Sweet Potato Farmer Su Jiabin: The Shuilin Handsome Guy Who Returned Home to Farm

Where the Heart Leads, Distance Is Forgotten: In Search of Shuilin Sweet Potatoes

The sky was just about to brighten, but the air was not as cool and clear as in early autumn. In a thick fog, we sped along the main road, following a small scooter as it wove through the fields. "If there's fog early in the morning, it means the weather will be great, and we can get good work done!" The owner of the voice: Su Jiabin. Because he is the second child in the family, we all call him "Second Brother." Dressed in sharp, agile work clothes, he turned and stepped off the scooter, leading us toward his thriving sweet potato field.

After finishing junior high school, Second Brother found he had little interest in pursuing further academic studies, so Mrs. Su encouraged him to follow his older brother north to apprentice under their uncle, who was a hotel head chef in Taipei. "Back then, I would cry every day when the sun went down, homesick." Fortunately, he was staying with relatives, he said, so at least there were familiar people to keep him company and look after him every day; otherwise, he probably would not have been able to stay. Compared to the simplicity and tranquility of Shuilin, the dazzling bustle of Taipei felt fierce and turbulent to Second Brother, like a crop planted in an environment unsuited to it, going through a period that was not easy. But precisely because of this, he began searching for a center of gravity in life, and fell in love with yoga.

When the conversation turned to the opportunity that brought him home to farm, Second Brother said that a few years earlier, because his father had become the community association chairman, and in order to show consideration for farmers and serve the village, Mr. Su summoned his children to return home so they could solve this problem together. Because hotel head chef work often involves ingredient logistics and production-and-marketing operations, Second Brother and his family discussed the idea of establishing a processing plant, purchasing sweet potatoes grown in volume for processing and marketing, hoping to make Shuilin synonymous with sweet potatoes and to bring more local young people home to put down roots.

As a returning young man with no farming experience, Second Brother also encountered many challenges in the early days of growing sweet potatoes. He suggests: young people returning home to farm must first have the mindset of "living off the sky." Farming is not like being in the city, where following an established workflow will mostly produce results; therefore, one needs to go through periods of unstable income, such as natural disasters, pest damage, and poor harvests caused by lack of experience. At such times, it is better to ask the elders more, stand on the shoulders of giants, and avoid many detours. Just like Second Brother, who has behind him an aunt with more than thirty years of sweet potato growing experience passing on the tricks of the trade. Beyond practical experience, she also offers the valuable insights of someone who has been through it when facing different situations.

The farming spirit of heaven and earth as one: learning to observe oneself and treat all things kindly

In addition, he believes that in rural communities with population outflow or sluggish development, government agencies or related units need to provide housing for young farmers to stabilize their accommodation needs. Otherwise, in old rural villages, most houses are damaged, dilapidated, idle, or abandoned, making it very hard for young people to choose to stay. "We know we should treat crops like people and take good care of them, so farmers should also be treated well." It is clear that Second Brother holds a gentle desire to protect the people and things in the fields. He laughed and said that although his decision to return home to farm drew plenty of teasing and discouragement from relatives and friends, he still wanted to return to his hometown to farm alongside his mother and do something for his home village.

The so-called spirit of yoga is "heaven and earth as one." Between breathing and stretching the muscles and meridians, Second Brother gradually experienced inner calm. Speaking of his days working at the hotel, he often felt bored and empty. Every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., only the break from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. allowed him to truly relax, relieve stress, and find himself again. Pursing his lips and blinking, he said, "Don't you think yoga and farming are very similar? You have to learn to be down-to-earth." Practicing yoga made him more adept at handling heavy farm work, and from self-observation he developed a philosophy of his own. Earlier, when I saw photos of him doing a handstand and a split in the field, I thought it was for fun. Only by this point did I realize how seriously Second Brother was practicing his yoga spirit: learning to bend down, to be close to the soil and to people.

Travel Companion's Notes | Zheng Yiting; This article is authorized by Traveler Food Communication

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