Leech farmer Guo Wenyi's experience of getting rich
Mention "shuizhi" and some may find it unfamiliar, but speak of "mahuang" and anyone with rural life experience knows it well. It is a creature that burrows into human skin and sucks human blood. Today, this terrifying "blood-sucking worm" has become a treasure in Guo Wenyi's hands.
Recently, a reporter walked into the leech farm at the Hedong Branch of Zhouji Farm in Qianjiang City. Along a small path covered with snail shells, Guo Wenyi could be seen from afar digging a pond. He is the owner of this leech farm.
Looking around, the farm has 5 small ponds, 1 large pond, and also a large greenhouse incubation pond. "This year the leech farming area has increased several times over last year, reaching 10,000 sq m," Guo Wenyi said.
Guo Wenyi, 45, spent years working in transportation elsewhere, but in the past two years he has taken a fancy to leeches. Speaking of his change in identity, Guo Wenyi laughed and said: "Leeches are a top-grade animal-based Chinese medicinal material. This thing makes money, and the profits are big!" In leech farming, he was the first person at Zhouji Farm. From 2013 to 2014, Guo Wenyi went to Gong'an County to learn from a master, studying leech farming techniques for two years. Last year, he returned home and worked on a small scale, converting 3 mu of land into leech farming ponds.
Farming leeches is different from raising other poultry or aquatic products. The process looks simple, but risks lurk at every step, and technique is key. Artificial leech farming must likewise follow the natural growth patterns of leeches and create conditions to meet their daily living requirements. Guo Wenyi explained that overwintering leeches mate, then begin laying eggs around Qingming the following year. About 20 to 25 days after laying eggs, at a suitable temperature, the young leeches break out of the eggs and live for a period in a special "nursery." When the outdoor water temperature reaches 15°C, they can be released into the ponds. This time is generally around June. Before that, the water environment in the release ponds must be properly prepared, because leeches have very high requirements for water temperature and water quality. During the growth period, Guo Wenyi goes to the farming ponds every day to test the water temperature and carefully tend the seedlings.
Guo Wenyi has mastered the entire process from seedling introduction and incubation to maturity. Last year he harvested nearly 2,000 jin of leeches, which a trader from Jiangsu bought at 75 yuan per jin.
This year, Guo Wenyi planned early for expansion, investing 200,000 yuan to build new ponds and 80,000 yuan to buy seedlings. In April they will enter the greenhouse for incubation, and finished products are expected around October. The variety he raises is the wide-body golden-line leech, which feeds on snails, aquatic plants and the like. "Just on snails alone, I estimate they will eat up 80,000 yuan this year," Guo Wenyi said. High input and high risk also bring high returns, with profits expected to reach about 50%.
Today, Guo Wenyi has become a quasi-expert, and many people come to learn from him. He has already led 4 people in Jiyukou and other places in Qianjiang to plan leech farming as a way to get rich.