Black Mud Pond is glittering with gold everywhere - what is the secret?

His wealth is in the mud, and pulling it out is no simple matter. He is 30 years old but already has ten years of entrepreneurial experience. Twice badly hit, twice starting over from scratch, he staked two years on a gamble. See how Ling Gangji of Chongqing became an entrepreneurial star through the snakehead fish industry.

During the interview, Ling Gangji took the reporter straight to his breeding base, saying his wealth was right there in the mud.

Ling Gangji: I say it is gold - it shines, it is all money.

But as soon as the reporter stepped into the pond, he sank into mud up to his waist.

Reporter: Ah, this mud is already up to my waist.

Ling Gangji: Have you moved?

Reporter: Ah, this leg is out. How do they walk so fast?

Ling Gangji: They often walk in the mud pond.

Reporter: No good, I am stuck again. My shoe is stuck in there.

Ling Gangji: One, two, up you go. One, two, up you go. Good, you are out.

In this mud pond where every step is a struggle, the reporter did not spot a single fish.

Ling Gangji: The fish have all burrowed down to the bottom of the mud. Because they are not at the water surface - the temperature is not high now. And this mud is soft, so they burrow down toward the bottom. If we scoop like this, we might still be able to scoop one out. Look, here is a really big one.

Reporter: So can this fish live in the mud?

Ling Gangji: It is only temporarily hiding in the mud; it still has to breathe fresh air.

Reporter: Then why do we have to drain the water to catch this fish today?

Ling Gangji: Today this fish pond is a pond where lotus roots were planted. When the lotus roots are there, we cannot go into the pond to catch fish, because it would damage the lotus roots. Now that we have dug out the lotus roots, we can go into the pond to catch fish. For catching fish, because the density is not too high, we have to drain the water to catch them; that makes it a bit easier.

In this fish pond, Ling Gangji not only raises snakehead fish but also interplants lotus roots. In fact, when Ling Gangji first started raising snakehead fish, he was just like the reporter - even walking in the pond was difficult, let alone catching fish.

Ling Gangji: At first I did not know how to catch them either. As soon as I tried to grab one, it would run. As soon as I tried to grab one, it would run. But later, after catching many, I mastered the technique. Gradually, I could catch them with one hand, catch them with one hand, and catch one at a time. This is a process of practice making perfect.

Reporter: I am not walking at all now; I am kneeling.

Ling Gangji: Slower, slower.

Reporter: Kneeling spreads the pressure over a larger area. No good, I am going to fall flat. It is so deep here.

Ling Gangji: Stand up first.

Reporter: I cannot stand up.

Ling Gangji: Are you up?

Reporter: I am up.

Reporter: Digging out fish is really hard work.

Ling Gangji: Look, our worker's face is covered in mud.

Reporter: Your face is covered in mud now too.

Ling Gangji: Me too? That is the true color of the working people.

Reporter: The worker catches fish so fast.

Ling Gangji: Can you catch one?

Reporter: I cannot catch one.

Reporter: This one, this one, rinse it a bit.

Ling Gangji: It is fine, no need to rinse.

Cover its eyes. Impressive. Caught it in one go.

Reporter: Cover its eyes and it stops moving.

Ling Gangji: It has stopped moving, look.

Under Ling Gangji's guidance, the reporter gradually became able to catch fish too. The reporter proposed a contest with Ling Gangji to see who could catch faster.

Reporter: Come on, shall we start?

Ling Gangji: Start.

Reporter: This way it is easier to catch them.

Ling Gangji: Another one, they are all down in the mud.

But before catching even a few, the reporter could not move again. Meanwhile, Ling Gangji had already caught a full bucket.

Ling Gangji: Now I also often go into the pond to catch fish myself. Working together with the workers, leading them like this gives more energy. Looking at the fish I raised myself, catching them feels good in my heart too - I am happy.

After putting in tremendous effort, the reporter also caught a bucket of snakehead fish and came ashore covered in mud and thoroughly bedraggled.

Reporter: Finally on solid ground. When I see this hard earth, I like it.

Ling Gangji: Why is there a "2" on your forehead?

After scooping up these snakehead fish, Ling Gangji quickly washed them clean and loaded them into the vehicle. Then he rushed the fish off to the next destination at top speed.

Ling Gangji: Red soup for you two. Scoop more.

What Ling Gangji served his guests was a red soup snakehead fish hot pot that he developed himself. And the snakehead fish in the pot was exactly what he had caught from the fish pond that very morning. Ling Gangji is not only an expert at snakehead fish farming in Chongqing, but has also opened 8 restaurants in Chongqing. His entrepreneurial experience has moved many people locally.

Liu Jia, Secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee of Yongchuan District, Chongqing: Ling Gangji is a very enterprising and perceptive young entrepreneur. This young man can endure more hardship than ordinary young people of his age and has even more of a fighting spirit and a persistent pursuit of his entrepreneurial dream. This moves us very much.

But it is this young man who moves others who, during the interview, revealed a sense of regret about his past experiences.

Ling Gangji: I think I was rash, too unstable. This person was too restless. In fact, others - I guess everyone - saw me that way too. At the time I just did not know it. If I had the steadiness I have now, I might have taken many fewer detours.

So why does Ling Gangji say he was too rash in the past? And how did he become a local role model for young entrepreneurs?

Ling Gangji is now thirty years old and already has ten years of entrepreneurial experience. In his friends' words, entrepreneurship is his greatest hobby.

Classmate Huang Bo: This person just has no interests or hobbies; his greatest hobby is making money. He has very little spare time. Most of the time he is busy managing his business, his affairs, building his ventures.

Huang Bo is Ling Gangji's university classmate. In his eyes, Ling Gangji was different from other classmates from the moment he started university. In 2005, Ling Gangji was admitted to Chengdu University to study art design. As soon as he enrolled, he assembled computers and even opened an advertising studio. He was the first person at the school to drive to class in a car bought with money he earned himself. Starting in his junior year, Ling Gangji spotted the business opportunity in this kind of glowing advertising lettering that had just become popular in Chengdu, borrowed 200,000 yuan, and opened an advertising production company.

Ling Gangji: At that time there were fewer than a hundred in Chengdu. Selling this kind of venue. Because for the entire Southwest region, demand was very high, and the profit margin was also very large. This drove me to hurry and do it. Otherwise, once there were more, there would be no place left for me to stand.