Ducks waddle around Yao's ecological rice field in his hometown Nanyuan village, Jiangxi province, Aug 3, 2014. [Photo/IC]

"I am tired of the big city's job, and want to find new direction for my life", Yao said.

Seventeen years ago, Yao was one of the few college students in the village. After he graduated from college in 2005, Yao was a marketing man at a firm in Beijing, and his salary surpassed 10,000 yuan ($1,444) in 2010. But the work was very busy, the man said, and he had to drink with clients almost every day to achieve job targets.