On August 20th, morning light spread across the millet fields of Baifu Village in Yicheng Town, Wu'an City. 65-year-old Zhu Haijun crouched on the ridge, his fingertips gently brushing over the verdant millet seedlings. He parted the leaves to carefully examine the grain spike growth, then stood up and patted the mud-stained pants, pulling out his phone from his pocket to adjust the lens—in 12 hours, his 181st live stream would begin on schedule.

In the live streaming frame, this slightly gray-haired elderly man skillfully held up a bag of "Jigu Baifu Millet," his voice resonant and warm: "Family members, look carefully! These grains are plump and full. When you cook porridge, it forms three layers of rice oil—all good stuff grown in our fields and milled in our workshops!"

Who would have thought that this eloquent "streamer" was just a few years ago a retired secretary focused on variety improvement in millet fields? Even less predictable was that Baifu millet, once trapped in hilly valleys, could be sold through his live streaming room to Shijiazhuang, Qingdao, and even distant Yunnan and Guangzhou.

From "facing the yellow earth with back to the sky" to "talking about harvest facing the camera," Zhu Haijun has written the most vivid footnote for rural revitalization through his live streams.

**The Former Secretary's "New Challenges" and "New Opportunities"**

In 2020, after stepping down from his position as Baifu Village Party Secretary, Zhu Haijun didn't enjoy retirement at home like other elderly people. Instead, he threw himself into the village's millet experimental fields.

"After 26 years as a village official, what I can't let go of most is this land," Zhu Haijun often says. Baifu Village has 2,500 residents and nearly 6,000 acres of farmland, but the hilly terrain where "no three zhang of land is flat, irrigation depends entirely on heaven" has kept grain crop yields consistently low.

In 1994, when he first returned to serve as village committee director, villagers were still caught in the dilemma of "farming delays work, working abandons farmland." Growing millet was merely "self-grown, self-consumed, never dared to think of selling."

To turn millet into "prosperity grain," Zhu Haijun wore out his legs running around. In 2003, he encountered experts from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences Millet Research Institute at the Municipal Animal Husbandry Bureau. With the confidence of "our village has 6,000 acres of contiguous dryland," he managed to bring the millet experimental field back to the village.

Thereafter, he and team members like villager Zhu Changju learned techniques and modified machinery with the experts. From selecting quality varieties like "Jigu 19" and "Jigu 31," to experimenting with chemical thinning and film-side furrow sowing techniques, to developing film-side seeders, precision planters, and residual film recyclers that obtained five national patents, they forcibly increased millet yield per acre from 150 kg to 350 kg. They also led the establishment of cooperatives and processing companies, integrating 86% of villagers into the "research institution + base + company + farmer" industrial chain.

But as millet quality improved, new problems emerged: "Such good millet can only be sold in the Handan area. How can we promote Baifu's brand nationwide?" Zhu Haijun was troubled.

Until 2025, when Wu'an City's "One Product, One Stream" live streaming agricultural assistance policy arrived, Zhu Haijun's eyes lit up: "As long as we can sell millet far and wide, these old bones can learn new things!"

He still remembers clearly the scene of his first live stream. That evening at 8:30, wearing his usual blue cloth shirt for fieldwork, he sat in his yard facing the camera, so nervous his palms were sweating. "Family members, look... this is millet from our Baifu Village..." One sentence took half a minute to stutter through, with chicken calls from behind and dog barks from afar all entering the live stream.

After streaming for over an hour, there were only a dozen viewers, and orders were few and far between.

"It's no big deal. When I was a soldier, I went from missing targets to hitting bullseyes, from not understanding radar to precise and rapid operation. How can I not learn live streaming?" The soldier's tenacity in his bones made Zhu Haijun refuse to give up.

He went to Wu'an Live Streaming Base daily, learning procedures and practicing sales pitches with teachers, turning millet fields and processing workshops into live streaming rooms. When netizens were curious about how millet grows, he carried live streaming equipment to the fields, explaining everything from seed germination to heading and grain filling, even showing dewdrops on leaves to everyone. When people worried about processing hygiene, he stationed himself by the milling machine, live streaming the entire process from selecting grain spikes to hulling and milling for netizens to see.

What troubled him most was live streaming "linking products"—if products couldn't be listed, all the good talk was worthless. During that period, Zhu Haijun dragged Yicheng Town officials to repeatedly visit market supervision and tax departments, coordinating qualifications and streamlining processes.

