In front of the live streaming camera, Xiao Zhaohu is passionately sharing his knowledge about tea and related topics. Even though he is 52 years old, his eyes sparkle with joy, and his friendly smile seems to transcend the screen. In a remarkable feat, he successfully passed the entrance exam for a graduate program in tea studies in just 100 days.
Xiao Zhaohu, originally an executive at a media company, felt a desire to break free from the monotony of his life trajectory. With a longing to explore new horizons, he fully immersed himself in the tea industry. In order to systematically study tea and agricultural knowledge, he chose to pursue graduate studies at an older age. As one of the first users of ChatGPT in China, he maximized its utility during his exam preparation, leveraging its capabilities to enhance his learning experience.
Xiao's journey to pursue graduate studies was sparked by a dinner conversation with colleagues, during which one mentioned a classmate who had successfully switched fields to study calligraphy. This conversation resonated with Xiao, who was already contemplating new paths while seeking markets for the tea produced by his father in their hometown in Guizhou Province. Since 2007, his father had been cultivating Zheng'an white tea on several acres of land, yielding around 100 kilograms of tea leaves annually.
In the early hours of September 2023, Xiao Zhaohu experienced a sudden epiphany as the two threads of selling tea and pursuing further education converged in his mind. It was then that he had a moment of inspiration: "Why not pursue a graduate degree in tea studies?"
Transitioning into a new field at his age presented significant challenges, especially regarding memory retention.
To overcome this hurdle, Xiao turned to AI for assistance. He inputted all collected past exam questions into the AI system and used it to generate answers, continuously refining his approach based on his experiences with ChatGPT. He also scanned reference materials into ChatGPT to create a knowledge base, allowing the AI to prioritize using this content to answer questions. Furthermore, Xiao had ChatGPT go through the past exam questions again, adding more specific constraints to optimize the answers. In the week leading up to the exam, he had the AI summarize key points for each question and provide mnemonic devices, which he turned into rhymes or chants to aid his memory, effectively overcoming his memory challenges. The use of AI significantly improved Xiao's efficiency in exam preparation, boosting his confidence in achieving success.
For Xiao Zhaohu, passing the graduate entrance exam was just the beginning of a new chapter in his life. After completing the interview process, he returned to his hometown and embarked on a journey of public service through live streaming to support local farmers. Utilizing platforms like video-sharing apps and social media, Xiao has conducted numerous live broadcasts where he enthusiastically shares his knowledge of tea and promotes the unique tea products of his hometown, Zheng'an. Looking ahead, Xiao aims to inspire more young people from his hometown to join him in promoting local agricultural products through live streaming, thus establishing effective channels for promotion and sales.
Reflecting on his journey, Xiao acknowledges the accumulation of experience he has gained over the past thirty years in the media industry since graduating from college. With life expectancy increasing, Xiao sees his current age of 52 as just the beginning of a new thirty-year journey. In this next phase of his life, he embraces the role of a perpetual learner, eagerly exploring and accumulating knowledge in the tea industry.
Source:Yangcheng Evening News
52岁考研“上岸”的茶学新生
直播镜头前，肖朝虎正在介绍茶叶和相关的茶知识。他的嘴角始终挂着愉悦的弧度，笑意洋溢带来的亲和力仿佛能穿越屏幕。不同于其他直播间里的主播，他今年已经52岁了；更加不同的是，这位52岁的“大叔”仅用了100天就考上了茶学专业的研究生。
肖朝虎本是一家传媒公司的高管，却觉得现有的生活轨道单一，“有种想要重新规划一下的冲动”，于是全面涉足茶产业。为了系统地学习茶学和农业知识，他选择大龄考研，他还是国内第一批使用ChatGPT的用户，并在备考中充分利用了它一把。
考研这件事第一次在肖朝虎心里埋下种子，是源于跟同事的一次吃饭。同事提到自己有个同学跨专业报考了书法研究生。彼时，肖朝虎正在为父亲在贵州老家种出来的茶叶找寻销路。肖朝虎的家乡位于贵州省遵义市正安县，他父亲从2007年开始种正安白茶，茶园面积几十亩，每年都能生产出100来斤茶叶。
卖茶，读研，两条线索在2023年9月的一个凌晨，突然在肖朝虎的脑海中交汇。他灵光乍现：“要不我考一个茶学的研究生？”
肖朝虎需要在短时间内学习一个全新学科的专业知识，这对于记忆力相对年轻时已大幅下降的肖朝虎而言，无疑是一个巨大的挑战。
他想到了用AI备考。肖朝虎让AI帮助他做题。他将收集到的所有真题输入AI中让AI回答，在这一过程中，他不断总结使用ChatGPT的经验。他将参考书目扫描入ChatGPT中形成一个知识库，让AI优先使用知识库中的内容回答问题。之后，肖朝虎又让ChatGPT再做一遍真题，并且添加更多的限定条件优化答案。在考前一周，他最后让AI总结每道题答案的要点并给出助记词，再将助记词编成歌谣或顺口溜，解决了他的记忆难题。AI的使用，大大提高了肖朝虎的备考效率，他上岸的信心也大大提升。
考研上岸并不是结束，而是一个新的开始。复试结束之后，肖朝虎回到家乡，开启了他的公益助农直播之路。目前，肖朝虎已经在视频号和抖音上进行了多场直播。在直播中，肖朝虎总是笑吟吟地介绍茶知识和家乡正安的特色茶叶。未来，肖朝虎希望带动更多家乡的年轻人进行直播，建设好家乡农产品宣传零售的渠道。
肖朝虎说：“本科毕业到现在差不多三十年，在过去三十年，我在传播行业有了一些积累。现在的人能活到八十几岁，我从52岁到80岁，还有三十年。”在新的三十年里，52岁的肖朝虎又成为一名新生，在茶行业中开始新的探索、新的积累。
文丨记者 谭洁文 实习生 张宝怡
图丨受访者供图
译｜刘佳慧