They said: We don't do second landlords, the average age is only 28 years old, and a hundred young people venture into rural Shanghai in the suburbs | operation | average age

The yellow peach season has arrived in Wufang Village, Fengxian in 2023. Fresh and sweet golden peaches, as well as derived specialty dishes, summer specialties, and limited desserts, take turns to make their debut. Zhang Ting, who frequently shouts on her social media, has been extremely busy lately.

She is one of the returning young people from Wufang Village. Since Wufang Village was listed as one of the first demonstration villages for rural revitalization in Shanghai, Zhang Ting has witnessed firsthand the once ancient small village. Under the leadership of the operation team, Si Erteng, it has transformed into a peach blossom paradise in the southern suburbs of Shanghai, and even herself has become a participant in it.

"After careful consideration, we can gather strength and soar." This is the meaning behind the name of Sirteng. It was born out of the Wufang Village project, from five startups to gathering hundreds of young people, from a single enterprise to having over 20 professional subsidiaries. The project covers six agricultural areas in Shanghai and radiates outward to wider areas such as the Yangtze River Delta.

These young people from all over the world have an average age of only 28 years old. They plant themselves in rural areas of Shanghai, explore feasible operational methods, seek connections with the city, and encourage more people to return home, thus promoting prosperity.

Planting oneself in the countryside

Dongxia Village, Shihudang Town, Songjiang District, is dozens of kilometers away from the city center. Although sitting at the head of the Huangpu River, which is zero kilometers away from the mother river in Shanghai, it has been hidden in the depths of the boudoir for a period of time.

Now, there are rice restaurants, rice farms, Jiumo Yixu tea rooms, Jiumo Erxu coffee shops... The Dangli rice industry community being built is gradually filling up like a puzzle, gathering vitality.

The Dangli rice industry community being built is like a puzzle, gradually filling up and gathering vitality.

The operator behind it is the rural revitalization operation platform company, Silteng Rongcheng, jointly established by Silteng and Shihudang Town. There are only five members in the first batch of the team, all of whom are born in the 1990s. Sun Xinglong, the project operations manager, was born in 1993 and is now planning a rural operations project on 1800 acres of land.

Hundreds of young people, including him, are actively participating in project locations in Fengxian, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, Baoshan, Pudong, and other areas, together forming the backbone of the Sierten team. And their average age is only 28 years old.

"Many young people have graduated from prestigious universities both domestically and internationally with bachelor's and master's degrees," Yuan Keke, the general manager of Silteng, told reporters. Young people have a wide range of majors, including tourism economics, market management, finance, design, and even physics, psychology, and so on.

At first glance, it may sound a bit surprising, but upon careful consideration, it suddenly becomes apparent. In the traditional impression, rural areas are often associated with the local atmosphere, and the outside world often turns pale when it comes to agriculture. In fact, its development and construction, design and operation involve a wide range of categories.

"What we value most is whether young people can 'plant themselves in the countryside'. In a new field, they need to have strong learning abilities, not just specialist doctors, but also general practitioners." Yuan Keke jokingly concluded, "Designers who do not understand investment cannot operate well.".

Sun Xinglong deeply understands this. The ability to withstand pressure is different between rural and urban projects. To integrate into rural areas, it is necessary to face social and cultural differences. In the city, it is about the spirit of contract, and everything has rules to follow. In rural areas, faced with the human society that has been formed for thousands of years, the behavior patterns that young people are accustomed to are no longer feasible.

Sun Xinglong's team photo

Give a simple example. When the rice farm is busy with farming, it seeks help from local villagers. It happened that there was a conflict between the two families before, and the one that was not invited would come to inquire. "These seemingly trivial matters are actually important links for the smooth progress of work. Only by understanding the local people's relationships can friction be reduced."

While young people observe the countryside, they themselves become the objects of observation. When a rice restaurant is being built, an elderly person in the village always pushes his wheelchair here, standing or sitting nearby, quietly watching the building gradually take shape.

"Under such scrutiny, we also hope to do things well ourselves." Later, Sun Xinglong and his team members called the old man the "eyes of the countryside.".

Relying solely on the government to spend money is not feasible

When the Silteng team first arrived at Dongxia Village, there were many strange voices, some saying "they want to use empty hands to lure white wolves", and others saying "they won't invest in the house". "Many people hope that as a rural revitalization operation service platform under Shanghai Guosheng, Sirteng is the right choice to invest money. However, this approach is not sustainable, and the key is how to use state-owned assets to drive deep participation of social capital."

This involves the core issue that rural operations need to address: where does money come from? Currently, rural areas are relatively backward, and investment is bound to be substantial. On the other hand, the other side of the coin is that rural areas are undervalued assets, and if they can be revitalized, they will unleash great industrial potential.

