Wang Xingfu turns over a new leaf and becomes a leader in escaping poverty and achieving prosperity

In Fengling Village, Luoping Town, Wang Xingfu is a household name. Over the past few years, with burning passion and tenacious struggle, he has finally carved out a new world for himself in pig and goat farming.

Going into Business to Make a Fortune, Straying onto the Wrong Path

Wang Xingfu, 46 years old this year, is short in stature and somewhat thin, with a determined expression on his dark face. When we saw him, he and his workers were building a newly planned goat pen. Though he is now hardworking and down-to-earth, he was once a big "celebrity" in the village. He grew up in poverty, and after a few years of schooling he was forced to drop out and return home to farm. He was righteous by nature and loved to stand up for the underdog; whenever anyone suffered an injustice, he would always speak up for them. Though he upheld justice, he also made quite a few enemies because of it. Unwilling to accept poverty, he was determined to change his hometown's backward state. Hearing that Guangdong was a land of gold, he went into business to make his fortune.

After arriving in Guangdong, he realized it was far from as easy to make money as the legends said. With no education and no skills, earning money in this unfamiliar city was no easy task. After a long search, he finally found a job. After working for a while, Wang Xingfu gradually had his eyes blinded by the bustling city. So, with the "encouragement" of others, he started a "business" that brought in money quickly. Before long, he was caught and "put away." Misfortunes never come singly; during this period, his father and elder brother passed away one after another. He deeply loathed himself, for he had not even been able to see his closest loved ones one last time, a wound that would never heal.

Returning Home to Start a Business, Victory in the First Battle

In 2010, Wang Xingfu returned home. Looking at the crumbling mud-brick house and his mother, whose hair was silver-white and who was thin as a rail, he knelt on the ground, hugged his mother's legs and cried like a child. Hearing that during his father's and brother's illnesses, his neighbors had given his family meticulous care and help, Wang Xingfu was deeply moved and vowed to repay his neighbors. He felt the village's natural environment was suitable for ecological farming, so he decided to develop pig farming.

Action followed words. He borrowed money here and there from relatives and friends to buy piglets and began raising them. Neighbors who had no money each gave him a piglet. Before long, he had more than 50 lovely piglets in his pens. He insisted on feeding them entirely with green fodder. He rose early and worked late, sometimes even going into the mountains to gather pigweed, pouring all his thoughts into the pigs. The neighbors were deeply moved when they saw this, and they all cut pigweed from their own fields and brought it to him; some even helped him tend the pig pens. Wang Xingfu saw all of this and silently carved it into his heart.

Hard work pays off. After careful feeding, by the end of the year each pig had grown to more than 300 jin. It happened that pigs were in high demand that year, and the unit price rose to 10 yuan/jin. He sold more than 50 head, and after deducting costs his net income was more than 130,000 yuan. When the news spread, it caused a sensation throughout the village, and the villagers all looked at him with approval.

Grateful to Neighbors, Getting Rich Together

After Wang Xingfu achieved success with his first small trial, his confidence in developing the farming business grew even stronger. Besides repaying the money he had borrowed at the time and taking out a portion to thank the villagers, he spent the remaining 100,000 yuan entirely on buying piglets, breeding pigs and expanding the pig pens. After more than 3 months of rushed construction, a row of standard brand-new pig pens was completed. The piglets moved into their beautiful new home, and the number of pigs on hand soared from more than 50 to nearly 100.

From then on, raising pigs brought him a net income of at least 100,000 yuan each year. He would always take out part of the money to help the especially poor villagers. He not only built a multi-story house in the village but also bought a home in the Luoping town center, becoming a big capable man and great benefactor in the villagers' eyes.

Starting the year before last, he began tinkering with free-range goat farming. Not understanding the techniques, he bought the book "Goat Farming Techniques" and DVDs to watch and learn. Sometimes he also went to professional goat farming bases to inspect and learn, consulting professional technicians. Goat farming gradually got on track, growing from more than 30 at the beginning to more than 100 now. The original pens could no longer hold the rapidly growing flock. In the second half of this year, he chose a new site to build goat pens, preparing to introduce professional equipment and techniques to improve farming efficiency and the quality of the goat meat.

Getting rich alone does not count as getting rich; helping more and more villagers get rich together is his unchanging obsession. Out of gratitude, helping the poor and assisting them to prosperity has become his "daily routine." Four households, including Xiang Shigang and Chen Huiying, were living in tight straits for various reasons. Wang Xingfu sent them funds and breeding goats, and personally taught them farming techniques. Seeing the villagers' lives gradually improve, Wang Xingfu felt immensely gratified. He taught the farming experience and techniques he had accumulated through years of exploration to the villagers who aspired to develop farming, without reservation. As a result, Wang Xingfu won recognition and commendation from his neighbors, the village committee and the government. Facing honor and achievement, he is all the more confident.

Looking to Tomorrow, Full of Confidence

"Next year, I plan to continue expanding the farming scale and build two more rows of goat sheds and pig pens. The annual farming capacity for pigs and goats will increase to 800 head, and the estimated annual income can reach 200,000 yuan," Wang Xingfu said confidently.

He stopped the work in his hands and told the reporter: "Next, we will also establish a professional cooperative, organize all the villagers, and use the 'company + base + farmer' model to drive everyone to escape poverty and achieve prosperity together, so that the villagers' lives truly 'goat' better."

Looking up, the reporter gazed at the fiery red sunset clouds on the horizon and smiled knowingly, because tomorrow was bound to be another bright sunny day!