From Mark's Journal: Oct 3rd

Lying on my firm double bed in our quiet "suite" - three whole sections for us four.

Yujin's mum and dad have the best house in the best village in all of this county, he tells us, and I can well believe it. Eight sections in all, south-facing with just tiny high windows on the north side, their house has been rebuilt in concrete since Yujin was a child here: like most others in the village.

The three sons all work in Beijing now, and send money and bring stuff home - but there's little clutter here. The covered verandah all houses have on their south wall has been glazed in; the entrance to the yard is a fancy red old-style door (first one in the village) between the kitchen and the loo/shower outhouse; the shower has solar heating and even a power-shower set-up for winter; Yujin built a metal vine trellis last spring and the new vines are doing well; there are all kinds of small, dwarfed or bonsai'd fruit trees in the yard (pomegranate, kumquat, Asian pear, plum, something like a crab-apple, lime, etc.); there's a 30-inch TV; and the main sections of the house even have central heating. All this, plus it's really clean and tidy as Yujin's parents don't farm a plot of land (Mr Zhou worked away at a dam and hydro plant before he retired) so haven't got as much working stuff to store, or dirt to tramp in and out.

I love the garden in their courtyard. Vertical, layered, multi-storied: with chickens, a little cat for the mice, a dog for protection, some caged birds for song, and flowers and shrubs for prettiness as well as utility.

Around here, each member of a family owns, on average, around half a mou of land - which is quite low, so people want to get the most from their land. They use old (I think one year old) night soil, pig manure and chemical fertilizer, but no chemical weedkillers or pesticides, apparently. In the past, the winter was a time to relax and stay in to keep warm - now people use polytunnels to extend the growing season, and/or get other work in winter. People grow corn, aubergines, rice, corn, peppers, radishes, corn, chinese leaves, beans, cucumbers, onions, corn, garlic and corn. Roads, roofs and courtyards are currently filled with drying corns and beans: and the drying waste, too, for later use as fuel.

Strolling around is great! People stare a lot, and we say "Ni hao" and they laugh, or say "hello, hello," or smile, or just keep staring. Everyone (adult) works hard here, and the children hang out with the adults working, or join in: if I was here a little longer, so would I.

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