Landscape of Wufang Village

In the early stage of centralized living, flexible mechanisms are needed to intervene. According to the past model, whether it is entering the town to build buildings, moving within the village, or voluntarily withdrawing homesteads for compensation, it all requires a large amount of government investment. However, the pool of funds has always been limited, and many rural areas have to face the anxious question of "where does money come from?".

After several years of exploration, Sirteng has preliminarily summarized several feasible models. For example, in the Jinshan Lvxiang project, under the centralized living mode of moving up buildings, the relocated houses will be divided into two phases of construction. The first phase is for village residents to live in, and the second phase can be leased to Sirteng for operation, with a 20-year operating right to offset the construction costs of the houses. In this way, villagers can live in new houses for free, and after the lease term expires, they can also reclaim the management rights of another house.

"We also pay attention to the role of financial leverage, such as actively cooperating with the Agricultural Development Bank of China and obtaining low-cost operational loans to jointly solve the problem of weak rural payment power." Yuan Keke told reporters that relying on the Yangtze River Delta Rural Revitalization Equity Investment Fund established by Guosheng Group, Sierteng is project oriented, deeply bound with professional operators, and driving various levels of funds to invest and operate in rural areas.

When discussing cooperation with social capital, Sun Xinglong always raises the first question: How are you going to make money?

"If this point is not understood, relying solely on passion and affection may lead to regretful exit in a few years." He positioned the project team as "icing on the cake" rather than "providing charcoal in the snow". "If social entities have the foundation and resources, we can operate comprehensively, allocate and share resources, and enhance the overall operational strength."

The coffee shop where the Songjiang project is about to be completed once faced competition from six parties, and the team ultimately chose one of them to sign an exclusive cooperation agreement. "This manager is a little famous in Tiktok and has 150000 fans." Moreover, his business model is not just to sell a few cups of coffee, but to set up a rural scene and display and sell relevant products through live broadcast and other means.

Not only that, this manager also has additional resources at hand. He has a cooperative relationship with a motorcycle club in Songjiang. Every time the riders come, they can take a break at the coffee shop and also attract traffic to other local businesses.

"We won't be the second landlord"

On the blackboard of the headquarters office of Sirteng located in Wufang Village, there are numerous work priorities and thought maps, among which there is a prominent sentence: Do not be the second landlord.

In the eyes of some people, the easiest way to manage multiple properties is to rent them out directly. But the young people of Sirteng have unanimously chosen a more difficult but also more interesting path - through self operated joint ventures and investment promotion, to ensure industrial development and create an ecosystem under a complex business model.

In Wufang Village, there are both self operated main restaurants, social capital led or joint venture stores, and even coffee shops contracted by employees. Ye Renxiao, the operation manager of Qingpu Project, is one of the small owners.

In Wufang Village, there are both self operated main restaurants by enterprises, as well as social capital led or joint venture stores, and even coffee shops contracted by employees.

He is from Huanggang, Hubei. He graduated with a Master's degree in Tourism Economics from the University of Angers in France and entered Sirteng in 2021. "At that time, interested employees raised 100000 yuan as funds for the renovation of the caf é, and the daily operations were handed over to colleagues in the comprehensive management department." Ye Renxiao didn't expect to make a comeback in just one year. "There is a lot to learn now, and the thought of doing it for oneself makes one very motivated."

Young people, including him, are emphasizing the importance of rural operation as the main body, abandoning the model of second landlords and treating themselves as "nannies". From planning and design to post operation, the entire process is planned together with social capital to promote the establishment of local characteristic ecosystems.

Once, there was an institution specializing in special children's education on the project, but its business suffered during the epidemic and it was difficult to sustain. After learning about this situation, team members actively connected with a public welfare fund in another city, promoted the establishment of the New Hope Foundation, and coordinated with other business formats in the village to help the institution improve its training base.

Some people may ask: Shanghai's rural natural resources are inferior to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, can the local popularity really be boosted? "Backed by the Shanghai consumer market, rural areas can undertake orders for enterprise team building, parent-child research, and other activities, which is a part of enhancing vitality." Yuan Keke told reporters that last year, Youmi Farm was significantly affected by the epidemic. Later, he joined forces with the Shanghai Outdoor Alliance to open up various activity channels such as team building and themed banquets, and received 56 batches of teams with more than 20 people. During the National Day holiday in 2022, the revenue was nearly 300000 yuan, and the overall revenue since its opening has been nearly 1 million yuan.

Backed by the large consumer market in Shanghai, rural areas can undertake orders such as enterprise team building and parent-child education, which is a part of enhancing vitality.

