Yet it is another golden harvest season, but what cannot be returned are the old times of childhood.

The season has quickly turned to autumn and it is again the time for harvesting rice. At this moment, in the countryside, there must be a picture of busy and happy scenes. When I was young, every time during the golden harvest season, fields were filled with golden ripe ears of grain shining brightly under the sun, empty areas were full of freshly harvested grains drying out, the whole land turned to gold, every family's old and young were all working in the field, harvesting, transporting, threshing, all took advantage of the fine weather to harvest rice so that it would dry completely before being stored away. The sky was scattered with points of moving things, connecting into lines, forming a picture of an abundant harvest, full of hope everywhere.

Today, rice harvesting has mechanized, what once took a family several days to do now takes only two or three hours with one machine. In rural areas there is a shortage of young and middle-aged labor, and in the current era of efficiency and profit, most small fields unsuitable for mechanized farming have been abandoned.

In summer, Dad comes home from patrolling the fields with more than a dozen stone fish. He says they were caught in the water hole on the edge of the field. I still remember when I was small, my parents working in the field, we would catch small fish in the ditch by the side of the field. Later, the small fish in the ditch gradually disappeared, and even the fish in the stream decreased. In recent years, there have been more small fish, shrimp and crabs again.

Do you remember when I was a primary school student, dad would always ask me to accompany him to the fields whenever he went to spray pesticides. I'd be lying in bed watching TV, very reluctant to go. But it wasn't necessary for me to go; if someone else carried the pesticide basket, dad could save some time. The farmland was scattered all over the mountain and the valleys were narrow and long. When spraying pesticides, we had to go up then come back down again to spray more water on the plants, which wasted a lot of time. With one person carrying the pesticide, it would be much easier - just spray wherever you want and that's it. The fields were nestled in the valley with towering mountains on both sides. The reeds by the field's edge made me feel a bit spooky when they swayed in the wind. I thought maybe dad was afraid of them so he asked me to go with him, but actually carrying the pesticide basket was quite easy. Now looking back, perhaps dad just wanted me to be by his side.

After I entered elementary school, I often had to spray pesticides on the rice by myself. It's a good thing that when I followed Dad behind with a basket in my hands, I wouldn't mistakenly spray them into other people's fields then. At this point, I only realized how thoughtful Dad was. I remember that those pesticides were highly toxic and poisonous. When we sprayed them daily, we didn't wear any protective gear. Sometimes when it was hot outside, villagers would get poisoned from spraying pesticides and go to the hospital for IV drips. I recall that the rice pests were quite severe over there for several years. We had to spray pesticides many times a season, and our production decreased greatly.

Reflecting on the past, farmers used pesticides from almost none to excessive and blind use of highly toxic and poisonous pesticides, then to high toxicity and poisoning, and now to low toxicity, micro-toxicity and non-toxicity. From reckless and random use to scientific and rational use, this is a progress in technology, a progress in awareness, and above all, a progress in the times.

Their grandparents began using chemical fertilizers and pesticides in their tea cultivation. Now they have to reduce the amount of fertilizer and pesticide used, which is a difficult process for them. They subconsciously think that without fertilizers and pesticides there will be no harvest. After several years of not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides or herbicides, but only picking what's ripe, their thoughts are slowly changing. If we do not overuse natural resources, only pluck one crop per year, this season's yield is guaranteed to be good. Just like making tea, do not rush the market, do not make it in a hurry, follow tradition and keep your initial intention, you can brew a cup of clean and delicious tea.

In those years, the ecological destruction in the countryside was gradually brought under control with the orderly and scientific use of pesticides and fertilizers; the reduction of cultivated land; and the widespread adoption of green and ecological farming methods. The ecosystem in rural areas has been gradually restored, reducing various pests and diseases, increasing the number of mudfish and snails in the fields, making the water in brooks clearer, so that children can once again go fishing and catching shrimp.