Support young farmers returning to their hometowns to harvest the valley of hope

Five years of half-farmer life have brought me friends at a far more exciting pace than any office worker. Around me have sprung up farmers full of passion, wanting to carve out a path of their own; some are very down-to-earth, some are still watching and waiting, and some charge straight ahead without flinching. Zhang Zhijie of Return to Simplicity Organic Farm is just such an example.

Helping Raise Funds from Grain Friends, with Rice as the Dividend

In order to grow organic rice, Ajie spared no expense in buying the farm machinery and equipment he needed, even mortgaging his ancestral property for a loan. In early spring, desperately short of funds, he shyly asked me for a loan. I felt that lending money purely on personal friendship was too meaningless; there should be security for both sides and a relationship built on trust. So I decided to help him raise the "grain friends fund" needed for one jia of land, to solve his urgent need.

The grain friends agreed not to take back their money, but to receive only dividend rice, so that most of the income would go to the producer, and the fund would keep going, continuing to help farmers in need. A very close friend, Jia'an, other good friends, and my superiors at work, upon hearing about such an interesting fund investment, almost all wanted to hand me money at once. The one thing my friends said in unison was, I'll give you the money right now! Jia'an said that whereas investing in stocks always carries the risk of losing money, even if this 10,000 yuan small investment might be lost, it is a meaningful small risk.