A Pastoral Paradise Painted by a Female PhD Returnee

Photos by Zou Bin

The freedom and ease conveyed in the line“While picking asters ’neath the Eastern fence,my gaze upon the Southern mountain rests” by Tao Yuanming,a poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (314-420) best revealed the ideal of a literary man in building a pastoral and poetic dreamland in ancient China.More than a thousand years later,Yue Wenwen,an entrepreneur and PhD returnee from Australia,inherits Tao’s spirit and aspires to turn a vegetable farm on a barren mountain into a desirable “Shangri-la.”

A beauty,PhD graduate,pianist,TV program director,college teacher,returnee from overseas,and trendy farmer are Yue Wenwen’s labels,which,when woven together,constitute a picture of a new farmer in her composition of a modern pastoral symphony.

After more than three years’ efforts,Yue successfully founded “My Farmland,” an organic pastoral complex project at Zhoupu Village,Cangbu Town,in Xinzhou District of Wuhan City,covering an area of about 133 hectares.In so doing,she has not only realized her dream of building modern agriculture,but also led hundreds of local farmers to increase their income and lift them out of poverty.

Awarded as a “Demonstration Site for Leisure Agriculture in Hubei Province” by the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,her project not only carries her own business dream,but more importantly,it shoulders the mission of alleviating poverty,increasing farmers’income,and revitalizing the countryside.

Old farmers become wage earners

About 3 kilometers away to the south of the Ziwei Urban Resort in Xinzhou District,a patch of thriving garden will meet your eyes.Coming into the garden,you will find vegetables and plants green and lush,the ponds interlacing; in the distance,the villages are dotted with buildings with white walls and black tiles,all this contributes to the beautiful and peaceful countryside.

Yue Wenwen’s garden-like farm岳文雯打造的花园式农庄

At noon on November 16,2020,having finished the work of freight delivery,Yue Wenwen came to the vegetable greenhouse to have a look.At present,it’s time to level the soil and prepare for the winter sowing of vegetables.“Uncle Jin,what are you doing?” seeing Jin Kaihua,who was busy at the door of a greenhouse,with a wave of her hand,Yue greeted him smilingly.

“I’m digging a drain ditch.It should be done before it gets dark,so that we can plant Chinese cabbage tomorrow.”

The 63-year-old widower Jin lives in a nearby village.His wife died many years ago,and his two daughters were married out of town.The lonely old man had been living on a minimum living pension.Three years ago,he was hired by Yue Wenwen to work on her project with a monthly wage of 2,400 yuan.

“Plus the rent income from my own farmland,I have an income of tens of thousands of yuan each year,so I no longer depend on the minimum living pension,” smiled Jin Kaihua.According to him,there are quite a lot of contract farmers from the villages nearby like him,who work in the garden on wages.

“采菊东篱下，悠然见南山”的洒脱自在，把农人和诗人的境界融为一体。而作为一名创业者，留学澳洲归来的女博士岳文雯追求的境界，是把荒山菜园种“世外桃源”。

美女、博士、海归、新农人……把她身上的标签组合在一起，就是一曲现代田园牧歌。

在新洲区仓埠镇周铺村，岳文雯经过三年多时间，一手打造出2000 亩的有机田园综合体项目——“我家的地”，不但完成了自己的现代农业构想，也带动了当地数百名农民增收脱贫。

作为湖北省农业农村厅授予的“湖北省休闲农业示范点”，如今“我家的地”不但承载着岳文雯的创业梦想，更肩负起扶贫富农、乡村振兴的重大使命。

孤寡老人种田领工资

从新洲紫薇都市田园景区，向南约3 公里，一片繁茂的田园映入眼帘。走进田园，菜苗葱郁，池塘交错，远处村庄白墙黑瓦，让人置身一片安静和谐之中。

2020年11月16日中午，忙完货运派发的工作，岳文雯便抽空到园区蔬菜大棚转转。

眼下正是平整土地，准备蔬菜冬播的时候。“金师傅，在忙啥呢？”在一间蔬菜大棚门口，岳文雯看到正在忙碌的金开华，笑着挥手打招呼。

“挖水沟呢，今天天黑前要把排水沟挖好，明天种小白菜。”金开华停下手中的活回应道。

今年63 岁的金开华，住在附近的范咀村，老伴去世好多年了，两个女儿都嫁到了外地。独居的他以前是村里的低保户，三年前被岳文雯招聘到园区工作，每月有2400 元的工资。

