Zhou Xiaolin drives his combine harvester over a slope in a rice paddy in Shengmi Township of Xinjian District in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Sept. 20, 2018. When every harvest season for middle-season rice begins in September, Zhou Xiaolin, a rice grower, and his son Zhou Biao will always offer help to other farmers with the harvest, because few families nearby own multiple farm machineries that suffice the workload. Born in Liutian Village, Zhou Xiaolin used to be a carpenter away from home. In 2005, he returned home to take on rice growing. Two years later, Zhou Xiaolin and Zhou Biao expanded the scale of their rice growing by contracting to take over the village's uncultivated croplands. To meet the increasing production demand, Zhou bought the first farm machine in the village. Currently, Zhou Xiaolin and Zhou Biao have nearly 50 hectares of farmland under cultivation in the village. Altogether they own two combine harvesters, two rice transplanters and a tractor, which have made production even more efficient. An increasing number of rice growers nearby have started to use Zhou Xiaolin's machines and services for a reasonable price. "We benefit from various government subsidies," says Zhou Biao, who has already worked with his father for eight years. "As a rice grower, you will feel the joy of harvest as long as you stick to it." (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)
