Li Zhuangshi: A pig farming success story in Wenyu Village through hard work and entrepreneurship
Li Zhuangshi, born in 1969, is a native of Wenyu Village, Changliu. In 1992, with his family's support, Li Zhuangshi raised 500,000 yuan on his own and rented 30 mu of land on the slopes of Wenyu Village, Changnan, beginning his pig farming career. His pig farm grew from a stock of just over 30 head and an annual slaughter of fewer than 50 head to its current size as a medium-sized pig farm with over 2,000 head on hand and an annual slaughter of over 3,000 head. If each pig sells for 1,300 yuan, Li Zhuangshi's pig farm can reach total annual sales of more than 4 million yuan, and if pig prices are good, the profits can well be imagined.
Li Zhuangshi is tall and broad-shouldered, with a cheerful personality, a typical rural young man who can endure hardship and work hard. When he began building the pig farm in 1992, he practically slept side by side with the pigs in the pens day and night. Aside from the constant smell of pig manure on him, there was only the sheen of his dark skin and his honest smile. Thanks to his hard work in starting the business, his diligence in learning breeding techniques, and his habit of accumulating experience, he can now be described as both boss and technician. Not to mention when pigs on his own farm get sick, even when pigs on neighboring farms fall ill, he takes the initiative to help diagnose them free of charge. As a result, his prestige in this circle is quite high, and he is often praised by his peers.
After becoming wealthy through pig farming, Li Zhuangshi, though he had mastered the techniques, always felt that his own ability and energy were limited, so he took the initiative to encourage villagers in his own and neighboring villages who were interested in pig farming, able to endure hardship, and full of entrepreneurial spirit to develop the pig farming business. In addition to providing piglets to farmers at low prices, he also served unpaid as a breeding technical advisor, and some even received a certain amount of financial help from him, repaying him only after they sold their pigs and made a profit. Seeing other farmers make money, live better lives, and see their business thrive, he just smiled honestly. The local villagers all praised him as a "simple fool."
Besides being honest and straightforward, Li Zhuangshi is also a young man with a good head for business. Now that he has capital in hand, and after verification through investigation, he has set his sights on the emerging new industry of leisure farms. At present he has invested more than 2 million yuan to set up the "Nanhai Leisure Tourism Farm" located on Nanhai Avenue in the Changliu jurisdiction. The farm covers 70 mu and brings together a rich variety of activities such as agricultural sightseeing, leisure tourism, fishing, and hands-on farm life experiences. While developing and expanding the industry, the farm has also provided employment for more than 30 rural young people. "Nanhai Leisure Farm" can simultaneously accommodate more than 1,000 people for dining. On holidays, the farm is bustling with activity: some people fishing, some planting vegetables, some picking vegetables, some playing and romping about, it is simply a scene of Shangri-La. Li Zhuangshi's farm not only provides employment for surplus labor, but the development of the leisure industry also further stimulates urban consumption in rural areas, plays an important role in promoting and advancing the adjustment of the agricultural industrial structure, and is of even greater significance to the construction and development of the Changliu economy.