Singing the Song of Youth (Frontline Research), Countryside in the Field | Song Yilong | Field

Picture ①: Hank is moving the big drum, preparing for the performance.

Figure 2: Guo Jing is selling agricultural products through live streaming.

Figure 3: Xiao Dao is observing the water sample.

Figure 4: Xue Lina is checking the growth of wheat.

The above pictures are provided by the respondents

Talent is the key to rural revitalization.

In recent years, many young people in the land of Qilu have taken the initiative to return to the countryside from the cities, hone their skills in the fields, and work hard, becoming an important force in rural revitalization. Why do these college graduates, talented individuals, migrant workers, and entrepreneurs make such choices? What kind of "two-way trip" was this? Our reporter approached four of the representatives and listened to their songs of youth singing in the vast fields.

——Editor

Stepping on the fields, smelling the fragrance of wheat

Female college students born in the 1980s transform into "new farmers"

University student, come back to farm? In March 2008, carrying a graduation certificate from China Agricultural University, 25-year-old Xue Lina grabbed her boyfriend Li Ning and gave up her job in the city, returning to her hometown of Mazhuang Town, Daiyue District, Tai'an City. Some villagers don't understand. This girl has been studying hard for more than ten years and could have stayed in the city. Why did she come back?

Such discussions put a lot of pressure on Xue Lina, but with the support of her father, she felt quite relieved. Father Xue Chuanqian is an old farmer in the town, working tirelessly in the fields and fields for a lifetime. It was precisely at the invitation of her father that Xue Lina and her boyfriend Li Ning put aside their mental burdens and embarked on a journey of becoming "new farmers".

The beginning of everything is difficult. At that time, Xue Chuanqian was the first in the region to establish the Yueyang Crop Professional Cooperative, but the villagers did not cooperate at first. Xue Lina and Li Ning, from morning till night, go into the village and do ideological work for the villagers.

——"Uncle, join our cooperative!"

——"What society?"

——"Transfer the land flow to us at a rate of 200 yuan per share and a turnover fee of 600 yuan per acre."

The land transfer is quite fresh, and the villagers are not accustomed to it for a while. Mourning with villagers and communicating with town officials, the cooperative eventually transferred 13.4 acres of land and obtained a new business entity loan of 300000 yuan, starting large-scale land cultivation.

When to sow corn and wheat, how to scientifically apply fertilizers and pesticides, and what growth habits crops have... Father, this veteran farmer, has taught by example one by one.

In the wind and rain, Xue Lina went black several times and her hands were covered in calluses. "The hardest thing is not to live in the field." Xue Lina still remembers that in June 2017, a extremely heavy rainstorm hit, and crops fell to the ground, causing huge losses.

This blow made Xue Lina feel a sense of retreat. However, at the end of 2014, her father passed away due to illness, and her family's instructions to "run the cooperative well" have been lingering in her ears. Xue Lina and Li Ning cheered each other on, gritted their teeth and stomped their feet, deciding to continue working.

Moving forward in the face of setbacks, the development strategy of the cooperative has become increasingly clear: cooperating with 7 villages, breeding high-quality seeds throughout the village, unifying the collection of high-quality seeds, and increasing the income of a single wheat season by more than 300 yuan; We have invested over 4 million yuan to purchase corn harvesters, seeders, unmanned aerial plant protection machines, and other equipment, providing local farmers with planting, pesticide spraying, harvesting and other services at a price 40% lower than the market.

There are both setbacks and gains.

828.7 kilograms! On June 12, 2019, in their own wheat high-yield research field, when the yield measurement expert shouted out this number, Xue Lina and Li Ning wept with joy. This number sets a record for the highest winter wheat yield per mu in Tai'an City, breaking the national record for high-yield research and development that year. In the same year, the high-yield breakthrough field for corn achieved a trial yield of 911 kilograms per mu, setting a new record in Tai'an City.

"Lina is farming, raising her eyebrows and exhaling!" The fellow villager beside her gave a thumbs up. Xue Lina has won many honors, such as the national farmers' cooperative demonstration society, the first batch of national demonstration organizations for the specialized unified control of crop pests and diseases, and the exemplary individual of national grain production.