"Rural operation is not only about cultural tourism, but also about tapping and enriching local leading industries, promoting the integration of production and urban-rural development." In Qingcun Town, team members are creating the Huangtao IP and continuously launching the Wufang Youli series products such as Huangtao soda and Huangtao desserts, refreshing the brand impression of citizens. On the one hand, we will build the Life Bay Valley Industrial Park, develop the big health industry, and plan to make rural areas an important landing scenario to achieve integrated development of rural areas and parks.

Wufang Village Tianxin Agricultural Innovation Market

In Shidanghu Town, plans are being made to build the "bustling area" of the "Dangli Rice Industry Community" in Shenjiabang Reserve Village, the "quiet area" of the "Fan Township Health Community" in Xiaziwei Reserve Village, as well as ecological conservation forests. Investment attraction and industrial cultivation will be carried out around the three major industrial circles of Songjiang rice industry integration, ecological green circulation, and health and wellness cultural tourism.

Based on the characteristics of the Songjiang industry, we have launched derivatives such as Tianxin Rice Tea.

As the development direction becomes clearer, the magnetic field of the land becomes stronger. As the meaning of "FAN Township" suggests, many people choose to return to their hometowns and thrive.

Yu Jieqiong, the owner of "rice tea snacks", returned to her doorstep to work and developed a rice cake based on local characteristics. On this basis, she increased her monthly income by 5000 yuan.

Yu Jieqiong, the owner of "rice and tea snacks", returned to her doorstep to work.

Chen Jie, a local entrepreneur from Dongxia Village, has effectively integrated the experience, resources, and network accumulated in the early stages of entrepreneurship, driving more local enterprises in Songjiang to enter Dongxia Village, and jointly building a "Tianxin Youli" integrated platform for production, supply, and sales with Sirteng Rongcheng to achieve win-win cooperation.

Searching for more connections with the city

At a cadre training class, when it came to the development of more than 20 professional subsidiaries in Silten, a leader present couldn't help but ask: Why do you have so many subsidiaries?

This is necessary for development and also a helpless move. At the beginning, there were not many professional teams deeply involved in rural areas. From early planning, design, construction, to investment promotion, e-commerce and other fields, we had to work on our own and gradually our team grew stronger. To Yuan Keke's satisfaction, as they gained momentum, many external professional forces also joined in. "Previously, the design institute team at Jiaotong University volunteered, and our overall strength will be further enhanced."

After several years of practice, the development path of Sirteng has gradually become clear. Team members have explored a complete set of operational paths for rural operations and outputted feasible implementation plans to the outside world. By providing comprehensive services for both urban and rural areas, we aim to expand beyond Shanghai and expand into the Yangtze River Delta and even further regions.

Wufang Village Aircraft Project Experience Base

Relying solely on a single project is not enough. Its strategy is to cooperate with other industries for investment, design and construction, industrial park investment and other businesses, enrich income sources, achieve sustainable growth, and explore systematic solutions to rural problems.

With the strengthening of the connection between rural and urban areas, people living in them are experiencing and feeling this change.

Before 2016, the annual income of villagers in Wufang Village was approximately 9000 yuan. Now, the basic income of villagers has increased by at least the "four funds", including the "rent" for renting homesteads and self owned land, the "salary" for farmers' secondary employment, the "stock capital" after collective asset appreciation, and the "tax" that the government can invest in rural areas again after industrial tax payment. Only the rent for homestead land can increase the annual income by 30000 to 60000 yuan.

The local villagers of Dongxia Village are developing towards professionalization. Through industrial introduction and other means, Silteng Rongcheng has driven more than 20 indigenous villagers in Dongxia Village to find employment. Among them, 13 employees of the rice restaurant have an average annual income increase of 69200 yuan, with a minimum of 3500 yuan per month and a maximum of 12000 yuan per month.

Now, several projects in the suburbs of Shanghai are on the rise. The pre investment for the Songjiang Youmi Industrial Community has reached 90%, and more than a hundred houses will be uniformly renovated in October this year; The second phase of the Jinshan Lvxiang project has been capped and can be renovated after delivery at the end of the year; Pudong Qizao Village plans to build a rural complex to meet the overflow demand of Disney, and will pass the acceptance inspection in the second half of the year

Watching the daily changes in the rural community, Sun Xinglong always thinks of an old aunt in the village. At that time, he was strolling around the village with young people from Fudan University. The old man was very excited when he saw it and took out a large handful of snacks from home, smiling and distributing them to everyone.

"She said, 'It's great! The people from Fudan University have all come to help us build.' At that moment, Sun Xinglong felt the significance of rural revitalization incredibly strongly.