This is a selection of six stories of Kang Cho, one of China's contemporary short story writers, Published between 1949 and 1958. They describe the striking changes in the life and spirit of the peasants of the northern China from the early days of mutual-aid teams, through the agricultural co-coperatives to the people’s communes. The author describes the Communist Partyi's leadership among the peasants and the deep concern for their welfore. He not only writes about the new Personalities of socialism, their diligent work, their self-effacing concern for the collective interests, and their whole-hearted devotion to the welfare of the masses, but also describes, not without criticism, the selfishness, conservatism and spontaneous tendency towards capitalism on the part of certain middle peasants, although he does not hesitate to welcome the progress these peasants make in the course of time.
Living as he has for a long time in the countryside among the characters who appear in his works, and being familiar with their habits, thoughts and feelings, the author is able to describe them with a full measure of realism.