After conducting group discussions and art activities, Ye said, the gradual changes are noticeable since his team began their work in the villages 10 years ago.

For instance, at the very beginning, the villagers thought it was curious that Ye and his colleagues exchanged greetings every time they met, considering it a sheer courtesy.

But gradually, the villagers began to realize this type of politeness is common among civilized people, and soon they began to greet one another with "ni hao," as well.

Another change happened with the folk music groups Ye's team established in the villages. They have now begun to practise modern dance, as well, Ye said.

The situation now is a far cry from before, when few, if any, local officials spent time talking with the villagers, let alone contributing to their cultural life together.

"Farmers are the purest group of people; they are grateful for every little means of help," Ye said. "So, everything we do will be a great achievement."

Ye said his perspective as a farmer's son hasn't influenced him much in his career, saying that the only benefit he draws from his life experience is that sometimes he is more apt to share the feelings of the rural people in his surveys.

For instance, when he was interviewing the children of migrant workers, he could understand why the children would say that days seemed long to them. Ye himself used to feel in the same way when he was a child and his father was out of work.

When the book was finished, Ye felt relieved. He invited the various groups he interviewed such as migrant workers' children and the farmers in his pilot villages to his seminars to share the fruits of his work.

The reason, he said, is simple: "Doing research is actually a responsibility you shoulder for the group you interview."

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