A 26-year-old pig farmer in China has gone viral because she is educated and beautiful but has chosen an agricultural lifestyle for a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan .

The woman, surnamed Zhou, from Yunnan province in southwestern China, holds a bachelor’s degree and was a literature major. She has worked on the farm for three years and shows no signs of regret.

“I feel good. I’ve worked here for quite a while,” Zhou told Sina News.

Zhou said she accepted the job after quitting her previous employment in an office because it was making her depressed.

When her friend recommended that Zhou work as a pig farmer, she hesitated because she thought it was not a decent job and did not get any support from her family.

But she has been an animal lover her entire life, so she decided to accept the work.

Her first task was not easy; sorting out the placenta of pigs, and despite the blood and foul smell, she did not give up.

“I don’t know if I’m getting used to it or going numb, but I am no longer afraid of it,” she said.

Now, she has become a skilled worker, feeding the pigs, delivering piglets, and giving medical injections.

In a viral clip, Zhou, who is clean-cut and conventionally attractive, wears blue work clothes and holds a baby pig in her arms after putting an adult pig on a hydration drip.

“This job is a dream,” Zhou said.

After the media picked up her story, it renewed a discussion about careers and life choices.

In a selfie video she posted on March 20 on her Douyin account, Zhou said: “If possible, I think people can make bold attempts to engage in the jobs they like and not care about how other people see certain jobs,” she said.

One online observer described her as a “courageous woman” while another asked: “How does it feel to do a job you love?”

Young people in China are increasingly opting for jobs based on happiness and quality of life rather than money.

In March last year, a 30-year-old woman in eastern China with a master’s degree from a top university quit a high-paying job to be a watermelon farmer.

In November 2022, a 22-year-old university graduate in western China took a job in a cemetery to achieve a better work-life balance and avoid office politics

 - SCMP