Shen Xinghe, 25, is a hugely popular actress who has spent ten years in the industry. At the peak of her career, fed up with the work environment and in desperate need of a reset, she scrolls through old photos on her phone one night, remembering the peach orchard back in her hometown. Then she makes a decision that shocks everyone: terminate her contract, leave showbiz, and go home.
She returns to Taohua Cove, deep in western Hunan, a tiny mountain village with just thirty households. Here, she has the old house her grandfather left behind, an abandoned orchard, and wild peach blossoms covering the hillsides. Starting with making the bed and sweeping away the dust, she learns to grow vegetables, graft fruit trees, raise bees and make honey, and bake peach blossom cakes.
Her former agent becomes her “product manager,” filming her country life for short videos that unexpectedly go viral. Friends from the industry come to unwind and, after finding themselves healed, spread the word. Gradually, Taohua Cove becomes showbiz’s secret garden: a disillusioned screenwriter finishes a script here, a has-been singer finds inspiration, and a streamer who has been cyberbullied regains confidence.
Three years later, Taohua Cove has become a “utopia” combining an eco-farm, a sanctuary for the soul, and a creative workshop. Shen Xinghe never returns to showbiz, but her friends all treat Taohua Cove as a place to recharge.
If you are tired of reading those books that are the same and cliché, you can read this one. The author's writing style is very good and it makes you feel immersed when you read it [Learned]