Finally, when "Jigu Baifu Millet" successfully appeared in the live streaming room's shopping cart, he looked at the first order from Shijiazhuang that popped up on his phone, smiling until wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes: "Never expected that without leaving home, our millet could really be sold to other places!"

**"Honest Words" Selling "Honest Millet"**

"Family members, don't mind my rambling, let's first look at this soil testing report." In Zhu Haijun's live streaming room, there are no flowery words, only screens full of "honesty."

He always likes to pull out yellowed soil testing reports, pointing to the "minerals" on them and chatting with netizens: "This is hilly land with good air permeability and many trace elements in the soil, which is why the millet grown here is nutritious."

When netizens ask "is the rice oil thick," he cooks a pot of millet porridge the next day, scooping up a spoonful in front of the camera and letting the rice oil drip down the spoon: "Everyone look, this is the quality of our millet—no adulteration, no additives."

To give netizens a more intuitive understanding of millet's "growth story," Zhu Haijun moved his live streaming room into fields and processing workshops. During spring plowing, he live streamed precision sowing, explaining "how much seed per acre is most appropriate." In midsummer, he live streamed field management, demonstrating "how to operate chemical weeding safely." During autumn harvest, he live streamed harvesting, letting netizens watch grain spikes turn into grain.

Once, a netizen from Guangzhou left a message in the live stream: "First time in my life seeing what millet looks like—the old secretary explains it more clearly than textbooks!"

Gradually, Zhu Haijun's live streaming room gained a regular "fan base," with many netizens becoming "repeat customers." Ms. Li from Qingdao regularly purchases millet, saying: "The old secretary's live streams don't use gimmicks. Seeing him busy in the fields, you know this millet is reliable." Mr. Zhang from Yunnan became an "iron fan," not only buying himself but recommending to colleagues: "The rice oil it produces is particularly thick. It's reassuring for elderly and children—this is honest farmers' goods."

Now, Zhu Haijun has been live streaming for nearly a year, with 181 cumulative broadcasts, and orders extending from surrounding cities to Yunnan, Guangdong, and other places. Every evening at 8:30, he appears punctually in the live streaming room, with either verdant millet fields or rumbling processing workshops behind him. What remains unchanged is that warm opening line: "Good evening, family members, we meet again in the millet fields!"

**From "One Person Streaming" to "Everyone Prospering"**

"Live streaming isn't just my business—it's for the good life of the whole village." Zhu Haijun knows clearly that every order in the live streaming room connects to the livelihoods of 550 households in Baifu Village.

Now, Baifu Village's 2,000 acres of millet fields produce 500 tons of millet annually. "Jigu Baifu Millet" has not only become a National Geographic Indication Product but also drives over 500 villagers to specialize in millet cultivation and processing, creating employment for over 5,000 people in surrounding areas.

To take the millet industry further, Zhu Haijun also "promotes" Baifu Village's planting techniques in his live streaming room. Whenever viewers ask about millet cultivation techniques during live streams, Zhu Haijun always answers seriously. When encountering unfamiliar questions, he carefully notes them down, consults experts from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences Millet Research Institute after the stream, then answers them in the next day's broadcast.

Wang Jianguo, a grower from Xingtai, learned about the particular water and fertilizer requirements for different seeds only after watching the live streams: "Learning techniques from the old secretary, my family's millet yield has also increased. Thanks to this live streaming classroom!"

Now, standing on the ridge, Zhu Haijun looks at the continuous millet fields and distant village, his eyes full of hope. His live streaming room contains not only the fragrance of millet but also the vitality of rural revitalization—from variety improvement to mechanized planting, from live streaming sales to industrial chain extension, a small grain of millet has become a "golden seed" driving the entire village's prosperity in his hands.

"As long as my health holds up, I'll keep streaming," Zhu Haijun says frankly. He live streams not just to make money, nor to become an internet celebrity—improving millet quality is his pursuit. "I want more people to know about Baifu Village's millet, let more villagers live good lives from this millet field, and let more consumers and friends eat safe and healthy agricultural products."

Under the setting sun, Zhu Haijun's silhouette is reflected on the golden grain spikes. In the phone camera, the "Jigu Baifu Millet" packaging bags stand out prominently. This grain grown from hilly soil, carrying the warmth of rural land, travels through live streaming rooms to distant places. And this sixty-year-old former secretary's story, like a stubborn seed, has taken deep root in the soil of rural revitalization, blooming the most touching flowers.