The Xinghua rural "Sheniu" aunt who teaches Gao Yuanyuan how to grow taro has become popular, and the golden sentence opens her mouth and comes to taro | Auntie | Sheniu

Recently, the second season of the large-scale cultural exploration program "Home in the Mountains and Waters" was broadcasted on CCTV, focusing on Dongwang Village, Qianduo Town, Xinghua City, Jiangsu Province. In the program, Yang Fannu, a seventy year old aunt who chats about her daily life with Gao Yuanyuan, became popular online due to her outgoing and humorous personality, which made the audience laugh uncontrollably. The Yangtze Evening News Ziniu News reporter visited Aunt Yang's house in Xinghua and interviewed this "new internet celebrity". Xinghua taro is famous nationwide, but growing taro is not an easy task. Aunt Yang Mang has been planting taro for more than 30 years and has suffered a lot when she was young. Now, her hometown Dongwang Village has become a national rural characteristic industry billion yuan village and an ecological civilization demonstration village in Jiangsu Province. Yang Mang and her fellow villagers are also getting happier.

The optimists in the "bitter days"

It is the "pistachio" in the eyes of the villagers

This episode of "Home in the Mountains and Waters" was recorded in April this year, when Yang Mang taught guests such as Lu Jian, Zhu Yong, and Gao Yuanyuan how to plant taro. Yang Wunu is 70 years old this year and lives in Dongwang Township, Qianduo Town, Xinghua City. In the scorching summer, the reporter traveled to Dongwang Village, and Aunt Yang was very hospitable.

"Here we are, this is my home." Crossing the small bridge and walking through the alley, led by Aunt Yang, the reporter stopped in front of a uniquely decorated two-story building.

In front of the small building is a huge courtyard. "During this year's cauliflower festival, the courtyard and first floor were rented to someone else for farmhouse entertainment. At that time, a group of young girls on CCTV met me in this courtyard." Auntie Yang, who was outgoing, was the first to open up the conversation.

Aunt Yang is at the entrance of her own small courtyard

"The scene of using a water scoop to water the taro on the stack on TV is the real way we worked back then," said Aunt Yang. Unlike paddy fields, the soil in the local stack fields cannot hold water and cannot grow crops such as rice. They can only grow taro or sesame. Taro seedlings are planted separately during the Qingming Festival and harvested around the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Taro, taro, meets its head every day. If it's not watered for a day, it droops its head." The humorous and catchy agricultural proverb, Aunt Yang, opened her mouth. Indeed, growing taro is not an easy agricultural task. According to the growth characteristics of taro, it needs to be watered every day for up to six months.

More than 30 years ago, her family planted 4 acres of land, and it took her and her husband half a day to water it once. During the scorching summer, I wake up before dawn every day, cook a large bowl of porridge, put it on the boat, water it on the stack, and wait for the sun to rise. When the porridge on the boat cools down, I start eating breakfast and take a chance to catch my breath. At noon, the sun is scorching hot. Sometimes I just jump into the river to take a bath, cool down, and then go ashore to continue watering.

Another unforgettable experience for her was selling taro. Local families grow taro, but when the mature season approaches, taro remains unsold. She and her husband had to ship the taro to another city. "It will take 10 hours to get to Yancheng," said Aunt Yang and her husband, each holding an oar and selling while rowing. "Taro can be soaked in wine and also be full."

Aunt Yang said that perhaps she inherited the eloquence of her parents. Since childhood, she has never been afraid of stage in any situation. Along the way, she met villagers washing by the river and took the initiative to invite them to taste the previously cooked taro. I feel the taste is good. Villagers can either pay for it or exchange it for rice. Some people lament that it is not easy for them to sail and even give them food as gifts.

"Selling taro on a long journey takes seven or eight days back and forth, and it can take more than ten days." The food and lodging are all on the ship, cooked on the stove, and served with pre cooked pickled vegetables at home. The taro is placed in the cabin of the ship. At night, people sleep in the cabin at the bow of the ship, which is not breathable and cannot be tightly covered. When it rains at night, the whole person will be soaked in water.

"I was born with an open mind. Life was tough at that time, but I didn't feel it either," said Aunt Yang. She didn't have any other hobbies, her only hobby was chatting and laughing with her neighbors, and everyone said she was a "pistachio". One year, the village group was adjusted, and she was transferred from the original group to a new group. Many villagers in the original group shouted regret, saying that a person who made everyone happy and lively had been separated.

Shooting TV programs with Gao Yuanyuan

Unfortunately, I didn't say a good sentence

Aunt Yang vividly remembers the scene of encountering CCTV staff for the first time during this year's Qingming Festival. "At that time, I didn't know they were from CCTV. I thought they were college students interning, so I chatted with them and talked about the hard work of growing taro." Aunt Yang said that she was naturally "talkative", but after chatting, someone immediately said, "It's her, I'll choose her.". She felt inexplicable at the time, but later found out that CCTV had chosen her to shoot TV programs with big stars.

