Raising a New Fish Species to Make a Fortune: Guo Qiaohe and His Road to Recovery After Gambling Away His Family Fortune

He started his business in his twenties and made more than 10 million yuan in just 6 years. In 2004, he became addicted to gambling. In just over 2 years, he not only lost his entire family fortune but also went more than 5 million yuan into debt. By early 2009, he was still drifting around in other places, and many people looked down on him. He wanted to start over, but the business opportunity he spotted was not recognized by others. In only 6 years, he built up annual sales of more than 30 million yuan again. So how did he do it?

This is Guo Qiaohe. When the reporter came to interview him, Guo Qiaohe was leading workers to set ground cages to catch fish.

Guo Qiaohe: In deep spots, catching fish for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, you can get 20-30 jin per cage. If the water is shallow, then you can't catch fish. That cage must be submerged by the water.

In just 15 minutes, many fish had crawled into the ground cage.

Reporter: What kind of fish are these caught today?

Guo Qiaohe: These are female fish, pure female fish. We selected them before putting them in, so basically 97 percent are female fish.

This kind of fish is called Taiwan loach, and it is larger than ordinary loach on the market. Almost all the loach Guo Qiaohe caught today are female, so the price is higher.

Guo Qiaohe: This is about 25 yuan or so.

Reporter: 25 yuan per jin?

Guo Qiaohe: Around 25 yuan per jin.

Reporter: I know that the loach sold on the market doesn't seem to be this expensive.

Guo Qiaohe: This is used as female stock, and as female stock it is definitely more expensive. If it's the current market price (pond-side price), it's 13 yuan to 14 yuan per jin.

The tail of a male loach has a horizontal hard bone that you can feel with a touch. The tail of a female loach has no hard bone, so it feels very smooth and soft.

Just by selling the female Taiwan loach and seedlings, Guo Qiaohe's annual sales exceed 10 million yuan. However, Guo Qiaohe told the reporter that there is another fish in his aquatic base that makes even more money -- the spiny loach.

Guo Qiaohe: This is now bought on the market at 120 yuan per jin. 120 yuan per jin, and supply cannot meet demand. Things are precious when they are rare; when there are fewer, they are expensive.

This fish is named spiny loach because of its pointed head and the spines on its body. Guo Qiaohe has already successfully hatched a batch of spiny loach fry. Now, by operating multiple kinds of fish fry, Guo Qiaohe's aquatic base has annual sales of more than 30 million yuan, and he has also become a well-known local expert at getting rich. But as the interview went deeper, the reporter learned that in 2009, Guo Qiaohe was someone many villagers looked down on.

Interview with Guo Yinghe in Nanhai District, Foshan City: He (Guo Qiaohe) had nothing left at that time and still owed people a pile of debt. Everyone looked down on him.

Guo Qiaohe's wife, Xian Xuerong: All of a sudden, we fell from heaven to the ground. The feeling in my heart was truly bitter.

Guo Qiaohe's daughter, Guo Wanwen: It's because of you (Guo Qiaohe) that our family, my younger brother and I, ended up like this. We didn't even get to continue school. We came up here to deliver takeout.

Guo Qiaohe: My heart was truly shedding tears, but I had to endure this. I myself really had nothing to say.

Why did his family and the villagers all look down on Guo Qiaohe at that time? And how did Guo Qiaohe go from having nothing to becoming a well-known local expert at getting rich?

Guo Qiaohe was born right here. After graduating from junior high school, Guo Qiaohe made money doing small business locally. In 1992, Guo Qiaohe discovered that the price of eel in the aquatic market was extremely hot, so he decided to farm eels. During the interview, Guo Qiaohe took the reporter to a local pond that was being drained to harvest eels.

Guo Qiaohe: Right now it's around 30-32 per jin. The value of this eel is about 50 yuan, bought at the pond side. At the pond side, ours is 60,000, 62,000 (per ton) at that price.

In the early 1990s, the prices of eel seedlings and feed were much lower than now, but the eels sold were more expensive.

Reporter: How much per jin could one this big sell for at that time?

