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。