Villagers pitch in to ensure harvest

With the help of 30 workers, Peng Qianjin has managed to harvest half of the navel oranges in his orchard and meet demand in the peak sales period for the upcoming Spring Festival.

"In December, people around here began to show COVID-19 symptoms one after another, bringing a sudden labor shortage for the orange harvest season," said Peng, 47, a farmer from Pengjiapo village in Hubei province. Peng and his wife were also infected with COVID-19 in late December.

Peng has grown oranges in the village for over two decades and expected a harvest of around 30 metric tons of the fruit this year.