College graduates grow a thousand tons of rice; the boss lady happily welcomes a second child
From city to countryside: a post-80s couple returns home to build a "rice kingdom"
Composite photo: On May 3, Liang Yongying inspects the rice growth in the field (top); Li Xiaowen takes photos to document rice production conditions for later analysis (bottom). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei
Junlian Village, Zhongdu Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province is located in the old revolutionary base area of western Fujian, with many mountains and little land. Even now, some villagers still cannot figure out why Li Xiaowen and Liang Yongying, who had once struggled to get out of this poor mountain valley to a big city and into university, came back to farm, and farmed as much as 869 mu, all of it rice paddies. The post-80s couple Li Xiaowen and Liang Yongying, however, knew very well in their hearts: "We wanted to come back and make something of ourselves." In 2006, Liang Yongying and Li Xiaowen graduated from East China University of Political Science and Law and Nanchang Institute of Technology respectively. After striving for many years in cities such as Shanghai and Fuzhou, these two young people who had come out of the countryside still set their sights on the hometown they knew well. In 2013, they returned to their hometown of Junlian Village and, through much trial and hardship, started a family farm. From raising cattle and pigsraising geese, to vegetable cultivation, they went through the initial stage of "hitting here and there," "wanting to do everything well, but in the end not being able to attend to anything, more than 100 geese died until only about 10 were left, and we paid a lot in tuition." Li Xiaowen said. After many attempts, investigations and explorations, Li Xiaowen and Liang Yongying finally chose rice, for which the planting technology was relatively mature. With the help and guidance of family members and agricultural departments, their planting scale expanded from more than 180 mu at the beginning to 869 mu today, with more than 70 long-term workers, an annual output of nearly 1000 tons, and an annual net income of more than 100,000 yuan. They own agricultural machinery such as rice transplanters, seeders and harvesters, and even spent more than 80,000 yuan to buy a drone for field management. Production and operations got on track, and more gratifying still, Liang Yongying became pregnant with her "second child" at the end of 2015. In addition to the imminent new addition to the family, "this year we will also build a 600-ton grain warehouse and achieve full-process mechanized production even in the mountainous areas of the south," Li Xiaowen said.
On May 3, Li Xiaowen (front) and Liang Yongying learn to use a pesticide-spraying drone beside a soil remediation experimental field. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei
On May 3, Li Xiaowen (left) and Liang Yongying carry seedling trays in the field. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei
On May 3, Li Xiaowen (right) and Liang Yongying load the leftover organic fertilizer onto a vehicle to haul it back. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei
On May 3, with the help of his wife Liang Yongying, Li Xiaowen (right) backs up on a narrow field path. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei
On May 3, Liang Yongying (left) talks in the field with villagers she hired to spray pesticides. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei
On May 3, Li Xiaowen (front), a mechanical engineering graduate, maintains a rice transplanter with the help of his wife Liang Yongying. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Song Weiwei