First, in the mountains of Xinshi, Deqing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, there is a small village called Zisiqiao. Once upon a time, it was one of the poorest villages in Jiaxing, and the villagers lived a simple but difficult life.
When night falls, the old people in the village will always sit around under the dim oil lamps, sighing and telling about the hardships of the past. "I remember that at that time, the total annual income of the whole village was barely 100,000 yuan!" An old man with a wrinkled face shook his head and said, his eyes flashing with memories of the past.
Children listen to these stories and can't imagine those days. However, the gears of fate always turn inadvertently. Who would have thought that such a remote mountain village would be transformed into a well-known "China's No. 1 Snake Village" in just a few decades? Even more surprisingly, this village of 800 people is now home to up to 3 million snakes, accounting for 30% of the world's 70% snake breeding industry.
Everything in the village has changed because of the snake. What was once a barren land is now home to rows of modern snake farms. With happy smiles on their faces, the villagers talk about the "snake" business, which earns millions a year.
The transformation of Zisiqiao Village is like a snake that has shed its old skin and is reborn. This once obscure hamlet is now an important player in the international snake market and an indispensable contributor to the global snake industry.
But how exactly did all this change happen? The answer lies in the story of one man, the legendary story of a man affectionately known as the "Snake King" by the villagers.
In 1973, Yang Hongchang, who was in the prime of life, suddenly suffered from a serious illness. The disease not only brought down the entire family, but also made him incapacitated. Someone in the village began to talk behind his back: "I'm afraid the boy of the Yang family is going out to ask for food."
These words pierced Yang Hongchang's heart like a knife. But Yang Hongchang is not a person who gives up easily. He dragged his weak body and embarked on a long journey to find a doctor.
That year, his parents rowed a boat to a nearby lake every day to fish to make ends meet, while he traveled around hoping to find a cure. Hard work pays off. After more than a year of searching, Yang Hongchang finally found a doctor who could treat him.
The high cost of surgery discouraged him. Just when he was about to give up hope, the doctor gave him an unexpected option - a prescription for making wine with snakes.
With this prescription, Yang Hongchang fell into deep thought. His mind conjured up the winding paths of the village, and the occasional snake shadow on the side of the road. "Let's be a dead horse doctor," he secretly decided, "whether it works or not, try it first."
After returning to the village, Yang Hongchang began to catch all kinds of snakes in the mountains and fields, and brewed snake wine according to the doctor's recipe. He carefully tasted the bitter liquid, with hope and apprehension in his heart.
A miracle happened. With the passage of time, Yang Hongchang's physical condition gradually improved. Except for some discomfort in the lower bar, all other symptoms disappeared. This unexpected discovery not only changed the trajectory of Yang Hongchang's life, but also planted a seed of change for the future of the entire Zisiqiao Village.
Yang Hongchang's miraculous recovery soon spread in Zisiqiao Village. Villagers came in droves, hoping to buy his prescription. Yang Hongchang was keenly aware of the business opportunities and began to accept the business of helping people catch snakes.
His once-weak hands now moved nimbly between the grass and the rocks, as if he had some kind of strange tacit understanding with the serpent. In just one year, Yang Hongchang earned 40,000 or 50,000 yuan.
This was undoubtedly a huge amount of money in Zisiqiao Village at that time. Seeing his success, other villagers began to follow suit and went up the mountain to catch snakes. However, the good times did not last long, and the number of wild snakes began to decline dramatically.
Faced with this dilemma, Yang Hongchang once again showed his foresight. He invested the money he earned in building a breeding farm and bought thousands of snakes from other places to breed.
This decision left many villagers shaking their heads in bewilderment, and some even secretly ridiculed him for being "crazy with too much money". However, keeping a snake is not an easy task. At the beginning, Yang Hongchang encountered a lot of problems about the environment and humidity.