Cooperatives are growing at an extended stage! The number of members has increased from 22 households to 268 households; The land transfer has increased from 13.4 acres to 1300 acres; The breeding promotion has expanded from 800 acres to 15000 acres; Agricultural socialized services have expanded from 5 villages to 36 villages; The introduction and promotion of new crop varieties has grown from 20 to over 300.

It has been 15 years since I stepped out of school and into the fields. Xue Lina said, "Only by stepping on the fields and smelling the fragrance of wheat can one feel at ease in their heart!"

Registering a brand and expanding sales channels

34 year old master's degree female village official leads villagers to wealth

Graduated with a master's degree and served as the village party branch secretary in the village? Guo Jing, 34 years old this year, passed the selection process in May 2020 and came to Liujiazhuang Village, Xiaozhi Town, Pingyin County, Jinan City, just two to three kilometers away from her birthplace, to serve as the village party branch secretary. Previously, she had served as a rural revitalization commissioner for one year.

My previous job was as a counselor at a private university in the city, but my new choice made it difficult for my lover Song Yilong to accept.

"If you want to stay in the village, what should we do with our home?" On a day in October 2020, Song Qianlong's voice on the other end of the phone increased by eight degrees. The two originally discussed that Guo Jinggan, the rural revitalization commissioner, would bring his daughter back to the city after completing three years. Who would have thought that her choice would still be in the countryside. Over the course of three years, Guo Jing proved through her actions that her choice was correct.

"If a young girl becomes the secretary, our village will still be hopeless!" Some villagers muttered to themselves.

Liujiazhuang Village ranks second to last in the assessment among the 64 villages in the town, making it a notorious "mess". Entering the village committee office for the first time, there were three bungalows with rusty doors... Guo Jing's heart was half cold.

Guo Jing decided to play the emotional card first, leveraging the advantages of having learned aerobics, and organizing rural women to dance square dance. I jumped for three consecutive days and became closer to the village auntie, but there were also voices of dissatisfaction.

Despite being scolded, one has to work hard. Guo Jing cheered herself on. Three consecutive axes, gradually opening up the situation.

The first axe, sweeping the floor. Upon learning that the village was carrying out a renovation of the living environment and ranked last in the assessment, Guo Jing felt frustrated. She immediately picked up a broom and shovel, and took the lead in cleaning the village roads. For a week in a row, the cleaning team continued to grow, and the village's appearance became clean and tidy. The villagers exclaimed, "This girl is quite down-to-earth!"!

The second axe, repair the road. There is a production road in the village that suffered heavy rain and severe collapse, affecting the autumn harvest. Just in time for the county road renovation, Guo Jing repeatedly ran the construction team. Unable to withstand Guo Jing's soft and hard work, the construction team's excavator drove in, laying stones and debris, and leveling over 2000 meters for free. Everyone discussed and said, this secretary is really capable!

Third, steam Mantou. Rural work involves a thousand words, and increasing the income of farmers is the key. Guo Jing raised 200000 yuan to build Mantou houses, registered brands, and produced stone flour Mantou. Mantou in the mountains are sold to many places, and 15 left behind women in the village have sidelines at their doorstep, increasing their income.

"If something is good, it's even more important to sell it well." Guo Jing led a team of motivated village officials to design the "Filial Piety Little Farmer" mini program, opening up channels for high-quality agricultural products to be sold in 45 communities and over 500 supermarkets in Jinan. Under the operation of Guo Jing, three brands have been registered and e-commerce live streaming has been launched. The path of Liu Jiazhuang Village's mountain products going global is becoming wider and wider. Guo Jing took Song Yilong to walk around the village, and every word the villagers said, I praised her. Song Yilong's furrowed brow relaxed.

Through practical work, the collective income of the village has increased from hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt to over 2 million yuan in fixed assets, and the morale of the villagers is getting better and better. As night fell, Guo Jing and the villagers happily danced in the square, enjoying themselves with laughter and joy.

