It’s probably insane to hope that farmer Yang is paid for signing autographs. I wonder what his persimmons made him each month and if he wishes he had just crushed each and every terra cotta soldier.

Good question, Traci. The goverment bought (took?) farmer Yang’s land and they now pay him a stipend of 3000 yuans (about $490) per month. He took three months to learn how to sign his name and nows sits in one of the gift shops signing autographs for anyone who buys a book about the terra cotta soldiers. We saw him sitting at a table in the corner looking very bored. He probably wishes he was still growing persimmons.