Female college student raises over a thousand ring-necked pheasants

At the mouth of Fenghuang Valley in Yangdian Town there is a grove of poplar trees, where more than a thousand beautiful ring-necked pheasants play among the trees. Their owner is a female college graduate named Wang Meng.

Wang Meng, 27 this year, is from Dujiagou Village in Yangdian Town. Five years ago she graduated from Jiangxi Art College. Fond of music and dance, she went to work for a company in Yunnan after graduation, doing golf course management. Because the work was easy and the pay high, she became an object of others' envy. However, "good times don't last long" - two years ago, somewhat stubborn by nature, she resolutely quit the "job" that so many people envied and returned to her hometown to start a business.

"I feel there's great potential in developing in the countryside. I've loved raising animals since I was little, and after looking into many options beforehand, I found that raising ring-necked pheasants is quite profitable, so I chose this trade." Wang Meng said this while preparing feed. Her farm is still about two li from the village, and conditions are very basic. Inside two old single-story rooms, apart from a bed and simple daily necessities, there is only feed. At the door, two stray puppies she picked up and a kitten are Wang Meng's "companions". Wang Meng, who looks delicate and fair, skillfully feeds the ring-necked pheasants water and feed. "Vitamins must be added to the water to boost the chickens' immunity. Pheasants are aggressive, so I put blinders on them all. The few geese kept here are to drive away weasels and protect the pheasants..." Wang Meng, who studied music and dance, talks about farming just like an expert.

The interview revealed that Wang Meng's idea of starting a business in the countryside met with strong opposition from her parents from the very beginning. In her parents' eyes, Wang Meng was a "golden phoenix" who had flown out of the countryside, and she ought to work in the city; coming back to the countryside to raise chickens was truly hard to accept. So during the two years since the farm opened, Wang Meng's parents' attitude was one of no support and no help. The 100,000 yuan in startup funds for the farm came from the savings Wang Meng accumulated while working in Yunnan. During the day Wang Meng is the only one busy at the farm, and at night a relative of hers watches over it.

In the course of raising them, she learned feed mixing and disease prevention on her own, consulted experienced breeding experts, and looked for sales channels online... "Starting a business means making sacrifices. As long as you work hard and give your all, there will always be a return." A trace of resolve and maturity not quite matching her age showed on Wang Meng's face. Last year, the first batch of ring-necked pheasants she carefully raised was sold to some cities in the south. Although there was not much profit, it gave Wang Meng a good deal more confidence. "Next I plan to expand the scale of breeding, with part for meat chickens and part for laying hens. I can also deeply process the meat and eggs, and make specimens from the feathers of the ring-necked pheasants. Combined with the big tourism drive now underway across the whole city, these can be sold as tourism products." Wang Meng is full of confidence in her entrepreneurial dream of raising ring-necked pheasants.