Guo Qiaohe: This kind of food eel generally could, at the very least, sell for more than 130,000 (yuan) per ton. If it was for roasted eel, then more than 160,000. At that time, it rose by 10,000 a day. Rising by 10,000 a day back then, it was as if it wasn't even renminbi anymore. You'd think the money was fake. One pond could produce more than 1 million worth of fish.

After farming eels for more than 6 years, Guo Qiaohe made more than 10 million yuan. By 2000, the profit from eel farming had shrunk. Guo Qiaohe used his savings to open a hotel. At that time, the hotel had more than 100 tables, and daily sales were more than 100,000 yuan.

Villager Guo Yinghe from Qixing Shilong Village, Datong, Nanhai District: That restaurant was very big, with 100 or 200 workers. It was the biggest around Xiqiao Town at that time.

Wife Xian Xuerong: In one day, the food business did more than 100,000 (yuan). Every day there were (customers) lining up. People eating had to line up to eat. Business was really incredibly booming.

However, in 2004, Guo Qiaohe became addicted to gambling. At that time, he went to Macao, China to gamble at least 2 times a month.

Guo Bingyuan: He (at that time) liked gambling. Every time he went to Macao, China to gamble, he lost one hundred thousand or several hundred thousand.

By 2006, Guo Qiaohe had not only lost all of his family fortune but also owed more than 5 million yuan in debt. Almost every day someone came to press him for repayment.

Guo Qiaohe: (The creditors) called dozens of times a day. Everyone urged me, asking when I would pay, when I would pay, but I did not have the ability to repay that debt, and I could not tell him when I would pay.

Wife: I didn't know he had gambled away so much money. When I found out, it was already too late. All the money had been lost. By the time I knew, it was too late. All the money had been lost.

Guo Qiaohe fell rapidly from the peak of life to the bottom. In 2006, Guo Qiaohe left Guangdong with his wife and came to Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. There, Guo Qiaohe and his wife kept working for others away from home.

Guo Qiaohe's daughter: Mom went to work as a waitress (at a restaurant), and she would pack up some leftovers and bring them back for my dad, that is, the leftovers the customers didn't finish were packed up for my dad to eat.

Guo Qiaohe's wife, Xian Xuerong: At the end of a month, with a salary of more than 2,000 yuan, besides calling them (the children), I also had to rent a house, rent a place to live. Actually, I really wasn't making any money, so I had no way out.

In 2009, Guo Qiaohe and his wife saved money and opened a small restaurant in Nantong City, but business was sluggish. That year, after Guo Qiaohe bought train tickets for his son and daughter to come to Nantong City, he had only 26 yuan left in his hand. The family spent an unforgettable Spring Festival.

Guo Qiaohe's wife, Xian Xuerong: On the first day of the lunar new year (2009), our family of four had only 26 yuan. This impression will always be the deepest.

Guo Qiaohe: (On the first day of the lunar new year) we stayed shut in at home and never went out the door. We just watched others enjoy the excitement, setting off fireworks, firecrackers, all of that. It seems in our Cantonese saying, other people's happiness is your own happiness. There was no other way.

That Spring Festival was a huge shock to Guo Qiaohe. Looking at his son and daughter, he was determined to change the situation.

Guo Qiaohe: Thinking forward and backward, my heart shed tears. As a competent father, if you cannot give them a relatively good environment, then as a father you are incompetent. So no matter what, if heaven gives me one more chance, I will grab it tightly and never let go.

In 2009, when Guo Qiaohe's friend Guo Bingyuan heard about his situation, he wanted to lend him a hand.

Guo Qiaohe: (Guo Qiaohe and I) grew up playing together. Seeing him fall, I definitely had to help him with this. I said, come back. Whatever the issue, we can talk about it. I can help you again.

But Guo Qiaohe refused his friend's kindness.

Guo Qiaohe: At that time, if I came back, I didn't have a bit of money. At that time, my elder brother said he would give me 1 million, and I already owed him 700,000 before. I really didn't dare take his money again, because if the old debt was not repaid and new debt came again, I would be under a lot of pressure. I just told him, elder brother, let me go out and try first. I'll do my old trade (aquaculture).