Disabled young man forges a new path to prosperity through aquaculture

Yesterday, beside the pond at the entrance of Oujiawan in Jiaohe Village, Jinhu Subdistrict, fish farmer Ou Gaohong was feeding the fish. Although 30-year-old Ou Gaohong has a disabled left leg, his spirit is not disabled. He took over several ponds in the village free of charge, took up scientific fish farming, and carved out a path to prosperity.

Ou Gaohong grew up in a poor farming family. From childhood he developed a habit of enduring hardship and working hard, and he taught himself the trade of water and electrical installation.

In 2010, 25-year-old Ou Gaohong was deeply in love with a girl from a neighboring village. On October 19 of that year, a car accident left his left leg with a grade-four disability from then on, and the treatment costs alone exceeded 300,000 yuan. From then on, the family was deep in debt. "At the time, I was extremely depressed. Thanks to my then-fiancee, who encouraged me and took care of me, I got through the darkest period of my life."

After his left leg was disabled, Ou Gaohong could only walk with difficulty using a crutch, and he could not stand for long periods. Because of this, no one dared hire him to do water and electrical installation work at their homes anymore. In December 2011, after Ou Gaohong's daughter was born, life for the family of three became even harder. "I can't do the heavy work on construction sites, and no one will hire me for the lighter water and electrical installation work. How is my family supposed to live?" Ou Gaohong asked himself countless times.

"At the time, I owed a lot to Ou Weicheng, the former group leader of the village. He came to discuss with me, wanting to provide me free of charge with the four empty fish ponds in the village that had been unmanaged for years, so I could release some fry into them," Ou Gaohong said gratefully. After the 2013 Spring Festival, Ou Gaohong released 4,000 yuan worth of fry into those ponds in total.

Ou Gaohong realized that fish farming was not as easy as he had first imagined, where you just release fry, feed them on schedule every day, and then sit back and reap the profits. Ou Gaohong said, "I have to treat them like treasures and care for them with all my heart. As soon as I see dead fish in the pond, I immediately go online to look up a large amount of information, or consult aquaculture experts. When I see the fish not growing, I have to go find the fish farming specialists around me and learn from them. To prevent the fish from being stolen, every night I have to endure the wind and rain and the bitter cold, and my wife and I keep watch over those ponds."

What is gratifying is that when the ponds were harvested starting the second year, after deducting costs, Ou Gaohong made a profit of more than 3,000 yuan.

Now he has figured out a set of fish farming experience, but he does not dare be careless for a single moment. In order to manage the ponds well, he, who loves learning and researching, not only joined a mutual-aid group for people with disabilities, but also joined a fish farming technology exchange group, and has become proficient in computer skills.

During the interview, when talking about this young man in the village, Ou Gaohong, who is disabled but strong-willed, village Party branch secretary Jiao Guoqing took great pride. He told the reporter: "This young man is truly remarkable. Not only is he very capable, he is also willing to study and can endure hardship. The village plans to guide him into greenhouse planting, so that he can serve as a role model in the village for leading the way to prosperity."

When talking about his next plans, Ou Gaohong said, "The village has always taken good care of me. This time, the village again plans to provide me free training in greenhouse planting techniques. Once I have learned the techniques, I will start growing vegetables in greenhouses, so that my family can live a good life as soon as possible."