When The Fields Are Barren, Our Hearts Are Barren

In April, she plants the first tender seedlings. By June, when the seedlings have grown strong, she returns to her home village to uproot and replant them into wider-spaced rows.
 
Although Yang earns a stable income through her batik work and lives in Danzhai town, she insists on returning to the fields during farming seasons. She calls along her son and daughter, determined to pass down farming knowledge to the next generation. Despite being called “teacher,” “batik lady,” and “artist” in the workshop, Yang still sees herself, first and foremost, as a farmer.

The video captures the labor-intensive process of transplanting rice—each slender seedling placed one by one under the scorching sun. Yet the neighbors lend each other a hand. Everyone chat and laugh as they work. These moments reflect the warmth and sincerity of rural life—something Yang's daughter says she often misses while living in town.