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CHANGSHA, April 10-- Thirty years ago, farmer Sun Xueyuan was exhausted even to manage one hectare of land a year. Now he is 65 and has an easy time handling 20 hectares. Farming is a kind of heavy work, especially in places where farmers depended on weather conditions and their own hands for a good harvest. This is also what Sun, in Yiyang City, central China's Hunan Province, had done in past decades. Pre-germinating rice seeds is the most time-consuming work of spring ploughing. Traditionally, farmers must soak the seeds and cover them with straw and quilt to keep them warm. But they also have to get up at night in case the temperature gets too high that the seeds get burnt. "We can hardly sleep well during this period," Sun said. But this year, Sun was able to sleep through every night, thanks to the help of modern technology. "Someone else did it for us, and it did an even better job," he said. All her seeds were sent to the nearby cooperative where pre-germination is done mechanically. "Our seedlings nursery can maintain a stable temperature and humidity and effectively encourages growth of seeds," said Liu Chuangye, who operates the cooperative. "Almost all farmers now send the seeds here for pre-germination; it's cost effective," Sun said. In the nearby Xiejiapu Town, Kuang Yongli opened his WeChat and called for help to plough his 20 hectares of land. The next day, he had three rotocultivators running at full steam. | 