Singing in the countryside and serving the villagers

Farmer worker background, theater troupe leader, rescuing local dramas

Hank still remembers a farewell dinner 19 years ago. In 2004, members of the Panlong Bangzi Opera Troupe gathered in Xiachen Village, Xinzhuang Town, Laicheng District, Laiwu City, drinking one glass after another. 16-year-old Hank's blood boiled as he stood up to clink a glass of wine and said, "I'll be the team leader, keep acting!"

Panlong Bangzi is a traditional opera genre with a history of nearly 300 years. It has a complete range of roles, including pure and ugly performances, accompanied by banghu, pipa, sheng, and erhu. Its singing style is graceful and beautiful, and it is popular in the local and surrounding areas.

Hank wants to be the team leader, and the first one to stand up against it is his mother. Grandpa, father, and uncle passed away early, and Hank, who dropped out of junior high school, went to work in the city and slowly took root, becoming the backbone of the family. "What do you think if you don't make good money and come back to sing?" said the mother.

At that time, the theater troupe could be described as "penniless and destitute": without funds, clothing, and equipment. Hank rode a bicycle back and forth for over 80 miles, and went to the city to work at the construction site to subsidize the theater troupe. People around me don't understand sleep on the floor and eating cold meals.

The actors withdrew one after another, and the opportunities for performances were scarce. Each performance only earned 5 yuan per person... The troupe was struggling to sustain itself, and Hank persisted.

Why persist? Hank talked about an experience: he once performed in a village and was caught in heavy rain. The villagers watched in the rain, and the actors on stage were infected with enthusiasm and also performed in the rain. After the end, the villagers took the initiative to help tidy up the props and held the actors' hands, hoping that the theater troupe would come again. The needs of the villagers are precisely the reason why the theater troupe strives to persist.

The turning point for the survival of the theater troupe originated from Hank's bold decision. In 2007, Hank decided to film and television dramas. A group of people who haven't graduated from junior high school and have been holding hoes and swinging hammers for a long time, actually want to shoot a TV drama?

Hank and the members made up their minds. Starting from power on and off, as well as shooting, editing, composing... everything starts from scratch. Money is not enough, you and I, the veteran artists of the theater troupe, can make up for fifty. In the end, within four months, a household DV was used for filming, with more than ten rural actors participating and investing thousands of yuan. Based on Hank and the theater troupe, a drama and television drama was produced.

Panlong Bangzi has been brought to the screen, and one segment has been circulating online with over 300000 views. Relevant departments pay attention and support, and the media focuses deeply. After tasting the sweetness, Hank continued to work hard. From the initial audio-visual publishing and distribution to online drama sales, "a drama can be sold for 100000 or even hundreds of thousands of yuan online." The theater troupe's hematopoietic function has been enhanced, and the elements of Panlong Bangzi have been integrated into film and television works, finding a new path to inherit the art of Panlong Bangzi.

A grassroots team, the movement is getting louder and louder. Hank led the theater troupe to establish a film and television company, producing multiple film and television works such as the TV series "Er Ni's Mountain Village Dream", the cinema film "I'm Not a Poor Household", and the microfilm "The Moon of Fifteen". Among them, the works of Panlong Bangzi have gone abroad and have been nominated for film festivals or exhibited in seven countries and regions including Chile, the Netherlands, and Spain. Their works have won honors such as "Excellent Opera Film" from the China Film Association and "Best Story Film" from the main unit of the Beautiful Countryside International Micro Film Art Festival.

From migrant workers to theater troupe leaders, from small stages to large screens, from folk theater to cultural industries, Hank led the theater troupe down a path.

An inconspicuous farmhouse in Xinzhuang Street, Gangcheng District, Jinan City is the location of the theater troupe. Walking around, there is a recording studio, editing room, dressing room, and a small stage with everything available. The practicing actors, dressed in bright costumes, walked onto the stage, moving their hands and feet vividly and vividly, singing with a graceful voice and lingering lingering notes.

"Rooting in the countryside, singing in the countryside, and serving the elderly in our hometown is our glory!" Han Kewang said affectionately to the stage.

