In
Zhang Henshui's short story
Returning For Yan, the female main character Yang Yanqiu is from Jingning County, in Gansu, but grew up in Longde and sees it as her home. The book depicts the drought of 1928-1929 in Gansu and Shaanxi, when people in the region lived in dire poverty. They were forced to survive on grass and tree bark, without any way to eat boiled food. One of Yang Yanqiu's family members has already gone east to escape the poverty, and she sells herself to save her parents. Another family member has disappeared. Later, Yang Yanqiu follows her parents to
Nanjing, but returns to Longde after her father's death to find her family members. She also must do some work for northwestern development. Thus she is "Returning for Yan". ==References==