Forced into cattle farming, how did he turn things around and get rich?

Xinmin Village, Tengda Town, Junlian County, Yibin, Sichuan, is a typical mountainous area with harsh conditions. There were 79 registered poor households with 333 people. In the past, getting rich was simply a pipe dream for the people here, until one person appeared and gave the locals hope - and that person was Zhang Longxue.

Other people's paths to wealth are walked by themselves, but his path to wealth was forced out of him.

Raising Medical Fees, Walking Onto the Path to Wealth

Zhang Longxue used to live in the village like everyone else, barely getting by on a few mu of poor farmland. But the huge medical expenses brought on by his mother's sudden illness made it impossible for the family to bear. If he worked hard to get rich, there might still be a glimmer of hope, so Zhang Longxue decided to give it his all.

But merely deciding to get rich was useless without a good project. Zhang Longxue decided to ask the village's wise men for guidance. Zhang Longxue found village Party secretary Xiong Daihua to give him some ideas. After hearing Zhang Longxue's thoughts, Xiong Daihua thought he could develop a cattle-raising business. He said: "Since you have no other project, and you have the skill of raising cattle, why not put your effort into raising cattle? Raise two cows a year, and at least one cow will give birth to a calf, worth 5,000 yuan. Raise a few more, and in two or three years you can escape poverty."

After hearing Xiong Daihua's suggestion, Zhang Longxue was deeply moved. As the saying goes: find the root of the illness and prescribe the right medicine; only then can you truly find the path out of poverty to wealth. But new problems were waiting for Zhang Longxue.

The beef cattle industry was indeed good, but it required a sum of capital, and not a small one, which Zhang Longxue could not afford on his own. With the help of town and village officials, Zhang Longxue successfully obtained a 50,000 yuan loan from the bank, plus 20,000 yuan borrowed from the "Village-level Industry Development Mutual Aid Fund," and more than 30,000 yuan in government-subsidized cattle shed construction funds. Zhang Longxue developed beef cattle farming in the village and became the first person in the village to make a change.

Speaking of the current scale of his beef cattle farming business, Zhang Longxue was very happy. He said: "I now have 8 bulls. I plan to sell at least 6 by the second half of this year, for direct income of 50,000 to 60,000 yuan. Then my working capital will be able to keep turning over. Then these 14 cows - by the second half of next year I'll have at least 6 or 7 calves. Raised into adult cattle and sold, that's more than 100,000 yuan."

Not Content with Comfort, a Poor Household with Lofty Ambitions

With funds and help, Zhang Longxue succeeded through his own efforts in developing a beef cattle business. With money, life became more comfortable, and a difficult choice lay before him and his family - Zhang Longxue himself lived in a wood-and-tile house several decades old, and relatives all urged him that with money he could improve his living conditions and let his elderly mother enjoy some comfort too.

But Zhang Longxue had different ideas from theirs: "There's no need for me to build a house now. If I take this 100,000-plus yuan for raising cattle and use it to build a house, then even after the house is built I'll have no money. What I'm thinking is that the policies now are so good, and leaders at all levels care about me. I want to use this 100,000-plus yuan for farming. After a few more years, when I've made money and the farming succeeds, I'll slowly build a house."

Although the relatives around him did not understand Zhang Longxue, the village officials all supported him. First find the path to wealth, then build the house; with money, nothing is difficult. Zhang Longxue felt that government support and finding a good project for getting rich were not enough. To truly walk the path to wealth, he needed to rely even more on his own hard-working hands.

As for his future direction, Zhang Longxue also had a plan in mind: "The government now is so good, encouraging me to take the path of farming. Now I rely on these two hands of mine to raise cattle well and walk the path to prosperity. If I squander this little bit of money the government supports me with, then I, a poor household, will remain poor forever. Doing farming well is my only way out."

The editor's summary of wealth-building experience: taking the long view is something everyone understands, but when people are starting a business and getting rich, after earning their first pot of gold they give up. As a result, they may stagnate, sit back and enjoy the fruits, and fall into poverty once again.

Zhang Longxue's wealth-building experience tells us two things:

1. Whether escaping poverty or getting rich, the state can provide a lot of help, but first of all you yourself must be willing to endure hardship, be willing to get moving, and have a heart that wants to get rich.

2. After truly achieving your first success, you must also keep up this habit of working hard to get rich. Only in this way can you achieve long-term prosperity. Have a sense of the future, and do not start thinking about how to enjoy yourself before your foundation is stable.