From a Disabled Goatherd to a “Bellwether” in Alleviating Poverty

Text by Liao Zhihui

Photos by Cai Jun

“Meh-eh-eh! Meh-eh-eh!” The bleat of goats awakened the tranquil Xiaotang Village of Zougang Town in Xiaochang County on the morning of August 26. A herd of goats flocked towards a small man standing at the gate of a pen, bleating merrily.When the gate swung open, the flock followed the man and ran towards the pasture on the hillside. I was told at an early age that the goats behaved like a marching army. Wherever the bellwether went, the others would follow. However, I didn’t see a bellwether in the goat army here, so I inquired a villager.

“Gengen is the bellwether! Wherever he goes, the goats follow him!” The villager pointed to the man, smiling.

This small man standing in front of us named Tang Gengen was already 28 years old, but he had a baby face and stood 1.4 meters tall. He was a man of few words. When he was born, he suffered from limb disability, so tripping and falling was a routine for him. However, he overcame countless obstacles in his life and finally alleviated himself and his family from poverty.

“I will raise these goats well”

As his father couldn’t do any physical jobs due to illness, the whole family was supported by his mother, who had to raise Tang Gengen and his younger brother Tang Paipai. Gengen had to study harder than others in school because of his disability.

Graduated from Wuhan Business University in 2016, Tang Gengen had planned to find a job in the city and make a good living for the family.

However, he failed during job interviews repeatedly because of his physical condition.

He couldn’t sleep and felt depressed because he couldn’t find a job or do any physical work to help the family.

In order to make a living, he thought about farming or raising pigs, but it was either hard to earn money or required too much investment. With the support of his mother and the Poverty-Alleviating Work Team, Tang Gengen decided to tend to the goats his family owned.

As an old saying goes, “Despite the small investment requirement, it takes a long time to profit from planting ginger or raising goats.” It is not so easy to raise goats. The sudden death of goat kids saddened Gengen. He swore secretly to take good care of the remaining goats.

Tang Gengen and his goats 唐根根和他的羊群

“咩——”8月26日一早，孝昌县邹岗镇校堂村十分热闹。一个小个子身影出现在羊圈门口，羊群迅速涌过来，欢快地叫着。

他打开羊圈，羊群涌到他跟前，随后就跟着他朝山坡的草场鱼贯而去。小时候常听老人讲，羊群的行动很军事化，头羊走到哪儿，一群羊就跟到哪儿。头羊一咩，群羊就列队出发。而眼前这群羊似乎没有头羊，我问村民是怎么回事。

“根根就是头羊啊！他走到哪儿，羊群就跟到哪儿！”村民指指男孩，笑着说。

眼前这个1.4 米高、娃娃脸、说话不太伶俐的“小男孩”，叫唐根根，今年28 岁。很不幸，他先天肢体二级残疾，四肢无力，从小到大，走路没少摔跤。然而，历经摔打的他却坚持“奔跑”，拔掉了自家的“穷根”。

“我一定要把羊儿养活”

唐根根从小生活在一个贫困家庭，父亲长期生病吃药，无法干重活，母亲艰辛抚养他和弟弟唐派派。上学后，不管是读书还是写字，唐根根都要付出比别人更多的努力。

2016年，唐根根从武汉商学院会计专业毕业，踌躇满志的他准备在城里找一份安稳的工作，让家人过上好生活。

然而，由于先天残疾，求职屡屡受挫。

那段时间，他整晚整晚睡不着觉，辗转反侧，在家干不了力气活，在外面又找不到工作，他感觉很憋屈。

After that, he collected various materials on how to raise goats by searching online and consulting the experts at the local animal husbandry bureau. Through continual learning and experimentation, his goats grew big, stout, and strong.

Delivering 60 kids in a day

A doe produces two or three kids a year. During the peak period of births, Tang Gengen and his family would have to help deliver baby goats from early morning till midnight.

“We helped deliver some 60 kids in a day once!” Tang Gengen recalled excitedly.

The goatherd grew from 40 to more than 600 soon. The species had also increased, including local goats, Boer goats, procapra gutturosa, etc. Tang Gengen earned nearly 300, 000 yuan in 2019.

To keep organic goat production, Tang Gengen had to walk thousands of steps, herding his goats every day. It was a great challenge for a disabled person with weak limbs.

“I often fell to the ground at the very beginning. My trousers were scratched here and there and I was covered in bruises. But I had never thought of giving up. Actually, on second thought, why can’t I take this challenge as a kind of exercise? You see, my muscles are much stronger than before.” Tang Geggen bent to touch his leg shyly.

