Cen Jiaru Raises Pigs and Turtles, Singing a Song of Prosperity

Pictured: Cen Jiaru and his big-headed turtles

An elderly man with a Grade 4 visual disability, he nonetheless raises 85 sows and farms more than 10 mu of land, with no one but his wife to help him at home. With sheer perseverance, the old man has thrown himself into the breeding business, selling batch after batch of piglets and earning stack after stack of money. In recent years, this disabled elder has also started raising big-headed turtles, a specialty breed, in the back room of his home. Bosses from Nanning and Guangdong, hearing of his reputation, traveled a long way to the disabled old man's house and bought his big-headed turtles at 1300 yuan per jin, delighting him so much that he could not stop grinning. This man, disabled in body yet strong in spirit and living on his own labor, is Cen Jiaru of Yanran Village, Nabing Village Committee, Nalao Township, Xilin County.

More than 10 years ago, Cen Jiaru had a pair of bright eyes like everyone else. But one day, his right eye suddenly went blind. At the time, the family was very poor, with three children, some in university and some in middle school. He endured the pain and did not go to the hospital for an examination. It was only after all three children had jobs that he finally went to see a doctor about his eye. But it was too late; the doctor diagnosed advanced glaucoma, inoperable, and classified as a Grade 4 disability. Cen Jiaru had no regrets, because his sacrifice had already bought his three children the dream of leaving the mountains behind.

Cen Jiaru is 58 years old this year. His eldest son and second daughter work in the county seat, and his third son is a school police officer at Nalao United Primary School. All three children have jobs and have all married and established their own households. By any reasonable account, Cen Jiaru could simply follow any one of his children to the county seat and enjoy a comfortable life. But Cen Jiaru cannot leave the mountains. He says the air in the mountains is fresh, and raising some livestock to keep his spirits up and spend his later years in peace is his greatest wish. His eldest son, Cen Shangrong, deeply understands his father's feelings. In 2009, Cen Shangrong learned that wild big-headed turtles were for sale in Yunnan, and on a business trip he bought 150 big-headed turtles from Yunnan and brought them back for his father to raise. He had meant to give his father some turtles to raise as a source of pleasure in life, but who would have guessed that his father Cen Jiaru would develop a special fondness for these big-headed turtles. In less than a year, Cen Jiaru had mastered a full set of techniques for raising big-headed turtles. Not one of the 150 died. In August 2010, someone posted an account of Cen Jiaru's big-headed turtle breeding on some website, and a boss from Guangdong came in person to Xilin and found Cen Jiaru's home, buying up Cen Jiaru's larger big-headed turtles at 1300 yuan per jin. The price made Cen Jiaru's eyes go wide, because he had never seen such a high price.

In the interview, Cen Jiaru told this writer that the so-called big-headed turtle is a turtle whose mouth is exactly like an eagle's beak, hooked and sharp. After all, it is a wild animal: if you do not grab it by the tail, a bite from it can go deep into the flesh of your finger. Cen Jiaru said: “Big-headed turtles grow very slowly; an average gain of 0.5 jin per turtle per year is already good. At 0.5 jin and 1300 yuan per jin, each big-headed turtle brings in 650 yuan a year, so 150 of them means 97,500 yuan.” Looking at Cen Jiaru's calculations, this writer could not help but marvel. According to Cen Jiaru, he is the first in Baise to raise big-headed turtles, and from this one venture alone his net income has reached more than 100,000 yuan. He said with full confidence that the next step is to build 10 more turtle ponds and keep 6 female turtles and 2 male turtles as breeding stock, to breed and raise more big-headed turtles and build a distinctive Xilin breeding brand.

In 2011, Cen Jiaru used the money from selling turtles to invest in building a sow farm of more than 200 sq m. Some people said: “Old Cen, Old Cen, you thought turtles would not talk to you, and now you are raising pigs too. You are old, can you manage?” Old Cen laughed heartily and said: “A chorus of pigs sings to the setting sun, eagle turtles accompany me through the dusk.” With the support of several of his sons, Cen Jiaru's sow farm was finally built to national standards. In 2012, Cen Jiaru sold his first batch of 600 piglets for an income of more than 10,000 yuan. This year, Cen Jiaru's sows have grown to 85, with more than 20 litters of suckling pigs. Because Old Cen relies on scientific breeding and has carved out a path to prosperity, in 2013 Cen Jiaru's farm was rated by the Xilin County Aquatic and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau and the Guangxi Aquatic and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau respectively as a “Science and Technology Demonstration Household” of the 2012——2013 National Agricultural Technology Promotion Subsidy Project County and a “Science and Technology Demonstration Household” of the 2013 National Agricultural Technology Promotion Subsidy Project County.