Post-90s college graduates get rich raising chickens in Lulong County, Hebei, and their path gets wider and wider
"Mom, look, there's an egg here, and there's another one over there..."
On May 15, a reporter saw at the "Xiashan" free-range chicken breeding base in Houxiajingzi Village, Liutiangezhuang Town, Lulong County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, that tourists were picking eggs and feeding chicks, fully enjoying the joy of being close to nature. This kept owner Sun Yu and his wife Wang Xueyu very busy. These two post-90s college graduates ran back and forth, receiving guests, packing eggs, preparing food... "I've been exhausted lately, but seeing the guests having fun and recognizing our breeding methods and products fills me with motivation," Sun Yu said happily.
"Now that living standards have improved, people not only want to eat their fill, but also want to eat well. Truly good free-range eggs can sell for more than 10 yuan per jin on the market, and demand still exceeds supply. The market prospects are very good. At that time my wife was pregnant, and we were unwilling to keep working for others, so we simply went home to start a business raising free-range chickens," Sun Yu explained their plan at the time.
With the support of their families, they invested more than 100,000 yuan, contracted 200 mu of mountain land in the village, built a chicken coop with an area of 150 sq m, and purchased 2,000 chicks, releasing them to range freely in the mountains. The chicks ate natural insects, grass, and pine nuts on the mountain, drank mountain spring water, wandered all over the mountain, grew up happily, and were lively and strong. Gradually some chickens began to lay eggs, and the quality of the eggs was delightful.
"Compared with ordinary farm eggs, the eggs from my home have a darker yolk color and a stronger three-dimensional appearance, and the egg white is clearer and more viscous. The yolk can be picked up with chopsticks, and when the egg white and yolk are held on the palm of your hand, they will not spread out." Sun Yu was very satisfied as he held an opened egg in his hand. This comes from the fact that free-range chickens are strong and eat purely natural food, so the eggs they produce are more nutritious, and most importantly, green and natural, without any artificial additives.
There was no question about the quality of the eggs, but sales became a problem. Because they had just started and lacked recognition, the eggs did not sell smoothly. Sun Yu adopted the method of promoting through WeChat "Moments," and also visited many supermarkets and small shops. Whatever truly could not be sold could only be wholesaled to merchants at the price of ordinary eggs.
Later, the young couple thought of a "special trick." Since selling outward was so laborious, why not invite customers in? Developing rural tourism and letting visitors experience the fun of picking eggs was also quite novel, wasn't it? So Sun Yu and his wife Wang Xueyu tried contacting "hiking groups" and invited them to visit the mountains. In mid-November last year, the first group of tourists from Shanhaiguan entered the "Xiashan" free-range chicken breeding base and were immediately attracted by the chicks running all over the mountain and the eggs seen everywhere, taking away 100 kg of eggs. Most importantly, the new tourism way of enjoying the mountains and waters while picking eggs spread, bringing a steady stream of customers to Sun Yu's breeding base.
"Now every weekend quite a few tourists come to experience the joy of rural tourism, and our egg sales have finally opened up. Next we plan to continue expanding the breeding scale and add another 1,000 roosters and 1,000 Beijing You chickens. In addition, we also want to join with nearby farmers to develop more purely natural local specialty products, improve the tourism chain, and lead the villagers to get rich together," Sun Yu said confidently.