A hard-luck story that ended well

She continues to write. In 2021 her second book Fumu (Floating Wood), about stories of other villagers Yang met in childhood was published and in February the third one, Wobenfenfang (I was fragrant) about Yang's own unhappy marriage, was also published. The three books have achieved 8.9, 8.4 and 8.1 points out of 10 on China's popular review site Douban. Their circulation, in total, has reached 250,000 copies, according to Xin.

"I wrote about my mother, about how our family struggled to live just like a floating piece of wood, and the lives and deaths of villagers who once lived in Central China. If the stories of ordinary people are not put down, they will surely be buried forever," says Yang.

"Many people say the books strike a chord for them, making them think of their own family members. As a matter of fact, we didn't expect them to have such an influence before publishing," says Xin.

Qiuyuan and Wobenfenfang are set to be published in Korean.

"In the first 60 years of her life, my mother was an ideal example of being a good wife and mother who always gave priority to the family," said Zhang to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily. "But since she started writing after 60, she suddenly became a popular writer. We marveled at that."

Yang writes on an iPad now. But due to a failed surgery several years ago, she suffers from frequent knee pain and doesn't often sit in front of a desk. Sometimes she just writes lying on the bed.

"It's my luck to live long enough to see my books come out. But it would be better if I was 10 years younger," she says.