This book employs a flashback narrative, beginning with the narrator's drive back to the village where he had lived for over a decade and bidding farewell to the villagers. It recounts his experiences, from his pre-retirement aspirations for a secluded rural life, his painstaking search for a suitable village, his harmonious relationship with the locals, his active advocacy for the village's development, to his eventual return to the city and his departure from the countryside. The protagonist envisions a retirement away from the city, a new environment, and a leisurely life of tea drinking, writing, farming, and vegetable gardening. On a friend's recommendation, he chooses Hehuan Village, nestled in a valley, renting a three-story earthen house and, with the help of the villagers, transforming it into his ideal ecological home. He initially intends to live a tranquil life of tea drinking, writing, and socializing, but a conversation with the town mayor reveals the village's developmental difficulties and population decline.
本书采用倒叙的手法，从“我”开车回到居住了10多年的村子和村民告别落笔，回忆自己从退休前萌发“隐居田园”的美好愿望、苦心寻觅合适的村庄、与当地村民融洽相处、为村里发展积极奔走到最后不得不再次回归城市告别乡村的经历。主人公想在退休后远离城市，换一处环境居所，过品茶写作耕地种菜的悠闲生活。在朋友的推荐下，“我”选中了一座位于山谷处叫合欢村的村庄，租下村里一所三层土房并在当地村民的帮助下，将其改造成“我”理想中的生态家园。本想就此过着喝茶写作会友的田园生活，然而在一次与镇长的攀谈中了解到村子发展困难、人员流失、
本书采用倒叙的手法，从“我”开车回到居住了10多年的村子和村民告别落笔，回忆自己从退休前萌发“隐居田园”的美好愿望、苦心寻觅合适的村庄、与当地村民融洽相处、为村里发展积极奔走到最后不得不再次回归城市告别乡村的经历。主人公想在退休后远离城市，换一处环境居所，过品茶写作耕地种菜的悠闲生活。在朋友的推荐下，“我”选中了一座位于山谷处叫合欢村的村庄，租下村里一所三层土房并在当地村民的帮助下，将其改造成“我”理想中的生态家园。本想就此过着喝茶写作会友的田园生活，然而在一次与镇长的攀谈中了解到村子发展困难、人员流失、
