Rice fragrance in the chrysanthemum fields of Tongxiang, young women busy returning home

Original title: A post-90s college student from Tongxiang ignites a "manor dream," growing patented rice in chrysanthemum fields

After graduating from university, Zhu Jiawei returned to Tongxiang from the big city and started her entrepreneurial venture in the countryside. She transformed her family farm into a "manor" with a modern agricultural system, and the "Chrysanthemum Fragrance Rice" she developed won second prize in the Jiaxing Rural Youth E-commerce Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation Competition.

Amid the upsurge of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation," more and more young people and local talents in the Hangzhou Bay area are returning to their hometowns and villages, striving to "cultivate" their youth on the land of their homeland.

Youth returning home: a difficult choice between staying and leaving

After graduating from university in Ningbo, Zhu Jiawei returned to Tongxiang and smoothly entered a large local enterprise to do management work.

"My family felt that as a girl, working alone in a big city was too stressful, and that sooner or later I would have to come back." Zhu Jiawei said that at first, she was unwilling too, but could not resist her parents' repeated urging.

The nine-to-five life made Zhu Jiawei begin to doubt whether her original choice was correct. "By the end of my first year of work, the feeling of wanting to go out again was especially strong." Zhu Jiawei said, "We young people always think that while we are still young, it would be a great regret not to go out and strive a bit."

What truly freed her from this "escape" mentality was seeing the hope of entrepreneurship on the family farm where she had grown up.

Zhu Jiawei's father is a major local grain grower, and the grain fields he has contracted have grown from several dozen mu a few years ago to nearly 300 mu now.

The idea of starting a business in the countryside flashed through her mind. "People today are increasingly particular about what they eat. If we can grow rice that is both ecological and delicious, there will definitely be a market." Zhu Jiawei thought.

Zhu Jiawei recalled her experience of exchange and study in Taiwan, China. "When I was on exchange in Taiwan, China, I found that their agriculture was very modernized and placed special emphasis on the healthiness of agricultural products. The whole farm was like a scenic area. Why couldn't this kind of modern agriculture be transplanted here?"

She wondered whether she could combine the local Hangbaiju chrysanthemum element with rice, and use internet marketing platforms to produce high-end green organic rice.

Taking root in the countryside: a long road of entrepreneurship

Although she had grown up watching her father farm, Zhu Jiawei had no experience in agricultural production, so she began learning to distinguish rice varieties and understand every stage of cultivation.

"Tongxiang's Hangbaiju chrysanthemum is used for tea, so very little pesticide is used, and pesticide residue in the soil is also very low." In order to grow green, pollution-free rice in the chrysanthemum fields, Zhu Jiawei and her team tried using the stalks of Tongxiang's unique Hangbaiju chrysanthemum as raw material for organic fertilizer and strictly controlled pesticide application. She also traveled around looking for areas in Tongxiang with high-quality water sources.

At the end of last year, Zhu Jiawei harvested the first batch of "Chrysanthemum Fragrance Rice," and everyone who tasted it praised it. In January this year, they officially registered Tongxiang Fengming Shengfeng Family Farm and obtained the qualifications for rice cultivation and online sales. Zhu Jiawei also plans to cooperate with the Zhejiang Rice Research Institute to specially develop high-quality rice varieties.

"Many people ask me how to buy it. I feel it is not yet time to sell." Zhu Jiawei has a very clear plan for entrepreneurship. "The 'Chrysanthemum Fragrance Rice' currently produced has not yet met my expected quality control requirements. We hope that the products we bring to market exceed people's expectations."

Zhu Jiawei said that entrepreneurship is very hard, and one must create something difficult for others to imitate. "I can only be considered to have taken a small step."

Encouraging entrepreneurship: creating a good environment

On July 9 this year, the State Council issued a document supporting agriculture students returning to their hometowns to start businesses, calling for "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" to promote prosperity in all trades across vast townships.

Now, various places are also extending olive branches to encourage college students to return to their hometowns to start businesses.

Jiashan County provides "entrepreneurship training red packets" for returning college student entrepreneurs. This year, it held entrepreneurship training classes for 210 returning college students, listening to young entrepreneurial role models share their entrepreneurial experience.

This year, the Tongxiang Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League, in its summer practice activities for returning college students, for the first time added the project "Youth Dream Entrepreneurship Season," an e-commerce practical experience.

College student Yao Yingzi participated in the summer education project "Being Children's Teacher," training rural youth in drawing. More than 500 returning college students took part in this activity, stepping out of the classroom to carry out innovation and entrepreneurship practice.

In the upsurge of college student entrepreneurship, many college students have already begun to stand out in the business world. Yao Hongliang, a college student from Leidian Town, Deqing County, returned to his hometown to start a business and founded a pet supplies company. Its annual sales have now reached nearly 15 million yuan.

Education expert Xiong Bingqi once said that when the state encourages graduates to find employment in small and medium-sized cities or at the grassroots level, it must first create conditions suitable for their development. While advancing overall economic development, it should establish a long-term mechanism so that graduates who go to the grassroots feel that they gain something and have room for career development.