I started watching this drama almost at random; romantic things don’t attract me much and neither does the farming. Zeng Shunxi must have been the one who attracted me to watching it after all. But there was a delightful discovery: I simply loved this series! Firstly, I never expected Realism to be there in a drama! But it was the closest one to a slice-of-life series (which I haven’t watched before) that I can imagine. The plot follows the realistic logic, the desires and grudges of the characters are realistic, as well as their relationships. The problems the series raise – oh my, they are so believable! You might ask why strive for realism if we’ve got enough troubles in a real world. But way off the mark! For some that’s a kind of an escape, for others it’s a thing that, on the contrary, will wake them up to see the reality. But that’s what shows a true quality of the work. It seems not at the least the show for solely entertainment but a solid and considerate work of art – something I never hoped to find after reading a title. The name of the series is misleading; it should have been called “The Rustic Charm and Hardships of the Rural Living” based on what we actually see in the drama.

Speaking of the plot and the storytelling, it was a bit strange that everything began from a game but the main female character got stuck in the game without coming back to her world during the whole plot. I believe that it could have been more understandable if she showed more anxiety about being unable to go home (she seemed to be quite busy and sometimes happy about the game family affairs and never worried about the amount of TIME it was going to take her to finish the quest – in other words, the time she would be missing from her reality). I also think that the complexity of the NPCs and the depth of the problems she faced (the family ones, please note – and she is the person who actually has the problems with her ‘real’ family) suggested it was not the gameplay but the quest from Heavens for her. Only provided that she matured and solved the unsolvable family problems could she return to a real family, ready to deal with her real problems, too. I haven’t read the novel if there’s any – probably it was that way there, I don’t know.

As for the characters, they are all great (in the end there is a scene where the FL is asked to rate the NPCs – what she does is the same I would have done characterizing all the cast, and, evidently, the heroes of the story). That’s the great ending of the calendar year – I have seen some dramas where I finally feel that not only a couple of characters can be appealing. The people are quite different here: the timid and caring members of the family, the ones showing spiritless tenacity, the selfish cowards, the manipulable enviers, the ones who undergo a serious character development or stick more or less to their original personality but somehow become smoother and more tolerant. And this describes only the family members (there are many – the original Chinese families are so big!) and there are others! The corrupted officials, the secret agents who have to act on their own, the outlaws so realistic and at the same time righteous that they reminded me of Robin Hood’s men – and the main characters, of course!

Lian Man Er seems a typical traveler from one world to another in the beginning but later she proves to be a very strong and cheerful personality. Perhaps her image illustrates what a good businesswoman should be like far better than those in the business-oriented modern dramas. She’s come up with so many ideas of how to make money – and actually succeeded! Sometimes she uses knowledge from the modern world but she would have failed if she only relied on that. She’s just born to be a founder of start-ups. At the same time, she a believable and charming girl with very human emotions whenever it be love, family troubles, business or injustice of the world. I believe that this type of a role suits the actress very much and I was never bored of watching her – which cannot be said about many other Chinese representations of female characters (in various genres portrayed by different people) who usually come short of the character development compared to the male characters. This girl is lovely and she’s a genuine core of both the plot and the family she acquires.

Shen No is the main male character and he’s excellent… and seen really seldom. Actually, the plot doesn’t suffer as it is planned this way – Shen No is for sure a mysterious character if not for the audience, then for the characters. But ah, if only we could see more of Shunxi! His portrayal of the secret agent is so brilliant and the personality of Shen No is so attractive! And yet he is shown less often than any other Man Er’s family member. If you ask about the romance, well… it still can be found! But you better say to yourself ‘less is more’ as it is of a very good quality and not the main topic of the narration at all. It is given as a subtext; it is always there as the characters keep their identities a secret from each other and both suffer from a perspective of being driven apart. You can feel how deep their relationship is when they just help, trust and forgive each other for granted, the things which are so rare both in life and in series. And no! There haven’t been all kinds of these stupid misunderstandings just for the sake of melodrama! The characters are so reasonable and mature that my heart is grateful to the script writers. Well, returning to Shen No, he is smart and a rather good strategic thinker, he is brave and righteous as a hero should be, he’s an excellent fighter and not so brilliant farmer especially when he tries to avoid the job but actually, he learns extremely fast. Add to this that he does not look at the family that gave him shelter only from this perspective; you can tell from his behavior that he is a kind and a noble man. Ah, again, if only there was more of him in the plot!

A young doctor, Wang You Heng, who is Shen No’s rival in love, also deserves all kinds of respect. Not only he doesn’t do anything that would put the viewer off liking him (to resolve the love triangle) – he does many noble and selfless deeds. He does not fight with Shen No for Man Er’s love when he sees where her sympathies lie. He saves the lives of the villagers working as the doctor even if he has to do it in secret. And, more importantly, after a crisis in his work, he does not give up continuing the most difficult path he has chosen to be his calling. He is a very likable man who, I feared, could have met a sad ending if the script writers wanted to solve the love triangle in a common way. But no, everything settled quite peacefully and harmoniously.

As for the settings, they’re gorgeous, but this has been noted by many reviews before mine. And I also appreciate that even though we don’t get as many locations as in other dramas, the sights don’t get old.

Now to the topics that are raised in the narration. Actually, there is nothing you cannot find in dramas and life – but the proportions are so accurate that it is not just a brutal life – it’s a masterpiece. The corrupted officials and the illegal syndicates leading to higher taxes, the forceful removal of the villagers, pressure on the family members to get what the officials want, and people not knowing how to confront this oppressing force. The power of the officials seems so devastatingly omnibus that it is very true to life indeed. And you never know how a bunch of the good characters would stand up against it. In a reality, they would not have had a chance; but in a game they DO (because finally – it’s a game, remember, they have quests and even though a player can lose a game, she/he is supposed to win after some attempts!) It is so inspirational but creates a sense of longing as well – where to find enough chances, guidance and characters as brave and upright as these ones to raise and bring justice to the people? I am just being wishful but the good questions should be stated before they can be solved, too.

I never expected this drama to be this good (and I’m telling this after watching a ‘Mysterious Lotus Casebook’ – but again, they are so different that you can’t compare them – if only in the way how well-rounded both stories are). It may be not everyone’s cup of tea as the topics are serious and the characters are sometimes painfully realistic probably reminding of the people we might know in real life. If you want to see a love story – that’s a very specific one, a piece of art but hidden from the sight. If you want to see a farm – you see the atmospheric setting with growing rice and (thank you, script writers x3) without (almost) any harm done to animals which you must expect when you deal with a ‘farm’ topic. There is no animals protecting topic here, of course, but at least some family members treat their ox and a dog pets and not meat and that’s a start. But if you think from this description that there is no humor at all – no, there is some, and it is decent and unintrusive. The interactions are really interesting to watch.

To sum up, everything has been really well developed, beyond expectations. I fell in love with the visuals, with the issues, with the music and songs and with actors – even more. Sometimes you should give a drama a try even if you don’t understand from a title or an abstract or a poster what genre and depth it is going to be.