CHEN, JIAN-KAI, the 5th Top 100 Young Peasants from Fuxing Township, Changhua County, is the current president of the Changhua County Young Peasants Association.CHEN, JIAN-KAI originally worked as a sales representative in the city. After returning to his hometown, he decided to stay and grow rice because of food safety issues.

He didn't know anything at the beginning, but now he can share rice management and marketing channels with other young peasants.In addition to focusing on its own rice management, CHEN, JIAN-KAI also promotes Agri-food education experiences to learn about local ingredients. Agri-food education can be said to be a bridge connecting producers and consumers from the production site to the table, and at the same time, it allows the public to start to value and respect agriculture.CHEN, JIAN-KAI strives to enhance the brand visibility of "愷式好米" really good rice and create the value of Changhua Young peasants.

Q1：What kind of rice is most suitable for making Turtle-shaped rice cake?
A1：Turtle-shaped rice cake can only be made from glutinous rice.Glutinous rice is divided into long glutinous rice and round glutinous rice. Turtle-shaped rice cake should be made from round glutinous rice.

Q2：What is the difference in taste between long glutinous rice and round glutinous rice?
A2：Rice dumpling uses long glutinous rice which is more chewy and elastic.Round glutinous rice has more water, so round glutinous rice is more suitable for making Kueh. The main difference is here.People in central and southern Taiwan prefer to eat long glutinous rice, while Hakkas prefer round glutinous rice, because Hakka-style rice noodles are made by grinding round glutinous rice into a pulp, so round glutinous rice is more suitable.

Q3：Are there any differences in the cultivation methods of long glutinous rice and round glutinous rice?
A3：The yield of long glutinous rice is relatively high, while the yield of round glutinous rice is relatively low.Next, Taiwanese people eat more long glutinous rice.You see, rice dumpling is basically long glutinous rice, but you have fewer opportunities to eat glutinous rice now. Some people can only eat glutinous rice when eating rice dumpling during the Dragon Boat Festival and Kueh during the Chinese New Year.

Q4：How long does it take to grow rice?
A4：Basically it takes us four months and 120 days to grow rice.Our rice is divided into early maturing varieties and slow maturing varieties. Early maturing species require about 8 to 90 days of planting, and slow maturing species require about 120 days of planting, but the yield after planting for 120 days is relatively high.

Q5：Are there any restrictions on the land for growing rice?
A5：However, if the rice is grown on relatively sticky land, like the Xiluo rice and Jhuoshuei River rice we plant on both sides of the Jhuoshuei River, the quality will be better.Why is the quality of rice better when grown on clayier soil?Because the soil is sticky and contains minerals, Xiluo rice and Zhuoshuei River rice are of better quality.

Q6：Is there any difference in water?
A6：Yes, the water in the Jhuoshuei River has a particularly high mineral content; the water near the sea is relatively salty, and rice grown in different locations tastes different in texture.

Q7：Is there any difference in the ears of rice produced by different types of rice?
A7：The ears of rice produced by each type of rice are different.

Q8：Do different kinds of rice bloom differently?
A8：Different rice flowers bloom differently, and the colors of the flowers are also different.The shells formed by black rice are purple in color. They are purple when they first grow out, but may turn into black purple later on.

Q9：Are there any difficulties in growing rice?
A9：The most difficult part about growing rice is the lack of funds at the beginning. For example, when I had no funds at the beginning, the rice had to be dried in the sun. After a few years of planting, I had some funds before I purchased equipment to reduce the hard work of sun drying.

Q10：Is rice different in different countries?
A10：Rice is indeed different in different countries.Island countries often eat long rice, while only countries with higher latitudes than Taiwan eat penglai rice.A relatively large proportion of the world eats long rice. About 70 to 80% of countries eat long rice. Penglai rice can only be grown at higher latitudes, and it cannot be grown if it is too hot.Penglai rice is also relatively high in calories, and the crops are also grown according to the land.If you grow Penglai rice in Thailand, not only will the rice fail to grow, but you may also get diseases.

Q11：Have you ever thought about giving up?
A11：Of course there is.My daughters are your seniors. They are twins and they also attend Ludong Elementary School. At that time, my child was about the same age as you, and my father was seriously ill. I was under financial pressure, so I wanted to give up.

Q12：Will you engage in agriculture after returning to your hometown?
A12：When I first returned to my hometown, I did not engage in agriculture but switched to investment. Later, I turned the investment into a real job and then started to become a young peasant.We only started working as young peasant in 2016, but we returned to our hometown in 2011.

Q13：Is the cost of organic rice significantly different from that of ordinary rice?
A13：The most important thing is selling. If you can sell it, you can make money.

Q14：Does rice have a shelf life?
A14：Rice has a shelf life. If the rice without vacuum packaging is kept at room temperature, it must to eat it all in about 1-2 months.

Q15：If rice is stored in the refrigerator, how long can it be stored?
A15：If the rice is refrigerated and sealed, it can last about half a year.If moisture gets into the packaging, the rice will grow mold after about two months.If there is no zipper bag in the refrigerator, the rice bucket will be placed directly in the refrigerator. Because if the vacuum breaks the rice will become wet.In fact, the insect eggs were already in the rice, but they didn't hatch because the temperature was not enough.

Q16：Why are rice bugs inside rice?
A16：Because the moth will lay eggs in the ear of rice, it will suck on the rice husk and insert the eggs of the genitals, and then lay the eggs in the rice or pulp. The same goes for the stink bug.

Q17：At what temperature should the rice worms lay eggs?
A17：If it is as hot as yesterday, eggs will be laid about once every six months, and then the eggs will hatch if they are exposed to room temperature.

Q18：How long can rice be stored if it is not hulled?
A18：Maximum 2 years.

Q19：Is it necessary to vacuum to preserve rice without shelling?
A19：Unhulled rice does not need to be stored in a vacuum. However, when left at room temperature, the rice will grow a lot of turtle beetles and rice bugs, but the milled rice can still be eaten.