Cold-water Fish Farming: The Story of Two Post-80s College Graduates in Lushan County, Sichuan
After 7 years of hard work, he rose from a salesman to a regional manager of the company, with an annual income of over 150,000 yuan. Unwilling to live a routine life, he and a colleague who shared the same dream of starting their own business gave up their high salaries and jointly invested 3 million yuan to start cold-water fish farming in a deep mountain valley... He is Ma Jun.
Ma Jun is from Zhaojiaaba Group, Jinhua Community, Luyang Town, Lushan County. Before 2013, he was a regional manager of the sales department of Tongwei Group Co., Ltd. in Maoming City, Guangdong Province; after 2013, he resigned and returned to his hometown to live a fish-farming life as both boss and worker.
Years of Hard Work Bring Modest Career Success
The flowing-water fish farm of Ma Jun and his partner Zhao Xin is built in a deep mountain stream at an altitude of more than 600 m. Qi Xuejun, Party branch secretary of Liming Village, Luyang Town, Lushan County, said that Ma Jun and Zhao Xin are both post-80s young men. They have technical skills, can endure hardship, have drive, and have a unique eye for choosing a site. The fish they raise are of good quality, and although the price is on the high side, many people buy them. Qi Xuejun hopes to use the fish farm as a platform to drive local villagers' development.
"I have been selling fish feed for many years, and I have an indissoluble bond with fish!" On October 31, during an interview, Ma Jun was full of confidence in his choice to give up a high salary to go into farming. He said that as long as villagers want to develop, he will provide technical services free of charge.
After graduating in 2005, Ma Jun became an employee of Tongwei Group in the Maoming area of Guangdong Province. He was proactive, willing to work hard, and diligent, and his performance climbed step by step. He was later promoted to manager of the Maoming area, with an annual income of over 150,000 yuan.
After marriage, Ma Jun, who rarely returned to his hometown, felt an increasingly strong homesickness, and his desire to return home to develop became more and more urgent.
In early 2013, after Ma Jun told his colleague Zhao Xin about his idea, the two hit it off immediately and decided to "go it alone."
After market research and feasibility studies, plus the professional knowledge they had mastered and accumulated, the two decided to farm cold-water fish.
Giving Up High Salaries to Return Home and Farm Flowing-water Fish
In August 2013, Ma Jun and Zhao Xin resigned and returned to Lushan.
The two first looked for a water source. They knew that only high-quality water could produce higher-quality fish. After two months of mountain surveys and inspections, Ma Jun and Zhao Xin finally built the fish farm in a mountain valley in Wujiawo Group, Wangjiabian, Liming Village, Luyang Town, Lushan County. The mountain spring water in this stream comes from deep in the mountains. It is clean and clear, flows year-round without stopping, and has an average annual water temperature of about 20°C, making it the best natural site for cold-water fish farming.
"The local villagers were very supportive and provided us with a lot of help!" Ma Jun said that when he resigned and returned home to farm fish, his parents strongly opposed it at first. Fortunately, he had his wife's support, and she took out all their savings from over the years. Later, when his parents saw that his determination had not changed, they also changed their attitude and took out family savings to support him.
To ensure success in one go, from land acquisition to building the fish ponds, Ma Jun and Zhao Xin lived in tents on the mountain the whole time. The two jointly designed, directed, and did the work with their own hands. Through their efforts, in May last year, a fish farm covering an area of 6 mu with 26 flowing-water fish ponds was completed. In June of the same year, 300,000 fry of Ya fish, grass carp, and common carp were stocked. Because ecological food is understood and accepted by more and more citizens, the two chose flowing-water fish farming. Although the cycle is 6 to 10 months longer than pond fish farming and the cost is 30% to 40% higher, the fish raised in flowing water are of high quality and sell well.
Based on their respective strengths, the two divided the work and cooperated. Ma Jun was responsible for the management of the fish farm and the sales of finished fish, while Zhao Xin was responsible for farming technology. In their words, since they were investing together, they had to be of one heart.
At present, the grass carp and common carp from the fish farm are gradually entering the sales period. Their cold-water fish price reaches 40 yuan per kg, mainly sold to Chongqing and Chengdu.
"In the future, we plan to develop a farmhouse resort!" The 5-year plan drawn up by Ma Jun and Zhao Xin is: build a standardized fish farm to drive more local farmers to farm fish; build a distinctive farmhouse resort and use it as a platform to change the local situation of relying on farming for a living, and leverage advantages such as the unique mountain scenery and good vegetation to develop the tertiary industry.