Grateful heart, nurturing hometown in return

Returning entrepreneurs support rural revitalization

Pick up the water bottle, turn left outside, and walk for about ten minutes to reach the village's drinking water station. Place the bucket under the faucet of the water dispenser, swipe the card, and after five minutes, fill the bucket before taking it home. Zhou Qingyou, Secretary of the Party Branch of Hujia Village, Qudi Street, Jiyang District, Jinan City, said that this water pumping road has taken more than 170 households and 600 people in the village for 10 years.

How long can a bucket of water last? "Three days," Secretary Zhou grinned and said, "I used to drink well water directly, but now I can drink pure water at my doorstep, thanks to Xiao Dao." As he spoke, he arched his hands and looked sincere.

Xiao Dao, who is 41 years old this year, left Hujia Village through hard study and started his own business from scratch after finishing university. He is now the chairman of two companies.

When he was in college, Xiao Dao started working part-time. Posting advertisements, selling envelopes, doing tutoring, which one earns money for which one. Stepping out of the university gate, Xiao Dao found a job and resigned four years later. He founded a heating company and worked tirelessly, earning his first bucket of gold.

In 2013, Xiaodao, who had achieved some success, made a choice that was difficult for ordinary people to understand: to return to "Maizidi" and register to establish Shandong Beicheng Environmental Technology Co., Ltd.

Maizidi is the Beicheng Industrial Park in Qudi Street, Jiyang, Xiaodao's hometown, and Beicheng Environment is the first enterprise to settle in. Why return to the countryside after working smoothly in the city? "My hometown is the most familiar and unforgettable, and I hope to develop together with it," Xiao Dao said quickly.

Two years later, Xiao Dao went to Hujia Village to serve as the deputy secretary of the village party branch. Xiao Shuji lived up to expectations, dared to think and act, and did three things in a row, earning praise from his fellow villagers.

The first thing is to repair the road. The main road in the village is muddy and rainy, and vehicles cannot enter. How can we develop if the road is not smooth? Xiaodao and the village committee officials discussed that it was necessary to build a road and raise funds together. At first, the villagers watched as they wanted to take money from their pockets. Xiao Dao took the lead in donating 50000 yuan, and two bulldozers arrived. At the groundbreaking ceremony, the sound of firecrackers. Seeing Xiaodao's actions truly take place, the villagers gathered together to raise money. The two roads were invested over 500000 yuan and hardened and opened to traffic in just three months.

The second thing is to drink water. There is a lot of non-point source pollution in rural areas, and well water is mostly surface water. Drinking directly is not good for the body. Xiaodao utilizes the advantages of the enterprise to install well water purification equipment for free in the village, and also provides free maintenance.

The third thing is drainage. The villagers built houses without considering drainage, and on rainy days, rainwater and sewage accumulated. Xiao Dao raised funds from various sources outside and invested over 300000 yuan to build drainage ditches in front and behind the village buildings. When it rains in the village, it becomes a thing of the past.

Xiao Dao not only cares about the countryside, but also about the people in the countryside. When he was in high school at Jibei Middle School, Xiao Dao, who came from a poor family, liked to wear school uniforms the most so that he could dress the same as his classmates. Xiao Dao, who knows that it is not easy for impoverished students to pursue education, extends a helping hand to impoverished students in his hometown. Since 2014, he has established a scholarship of 200000 yuan in four schools, namely Jibei Middle School and Jiyang No.1 Middle School.

Warm hearted things, Xiao Dao has done a lot: doing his best to arrange work for his fellow villagers; Spend over 10000 yuan to implant cochlear implants for a deaf mute child in Jiyang; Initiate a fundraising campaign for a 3-year-old girl suffering from leukemia, raising over 60000 yuan; Every Spring Festival, bring gifts to comfort the elderly cadres and disadvantaged groups in the village

Click on Xiao Dao's WeChat profile picture: He has a smiling face and a drawing board with the words "gratitude" written on it in his hand. "With a grateful heart, we work hard and hope that our company can further develop and help our hometown revitalize better and faster!" said Xiao Dao.