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Tie Ning's latest novel Ben Hua Village focuses on rural China. Her style reflects a special wit and humour of Chinese farmers in a subtle way. Following is an excerpt from the beginning of the novel:

When the animals are gone, a trader comes on to the empty street, trading Chinese onions for the villagers' chicken eggs.

On a small cart are two bundles of thick Chinese onions with a basket for eggs hanging on the cart handle. While stroking the heads and leaves of the Chinese onions, they [the traders] chant elegantly: "Chicken egg for Chinese onion."

People who want to exchange eggs for Chinese onions come out, most are women in charge of their families. The women hold eggs in the palm, the eggs appearing very white at dusk, the women, on the contrary, are blurred.

They hand the eggs to the onion seller, who weighs the eggs scrupulously before putting them gingerly into the basket. One egg can exchange for three to five Chinese onions of different sizes.

With onion in hand, the women don't leave immediately they are still eyeing the cart. They want to pick one or two leaves from the cart as a "bonus."

The Chinese onion-seller tries to push them away: "Don't do that." The onion-buyers are having a hard time, so are the onion-sellers.

But the women still manage to evade the onion-seller's hands and get a few leaves.

Grabbing the "bonus" leaves, they walk home satisfied. Taking a bite on the "bonus" leaves, they chew deliciously, the smell of Chinese onion immediately gushing out of their mouths.

When exchanging eggs for Chinese onion, the women take it for granted to pick a few onion leaves.

(China Daily November 15, 2006)