It is said that every scientist has a childhood dream of his or her future success．For Yuan Longping, the dream was that he would grow grains of rice as large as peanuts(花生), and that farmers could relax in the large shadow of their plants．

　　His dream came true．Yuan is known as China’s “father of hybrid rice(杂交水稻)．”

　　He is known for creating a type of rice that has a high yield(产量)．

　　The 72-year-old scientist was born in Beijing．He came up with the idea of hybridizing rice in the 1960s, when China was suffering serious famine(饥荒)．Ten years later, he grew a new species that produced a 20 percent higher yield than common types of rice．

　　Compared with the ordinary rice, the hybrid is highly adaptable(适应性强的)．It is a stronger plant that can better bear drought(干旱)or water-logging(水涝), as well as diseases and worms．

　　Half of China’s rice crops are Yuan’s special rice．And the country’s total rice production has greatly increased．

　　Today, Yuan continues to try and increase the yield of rice．If you ask him whether rice quality or quantity should come first, his answer is always the latter(后者)．

　　“First we must have enough food; then we must eat well,” he said．But, he adds that high yield does not necessarily mean low quality．

　　Now, Yuan is working on another “Super Rice, ” of which yields are 30 percent higher than common rice．

　　Money and fame follow such great achievements．A seed company in Shenzhen uses Yuan’s name and in return, he gets a share of 2 million yuan．

　　But, he said, “That figure means nothing．I’m satisfied with my life．Too much money is a burden(负担)．”

　　And having devoted most of his life to growing rice in paddy fields(稻田), Yuan looks just like a farmer．From sowing to harvesting, Yuan goes out to the fields twice a day, covering a distance of about 8 km on his motorbike, which has become one of his main hobbies．