China's first "pig-raising doctor" passed away, leaving behind three "invisible fortunes"

The biggest event in the agriculture and animal husbandry circle recently is the passing of Shao Genhuo, the chairman of Dabeinong, at the age of 60.

Compared with those business tycoons who are always on the hot search, Shao Genhuo was too "inconspicuous" - there were no overwhelming press releases, no ostentation of luxury cars and mansions. The most common sight of him was wearing simple clothes and participating in academic exchanges.

However, this "inconspicuous" person had too many contrasts:

He was the first doctor in pig nutrition in China, filling the domestic gap single - handedly.

He was born into a poor family and founded Dabeinong Group from scratch. The Hurun Rich List in 2025 showed that his net worth was 10.5 billion. But he was so reluctant to replace his worn - out backpack that he lived extremely frugally.

Many people said he was "stingy", but his "stinginess" was only towards himself. He was very generous to agriculture, students from poor families and those in need.

Although he has passed away, he left three "invisible treasures" to the world - the belief that a child from a poor family can become a success, the perseverance in practical work for national prosperity, and the sense of responsibility of giving and caring.

Each of these is worthy of our reflection.

The first "invisible treasure": A child from a poor family can become a success

Nowadays, people on the Internet always say that "it's hard for a child from a poor family to become a success", claiming that class is solidified and hard work is useless.

It's undeniable that it's more difficult for children from poor families to stand out, but Shao Genhuo proved with his whole life that birth is never destiny. The perseverance engraved in one's bones is the foundation for counter - attack.

This is the first invisible treasure he left for us.

Shao Genhuo started from a much lower point than many people. In 1965, he was born in a rural area in Lipu Town, Jinhua, Zhejiang. He lost his father in his childhood, and his mother struggled to support the whole family. The family conditions were not good.

He knew he had no way back, and only by studying hard could he change his fate. Many times, he used a short bedside table as a desk and got up to study as soon as it was dawn. At that time, the neighbors next door were always wondering why there was noise in his house so early in the morning.

Later, the neighbors all praised that Shao Genhuo's success was due to his love for learning at that time.

A good friend of Shao Genhuo from high school to university was in tears when he heard the news of his death. He said, "My old classmate was very diligent. He worked very hard when studying and had great aspirations. He once said, 'Study to be the best and serve the country in the future.'"

Shao Genhuo once said to those around him, "The human face looks like the Chinese character 'bitter' (the eyebrows and eyes form the top part like grass, the nostrils are like a cross, and together with the mouth below, it forms the character 'bitter'). So, suffering is inborn. Don't be afraid of it. My success can be attributed to four points - having better thoughts, setting bigger goals, enduring more hardships, and having stronger perseverance."

In 1982, 17 - year - old Shao Genhuo was admitted to the Animal Husbandry major at Zhejiang Agricultural University (later merged into Zhejiang University), becoming one of the few college students in the village. To raise tuition fees for her son, his mother sold the only old hen in the family and told him, 'When you have the ability in the future, help more rural children who want to study like you.' Shao Genhuo remembered this sentence for a lifetime.

In 1986, Shao Genhuo was successfully admitted to a combined master - doctor program at China Agricultural University. He loved learning and research very much. He would stay in the laboratory for more than ten hours a day. Except for eating and sleeping, he almost devoted all his time and energy to scientific research.

In 1991, he successfully obtained a doctorate in agriculture and became the first doctor in pig nutrition in China.

He once said frankly, "I was born in the countryside, so I've been engaged in agricultural - related work all my life. In essence, I'm just a farmer, so I became the first pig - raising doctor in China. 'Fate' is unchangeable, just like the existing real - world conditions; while 'luck' can change, just like continuous subjective efforts. There are no difficulties in the world, only work to be done."

This "first" was not only his personal honor but also a breakthrough in China's agriculture and animal husbandry industry.

After graduating with a doctorate, he taught at Beijing University of Agriculture and became the first doctor - teacher in the school, holding an enviable "iron rice bowl". However, he was not content with the status quo and actively contracted the school's ranch, starting a life of teaching and raising pigs at the same time. He always had a dream in mind, which was to apply the knowledge he had learned to agricultural production, turn scientific research results into real productivity, and bring benefits to farmers.

