Bringing Yue Close to Nature at 九善农植有机生活农场 — A Record of the 九善 Member Open Day

When Yue was one, I found out that my elementary school classmate (an architect, Ph.D. in architecture, and president of UN+ Architecture Firm in the US) and her architect husband had founded a farm. I've been following it ever since, and have been feeding Yue the organically grown vegetables and fruits from there, especially the winter strawberries which are stunning. I still remember making strawberry jam with 九善 strawberries in 2018 and sharing it with friends, who all raved about it.

After three years of eager anticipation, I finally waited until Yue was old enough to join in farming, so she could have a farm date with Sister Guoguo!

The week before the Saturday open day, it rained for five days, and the day before it poured, making me worried. The staff reminded everyone to bring rain boots, and I also prepared a set of spare clothes for Yue. Unexpectedly, the rain stopped on Saturday, and we miraculously saw the sun after a long time.

The 66-kilometer one-way distance was no problem. To arrive on time, Yue woke up earlier than usual and cooperated actively in getting dressed and washed, her excitement indescribable.

As soon as we entered the farm, Yue, who was there for the first time, felt right at home and showed no signs of unfamiliarity. She waved hello to uncles, aunts, big brothers, and big sisters she met; ran around on the lawn; played with magnetic stickers on the wall; and even, for the first time ever, agreed to let her mother leave briefly while she played alone... Yue, who is very sensitive to the environment and atmosphere, was clearly very satisfied here. This old mother was so gratified and thought of bringing her here often.

Hearing that Sister Guoguo had arrived, Yue dashed toward the gate, saying as she ran to the boy (who was also the teacher leading today), 'Sister Guoguo is here, I'm going to meet her.' The two little ones, reunited, were overjoyed. They ran together, played in the sand, washed hands together...

As the children arrived one after another, the farm provided homemade waffles and a special lemongrass lemonade before the activity began.

【Welcome Snack】

【Autumn Rapeseed Planting】

The teacher prepared farm-produced rapeseed oil, rapeseeds, rapeseed branches, and heating tools.

First, they played a clip from Li Ziqi's 'The Life of Rapeseed Oil'; then the teacher began to explain the origin of rapeseed oil, the cultivation process of rapeseed, and stir-fried rapeseeds on site while letting the children grab the seeds themselves. This added learning fun from three aspects: sight, taste, and touch.

After listening to the lesson, it was time to get hands-on with the autumn rapeseed planting. They received rapeseed seedlings, took tools, turned the soil, fertilized, and planted the seedlings.

After successfully planting the rapeseed, the teacher rewarded them by letting them plant garlic. Sitting by the 'field ridge,' they listened to the teacher's explanation with broad smiles. It turns out garlic acts as an organic pesticide in the fields—I learned this trick that I can use in my garden too.

Peeling garlic, loosening soil, planting garlic (pointy side down), covering with a 'blanket' (covering with soil). The two little ones planted quickly, so I hurried to loosen the soil for them. They happily took turns snuggling into my arms. After finishing, Aunt Tree rewarded each with a wildflower.

After planting, the teacher led them to feed the lambs. Passing two rabbit homes, they arrived at the lambs' home. The children eagerly and wholeheartedly fed them. Aunt Tree, skillful and full of praise, made each of the two hard-working little ones an earring to wear.

【Farm Lunch】

Highlights were the wood-fired vegetable rice and handmade wontons, along with a variety of Chinese and Western dishes, all vegetables from the farm.

A piece of braised pork on the vegetable rice, drizzled with a little sauce; Yue ate two bowls of wontons by herself, which shows how tempting they were.

【Nature Walk: Seed Mobilization】 Five-star recommendation

The teacher led the children up slopes, into greenhouses, down to the fields... observing every plant and collecting their seeds.

The gifts of land and nature were thus plainly planted in the children's hearts.

On this walk, the collected fruits included: camphor, sesbania, crape myrtle, wisteria, rose, pokeweed, pampas grass, dandelion, sunflower, cotton...

In the gaps of the day's activities, before and after lunch, during and after the activities, the two little ones made the most of every minute, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Not only did the children love it, but I was also deeply attracted. My classmate's original intention for starting this farm: 'I hope to find answers from the land, to treat a piece of land with a fresh heart, to observe, nourish, and cultivate it with heart, to experience the essence of nature and life with heart, and to connect more with that essence, rather than squandering at the end of the chain.'

Starting from the second half of this year, I began to see videos of her two children on the farm's public WeChat account, recording bits and pieces of farm life: roasting persimmons, cutting and threshing rice, weaving rice straw... These vivid and adorable scenes were so heartwarming that I couldn't resist leaving a comment praising her. She replied that seeing me make 'Growth Diaries' for Yue, write travelogues, and edit photo albums touched her deeply, and although she couldn't do those things, she could film videos of her children at the farm as growth gifts for them.

When we met this time, I noticed she had become darker again. She laughed and said, 'This is already better; I was much darker in summer.' This is the pride of being down-to-earth, instantly putting my fair skin to shame.

During our chat, I kept hearing whispered voices saying, 'Oh, so she's the boss's wife.' Seeing her evasive eyes, I couldn't help but recall an interview I had read before when she was the president of an architectural design firm:

'Unwilling to be called "boss". Think about it: a Master Zhang might give you a strategic plan for urban development or some philosophical, mystical concept of human settlement; a Teacher Zhang might give you a detailed set of floor plans with thorough details; but a Boss Zhang would probably give you a ground floor plan plus three renderings and a free perspective sketch as a New Year package.

I was so afraid of being called "boss"—whenever I heard someone address me like that, I would blush and breathe heavily...

Is there a worse title than "boss"? Yes—"boss's wife".'

When I first read this interview, I laughed until my stomach hurt. After starting the farm, she finally 'got her wish,' hahaha.

The flower house is the most attractive place on the farm for me. Look at how beautiful it is, designed by this wise boss's wife (unedited phone photo).

Because of the two children, the whole farm has paid extreme attention to child-friendliness, to the point that even the family bathroom makes you want to linger.

After the activity ended, the two little ones were reluctant to leave for a long time. I've decided to bring Yue here to see the four seasons, to accompany the plants and crops.

1/ 九善 Farm is membership-based and not open to the public;

2/ There is a member open day every month; occasionally there are open days for casual visitors, with very limited spots and extremely hard to grab;

3/ 九善农植有机生活 Farm. There is a detailed introduction to the farm, organic vegetables and fruits for sale, etc.

Thank you to all the big and little friends who appeared on the open day on November 28!