He was well aware of the danger of aftershocks and landslides, and had heard rumours of an epidemic outbreak in downtown Beichuan, just a few kilometres from his village. He was reluctant to return, but his parents' stubbornness prevailed. 'They said they would return home alone if we don't go, and my wife stays by their side,' he said.

Mr Xie works on construction sites in Shaoxing , Zhejiang province, and his wife and parents were the ones who stayed behind, watching the wheat grow. 'Being a farmer, you cannot just stand there watching your mature wheat going old,' said his wife, Liang Li .

The family is not alone in their commitment to the crop, with packed buses leaving Mianyang for Beichuan since Thursday.

But authorities have banned entrance to the downtown core since Wednesday because a strong aftershock warning is still in place and there have been suggestions of an outbreak of disease.

Mr Xie's father, Xie Deli , said food equalled peace of mind.

'I believe the government will definitely help us through the difficulties, but no one is sure who is on the top of the priority list. With our own food, in hand, we could wait with a calm mind,' he said.

The family's holding can yield about half a tonne of wheat, which is usually traded for rice because it is considered more tasty and easier to digest.

Altogether, the field generates about 800 yuan a year. Ms Liang said that although that may not sound like much, it was still a very good source of income for the family.

'Most of my husband's salary won't be given to him until the end of the year, so this harvest could at least support our family through tough times,' she said.

Authorities have promised to offer monthly subsidies to people made homeless and landless by the quake, but there are few details on how the money will be distributed.

'I don't think the government will hand you less money just because you harvest your crops. So you harvest more, you get more,' Ms Liang said.

Authorities have obviously recognised the farming community's anxiety about harvesting their crops, ordering that mountain roads be urgently repaved to allow farmers living upstream of Beichuan to get to their homes. PLA soldiers released from search-and-rescue efforts had also been assigned to help farmers harvest their crops.

But county residents who have an urban 'hukou' and no entitlement to land have to just sit and watch.

'A city 'hukou' brings me no land, no job and no nothing, but somehow we share this quake,' 47-year-old Beichuan resident Yin Xianyun said.

The township had about 17,000 people, and about 30 per cent of them were urban residents.

Mr Yin now uses a motorcycle to drive farmers around in the quake-hit areas to prepare for his own life after the disaster.