"Some live well without tricks; others drown in them. Yang Benfen writes about her life as she lived it: artless, true."
—Yu Hua (Internationally celebrated author; To Live translated into 40+ languages; Grinzane Cavour Prize recipient)

★ Fourth installment in Yang Benfen's acclaimed 《Women's Quartet》 series. 50,000 copies in first print, reprinted within a month of release! Ranked No.2 in Douban's 2023 Best Chinese Fiction! Praised by Yu Hua (award-winning author of 《To Live》).
★ Featured by 《People Magazine》, CCTV Culture's 《Book Club》, Tencent Guyu Lab, and Bilibili's documentary 《And Yet The Books》. This "80-year-old debut writer" moved figures like Luo Xiang, Yu Minhong, and Dedao APP with her poignant prose.
★ The trilogy preceding this work won over 10 literary awards and sold 570,000+ copies. Translation rights sold to German, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Italian, Arabic.
★ At 83, Yang writes culinary-counter memoirs. This 224-page gem chronicles generations of resilience—an epic of unsung heroes.

Bean and Sesame Tea tenderly traces ordinary lives persisting through China’s upheavals, centering on women’s resilience.

Part I: Marriages Past
>>Granny Qin: A life scarred by abuse and three marriages. Now a scavenger, she declares independence in her garage "studio": "Never again with a man."
>>Xiangjun: University dreams shattered by pregnancy. Exiled to the countryside with her teacher-lover, she raised four children alone in poverty after his death.
>>Donglian: Escaped an alcoholic abuser, only to be dragged back by desperation. A gold necklace became her new shackle—until her son fought for her freedom.

Part II: The Limits of Grief
>>Mother: At 89, she whispered burial wishes while recounting bound feet and lost dreams. The author’s fading "eye floaters" mirrored their merging sorrow.
>>Elder Brother: Persecuted for painting leaders’ portraits. Paralyzed yet poetic, he supported the author through exile. His last comfort: "Peace comes with acceptance."

Steeped in Hunan’s traditional bean-sesame tea, this memoir brews bitterness and hope—a tribute to those who "love life after seeing its raw truth."

Yang Benfen
83, amateur writer from Nanchang. Enrolled at Xiangyin Industrial School (17), later at Jiangxi Communist Labor University—left unfinished when exiled to rural labor. Worked decades in logistics while raising a family. Began writing at 60; debuted at 80 with Autumn in the Spring, followed by A Tree Falls in the Forest and I Was Born Fragrant.

Awards:
Autumn in the Spring: Douban 2020 #2 Fiction; Guyu Literature Award; PAGEONE Literary Prize shortlist (2021).
A Tree Falls in the Forest: One Way Street Bookstore Award nominee (2022).
I Was Born Fragrant: Dedao Top 10 Books (2022).

Legacy:
Hailed as "exemplar of people’s writing" by Xinhua News and And Yet The Books.
570,000+ copies sold for her trilogy; Autumn in the Spring reprinted 50+ times.

Part I
Marriages Past
Granny Qin
Xiangjun
Donglian

Part II
The Limits of Grief
Mother
Elder Brother