“自家农田被流转后的租金收入，每年有几万元，现在低保户的帽子也摘了，成了上班族。”金开华笑着说，在周边金港村、周铺村、洪山村，还有不少像他一样的签约农民，领着固定工资干活。

今年62 岁的村民李冬英，老伴患病瘫痪在床10多年，需要每天服药，儿子媳妇常年在外打工，身边有10 岁的孙子需要照顾，家里入不敷出。

“去年经过招聘，李婆婆到我们园区来种菜，每月有固定收入，平时可以休假、请假，兼顾家人。”岳文雯介绍，农民们既有村集体股东收益、个人土地出租租金，还有在公司当农工的工资收益，这种灵活的工作模式，帮助很多村民解决了眼前的困难。

有机蔬菜听着音乐长大

海归博士、钢琴表演者、电视导演、大学老师……岳文雯身上有很多的标签，但她自己更喜欢的身份，是创业的新农人。

对“新农人”的理解，来源于岳文雯留学时的经历。“当我在澳洲留学的时候，非常喜欢去当地的有机农场玩，不仅菜好、园区打造得精致入微，菜园犹如花园，让人流连忘返，当时我就想把这种有生命力的农场也搬到我的老家。”她说。2017年，岳文雯在家人朋友的支持下，成立了我家的地（武汉）农业科技有限公司。

为农场选址，岳文雯做了大量的调研工作。新洲仓埠是岳文雯老公的家乡，她发现这里自然环境非常好，土质优良、水源直接从长江引入，近150 公里内没有工业污染，是种植有机蔬菜的沃土。

在岳文雯的有机田园综合体，蔬菜享受的豪华待遇让人惊讶，农田错落有致，有机蔬菜听着音乐长大，不施用化肥、不使用除草剂，严格按照有机绿色农业标准种植。

岳文雯与武汉理工大学、华中农业大学等知名高校建立产学研合作平台，建立自己的品控体系，三年来专注有机种植，拥有了27 项发明专利，全年生产168 种有机蔬菜。其生态农业田园综合体还兼具农耕研学、农事体验、观光旅游、航天育种孵化科研基地、航天科普基地等功能。

For over ten years,the 62-year-old villager,Li Dongying,has tended to her bed-ridden husband and helped him take medicine every day.What’s more,both her son and daughter-in-law are migrant workers in the city,so the 10-year-old grandson has to live with Li.With these difficulties,she could hardly make ends meet.

“After being interviewed,Granny Li came to my farm to plant vegetables on fixed wages every month.She could also take a vacation,and ask for a leave so that she could take care of her family,” said Yue Wenwen.According to Yue,the farmers could enjoy the interest from their collective shareholders in the village,the rent income of their own farmland,and their wages from working for the company.This flexible working mode has helped lots of villagers solve their financial problems.

Growing vegetables in the background of music

Yue Wenwen’s favorite “label” is a modern farmer.

Yue’s perception of “modern farmer” originated from her own overseas experience in Australia.“When studying in Australia,I loved to visit the local organic farm.Not only were the vegetables there green,the whole farm was built in such an exquisite way that it looked like a garden,which made you reluctant to leave once you were in it.At that time,I was considering building a farm of this type in my hometown as well,” said Yue.In 2017,with the support of her family and friends,she set up My Farmland (Wuhan) Agricultural Science and Technology Ltd.

