Periodically, Chinese leaders have ventured out on inspection tours directly to observe local conditions away from the capital. Cao Jinqing wrote this book on rural life in Henan as a daily log of conversations and observations, and it reads like the report of such an inspection tour. Along the tour, the author ruminates on rural development problems such as the rising tax and fee burden on farmers and the stagnation of agricultural growth that Henan faces. The author traces such problems to political, economic, and cultural institutions.

Cao Jinqing primarily focuses on xiang-level administration, and he advances three main points. First, he argues that China's administrative structure has created a set of opportunities for corruption and political pressure that have pushed an enormous financial burden onto farmers. Xiang officials face pressure to provide schools and other social services for their populations, yet education budgets alone can eclipse the statemandated cap of taxes and fees, set at five per cent of farmers' income. From above, local officials are pressed to expand their industrial base and agricultural production by investing in factories, converting grain fields to orchards, and implementing agricultural technology, all of which requires officials to extract fees. Such projects help cadres advance their careers, but they literally come at the expense of farmers. Total fees, according to one official, reach as high as 30–50 per cent of farmers' household income (p. 208). The political structure also creates incentives for local corruption. Several cadres interviewed suggest that corrupt officials get ahead and that upright officials are denied promotion.