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| 2007/01/28 09:40:49瀏覽472｜回應0｜推薦3 | |
| Each Seed Is a Responsibility What do you want to do in the future? This is a question that all children are pressed to answer when they are young. Some want to be doctors, some want to be teachers, and almost all of them would like to become the president! Mr. Chen Wen-yu’s aspiration, however, is the most interesting I have ever heard. He said, “ I just want to grow a fruit which will show the entire world how wonderful Taiwan is!” On a warm and sunny day in February, I traveled to Fengshan in Southern Taiwan, where Mr. Chen met us at his research farm for an interview. This year he is already eighty years old, but he is tall and strong and full of life. As soon as we began, I asked him, out of curiosity, why he has devoted his entire life to something so small as seeds. With a laugh, he replied, “Agriculture without seeds is like ice cream without sugar. There is no flavor.” When I asked him about his feelings toward agriculture, his answer was even more interesting. He said, “As long as I’m working in the fields, I won’t get sick. One time I wasn’t feeling too well, but as soon as it came time for the seed selection, I suddenly got better.” Mr. Chen’s accomplishments in agricultural breeding are among the top in the world. Altogether, he has cultivated more than six hundred kinds of seeds. Nevertheless, when asked about his various achievements, he humbly replied, “People give me too much praise. I’m just doing what I want to do to the best of my ability, that’s it. Even though the profit for research and development of seeds is low, each seed is a responsibility, because one day each of these seeds will grow into something that people can eat.” From breeding to caring about the land and the farmers, Mr. Chen’s dream extends from Taiwan to Southeast Asia. Before his teacher in Japan passed away, he urged him to do something to help improve the backward agricultural practices in Southeast Asia. To fulfill his teacher’s last request, Mr. Chen set up a branch company in Southeast Asia twenty years ago and built a hospital in Myanmar for those farmers who were unable to afford the cost of medical care, showing his deep empathy with those in need, Finally, I asked him to give young people currently in the workforce some words of wisdom. His unique response was “Every person has dreams. One whose entire life can be devoted to one’s work should be the happiest person in the world.” On the way back, I thought about Mr. Chen’s words and began to feel inspired. Perhaps I do not have the high aspirations and ideals to change the world, but if I do my job the best I can, working hared every second of my life, I will be happy. I think people who love and respect their work are all the happiest in the world. Adopted from Our Dreams are our real life |
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