In order to choose a suitable location for her farm,Yue had done a great deal of research.Then she found that Cangbu Town in Xinzhou District,her husband’s hometown,was a perfect place for growing organic vegetables,for its good natural environment and fine soil conditions.Moreover,the water needed could be drained directly from the Yangtze River,and there is no industrial pollution of any kind within 150 kilometers of the area.

On Yue’s organic farm,the surroundings for planting the vegetables is amazing: the fields there are well-woven; with music played in the background,the organic vegetables grow up in strict accordance with the green organic agricultural standard,free from chemical fertilizers and herbicides.

In addition,Yue Wenwen established a cooperative platform with some prestigious universities like Wuhan University of Technology and Huazhong Agricultural University to build her own quality control system.Over the past three years,she has been dedicated to organic farming,owning 27 patents and producing 168 kinds of organic vegetables yearly.Furthermore,her ecological agricultural farm plays a variety of roles such as an agricultural research center,a source of personal experience in farming,a spot for sightseeing,a scientific research base for space breeding,and a base for the popularization of space science.

Zhang Ningqiao,a farmer working in the garden,told us that the garden often invited agricultural experts to give lectures and offer training on vegetable growing and the operation of agricultural equipment.“We are now farming in a scientific way.Though the work is easier for us,we get more money than before.So,we all feel so happy.”

According to relevant statistics,at present,My Farmland has directly offered 176 jobs for local farmers,and indirectly increased the income of more than 500 villagers,thus lifting over 40 low-income households out of poverty.As a leading project in the region,it has promoted the development of 46 local small and medium-sized agricultural businesses.

Yue Wenwen (right) is chatting with Jin Kaihua,a farmer in the field岳文雯（右）和金开华菜地里聊天

Donating 2 million worth of materials to support the anti-epidemic battle

As an entrepreneur,Yue Wenwen is chiefly concerned with business development,while as a citizen of Wuhan,she also cares a lot about the safety of the city.In the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan in 2020,Yue Wenwen exclaimed that “My Farmland is everyone’s land,our vegetables are Wuhan citizens’ vegetables as well.”

Yue led her employees to the front,working hard in the forefront for the supply of vegetables to the residents in Wuhan.Statistics show that,during the anti-epidemic period,My Farmland managed to supply all together 1,564,000 kilograms of vegetables and fruits,and donated more than 2 million worth of materials in total.

“After the epidemic,our organic products were well-received by the citizens of Wuhan and the demand for our products has risen dramatically,”said Yue Wenwen.Having experienced the epidemic personally,she has developed a deeper understanding of the close connection between a business and a city,and determined to be a more dedicated contributor to the cause of relieving poverty,increasing farmers’ income,and revitalizing the countryside.(Translation: Liu Jie)

在园区工作的农民张宁桥告诉记者，园区定期还会邀请农业专家，对农民进行蔬菜种植业务培训、农耕器械操作等，“我们现在是科技种田，干的活更轻松，拿的钱更多，大家都乐开了花。”

据统计，目前“我家的地”直接解决当地176 个农民上岗再就业，间接带动500 多人增收，带领40多户贫困户脱贫。“我家的地”带动当地46 家中小型农业企业发展。

为战疫捐物超200 万元

作为一名创业者，最关注的是企业发展，而作为一名武汉市民，岳文雯同样心系城市的危难。在今年武汉抗击新冠肺炎疫情中，岳文雯振臂一呼：“‘我家的地’就是大家的地，我们的蔬菜就是市民的蔬菜。”

岳文雯带领公司人员冲锋在前，奋战在武汉市民蔬菜供给的第一线。据统计，疫情期间“我家的地”累计为武汉市民保供蔬果312.8 万斤，捐赠物资总额超过200 多万元。

“疫情之后，我们的有机产品得到广大市民的好评，需求也大幅提高。”岳文雯说，经历过疫情，她更加深刻地理解了企业与一个城市的紧密关联，也更坚定了她坚持扶贫富农、振兴乡村的信心。