Li Weigang, previously dubbed "Li Peiguang" (Li Loses All) by netizens for his repeated losses in fish farming ventures, has finally turned the tide with a crab farming contract in Suqian, Jiangsu Province. He invested 90,000 yuan in a trap-based contracting arrangement at a local crab farm and ultimately achieved profitability by securing stable sales channels, netting over 5,000 yuan after costs.

This marks Li Weigang's first clear profit from multiple attempts at aquaculture contracting. The key to shedding his "Li Loses All" nickname was selling premium hairy crabs to JD.com's supermarket at 90 yuan per jin, with stable sales channels and reasonable pricing finally making the contracting business "add up" financially.

Why was JD.com's supermarket willing to purchase Li Weigang's crabs at such high prices? There are three main reasons: first, the crabs met premium quality standards; second, JD.com's supermarket reduced sales costs through direct sourcing and efficient logistics; and third, this aligns with JD.com's long-term strategy of rural revitalization and supporting farmers.

**From Repeated Failures to Success: Li Weigang No Longer "Li Loses All"**

Previously, Li Weigang's aquaculture contracting experiences were almost all loss-making ventures. Public records show he once contracted 20 acres of fish ponds in a certain area of Anhui Province, planning to raise grass carp and crucian carp with an investment of nearly 100,000 yuan for pond rental, fry, and feed purchases. However, due to lack of experience in pond water quality management, high summer temperatures caused insufficient dissolved oxygen, leading to massive fry deaths. He ultimately sold less than 3,000 jin of mature fish, resulting in losses exceeding 60,000 yuan after costs.

Subsequently, he attempted to contract 15 acres of fish ponds in Yancheng, Jiangsu, focusing on ecological farming methods and investing in pond filtration system upgrades. However, due to market price fluctuations and later typhoon damage to pond embankments that reduced fish harvest, he again lost over 40,000 yuan.

At the end of last year, he contracted 10 acres of fish ponds in Linyi, Shandong, hoping to increase profits through mixed farming of crayfish and silver carp. However, due to inadequate disease prevention for crayfish, survival rates were less than 30%, and he only recovered partial costs through silver carp sales, still losing nearly 20,000 yuan.

He once expressed disappointment, saying: "I've contracted so many ponds and it's always been more losses than gains, which really affects one's mindset. People say I can't negotiate prices, but these are all based on the fish quantities reported by pond owners. If the actual fish quantities differ significantly from what they claim, then losses are inevitable."

**A New Approach Brings Success**

For this Suqian crab farm contract, Li Weigang changed his previous approach. Instead of contracting entire ponds, he chose a trap-based fee structure, agreeing to contract 10 traps at 10,000 yuan each, with the provision that "traps yielding less than 80 jin would not be charged."

The 10 traps ultimately yielded 1,062 jin of hairy crabs, with one trap falling short of the standard, resulting in actual contracting costs of 90,000 yuan. He then sold this batch of crabs to JD.com's supermarket at 90 yuan per jin for total sales of 95,580 yuan, achieving gross profits exceeding 5,000 yuan after contracting costs.

Moreover, seeing the success of the initial cooperation, Li Weigang further contracted the entire 20-acre crab farm and established a cooperation base with JD.com's supermarket.

**90 Yuan Per Jin Contract Price: Profit or Loss for the Platform?**

JD.com's supermarket's willingness to purchase Li Weigang's contracted crabs at 90 yuan per jin primarily stems from the superior quality of these crabs. The female crabs generally weigh 4 liang (Chinese ounces), males about half a jin, with even the smallest females weighing 3.5 liang. The crabs underwent a two-year farming cycle, during which farmers fed them primarily small fish and fresh frozen fish, supplemented with corn and peas for nutrition, rather than traditional single-ingredient feed. This resulted in fuller crab roe and paste.

This quality passed JD.com's supermarket's professional testing, with all three core indicators - heavy metal residue, pond water quality, and crab meat freshness - meeting standards.

JD.com's supermarket has clear standards for crab procurement: appearance must be intact without damage, crab legs must be firm and lively, crab meat must be sweet without off-flavors, and weighing follows "rope-free net weight" practices to ensure consumers receive full weight.

Li Weigang's contracted crabs not only met all these standards but also achieved "full roe, full paste" premium grade.

Despite the relatively high 90 yuan per jin procurement price, JD.com's supermarket maintained cost-effectiveness through supply chain optimization. Through direct sourcing, JD.com's supermarket bypassed wholesale intermediaries, reducing markup layers. Additionally, leveraging their "air + rail + road" cold chain network, they can deliver to major national cities within 24 hours, minimizing transportation losses.

Therefore, JD.com's supermarket can both procure quality crabs from farmers at reasonable prices and control supply chain costs to offer consumers premium crabs at affordable prices.

Most importantly, to further help crab farmers expand sales channels, JD.com's supermarket also makes hairy crab pricing more competitive through their billion-yuan agricultural subsidy program, truly achieving the goal of supporting and enriching farmers.

Currently, hairy crabs from Li Weigang's cooperation base with JD.com are available for sale online. During peak sales season, JD.com's supermarket offers hairy crabs starting at 99 yuan for 8 pieces, with limited-time 1 yuan flash sales.