A blossoming ambition

After conducting extensive interviews, An crafted a feature story titled Nora on the Plains, delving into Liu's turbulent inner world, her recurrent spiritual battles and quests for fresh life avenues.

In the end, Liu chose to embrace the poetic beauty close at hand rather than pursue faroff horizons.

The article reignited widespread discussions about Liu's story across the internet.

The visits by Zhang and An, two unexpected guests separated by nearly 20 years, provided Liu with a sense of relief — "Finally, someone who truly listens to me and with whom I could actually talk".

This year, as Zhang prepared for her latest program, A Room of Her Own, she hoped to reunite Liu with An, who now resides in Dali, and document their trilateral meeting.

During their conversation, Liu reminisced about her past attempts to break away, striving to lead a different life in the city.

"I felt disappointed in the city," she shares, recounting her time working in a factory in a southern city where she marveled at blooming red flowers lining the streets. However, no one around her knew the name of these blossoms.

Liu thought, "Something feels amiss. How can we overlook such beauty? It's a disservice to the flowers and their splendor."

She now believes that poetry isn't necessarily found in far-off places.

"It can reside within my heart — in my flower-filled yard, my farm fields and my children," she explains.

Liu also shares her family life where her husband, though not a reader, collects books for her, her daughter gifts her plant seeds and takes her to concerts, her daughter-in-law decorates her room with carnations, and her son encourages her to read Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante.

Zhang appreciates Liu's choice.