Siheyuan: A Farm in Space from the Start

In 1961, supplies are scarce, ration coupons are worth more than money, and a bowl of cornmeal gruel can keep a person alive.

Li Yang is reborn in the countryside outside Beijing. After graduating from a technical secondary school, he lands a secure job at a steel mill, earning 56 yuan a month, with homes both in the city and the countryside. More importantly, he gets a farm space where crops mature in a day, and he can raise and harvest his own chickens, ducks, fish, and meat.

Qin Huairu, Silly Zhu, Xu Damao, and the other old neighbors in the courtyard are still using every trick in the book to get a bite to eat. Qin Jingru is always hanging around him, determined to marry a city man.

While everyone else tightens their belts and struggles through the days, Li Yang is wondering: How can he let the people around him enjoy a little meat, too, without giving himself away?