Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

I don't know who started it, but everyone was scrambling to ask Aimin for chrysanthemum seeds. That's right, the people in our mountain village just love to join in the fun!

It's not that everyone has to follow suit, but the atmosphere has become so intense that most people feel they'll suffer if they don't keep up. As a result, Aimin has become a highly sought-after person.

"Don't worry, there are many ways to grow chrysanthemums. You can sow seeds to grow seedlings, or you can propagate them by cuttings or division. It also depends on the specific variety you choose..."

As Aimin was speaking, the old man suddenly brightened up, hunched over, squeezed in front of him, grabbed Aimin's arm, and asked, "What did you say? There are many varieties of chrysanthemums? Are there any drought-resistant ones? My land is all on a slope, so we can't irrigate it. If there really are chrysanthemums suitable for dryland conditions, that would be wonderful!"

The old man remained silent for a while. Firstly, he couldn't get a word in edgewise, and secondly, he had heard that chrysanthemum cultivation required watering. According to the old man, his family's land and people all lived on the mountain, which was arid land dependent on rainfall! Without river water, and at his age, he couldn't possibly carry water up the mountain every day!

Hearing that there were different varieties, his withered, bark-like face perked up again. Having dryland chrysanthemums was much easier than tending wheat and corn! They could be dried directly on the slope and transported down the mountain; he could do it himself, carrying them on his shoulders and by hand – perfect for his old bones!

At that moment, the old man stared at Aimin with hopeful eyes, as if he had placed all his hopes on the other man. But Aimin's next words poured cold water on his hopes.

"I do have drought-resistant chrysanthemum seeds, but in my opinion, the yield won't be high if planted on the mountain, and you won't make any money. I have to be honest with you about that."

Upon hearing this, the old man and his fellow old men around him all wilted. At their age, they couldn't do heavy work anymore, and if they couldn't grow valuable crops, they would probably be disliked by the younger generation.

There's nothing they can do. They're all from the countryside. They've paid their share of grain taxes and farmed the land their whole lives, but in the end, they haven't saved much for retirement. They're not government employees, teachers, or workers, so there's no pension to support them.

"Aimin, my old arms and legs won't be able to handle it for long. If you can grow the chrysanthemums well on the mountain, I'll transfer that piece of land to you. I don't want any money, just enough for my own food rations each year!"

The old man's sudden remark sent shockwaves through Aimin's heart.

Yes, most of the village's land is on the mountain. Why didn't we think about developing mountain farming? Aren't the wild chrysanthemums growing well on the mountainside? If we could plant them in a unified manner on the terraced fields, and then buy and sell them in a unified manner... the economic benefits would be quite considerable!

Aimin fell into deep thought. At this moment, a younger villager spoke up: "Fourth Uncle is right. The prices of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides are constantly rising. It's simply not worthwhile to grow grain on the mountain! Not to mention the elderly like Fourth Uncle who have difficulty walking, even we young people don't want to go up the mountain to carry grain!"

At this point, everyone started arguing. The young man paused for a moment and then continued, "Yes, that's right. Now there are harvesters, but does hiring a harvester cost nothing? Everyone knows that the price is one thing on flat land and another thing on a hillside. There's not much harvest to begin with, and if you pay extra for a machine to harvest, you'll just end up losing money!"

"Brother Aimin, I'm not afraid of Mom and Dad saying I'm lazy. Just like Fourth Uncle, as long as you leave our family with enough food for a year, I'll lease all four acres of our land to you. I can go out and work and earn more!"

The young man's words caused a great stir in the crowd. Some nodded in agreement, while others stomped their feet and cursed the young people for being too lazy to farm. In short, there were all sorts of opinions, but they reached a consensus on the analysis that "growing grain in mountainous areas is not profitable."

Most of the terraced fields on Shuangling Mountain were reclaimed in the 60s. Back then, to fill their stomachs, team leader Qin Yunhai led the villagers to pull weeds and clear rocks, using simple farm tools to create dry land, where they planted sweet potato seedlings on the cracked ridges. While the high-yield sweet potatoes relieved the famine, the older generation knew that mountain sweet potatoes were bitter and astringent, causing acid reflux and bloating if eaten in large quantities. Later, with the implementation of the household responsibility system, people had enough to eat and no one wanted to grow sweet potatoes anymore. They switched to other crops, but the harvests were meager. Gradually, the villagers abandoned most of the high-slope land; Jutai is a typical example.

Now even the terraced fields below Jutai have become useless, which is truly lamentable! Listening to everyone's discussion, Aimin nodded and said, "I understand what everyone is thinking. I'll scatter some chrysanthemum seeds on the slope to try planting them. If it works, it will be good for all of us."

"Yes, Aimin is a capable college student. If he really succeeds, I'll be the first to join him in planting!"

"That's right, as long as it can be sold! What difference does it make what we grow? Growing chrysanthemums on the mountain is easy to transport; one person can handle it. But if it's like wheat or corn, harvesting, drying, hulling... wow! That's exhausting!"

……

The villagers may not have much formal education, but that doesn't mean they can't think. They may not understand the concept of "comparative advantage," but they do know what crops are the most profitable.

Like all farmers in impoverished rural areas, the people of Qinjiazhuang are all extreme conservatives. They don't want to make any changes, nor do they dare to. If you ask them to try planting chrysanthemums with good water, they would have to consider the cost of improving the soil, fearing that they might ruin the good land. But it's different to plant wild chrysanthemums on abandoned terraced fields. The land is already being wasted, so even if they fail, it's just a year of waste.

With grain prices so low now, the risk is manageable. I suppose that's the real reason they encouraged Aimin to plant chrysanthemums.