[Photo/China Daily]

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With the help of Qiao, the girl learned to cook using a firewood stove. She took care of the poultry and animals and washed clothes. She became interested in the wildflowers when herding the goat, and she started reading a book about plants.

Within a month Tiantian was able to make a meal for the family independently. Soon she was able to stay at home alone and take care of herself and all the animals. She also learned to deal with disputes between herself and her young friend next door.

The book ends in June that year, when the family leases out their home in downtown Beijing and settles down in the village.

The book, originally written as a diary, records the subtle details of village life in simple words: What they ate, what they did, what they said and what Feng thought, day by day.

When the first half of the story was published in Duku, a popular bimonthly magazine, in 2013, controversy raged among readers. Its critics complained it was unreadable and a waste of paper and their money. Those who liked it could not wait to read the second half, saying they found it enlightening and could see themselves in the story.

I admit I am one of those that like it. Feng was a careful observer; her exquisite accounts of their daily life engages readers emotionally, and the way she describes quotidian scenes is powerful. The vivid accounts of growing vegetables, raising animals and playing in the countryside will certainly touch the hearts of people, who feel trapped in city life and are willing to pay to work on resort farms during the weekends.

As the mother of a 9-year-old girl, I was moved by the efforts the couple had made to love and protect their daughter. At first, they came across as people who aren't able to cope with society. Yet as the story unfolds, we realize their courage in giving up what is normally perceived as success in pursuit of their daughter's happiness.

But we also see that their love was too heavy and their overprotectiveness almost ruined the girl in the early years.

Fortunately, they had their wise counselor Qiao, whom I found to be the most interesting part of the story because she comes and goes in the family's daily life, doing simple cooking and setting simple rules.

She enlightens the couple so they correct their obsession to protect their daughter and helps the girl gain confidence, independence and inner strength.

In the spring of 2010, Tiantian started going to a private school and transferred to a school in the city in 2013, where she became a student leader in the class. She will go to middle school next semester.