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In a quiet and beautiful campus, a ray of warm autumn sunshine filled the wide playground, and a petite girl, with longing and concentration, listened attentively to the professor's wonderful teaching.
This girl, named Shi Yan, is now a top agricultural college student in the industry.
Shi Yan has been bathed in the selfless love of her parents since she was a child, and this love has inspired her to thrive and made her develop a deep love for the vast land of the countryside.
Although their family lives in a bustling city, their father is a hard-working employee of the power supply bureau, and their mother used to sweat in a chemical factory in the past, they bravely responded to the call of the country when they were young, devoted themselves to the countryside, and lived that simple but interesting life.
Whenever my parents recall that time, they always have a happy smile on their faces. The young Shi Yan was deeply attracted by the vivid and true description from her parents, and her heart was full of yearning for the vast fields and the simple and fulfilling farm life.
Under the influence of her parents for many years, Shi Yan has a deep understanding and mastery of the characteristics, living habits and planting methods of various crops, thus accumulating a lot of valuable agricultural knowledge.
After graduating from high school, she got her wish and successfully entered the university with excellent college entrance examination results, and this love for the countryside became more and more hot in her heart. She was gradually attracted by the breadth and profundity of the discipline of agriculture, and was full of endless fighting spirit and passion for this field.
Even more fortunately, Shi Yan was fortunate to get acquainted with Professor Wen Tiejun, a leading figure in the field of agriculture, and became the protégé of this "master of practice".
Professor Wen Tiejun personally led Shi Yan into the rural fields and taught her the skills and valuable experience of agricultural practice. "It is only through in-depth research and practice that we can truly have a voice.
This wise quote was deeply imprinted in Shi Yan's heart and became her motto on the road of her future life.
Under Professor Wen's careful teaching, Shi Yan's knowledge and understanding of agriculture has reached a new level. Professor Wen often emphasizes that we should not just stop at the level of book knowledge, but should practice and explore the truth in a down-to-earth manner.
He led by example and explained with practical actions what it means to teach by example, and this spirit deeply touched Shi Yan.
Shi Yan once relied on her excellent college entrance examination results and was full of ambition to enter the threshold of a prestigious school. However, in the end, she made a surprising decision: she gave up all the admission letters of prestigious schools and firmly chose the agricultural major of Hebei Agricultural University.
Originally, Shi Yan, a girl with excellent character and learning, was regarded as the meat of her heart by her family, hoping that she could find a decent job in the bustling city and live a privileged and comfortable life.
At this moment, Shi Yan made a surprising decision to go to the Agricultural University for further study! Her parents could not understand this, and even began to wonder if she had made the wrong choice.
Shi Yan's mother was full of worries, and said with distress in her eyes: "My dear, why did you choose to devote yourself to the unpopular field of agriculture? Now it seems that you have completely immersed yourself in the simple rural life, and you will no longer be the delicate girl you used to be."
Hearing that her mother was so concerned about her current situation, Shi Yan was also a little confused in her heart, but her ideals and beliefs were unswervingly away from the familiar fields and soil, which was undoubtedly an unbearable mental torture for her.
In her view, there is a serious misunderstanding in today's society, and people only want to flee the countryside and seek opportunities to make a fortune, while ignoring the fundamental role of agriculture in the national economy.
Therefore, she made up her mind to use her own actions to break this misunderstanding, so that more people fall in love with the countryside and agriculture again, although many people around her questioned and ridiculed her choice, Shi Yan never wavered, and still firmly chose the path that she really longed for in her heart.
In 2008, with a passion for agriculture, Shi Yan embarked on a journey to the United States, starting a new chapter in her career. Unlike other international students, she did not choose to continue her education at a higher education institution, but instead applied for an internship at Ground Rise Farm in Minnesota.
There, Shi Yan was first introduced to a new agricultural business model, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). In this model, consumers pay a fee in advance, and farmers are responsible for growing crops according to organic and pollution-free standards, and after harvesting, they are delivered directly to consumers' homes.
The original intention of this model is to allow consumers and farmers to share the natural risks, protect farmers' profits, and ensure that consumers can enjoy green and safe agricultural products.
For Shi Yan, who is eager to get hands-on, this is undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity. So, without hesitation, she wrote this sentence: "I will abandon the pretentious lifestyle of the past and return myself to the fragrance of the earth."
Since then, Shi Yan has devoted herself to the actual operation of the farm without hesitation. She worked hard under the scorching sun every day, her hands were covered with hard calluses, and her skin was gradually tanned by the sun.
In just half a year, she has accumulated rich and valuable practical experience, and has a deep and unique insight and understanding of the CSA model.
And when Shi Yan, who was affectionately looking forward to it, returned to the motherland where she was born and raised, and was ready to spread this advanced model widely in China, the inquiries of her family and friends around her came like a storm.
