A while back I left Xiamen with the group and flew to one of the poorest provinces in China. We went to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, and then a little further out to spend about four days at a beef cattle ranch way up in the mountains.
Not only did I get to see the beauty of rural China, but I was also inspired in a way I never had before.
Being above the tree line in the mountains was stunning. The air was REFRESHING, especially in contrast to city life.
The government gave all of this land to the family for free since the soil is highly acidic. They decided to use it for cattle much to the disapproval of others. The Chinese tend to coddle their livestock, leading them to be unable to handle the intense cold being on a mountain. But, after interbreeding Australian cattle with the Chinese cattle, they made a breed that has the best of both kinds! They now profitably produce beef in a country that tends to overproduce pork. Also, with blueberries very uncommon, they’ve decided to make use of the acidic land for blueberry fields since the soil is perfect for their growth.
Kevin lost in China.
Now I mostly dug up fence posts, put them in another field that will be used for the blueberries and made/laid cement for their bases. This was physically taxing, especially in the freezing wet, fog-ridden weather, dodging cow pies every which way. But I also found it very satisfying as I began to see a finished product throughout the four straight days.
Some may see this is as a strange result, but for some reason this rural experience has given me a genuine desire to grow something. Be it vegetables in a small plot outside of my future apartment or house, or a strange acquirement of a dairy farm amidst a city-job in my future. Sure, the latter is seemingly impossible to upkeep, seeing as how the farm and city-job can’t be in the same location, but I can dream. I never would have imagined myself as someone who would glorify farm life, but seeing this family who had no previous knowledge of farming achieve such a great deal through production of food inspired me. I’m a nerd.
