63-year-old Professor Ru Zhengang is a leading expert in hybrid wheat in the country. He has devoted his entire career to developing high-yield wheat varieties over the past 40 years.

"I've been hungry before, so I know how important food is. It became my goal to keep people from going hungry and to have enough to eat myself. The annual output is more than 3,000 catties, which is incredible. This is a miracle by Chinese scientists. It is worthy of our confidence and our hard work to keep improving," said Ru Zhengang Professor, Henan Institute of Science and Technology.

When Ru studied agriculture in university in the late 1970s, China's wheat crops were mostly species imported from Italy. Ru took it upon himself to help China achieve self-sufficiency in wheat supplies.

"At the time, our research conditions were very poor. We had only four instruments to use when conducting experiments, which are our teeth to taste, our eyes to look, a little balance to weigh, and a magnifying glass. Those were all we had at that time," he said.
Ru developed the "Aikang-58" species of wheat in 2002. It has helped increase China's wheat output by over 30 billion kilograms since 2005. Because of this species, Ru was awarded first place in the National Science and Technology Progress awards in 2013. Today, all wheat grown in China is domestically bred.

"Chinese farmers plant wheat and corn on one plot of farmland. Our wheat output made a single-cropping yield of 50.25 kilograms per hectare. And the corn output made another 50.25 kilograms per hectare or more on the same plot. The annual output is more than 3-thousand catties, which is incredible. This is a miracle by Chinese scientists. It is worthy of our confidence," he said.

Ru has a happy family. His wife, Yuan Lianzhuang, is also an agricultural scientist, whose expertise is in breeding Chinese cabbages. They support each other in their daily lives, and most importantly, they give each other ideas and thoughts on their respective research.

"We are happiest when we go to the fields. When we go to his wheat field, he walks very fast. He shows me everything in his field with all his excitement. I follow him and feel so proud of him. When we come to my vegetable field, it's my turn to walk very fast then he has to follow me and listen to me. So, both of us are the leading role and supporting role in our lives," said Yuan Lianzhuang, Ru's wife.

Given their achievements in their respective fields, Ru and Yuan are often called "Dad Wheat and Mom Veg".

On June 11th, 1984, Ru Zhengang joined the Communist Party of China. Being a CPC member for 37 years, he has never forgotten his original aspiration and mission, and carries the heavy burden of food security on his shoulders.

"Under the leadership of the CPC and influenced by its spirit, Chinese scientists are responsible and down-to-earth. They always put people's benefits first," Ru said.

Ru realized his childhood dream long ago. But he has never stopped pushing ahead. Today his dream is to see farmers' happy faces every harvest season. He says he will keep developing new varieties that can have higher yield and be more resistant to poor conditions.