Wu Ziyu, Chuan Guan News Chengdu Observer, Li Randong. "Pesticides are special. They concern grain, they concern the land, and they concern the annual harvest of every farming household. Researchers must be responsible for the performance, safety, and efficiency of every batch of products that leaves the factory." The person who said this is Peng Shanying, chief engineer of formulation technology and senior engineer at the Technology Center of Sichuan Run'er Technology Co., Ltd. This year marks her 30th year working in agrochemical technology. From a shift technician in the mepiquat chloride technical synthesis workshop to a chief engineer of formulation technology who has led a team to complete the research and development of more than 100 new products, behind titles such as "Chengdu Craftswoman," "Chengdu Good Worker," and "Jianyang Craftswoman" lies the long journey of a farmer's daughter using technology to give back to the land.

In 1975, Peng Shanying was born into a rural family without boys, the third child among four sisters. Every summer during the busy "rice threshing" season, her two older sisters had to serve as the main labor force, following their parents out to exchange labor, working in the fields from morning till night. Because Peng Shanying was young and small, she was assigned to dry grain in the family courtyard. "Rush harvesting means taking advantage of the strong sun to quickly bring the grain back and dry it, otherwise if it rains and the grain cannot dry, it will sprout and mold, affecting the harvest." It took half a month for several families to finish harvesting the grain. After the work was done, "the whole body ached, the waist could not even straighten, and we were tanned like black children. My sisters' faces, hands, and feet were basically covered with cuts of all sizes from sickles or rice leaves." Peng Shanying said, "At that time, I subconsciously felt that only by continuing to study could I avoid doing so much farm work. Studying was the only way out of the countryside." In 1996, after graduating from secondary school, Peng Shanying entered Run'er Technology and was assigned to shift work in the mepiquat chloride technical synthesis workshop. Her technical mentor, Engineer Huang, said one sentence to her: "Girls must learn a specialized skill, must support themselves, and must not depend on anyone." She has remembered this sentence for nearly 30 years. "Whenever I face difficulties or career direction choices, it is this sentence that points the way for me."

As the company developed, Peng Shanying led her team in new product creation around the fields of "plant growth regulators" and "functional fertilizers," successively completing the research and development of more than 100 new products and obtaining more than 30 authorized patents, including 25 authorized invention patents and 1 international invention patent. Peng Shanying and colleagues in the laboratory. The diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate upgrading project is the one she values most. In response to the industry problem that "diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate formulations are easily decomposed and unstable," in 2020 she formed a special research team. After extensive formula screening and tests on cold and heat storage, repeated freeze-thaw, two-year normal storage, environment, and crop safety, they solved the problem: completing the upgrading of four products containing diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate and passing change registration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; from 2022 to 2023, promoting more than 1,000 tons to the market, adding more than 26 million yuan in sales and 9.78 million yuan in profit; obtaining 2 invention patents and participating in the formulation of industry standards. The development of Shiqi stick fertilizer came from a discovery of "inconvenience." The company's landscape technology team found that fertilizing urban street trees and ancient famous trees was extremely inconvenient, and traditional granular fertilizer broadcasting or trenching was labor-intensive and time-consuming. In January 2012, the research group was formally established, aiming to slow nutrient release and extend fertilizer efficacy by increasing fertilizer particle volume. Later, the team found that fertilizing fruit trees in "rocky desertification" areas of Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, and other provinces and regions was also difficult, and successively developed stick fertilizers suitable for "rocky desertification" areas, tobacco-specific stick fertilizers, and other products. "When products are successfully developed through hardship and gradually launched, helping users increase production and income, and also solving a certain industry problem, there is an incomparable pride and sense of achievement in my heart."

From technician, laboratory technician, workshop director to R&D manager and chief engineer of formulation technology, Peng Shanying's role changed from "solving problems herself" to "leading the team to solve problems." "In the past, I finished the problem once I solved it myself. Now I lead a group of people to solve it — from 'doing it myself' to 'assigning work, monitoring work, and accepting work.'" In terms of work methods, she no longer rushes into every detail, but focuses on two things: building systems and preventing risks. "The change in thinking is even greater. In the past, I pursued the best in technology. Now I have to weigh time, cost, and risk — many times 'good enough and implementable' is more worthwhile than 'the best.'"

As the leader of the Chengdu Peng Shanying Model Worker and Craftswoman Innovation Studio, she has cultivated a group of young technical backbones through the "project system," "master-apprentice system," and the "six meetings." What gratifies her most is the growth of researcher Wang Xiuqiong — formerly a raw material custodian with a liberal arts background and no intersection with technical work. Based on her solid and hardworking qualities, Peng Shanying insisted on selecting her into the formulation R&D office and training her from scratch. "She started from zero, served successively as researcher, key researcher, and research group leader, and grew into an office manager." "If it is about doing things and being a person, what I most hope to pass on to young people is how to be a person. I hope every young person who walks out of the R&D department carries the word 'reliable' — that is the most valuable thing I can give them. Looking back on her 30-year career in agrochemical technology, rather than summarizing it with honors and the number of patents, Peng Shanying believes what she is most proud of is "having cultivated a group of technical backbones with quality, responsibility, a sense of duty, and the ability to stand on their own." She understands "craftsmanship spirit" in the field of agricultural technology this way: "Love one's job and work hard, be rigorous and serious, strive for excellence, explore new knowledge, and dare to be first." This is also the core culture of the R&D department where she works.