[Photo provided to China Daily]

The investment has also led to a byproduct－the red braised pork that ordinarily would be a weird fit in a Cantonese restaurant.

"I don't really care. Neither do my customers," he shrugs.

What he cares about right now: The cement running track for his pigs, which he thinks will produce the perfect leanness he wants.

Building that, however, is just part of the challenge. He still has to convince his farm manager that the track actually makes sense－Bao jokes that his staff has been suspicious about his sanity ever since he demanded that they build a mud slope for his pigs to climb up every day. That was his first－but inadequate－effort to give them a workout.

Contact the writer at xujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn