Dong Yao：Once， my office was a cubicle， with a 9－to－5 routine． Now， my office is by the Wen River， where the seasons paint the landscape． I am Dong Yao， a new－generation farmer who returned from the city to my roots．

This is my hometown， Fangcun Town’s Beiteng Village， where I grew up． Many ask me why I came back． The answer lies in this sandy soil that nurtured me—a soil that drains well and breathes freely， the perfect home for sweet potatoes． While wheat and corn yield merely a thousand kilograms per acre， sweet potatoes can produce five to six thousand kilograms． The difference in value is enormous！ To Our rural land， it turns out， holds hidden treasure． This is the opportunity I saw．

When I first returned， I was a complete novice in farming． Thankfully， I had my chief technical advisor—my father． Dad， I knew nothing back then． Did it give you a headache？

Dong Yao’s Father Dong Jinping： A headache？ Not at all． You were eager to learn， and I was eager to teach．

At first， she followed me—part student， part laborer rolling up your sleeves and working hard in the fields．

Dong Yao： Idealism met reality when， as a farming novice， I faced a tough lesson： our sweet potatoes grew lush leaves but no tubers． My father and I resorted to the tedious method of whipping the leaves with bamboo poles to control overgrowth． It was backbreaking and ineffective． That’s when I realized passion alone wasn’t enough—technology was key． So， I became a student at the Agricultural Broadcasting School and sought advice from experts． When a professor suggested“chemical growth control”， I discovered a more efficient，scientific approach． With this technology， our yield soared from 3，000 to 6，000 jin per acre． That was the moment I truly felt the power of tech－driven farming．

Just as we overcame growing challenges， a new one emerged： during peak harvest， sweet potatoes flooded the market， prices plummeted， and storage was difficult． Were our precious crops doomed to sell cheap？ I refused to accept that． We took a leap and built a constant－temperature storage facility a“climate－controlled room” for our sweet potatoes！ This allowed us to stagger sales and immediately boost their value． Crave fresh sweet potatoes in winter？ We’ve got them！

Our deep－processed products， like sweet potato dried， have become market favorites， increasing returns threefold compared to selling fresh tubers！ From being a＂student＂ shadowing my father， I’ve grown into a＂teacher＂ leading workers． Every step of my growth has been supported by my family．

Today， our sweet potato operations have expanded from a few dozen acres to over 500–600 acres， with varieties increasing from two to more than forty． In partnership with Shandong Agricultural University， we established a“Sweet Potato Science and Technology Yard”． Professors and students now test soil， select seeds， Our sweet potatoes are now“tech－packed”！

Look！ Here’s our newest“big baby”—the sweet potato harvesting machine！ Before， harvesting one acre required three people working a full exhausting day． Now， this machine does it in just half an hour！ It saves hundreds of yuan per acre in labor costs． We plan to deepen collaboration with the Science and Technology Yard to achieve full mechanization． I want to prove that when land meets technology， Hometowns become the coolest stages for entrepreneurship！

Many villagers， seeing our success， want to join us． Next， I aim to guide them in planting—providing training and guaranteed buy－backs so the＂rooted light＂ of sweet potatoes can illuminate our rural revitalization！

From city high－rises to hometown soil， some call me a“reverse migrant”． But I believe I’ve returned to where dreams begin． This is my career transformation story． It’s still unfolding， and I’m confident the best is yet to come．

【Caption】 Home soil as our stage， sweet potatoes as our industry．

（Reporter： Wang Zhixin， Zhang Li， Ji Yanna， Liu Zhan， Wang Jingxiao）