Zhè jù qiūshōuwànkēzǐ cháng bèi yǐnlái jiǎng nónggēng de huíbào.
"In autumn ten thousand grains are harvested" is often cited to describe the return on farming.
Tips
history
From Li Shen's (李绅, Tang dynasty) 《悯农二首》其一: 春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子。四海无闲田，农夫犹饿死 — 'In spring one millet seed is planted; in autumn ten thousand grains are reaped. Within the four seas there is no idle field, yet farmers still starve to death.' One of the most politically pointed Tang poems — memorized in every Chinese elementary school.
usage
Almost always cited with its setup 春种一粒粟. 颗 is the measure word for small round things (seeds, pearls). The strongest rhetorical force comes from the ironic third and fourth lines about farmers starving.
