Revitalizing the Rural Dream

In the mid-1990s, going to the city for development became the mainstream choice for young students. Li Yucheng, a fresh graduate majoring in mass cultural management at Xinhai University, witnessed the plight of the decline of his native culture, the loss of intangible cultural heritage, and the hollowness of the countryside. He was unwilling to follow the trend and resolutely gave up a stable job in the city. He resisted secular prejudice and determined to return to his hometown to protect the local culture and revive the rural culture. Wang Yuling, his childhood sweetheart and classmate, is deeply involved in rural economic management, and understands that the root cause of rural poverty is a single industry and a solidified model. She was well aware of Li Yucheng's original intention, so she decisively gave up the preferential treatment in the city, and swore an oath with him: one person would protect the cultural heritage, one person would develop the industry, one person would build the industry, and together we would prosper the mountains. The two were not afraid of the confusion of their relatives and friends and the ridicule of others. They both passed the examination as village officials in their hometowns and took root at the grassroots level to start the difficult road of rural revitalization. At that time, the countryside was in dire straits, the rural cultural stations were dilapidated and idle, and various local folk customs were on the verge of being lost. The output of the traditional planting model was low, and there was no hope for villagers to increase their income. Their thinking was conservative and solid, and they were extremely resistant to new industries and changes. There was huge resistance to grassroots work. Two young university student village officials use their youth as their soil, their original aspirations as their seeds, and their hard work as their plows. They take root in the fields and travel across the villages, facing conflicts at the grassroots level, solving development problems, eradicating old abuses, and reshaping new rural trends. They work together to break the situation and tackle difficulties side by side. On the one hand, they focus on cultural revitalization, protect local roots, inherit intangible cultural heritage and cultivate civilized rural customs; on the other hand, they focus on industrial revitalization, optimize the agricultural structure, develop characteristic planting, strengthen the collective economy, and drive the income of all people. Ultimately, we will realize cultural revitalization and industrial revitalization, and devote our youth and sweat to the dream of revitalizing rural areas.