easy to raise and are not picky about food or drink. The feed is divided into two types, coarse and fine. The coarse feed is mainly fresh corn stalks, while the fine feed includes soybean cake, corn, bran, and additives such as salt and calcium.
The reporter saw that male and female deer live separately. Hu Xuefeng said that usually each male deer can mate with more than 10 female deer, a typical "polygamous" system. During breeding, to prevent male deer from fighting over mates and injuring the antlers on top of their heads, whenever the sika deer are in estrus, they appropriately add some estrus-suppressing medication to the feed or water. At present, the company has 15 female deer capable of breeding. For breeding purposes, the company spent 150,000 yuan last year to buy a king male deer.
Zhang Fei, vice chairman of the company, explained that in order to achieve scientific feeding, they visited and studied at large sika deer breeding companies in Jilin, Shandong, and Wuhan, Hubei, and arranged for technical staff to go out for training many times. Now they have basically mastered a set of scientific breeding methods.
Establishing a Cooperative
Leading Neighbors to Prosper Together
At the beginning of the year, the Jiawang Deer Industry Cooperative of Yunxi County was established. This cooperative is an agricultural cooperative under Luding Company.
Zhang Zhongheng, 23 this year, gave up the opportunity to pursue a master's degree and returned to his hometown to serve as chairman of the cooperative.
Zhang Zhongheng explained that deer are herbivores. A deer consumes an average of 35-40 jin of green grass feed and 2-3 jin of fine feed per day, so a large amount of crop straw and forage grass is needed.
At present, the cooperative adopts two models, "company + cooperative + farmer households" and "farmer households + cooperative + company," to carry out large-scale cultivation of feed, with a planting area of more than 200 mu.
Liu Ruidong, a village official of Jinlongshan Village, explained that at present more than 100 households in the village have joined the cooperative, freeing up land to plant grass. These include dozens of registered poor households. The company distributes corn seeds and grass seeds on time for villagers to plant, and implements a protective buyback price policy.
Because a large amount of feed is needed year-round, most villagers now not only sell the crop straw they once regarded as "waste" for money, but also earn money by cutting green grass and gathering dry leaves during the slack farming season. Wang Liju, an 82-year-old woman living near the farm, earns more than 40 yuan a day by cutting green grass and gathering dry leaves. The farm has provided a way for villagers in surrounding townships to make money, playing a positive role in helping them escape poverty and become prosperous.
It is understood that the farm employs 60 workers year-round, helping hundreds of people find employment.
Zhang Fei explained that as the breeding scale expands, in the next three years the number of forage and grain planting households will grow to 800-1,000, forming a fixed supply-and-demand relationship, bringing each household an average annual income of around 10,000 yuan. The cooperative vigorously develops shareholding members, ensuring members have a stable income, while giving priority to employing especially poor households to help them escape poverty and become prosperous as soon as possible.