College-graduate village official becomes a chicken commander, opening a new path to entrepreneurship in chicken farming
On June 2, Wu Xuefeng, village director of Zhuanwa Village, Tuban Town, Linxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province, feeds free-range chickens.
On June 2, Wu Xuefeng (left), village director of Zhuanwa Village, Tuban Town, Linxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province, mixes chicken feed together with chicken farm workers.
On June 2, Wu Xuefeng (center), village director of Zhuanwa Village, Tuban Town, Linxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province, feeds free-range chickens together with villagers in a mountain gully.
On June 2, Wu Xuefeng (left), village director of Zhuanwa Village, Tuban Town, Linxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province, checks the eggs laid by free-range chickens with a poultry keeper.
Less than two years after taking office, Wu Xuefeng, a post-90s village director of Zhuanwa Village, Tuban Town, Linxian County, Luliang City, Shanxi Province, has led villagers in raising 13,000 chickens, becoming a locally well-known "chicken commander," and more than 30 villager households who hold shares in the chicken farm have followed this "chicken commander" onto the road to prosperity.
After graduating from a university in Tianjin in 2013, Wu Xuefeng returned to his hometown of Zhuanwa Village with his skills and full drive to become a "village official." The top priority facing the village committee was to discuss how to lead villagers to prosperity. Through Wu Xuefeng's analysis, he found that there was no large-scale chicken farm near Tuban Town, so market potential was great and competitive pressure was low; in addition, the area had relatively many grain crops, which lowered feed costs, and it also had uniquely favorable natural conditions, making developing a chicken farm the optimal choice. With the support of the village committee, Wu Xuefeng went door to door mobilizing villagers to participate in the construction of the chicken farm, and in the end more than 30 villager households agreed to hold shares; thus a chicken farm covering nearly 20 mu was established. Feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, counting the free-range chickens... Wu Xuefeng left early and returned late every day, and with his own hard work he brought about the chicken farm's continuous growth. At present, the chicken farm in Zhuanwa Village produces more than 5,000 eggs every day, and the monthly net profit can reach 20,000 yuan. The villagers received money, and their participation in breeding increased markedly; during peak production periods, villagers would all take the initiative to come and help. There are four kinds of chickens in the chicken farm in Zhuanwa Village, and Wu Xuefeng, this "chicken commander," can judge the type of chicken and its level of health just by listening to the sounds. He believes that college students who choose to return to rural areas should bring back the technology they have learned, their ways of thinking and their positive, upward spirit. As long as they have sufficient confidence in themselves and the villagers, success is sure to be not far away.