This is a warm, down-to-earth family chronicle, telling the tumultuous yet vivid story of an ordinary person who lived through most of the twentieth century. Li Zhongshan was born into a large family with many children on the banks of the Huai River. Constrained by circumstances, she left school after graduating from elementary school. Her grandfather made a living fishing in the Huai River, and his exceptional fishing skills sustained all eight children. The river's abundant silver fish once became a staple the family grew tired of eating, but years later they would become a delicacy too expensive to buy.
Of course, Li Zhongshan was not content to remain bound to her village. She had dreams of her own and choices to make.
Fate dealt her a hand full of hardships: a poor childhood, an interrupted education, and repeated setbacks while working away from home. Yet she never wallowed in her suffering. She turned life's endless little troubles into jokes and self-deprecating punchlines. Through the fragments of this ordinary, painful life, we glimpse a world easily overlooked amid the bright lights and bustle. Family bonds, the ways of the world, and reflections on life's gains and losses: hardship never wore down her optimism. The author recounts life's countless difficulties with a smile...
This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.