Whenever he encounters setbacks, he recalls the days when he was bedridden, and the desire to survive gives him the motivation to keep going. After countless sleepless nights of groping and trying, Yang Hongchang finally got through a difficult first year.
His breeding skills have advanced by leaps and bounds, and the number of snakes he has cultivated is not only considerable, but also of excellent quality. Soon, his annual income exceeded 100,000 yuan. As the news of the success spread, more and more villagers began to ask Yang Hongchang for advice.
Second, in the face of former doubters, Yang Hongchang did not have the slightest resentment, but unreservedly shared his experience accumulated over the years. He knows that only when the whole village is prosperous can the fate of Zisiqiao be truly changed.
In this way, an ordinary patient, through his own wisdom and perseverance, grew into the famous "Snake King". Not only did he change his own destiny, but he also pointed out a new path for the entire village.
Under the leadership of Yang Hongchang, Zisiqiao Village set off an unprecedented industrial revolution. What was once a tranquil mountain village is now full of life and energy. Every family began to try their hand at raising snakes, and the atmosphere in the village changed dramatically.
According to statistics, at the peak of industrial development, as many as 108 households in Zisiqiao Village devoted themselves to snake farming. This small village of only 800 people is home to more than 3 million snakes.
Villagers often joke that the number of snakes is almost catching up with the population of the whole country. With the vigorous development of the snake breeding industry, the economic situation of Zisiqiao Village has also ushered in a qualitative leap.
In the past, the poor village with an annual income of only 100,000 yuan now has an annual income of tens of millions of yuan just by raising snakes. This figure has made many people unbelievable and has even attracted numerous journalists and curious tourists.
Success doesn't happen overnight. In the process of development, the villagers also faced many challenges. Some people are worried about market saturation, some people are worried about cash flow, and some people are afraid of dealing with snake venom.
Whenever this happens, Yang Hongchang will stand up and use his experience and wisdom to guide everyone. With the passage of time, the snake farming technology in Zisiqiao Village has continued to improve, and the product types have become more and more diversified.
From the original snake medicine wine, to snake gall bladder, snake powder, and then to snake skin products, the innovative spirit of the villagers has made the products of this small mountain village exported to the whole country and even entered the international market.
What's even more amazing is that this once obscure village now occupies a pivotal position in the global snake breeding industry. Zisiqiao Village accounts for 30% of the world's 70% snake breeding industry, and behind this figure is the result of the unity and joint efforts of the whole village.
Today's Zisiqiao Village has become a veritable "China's No. 1 Snake Village". This title is not only an affirmation of their hard work, but also a motivation to keep them going.
In this industrial revolution in which the whole village is mobilized, every villager is an indispensable hero. The transformation of Zisiqiao Village is not only a success story of a village, but also a microcosm of China's rural industrial innovation.
This once obscure mountain village has become an important player in the global snake industry and occupies a significant position in the international market. According to statistics, 70% of the snake breeding industry in the world comes from China.
Zisiqiao Village, a small village of only 800 people, accounts for nearly 30% of the share. Behind this staggering number is the result of the hard work and constant innovation of the entire village day and night.
With the development of the industry, the living standards of the villagers have also been significantly improved. Many villagers said in interviews that when they started raising snakes more than 20 years ago, they initially hoped to earn 30,000 yuan a year to improve their lives.
Third, as time goes by, their income continues to increase, and some villagers even have an annual income of more than 500,000 yuan. This huge economic transformation has not only changed the quality of life of the villagers, but also their spiritual outlook.
From the initial anxiety to the current full of confidence, the villagers of Zisiqiao Village have written a modern version of the "Legend of Snake Village" with their own hands. Today's Zisiqiao Village is no longer the remote and poor mountain village.
It is an important base for the global snake industry, a model of China's rural industrial innovation, and an example of countless rural prosperity. In this sense, Zisiqiao Village is not only "China's No. 1 Snake Village", but also a beacon that illuminates the path of China's rural development.