Far from Beijing, Chinese transfixed by Games

Relative prosperity has come only recently to Dongtai, partly because of a newly opened bridge allowing traffic to cross the Yangtze by road, rather than ferry.

Just a few years ago, rural homes with dirt floors were common. But new roads and construction projects, and money from migrants working in Shanghai, have brought running water and modern homes equipped with solar panel water heaters.

Closer ties between farmers and the cities mean more opportunities to earn money. In Subei, even in the heat of August when the rice is all planted and the harvest is months away, there’s plenty of work to be done.

Young women sit spinning silk thread in the breezy ground-floor rooms of their two- to three-story cement and brick homes. Men, bare to the waist in the stifling heat, lay bricks, hoe fields and shuffle shucked corn kernels to ensure they all get dried by the sun.

Spread on the cement in front of practically every home and shop are mounds of homegrown corn, huge scarlet peppers and greenish-brown “tiancai,” a sweet herb used to make candy.

“We sell this to the candy makers and get a good price for this,” said Zhou, offering a leaf to taste.

At twilight, families work at gathering the piles of corn in bags, or covering it with plastic sheets to protect it from rain and dew. When that’s finally done, most spend a bit of time sitting outside chatting and watching the children play. Only later, before bed, do they turn on the television.

“Yes, I do watch, but only later,” said Meng, the fruit seller, smiling shyly. “We sometimes stay up until 1 a.m. watching.”

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