For the vast army of rural workers in the world's most populous country, life is tough and the future uncertain.
But Zhang and her husband in north-eastern Jilin have parents to help them pay for their daughter to study business management in Beijing. They live like royalty compared with peers in less fertile areas.
They no longer go hungry, they have enough clothes, and they would be the envy of most small farmers outside Jilin and neighbouring Heilongjiang, a corner of China known as the Green Granary.
Most corn growers struggle to squeeze out an existence in China, the world's number two exporter of the grain, as Beijing has been phasing out grain price support systems under obligations to the World Trade Organisation.
Many are switching to growing soya, the so-called "miracle crop" which promises better revenues.
However, Beijing is worried about its food security and is now stressing the importance of increasing both agricultural production and farmers' incomes.
China has been reducing the size of a grains stockpile amassed in the late 1990s, as harvests have been disappointing in recent years.
Since 2000, China's annual grain consumption of about 480 million tonnes has outpaced production of around 455 million tonnes, state media say. However, the size of state stocks is a closely guarded secret.
Beijing has stressed the need to raise grain output after domestic grain prices jumped in October for the first time in six years.
The government, aware of a growing income gap between the urban and rural populations, also wants to boost farm revenues.
Industry sources say this will not be easy.
Chinese corn farmers rely on traditional methods and lack modern technology, limiting yield per hectare to about half of their US peers. Many would rather seek city jobs to make ends meet.
"You can't make money from growing corn," said Zhang, who was selling apples, plums and pears by the road near Jilin city, 100 km (60 miles) west of the provincial capital of Changchun.
After paying local taxes, the Zhangs have an annual income of about 2,400 yuan ($290) - roughly in line with other farmers in the region but above the national average of about 1,500 yuan.
Like many of their peers, the Zhangs own a mule for farming and a bicycle for transport - a far cry from the fast cars, new highways and skyscrapers of the eastern coastal areas that have been transformed by years of spectacular growth.
The humble Zhang household has two rooms, lit by a couple of light bulbs, but no running water. It is heated by burning corn cobs stored from the previous harvest.
"Life is harsh for farmers. Our daughter is becoming a manager," said 44-year-old Zhang, as she braced for the long cold winter in the province bordering North Korea.
While many farmers are heading for the city in search of prosperity, others are pinning their hopes on soyabeans, especially in Heilongjiang - a province bordering Russia that is as big as Sweden and is China's top soya-growing province.
China is already the world's biggest importer of soyabeans, mostly used for animal feed and vegetable oil, and demand is likely to remain strong as living standards rise, boosting meat consumption.
Chinese authorities have encouraged farmers to grow more and better quality soyabeans to ensure supplies for an expanding crushing industry and to cut down on expensive imports.
Soyabean output reached a record of 16.5 million tonnes last year, against 13.2 million to 13.5 million in 1998.
This year's output is estimated at 16 million, while imports are heading for 20 million, almost double those of 2002.
Corn output is seen at 113 million tonnes this year, down from 121 million in 2002 and 133 million in 1998.
"We are the top soya growing area. And soya is our future," said Jin Yaofu, a government official in Suihua city, 150 km (95 miles) north of the provincial capital Harbin.
Some corn farmers have switched to soya. But progress has been slow as many farmers did not have the required knowledge.
The government is not only trying to take market share from genetically modified (GM) soya shipped from the United States, Brazil or Argentina but hopes to exploit a lucrative niche market for non-GM soyabeans in countries such as Japan, South Korea or even Europe.
China is the only one of the world's top soya producers that has not opened the door to growing transgenic soya.
Heilongjiang has already seen buyers from as far away as Europe, where consumers are willing to pay for food safety.
"Growing soyabeans has been great," said farmer Yu Zhong Cheng from Jinhe village.
"It matures early. Crushers come and snatch the beans. Prices have been good."
Higher soya prices in recent years have enabled some farmers in Suihua to experience the comforts of modern living, such as televisions or washing machines.
Asked what he would do with more money, Yu said: "I'd like to build a bigger house and spend more for the children's wedding".