So, Shao Genhuo made an amazing decision: to quit his stable job and start a business. Although starting a business was risky and he might lose all his capital, once he made up his mind, he never looked back. In 1993, with 20,000 yuan in savings, he embarked on the road of changing the agriculture and animal husbandry industry with his professional knowledge.

Shao Genhuo's counter - attack was never due to luck. His struggle experience tells us that even if it's difficult for a child from a poor family, he can still become a success.

The second "invisible treasure": Practical work for national prosperity, no empty talk in entrepreneurship

Currently, the entrepreneurship and capital circles are too impetuous: too many entrepreneurs raise money by telling stories and hyping concepts, and too many entrepreneurs become arrogant after achieving success, blindly expanding and forgetting their original entrepreneurial intentions.

They think practical work is too slow and stupid, but in the end, most of them are just a flash in the pan and end up with nothing.

Shao Genhuo was just the opposite.

He had been in business for thirty years, not telling empty stories but focusing on the agriculture and animal husbandry industry. With the "stupid" method of practical work, he turned a small company that started with 20,000 yuan into a leading agricultural technology enterprise with a market value of over 17 billion yuan, breaking the monopoly of foreign enterprises.

This spirit of practical work is the second invisible treasure he left.

In 1993, Shao Genhuo rented two rooms in Haidian District, Beijing, and founded the predecessor of Dabeinong under the simple conditions of "two people, 20,000 yuan, and two rooms".

At that time, the high - end piglet feed market in China was monopolized by foreign enterprises. The feed was expensive and not suitable for the habits of Chinese pigs, causing great distress to farmers.

Based on his professional experience and ranch practice, Shao Genhuo knew very well the needs of farmers - balanced nutrition and affordable prices. His goal was simple: to develop a high - quality and low - cost piglet feed to break the monopoly of foreign enterprises and help farmers reduce costs and increase income.

He led his team to study day and night and conduct repeated experiments. To test the formula, he stayed up late to observe the growth of piglets and record data; to find high - quality raw materials, he traveled all over the country for comparison and selection; when there was a shortage of funds to buy experimental equipment, he made it by himself.

Hard work pays off. In 1994, the "Dabeinong Brand 551 Piglet Feed" was launched. This feed had a scientific formula, was suitable for Chinese piglets, and was comparable to imported products in terms of growth rate and immunity, but was cheaper. Once it was on the market, it was highly popular among farmers.

With this feed, Shao Genhuo broke the monopoly of foreign enterprises and helped Dabeinong gain a firm foothold in the market.

Shao Genhuo not only did practical work himself but also had strict requirements for those around him. This strictness was essentially a respect for the cause.

Li Junzhu, the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the China Pig Industry High - level Exchange Forum, was once a member of Dabeinong. He recalled that there was a no - smoking policy inside Dabeinong. Once, he was smoking in the restroom and was caught by Shao Genhuo. Shao seriously warned him, 'If you don't quit smoking, don't be the general manager anymore.' Then he said earnestly, 'If you can't even quit smoking, how can you achieve great things?' This requirement for self - restraint also ran through his entrepreneurial career.

Some people said that Shao Genhuo was just lucky to catch the industry trend. However, they didn't know that the so - called trend and luck were all based on practical work.

After achieving success, he was never complacent. He deeply cultivated the agriculture and animal husbandry track and laid out the entire industrial chain, expanding from a single feed business to multiple fields such as seed industry, breeding, animal health, and agricultural Internet, truly helping farmers reduce costs and increase efficiency.

In 2010, Dabeinong was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with a peak market value of over 30 billion. Shao Genhuo became a billionaire. But he always adhered to the spirit of practical work, did not engage in capital speculation or blind expansion, and used the funds for research and development and helping farmers.

He invested 2.55% of the revenue in research and development and established the "Dabeinong Science and Technology Award" to encourage innovation. The enterprise thus won the reputation of the "Huawei of agriculture".

Shao Genhuo's practical work was full of sobriety, respect, and a sense of responsibility.

He knew that agriculture was a long - term business, and only by being down - to - earth could one go far. He respected the industry and consumers and never resorted to opportunism in his life.

