Taking the Plunge, Only to Be Caught by the Rice Fields? | Food Talk Vol. 70

In 2019, when Chen Xi first visited Qiandongnan in Guizhou, she was captivated by the paddy fields and rice of Yangdong Village. At the time, she had only just returned from the United States, where she had lived for eleven years, and was working in a Beijing office in a role completely unrelated to farming. Seven years on, she has built a wooden house and put down roots in this Dong village, growing and selling rice, while the children’s library she established is now undergoing renovation.

Chen Xi has a “formidable” drive. Despite never studying design, she drafted the blueprints herself and simply built her dream mountain cabin. To steer the village children away from endless short videos, she used the proceeds from selling 5,000 jin (about 2,500 kg) of purple rice to fund the village’s first library. When an experienced grower warned her that “ecological agriculture in the primary sector isn’t viable”, she didn’t buy it: “If it resonates with me, why shouldn’t it resonate with others?” Today, Zhaoxishe is largely self-sufficient.

Chen Xi is certainly brave. But courage alone isn’t enough; patience is just as vital, and that is precisely what the land has taught her.

In Guizhou, rice is cultivated as a single annual crop. Sown in spring, it flowers through the summer, is harvested in the autumn, and the paddies are flooded again in winter. Farming works on its own timetable, so she decided to give herself the time it required.

The first three years ran at a loss, spent experimenting in the fields with heirloom rice varieties from Liping County and the surrounding region. The inaugural harvest yielded just a few dozen jin (roughly 10–15 kg), sold at 30 yuan per jin, bringing in a grand total of little more than 2,000 yuan.

She took it in stride, treating the shortfall as tuition for the craft. Next time, she’d simply shift to a new plot and sow again.

Today, they reliably cultivate nine different rice varieties, achieving yields of over 300 jin (roughly 150 kg) per mu (about 0.067 hectares).

Seven years on, Chen Xi and Zhaoxishe are only now stepping into the summer that belongs to them.

The Dong people have a proverb: Angl xeenp weex xuh nyenc weex egs (‘The land is the host, people are but guests’). Humanity is not the centre of this land; we are merely temporary visitors.  “When the ecological environment is in balance, there’s no need for excessive manual intervention. You simply need to keep an eye on things.”

Chen Xi says she’s been like this since she was a child. “For a while, my personal motto was, “Forever living on the mountain”s edge’ – meaning I was ready to take the leap at any time.” Since she’s already here, why not take a fearless leap?

Welcome to the first episode of the “She and the Land” series. Perhaps Chen Xi’s life choices and outlook will offer you a little inspiration.

(This conversation was recorded in April this year, while the wooden cabin in the mountains was being renovated and Chen Xi had returned to Beijing to attend events for the International Year of Women in Family Farming. At the time, she was eager to rush back to the mountains as soon as possible: “If I don’t head back now, all the bamboo shoots will be past their prime!”)

P. S. The “Zhao” in Zhaoxishe comes from a local Dong generation character.

01:35 From Beijing to Qiandongnan: A Simple Breakdown of Running a Family Farm

04:00 First Impressions of Yangdong Village: Absolutely Stunning on Our Very First Visit

06:20 The Turning Point for Moving to the Mountains Full-Time: Two Spring Bamboo Shoots from My Former Client, Now Husband

08:53 How Much Does It Cost to Build a Wooden House in the Village?

10:00 Can You Build a House Without Architectural Training? The Master Carpenter (Traditional Dong Architectural Draftsman) Stays Behind the Scenes

18:20 What Do You Do When It Rains? Thunder Till the End of the World: Power Cuts and Leaky Roofs Are the Price of Living Elsewhere

22:00 Want to Build a Library for Left-Behind Children? First, Let’s Sell 2.5 Tonnes (5,000 Jin) of Purple Rice!

27:47 Zhaoxishe’s Management and Cultivation Approach: “When the Ecosystem Is in Balance, You Don’t Need to Intervene Much.”

30:49 Locals Begin Planting Hybrid Rice, and Chemical Fertilisers Make Their Way into the Mountains

32:00 “The Land Is the Host, People Are the Guests”: Whether Dong, Han, or Foreign, We Are All Visitors to This Land

32:33 The Dong Women’s Day Custom: “If You Want to Pass Through, Leave a Small Toll.”

34:36 The Dong Approach to Festivals: Celebrating Life Itself. If There’s a Reason to Celebrate, You Absolutely Should! “Your Arrival at My Home Is Festival Enough.”

36:00 A Classic East Asian Family Question: Quitting Your Job in Beijing to Marry and Farm in the Guizhou Mountains. What Do Your Parents Say?

38:00 Seasoned Farmers Say Ecological Rice Farming Can’t Make a Profit: “If It Speaks to Me, Why Wouldn’t It Speak to Others?”

41:50 Who Says We’re Growing Old Varieties? These Heirloom Strains Are Excellent!

44:58 The World Is My Oyster: Cracking It Open With Courage and Relentless Drive

46:00 The Greatest Challenge in Farming Is Time: Putting in a Whole Year’s Work Only to Earn 2,000 Yuan. Anyone Would Break Down.

48:33 Farming Is Like Making Wishes to Nature: Begging for Sunshine in Summer and Pleading for Clear Skies at Harvest

51:14 “I Can Keep on an Open-Ended Journey; I Don’t Want That Final Destination to Find Me”

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