Farming Story -- Just writing for fun
A person went to the city, but he didn't know how to do anything, and his pockets were empty. He could only attend expensive training to learn how to grow genetically modified tomatoes because the market demanded genetically modified tomatoes. Soilless cultivation was currently popular, and most vegetables could be produced in factories. Hence, there was a position called Tomato Engineer. He searched for professional training institutions, took out a loan, and after five months of diligent study, finally learned how to cultivate tomatoes. He then started interviewing and eventually joined a profitable farm estate as a Tomato Engineer, beginning his job specializing in training genetically modified tomatoes.
Working alongside him were Corn Engineers, Potato Engineers, and Sweet Potato Engineers. Collaborating with him were Fertilizer Engineers, Irrigation Engineers, and Greenhouse Engineers. He only needed to tend to his own plot of land, so he could work eight hours a day and earn a decent salary to repay his training loan. He also rented an apartment. To afford the rent, he chose a remote area, commuting an hour and a half by tractor every day, which made his butt ache from the bumpy ride. After deducting rent, loan payments, daily expenses, utilities, communication, food, clothing, and toiletries, he needed to work for ten months to pay off the loan and save a little. These ten months meant having no savings at all. With eight hours of work, three hours of commuting, one hour for meals during the day, and one hour for dinner at night, minus eight hours of rest, he only had three hours of free time.
Sometimes, he really wanted to learn how to operate tractors and greenhouses, but that required separate mechanical knowledge, which he completely lacked. He thought it wouldn't be too late to learn when work became less demanding, so he decided to wait. After all, he was still young and had no family to support. Genetically modified tomatoes were a species that took eight months to mature. Fortunately, the farm owner's land was large enough, so he could keep planting continuously. By controlling different temperatures and humidity levels in the greenhouses, the tomatoes could mature in batches. In the first month, he thought he knew a lot about genetically modified tomatoes, but later realized he was too naive because what he learned in training was completely different from industrial production. It dawned on him that he didn't need to attend training at all; having an experienced mentor would have been enough. A patient mentor could have taught him everything, but he had no connections in the city and didn't know anyone, so he had to purchase training services. Since such services were generally effective, it seemed like a safer bet.
After three months of probation, he found he had more free time. He began researching how to adjust the genetic sequence of tomatoes to change their shape and color, and then studied how to make them taste better. In his spare time, he also looked into the latest logistics market to figure out how to transport the tomatoes in their best condition. After ten months, he finally became a qualified Tomato Engineer. The factory equipment could be purchased on the market, and he thought about starting his own business.
But he realized he couldn't do it. Not only might no one buy the tomatoes he produced, but also because the farm owner controlled all the channels and invested in all the farms. Any farm that didn't follow his requirements would have no sales and would essentially be waiting to die. He calculated the success and risks and decided it was more cost-effective to work in the city. Since he didn't need to consider marriage or having children in the short term, he could save more money. Three years passed like this, and he saved enough money to consider switching to a better company. However, he found he couldn't change jobs anymore because no one in the market was eating genetically modified tomatoes anymore. People had started eating green, natural tomatoes instead. The skills he had learned were now useless. He looked at the place where he had worked for three years, sighed, resigned, and returned to the countryside to start growing natural, green tomatoes from scratch.
The city is like a steel monster, full of old people, swallowing the young and spitting out the middle-aged.