He established a unique naming culture in Dabeinong, where everyone inside addressed each other as "teacher". He refused to be called the boss and only wanted to be called "Dr. Shao".

Now that he has passed away, there will be no more response to the call of "Dr. Shao", but the spirit of practical work has been deeply rooted in Dabeinong's genes.

The third "invisible treasure": Helping others brings happiness to oneself

Many people become impetuous and selfish after achieving success, pursue ostentation, forget their original intentions, think that making money is their own ability and there is no need to help others, and even regard charity as a show.

But Shao Genhuo was completely different. Although he was a billionaire, he was simple and low - key. He was extremely "stingy" towards himself but extremely generous to others and society.

This is the third invisible treasure he left.

Shao Genhuo's frugality was obvious to all.

After a press conference in 2023, a reporter photographed him walking out of the venue with a backpack on his back. There were three obvious holes on the side of the backpack, and the shoulder strap was patched. Later, people found out that this backpack was a souvenir he received at a donation ceremony at Zhejiang University in 2017. It was not until 2024 when the zipper of the backpack completely broke that he asked his assistant to repair it and continued to use it.

Li Junzhu recalled that once when he accompanied Shao Genhuo to buy clothes in Fujian, the shopkeeper asked for 150 yuan, but he insisted on bargaining it down to 100 yuan. Li Junzhu persuaded him, 'You could have earned more in the time you spent bargaining.' But he said seriously, 'The clothes I wear can't cost more than 100 yuan. Is it appropriate for a pig - raiser to wear a thousand - yuan leather jacket?'

This frugality engraved in his bones formed a sharp contrast with his generosity towards those around him.

In the early 1990s, when the town in his hometown wanted to build a cement road to facilitate the transportation of seedlings by farmers, Shao Genhuo donated 150,000 yuan at once, which was the largest donation in the town at that time.

Shao Genhuo was extremely frugal towards himself, but he was willing to spend money to send the company's senior executives to study for an MBA at Tsinghua University, pay for the replacement of cars for senior executives out of his own pocket, and give the company's original shares to the meritorious employees around him for free.

Li Junzhu recalled that because his daughter needed money for studying abroad, he sold his shares in Dabeinong one year before its listing and missed out on tens of millions of yuan in income. Later, he left Dabeinong to start his own business and launched the China Pig Industry Summit Forum. Shao Genhuo sponsored five sessions, with a total of more than three million yuan.

Shao Genhuo said to him, 'You laid the foundation for pig - raising in Dabeinong but didn't share in the results of the listing. These sponsorships are just a little compensation from me.' This consideration and generosity have always been remembered by him.

Some people said that Shao Genhuo was "stingy" and "putting on a show", but those who knew him well knew that his frugality was a deeply - rooted habit and a sober choice.

He had experienced poverty since childhood and knew that every penny was hard - earned. He thought that money should be spent on the right things - on agricultural research and development, helping students from poor families, and supporting those around him, rather than on empty ostentation.

Shao Genhuo was also very generous in agricultural scientific research and donating to support education. In 1999, Dabeinong established the Science and Technology Award, with a cumulative bonus of more than 60 million yuan, and nearly 4,000 people have won the award.

As of 2025, he and Dabeinong have donated more than 2 billion yuan in total, covering dozens of universities and research institutions. He also co - established industrial colleges with universities to help train agricultural talents.

Shao Genhuo often visited universities to encourage students from poor families to work hard and give back to society, saying that he also came from a poor family and understood their difficulties.

In 2001, Hu Xijun was a poor student at Jiangxi Agricultural University and was facing dropping out of school. The 1,200 - yuan scholarship from Dabeinong solved his urgent problem, which was equivalent to one semester's living expenses. Shao Genhuo's speech deeply inspired him. After graduation, he gave up his career establishment and joined Dabeinong. Now he has grown into a regional president.

Shao Genhuo always did charity work in a low - key manner, not seeking fame or traffic. Many donations were only disclosed by the beneficiaries or units, and then people knew that he had done so many good deeds.

Helping others brings happiness to oneself. This is probably what it means.

Conclusion

Shao Genhuo passed away due to