The One Who Sows the Days

Set against the backdrop of 200,000 officials from Xinjiang being sent to live and work in villages, The People Who Plant Days creates a cast of village-based officials and portrays their work and lives on the front lines, as well as the changes they bring to the countryside.

In the novel, Zhang Anmin, a teacher at Huyang Senior High School in Sagelamu County, applies to work in a village because of family troubles. He and five colleagues are assigned to Qilan Village in Yuzumu Township. After they arrive, Party Secretary Wen Bo decides to solve the water shortage on the alkali flats east of the village. Teacher Yilamu Aihaiti goes to the county power company to contact a technician, but with funding for the power lines falling short, the work team decides to raise the money themselves. Teacher Cai Yanfei makes an advertisement appealing to the public for help, while Teacher Alimu Aini opens a night school to teach Mandarin. During this time, Mulate, an elderly man with no family, donates 30,000 yuan from his retirement savings to support the well-drilling project. Later, Zhang Anmin's wife, Director Qi Xinping, helps secure the funds, and the well is successfully completed.

The work team also leads the villagers in growing soybeans and brings in local experts to offer guidance. Teacher Cai Yanfei travels to northern Xinjiang to buy seeds. Party Secretary Wen Bo organizes the women to make traditional flower caps as a cottage industry and finds them a sales venue at Sagelamu County's Red Ocean scenic area. They also resolve the dropout problem of Aizezi Maitikuerban, care for elderly people without family, crack down on village bullies, and protect the villagers' interests, fulfilling the sacred mission of the Fanghui Ju program.