"I don't know any Gao Yuanyuan or anyone else," Aunt Yang opened up her conversation again. She began to feel that it would take up time and wasn't very willing. Later, she was persuaded by the local village officials to take on the role. In the program, we will teach everyone how to grow taro. Lu Jian said that if they don't do it well, Aunt Yang will be scolded, beaten, and if they do it, they will take action. Aunt Yang immediately took over and said, "Don't scold the elderly when speaking, don't raise your hand and don't hit your head." This proverb from Xinghua left a deep impression on the audience. Lu Jian also said this sentence is too kind. I will know how to get along with children in the future.

Aunt Yang and the guests are working in the field

But Aunt Yang was not satisfied with this sentence. She told the reporter that Gao Yuanyuan and the others are big stars, and she cannot rely on their seniority to call them her own children. If there were a sentence after this sentence: "Besides, you are guests from afar." She kept saying, "It's a pity, it's a pity."

During the conversation with the reporter, it was learned that Aunt Yang's son is 46 years old this year, while Gao Yuanyuan is 44 years old. He comforted her not to take it too seriously, and according to her age, her words were not inappropriate. Aunt Yang said that although the filming time with Gao Yuanyuan was not long, Gao Yuanyuan left a deep impression on her. "Without airs, one can endure hardship," recalled Aunt Yang. Gao Yuanyuan was like a little sister, chatting with her at home. When planting taro seedlings, Gao Yuanyuan not only uses his hands directly, but also kneels directly on the ground when full body force is needed.

Gao Yuanyuan is having a family chat with Aunt Yang

Speaking of the widely circulated "golden phrases" online, Aunt Yang admitted that most of them were learned from her mother. For example, "Strength is a wealth. When it goes during the day, it comes back after sleeping.". Planting taro requires physical strength. If you want a good harvest of taro, you must not be afraid of hardship and not be lazy. Believe that "strength will come and go", and at the same time, you need patience. For the weeds in the taro field, you must persistently "work hard" to ultimately eliminate them. This simple principle is also applicable to other agricultural work.

Aunt Yang is teaching the guests the steps to grow taro

The area that needs to be turned over looks quite large, and the guests are a bit scared. Aunt Yang said that the old man used to teach us that "our eyes are afraid of our hands," so we just did it from morning till night, bringing some food for lunch and we could finish it all.

Aunt Yang said that she has an outgoing personality. If there is anything unhappy about her, she will go out and chat with people, and her troubles will disappear. She thinks that working is also a happy thing. When working, Aunt Yang would also sing, "I can carry a thousand pounds of burden, not nine hundred and nine hundred. When people face difficulties, they can walk through the wind and rain."

After the CCTV program was broadcast, Aunt Yang became an "Internet celebrity". With the help of younger generations, she also set up Tiktok, whose name is "Busy Sister". "It's hard to be illiterate, but it's hard to be illiterate. Although Tiktok has been playing, people don't know what to say." In one work, Aunt Yang mocked herself.

With the development of rural revitalization

The lives of the common people are getting better and better

Qianduo Town is located in the northwest of Xinghua City, about 8 kilometers away from the urban area of Xinghua. It is named after the "diverse style of Duotian" and is famous for "Qianduo cauliflower", one of the world's four major flower seas. The landscape of Duotian was designated as an important agricultural cultural heritage in China in 2013; In 2014, it was recognized as a "Global Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage" by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; In 2019, it was selected as one of the eighth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Xinghua Duotian Landscape is the only Qianduo Original Ecological Scenic Area in China, with resource value as a national 5A level tourist attraction.

The beautiful landscape of stacked fields in Xinghua

The Xinghua Municipal Party Committee and Government actively utilized the local "rapeseed flower" characteristic resources to develop tourism. In April 2009, they successfully held the first China Xinghua Qianduo Cabbage Flower Tourism Festival, attracting nearly 100000 Chinese and foreign tourists. Since then, it has been held annually, with a continuous increase in reception.

In 2020, Qianduo Town achieved a regional GDP of 2.61 billion yuan and a disposable income of 25011 yuan for rural residents. Dongwang Village has become a national village with a characteristic rural industry of one billion yuan and a demonstration village of ecological civilization in Jiangsu Province.

"Now it's good, planting taro no longer uses water scoops to water, but directly uses a water pump to pump water. People only need to spray with a skin tube in their hands; selling taro no longer requires rowing to faraway places." In Aunt Yang's eyes, local villagers planting taro now are "enjoying their own happiness". Her grandson has already married and started a family, and he has his own labor protection. He usually helps the owner who contracts flowers in the village to water them, and earns 80 yuan a day. It feels like life is sweeter than honey.

Aunt Yang's golden sentence:

Speak without cursing the elderly, raise your hand without turning your head

Strength is a wealth. It goes away during the day, but it comes back after sleeping and sleeping

Eating some taro during the Chinese New Year and encountering good signs when going out

Eyes are afraid of hands;

Being able to carry a thousand pounds of burden, not carrying nine hundred and nine hundred. When people encounter difficulties, they walk bravely in the wind and rain

Ziniu News Reporter | Song Shifeng, Wang Guozhu