With the help of the work team, Tang Gengen managed to apply for a discount loan and obtained special funds from the government. He then initiated the Zougang Harmonious Family Ecological Farm and Xiaochang Gengen Cultivation and Breeding Cooperative.

Now, Tang Gengen became a leader in helping more villagers out of poverty, and led them on the road to prosperity.

He signed agreements with 17 poverty-stricken families in the neighborhood and agreed to provide pregnant does to each of them. When the kids were born, the family would own the kids for free and return the doe. When the kids grew up, the family could either sell them by themselves or ask Gengen to help with the sale.

Xiong Zhiqiang, a povertystricken villager in Fangji Village, got four kids for free by signing the agreement, and bought another 3 pregnant does later. Now he had 7 goats in total, “These goats are my property and will add value gradually.” Xiong Zhiqiang was now confident about his future, “Gengen knows how to raise goats and sell them. I believe I can succeed with his help.”

Becoming well-off together

The cooperative has attracted a large number of visitors for its organic breeding methods and high-quality meat, and Gengen’s story. His goats sold well.

Gengen built a new house in 2019. The house was not whitewashed on the outside, but it was well designed and tidy inside, with a nice study. Now Tang Gengen was both wealthy materially and rich spiritually.

“What’s your definition of being well-off?” I asked.

“We have great potential in developing rural tourism. Entertaining visitors with indigenous and organic local vegetables and chevon is my dream, which will help more villagers become rich.” This is the well-off life in Tang Gengen’s eyes. (Translation: Li Li)

Looking at a new born kid, Tang Gengen beaming with satisfaction唐根根（右）看着出生不久的小羊羔，开心地笑了

他想过种田，可光靠种田很难脱贫；想过养猪，可投入太大承受不起。在母亲和扶贫工作队的鼓励下，唐根根决定，先把家里的几十只羊养起来。

俗话说：“种姜养羊，本小利长；羊死姜烂，啥也不算。”有些羊看着好好的，过了几天就死了。看着夭折的羊羔，唐根根无比心痛。他暗地里发誓，一定要把剩下的羊儿养活！

几年下来，他上网查阅资料、请教畜牧局专家，努力学习科学养羊方法，笔记记了一大摞。通过不断的学习和实践，他的羊儿不仅活了下来，还长得越来越壮实。

最多一天接生五六十只羊羔

一只母羊一年可以生产2 到3只羊羔。生产高峰期，唐根根和家人常常从一大早接生到晚上十一二点。

“最多的一天，我们接生了五六十只羊羔！”谈起这些，唐根根眼睛放光。

很快，羊群从最初的40 多只，壮大到了600 多只。种类也在增加，本地山羊、波尔山羊、黄山羊等都有。2019年唐根根收入近30 万元。

为了坚持生态养殖，唐根根每天放羊都要走上十几万步。这对先天肌无力的病人来说，是极大的挑战。

“刚开始经常摔跤，摔到裤子破了，摔得鼻青脸肿。但我一想，这何尝不是一种锻炼？你看，小腿的肌肉都长大了。”唐根根弯下腰摸了摸小腿，略显羞涩。

在扶贫工作队的帮助下，唐根根申请贴息贷款，申报专项资金，创办邹岗镇和谐家庭生态农场，成立孝昌根根种养殖合作社。

现在，唐根根成了村里的致富“头羊”，带领着更多村民一起奔小康。

他与附近17 名贫困户签订了协议：给每户提供怀孕母羊，生下的羊羔免费赠送，母羊回收。羊羔养大后，贫困户可以自己销售，也可以委托他来销售。

根据协议，方集村贫困户熊志强靠两只怀孕母羊免费得到了4 只羊羔，又买了3 只怀孕母羊，现在一共有7 只羊。“这7 只羊就是我的不动产，会慢慢增值的。”熊志强很有信心致富，“养羊的技术、销路都有根根管，这么好的条件，能不好好干？”

“想带着大家吃上旅游饭”

因养殖生态好、羊肉口感好，加上很多人因唐根根的故事慕名前来，合作社的羊儿供不应求。

2019年，唐根根家盖起新房。尽管房屋外墙没有粉刷，但从屋檐的讲究、书房的设置、屋内外的整洁可以感受到，唐根根不仅生活上拔掉了穷根，精神上也更加充实快乐起来。

“你心目中的小康生活是什么样的？”我问。

“农业休闲观光游消费需求旺盛，让客人吃到正宗、绿色的土菜和生态羊肉，村民们就可以在家门口吃上旅游饭。”这就是唐根根心目中的小康生活。