The mother was shocked to see her delicate daughter turn into her now thin and dark appearance, and couldn't believe that this woman was the once slim daughter in her eyes.
"How can you destroy yourself so much? We went to great lengths to send you abroad for further study, but how did you expect you to go to the United States to farm?" asked the mother bitterly.
However, in the face of the doubts and confusion of relatives and friends, Shi Yan has always been unswerving. She knows that only by going deep into the field and practicing it can she truly grasp the core essentials of agriculture. After returning to China, she immediately put it into practice, founded a CSA model farm called "Little Donkey Farm" in her hometown of Hebei, and personally acted as a promoter to actively promote this new agricultural business model.
After returning to China, Shi Yan was determined to realize the "pastoral dream" in her heart in the vast land of the motherland. However, the road was not all smooth sailing, and she encountered numerous obstacles and doubts.
First, she had to convince her local farmer friends to participate in her business plan. At first, the farmers had reservations about the young woman from the city, questioning the model of cooperation she proposed.
Soon after, the farmers were deeply moved by Shi Yan's profound agricultural knowledge and hardworking and kind qualities.
Shi Yan did not stop at the theoretical level, but personally went to the field to share weal and woe with the farmers. She teaches farmers the art of efficient planting, guiding them in the selection of high-quality fertilizers and the prevention of crop diseases.
After unremitting efforts, the farmers have significantly increased their crop yields, and at the same time, they have begun to try to grow cash crops, and have achieved fruitful results.
After successfully winning the deep trust of the majority of farmers, the next big challenge facing Shi Yan is how to lead more consumers to join it. The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model, which encourages consumers to pay in advance to order produce, is a refreshing innovation for many.
In order to fully promote this emerging CSA model, Shi Yan fought on the front line of the vegetable market every morning, enthusiastically recommending her high-quality products to many consumers. With rigorous and scientific planting methods, Shi Yan's agricultural products are delicious and pure, with extraordinary taste, thus winning the enthusiasm of consumers at a very fast speed.
Subsequently, her "Little Donkey Farm" has emerged one after another, and many consumers have signed up to become members, which has brought her rich economic benefits.
Just as Shi Yan's career was booming, the media began to question her background and behavior. Some reports even accused her of borrowing public funds to study in the United States instead of focusing on academic research, and more seriously, some questioned her educational background.
These negative public opinions pierced Shi Yan's heart like a sharp sword, making her feel extremely lonely and helpless.
However, in the face of all kinds of doubts, Shi Yan did not choose to fight back angrily, but responded with silence and devoted herself to the construction of the farm. Soon after, she forcefully countered those malicious remarks with practical actions.
With her excellent business philosophy and deep agricultural knowledge, Shi Yan's "Little Donkey Farm" has grown rapidly, and the number of farms and members has continued to rise.
With the rapid expansion of the "Little Donkey" brand across the country, Shi Yan's business territory has also expanded. Today, she has more than 500 scattered small farms across the country, and the product line covers various agricultural and animal husbandry products such as beef, mutton, poultry eggs, and aquatic products.
Her personal wealth has already exceeded 100 million yuan, and she has officially become one of the richest women in China.
Shi Yan did not stop because of this. In 2012, with a never-ending enterprising spirit, she embarked on a new journey of knowledge, pursuing a PhD in Social and Humanities. Amazingly, despite being a student and an entrepreneur, she still maintained the habit of working on the farm, living an "idyllic" life that complements the workplace and rural life.
In that same year, in order to rationally manage the affairs of many of her farms, Shi Yan resolutely founded her own company, "Sharing Harvest (Beijing) Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.", and personally served as the chairman, fully controlling the company's development strategy and operation.
Standing at the pinnacle of her career, Shi Yan's endless efforts have finally won wide recognition and praise from all walks of life. In 2016, this agricultural leader was awarded the highest honor of "Young World Leader", and as the initiator of China's CSA model, he was successfully elected as the vice president of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the World (FAO), leading a new trend in global agricultural development.
Looking back on the past, Academician Yuan Longping, a famous agricultural educator, once spoke highly of Shi Yan. When the two outstanding people met, Academician Yuan looked at the energetic young talent in front of him with joy, and said with emotion: "In today's agricultural industry, countless outstanding new generation forces have emerged, and you are one of them.
In the face of Academician Yuan's sincere praise, Shi Yan smiled and bowed her head gently, and her heart was filled with incomparable love for agriculture. From an unknown peasant girl to being able to have an in-depth conversation with an agricultural giant like Academician Yuan today, she perfectly interprets what "self-sufficiency" is with her practical actions.
Despite being born in a bustling city, Shi Yan has always loved rural life. With her magnificent life experience, she has proved to the world that agriculture is not a so-called "cold" industry, but a vast world full of opportunities and challenges.
As long as you have dreams and firm beliefs, every person with lofty ideals can write their own brilliant chapter in this fertile land.