Zhou Limin gets rich but does not forget his fellow villagers, spurring them to increase their incomes together

On July 24, Xini'er Village, Xini'er Town, Korla City.

At just 7 a.m., Old Zhou got up on time. The work habits he has built up over so many years mean that even without setting an alarm, he is never late.

Just three days earlier, Old Zhou had personally escorted a truck carrying 10,000 grandparent pigeons worth more than 1.3 million yuan from Guangzhou. The nearly 5,000-km journey and the long 75 hours kept Old Zhou from hardly closing his eyes, because this truck carried the poverty-alleviation dream of his ethnic brothers in southern Xinjiang.

Started raising pigeons after watching CCTV news

Old Zhou is actually not old; he is only 41 this year. Compared with the name "Zhou Limin," he prefers people to call him "Old Zhou." "It sounds simple and friendly."

Old Zhou came to Xini'er Village from Hanzhong, Shaanxi, in 2001. After working in farming, construction, book sales and running an internet cafe, among other trades, in March 2013 Old Zhou began raising pigeons.

"At first, after watching a news item about pigeon raising on CCTV Channel 7, I learned that pigeons are easy to raise, grow fast, cost little and bring steady returns, so the idea of taking this path sprouted in me," the hearty Old Zhou said in Shaanxi-accented Mandarin, explaining his original business inspiration.

But watching TV alone was not enough. Focusing on pigeon production, sales and development trends, Old Zhou made special trips to Henan, Shandong, Guangdong and other places to inspect and learn. After returning, he introduced 800 breeding pigeons at one go and began experimenting in his own yard.

Hard work pays off. The 800 breeding pigeons went smoothly through laying, hatching and feeding, and the trial breeding succeeded.

Both the scale of breeding and the reputation have grown

"The market is so good now that I plan to expand the scale a bit more." This somewhat "wild" idea of Old Zhou's won the support of his wife, Zhao Junmei.

After the foundation of the pigeon house was fully built, the sight before her gave Zhao Junmei quite a shock: "I didn't expect it to be built so big. What if we lose money?" "Lose? We still have land. As long as we farmers have land, we fear nothing!" Old Zhou said confidently.

At Old Zhou's Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Tianyu Pigeon Industry Breeding Professional Cooperative, breeding pigeons, squabs, pigeon eggs and even pigeon droppings are all treasures that can bring in money: breeding pigeons are mainly sold to Kashgar, Hotan, Hami and Turpan; meat pigeons are mainly sold to Urumqi and Korla; pigeon eggs are mainly sold to Chongqing and Zhejiang. Now, Old Zhou's pigeons have an annual inventory of 60,000 birds, 300,000 squabs marketed, and an annual profit of more than 3 million yuan. These three indicators rank first in all of Xinjiang.

By rights, Old Zhou and his cooperative are now very well known and he should be satisfied, but every year he still spends more than 100,000 yuan to go with technicians to Shandong, Beijing, Henan, Guangdong and other places, visiting research institutes and large breeding farms to "seek experience and recharge." "If you rest on your laurels, you won't go far, and you'll fall behind!"

"Poverty alleviation and helping those in difficulty is also the social responsibility of us as an enterprise"

"With the temperature high now, pay attention to the weak pigeons that have not drunk water. Once you find them, feed them separately."

"Try to keep the pigeon house dry and ventilated. If there is too much moisture, the pigeons will be uncomfortable."

That morning, Old Zhou explained the key points of summer pigeon house management to Uyghur villagers who had made a special trip to study from Qielebage Village, Tagarqi Township, Shache County.

"Raising pigeons takes effect quickly, carries little risk and has a short cycle, so it is very suitable as a poverty-alleviation project. This year we have caught up with the poverty-alleviation campaign, and some autonomous region commissions, offices and departments taking part in the 'visit, benefit and gather' village-stationed activities in southern Xinjiang have placed quite a few large orders, the largest single order being 10,000 birds," Old Zhou said.

In early July, the work group from the Water Resources Department of the autonomous region stationed in Qielebage Village sent someone specially to Old Zhou's Bayingolin Tianyu Pigeon Industry Breeding Professional Cooperative for an inspection, and then made the final decision: this year the training for our village's pigeon-raising poverty-alleviation project will be held right here.

After returning to Qielebage Village, the work group helped the village committee establish the "Qimeng Meat Pigeon Breeding Cooperative," and at one go ordered 800 pairs of breeding pigeons from Old Zhou.

Mamat Ahat, a villager from Qielebage Village, said: "Wealth will not fall from the sky. Where do you find a happy life? First, rely on the Party's good leadership; second, rely on good implementation of policies; third, rely on labor to create it. I will cherish these 10 days of training, learn the techniques with all my heart, and teach them to everyone when I go back."

Up to now, there have been as many as more than 60 trainees of all ethnic groups from Aksu, Hotan, Hami and other places. Old Zhou not only teaches them hand to hand, but also provides food and lodging for free. "Poverty alleviation and helping those in difficulty is also the social responsibility of us as an enterprise. It is our bounden duty to help more people shake off poverty as soon as possible."