Jing Yijiang used to be a ruthless profit-seeker in a shopping mall in a major city, spending his days and nights caught up in cutthroat competition and deceit. After a malicious scheme left him exhausted, he returned to his remote hometown, worn out from head to toe. He had hoped only to live a peaceful life, but unexpectedly discovered the treasures hidden there: a few acres of ancestral farmland that could grow ecological produce scarce in the city; a little river in front of the village that no one paid attention to, full of valuable wild freshwater delicacies; and wild vegetables and mushrooms deep in the hills, the “mountain treasures” city diners coveted.
He stopped obsessing over the schemes and rivalries of the business world and decided to forge a new path with his own hands. At dawn, he shouldered a hoe and worked the fields, using traditional methods to grow crops and build the “Jing Family Countryside Farm,” bringing ecological vegetables to the high-end market. In the afternoon, he took his sea rod to the river, using his unique fishing skills to catch rare freshwater delicacies and becoming a “master angler” sought after by buyers. At dusk, he headed into the hills with a bamboo basket, using the identification skills passed down by his ancestors to gather mountain treasures. He was even praised by an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage for “preserving the wisdom of our forebears.”
His life grew better and better. From barely making ends meet, he went on to earn a fortune and became a “countryside tycoon” famous across the neighboring villages. The people who had once mocked him for “having no prospects after leaving the city” fell silent. His former rivals in the business world had nothing to say when they heard the news, while office workers who stayed up late working overtime envied him for “living the kind of life everyone else wants.” When someone asked how he had succeeded, Jing Yijiang simply pointed to his fields and the fishing rod by the river with a smile. “Other people chase fame and fortune amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I’d rather live the life I choose, out here in the countryside.”
